







 



<rss version="2.0" xmlns:beenthere="http://ivebeenthere.co.uk/beenthere-rss">
    <channel>
        
                
        <title>Been there | Tips</title>
        
        <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/</link>
        
        <description>
            Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love,
            live in or have just visited - are what make this guide.
        </description>
        
        
            <item>
                
                
                <title>Overnight ferry</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/23899</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA["Bellini", the night train from Rome (Termini) to Siracusa, leaves around 9pm, and is loaded onto the ferry across the Straits of Messina very early the next morning (6-ish). You just lie in bed while it's loading, and can then go up and have a coffee on deck and watch the light over the coast of Sicily, although you could just stay in bed and wait for the attendant to bring you the cappuccino or espresso you ordered the night before (at the carriage door, when you get on). <br><br>There are four-person couchettes, but there's something really romantic about proper sleepers, and a two person compartment (single bunks with proper sheets, plus complementary toiletries, mineral water, coffee...) - costs just €75 pp. If you want something more luxurious you can have a double bed compartment with ensuite shower etc for €140 pp. <br><br>The air conditioned train then follows the coast, through Taormina, and arrives in Siracusa at about 10 am. We love going to bed and waking up 500 miles away, right where we want to be - it's a great way to unwind at the start of a holiday. <br><br>Italian night trains are all good value, but the crossing - and the destination - makes this one the best.]]></description>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/23899</guid>
            </item>
        
            <item>
                
                
                <title>Put the whole train on the ferry across the Straits of Messina</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/23864</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[There are quicker and more comfortable ways to Sicily than spending the whole day on the train from Rome on Italy's hot and often late trains but this is Europe's last ferry where the train goes too. That's right, they actually put the train, carriage by carriage and with you still on it, on the ferry. You can then head up to the outside deck to watch the sun set over the Straits of Messina before heading back to your carriage to rejoin the train tracks in Sicily and head on to Palermo, Taormina, Catania or Syracuse. This is far and away the best ferry ride I've done and the kids (and adults) were transfixed by the dismantling and reassembling of the train.]]></description>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/23864</guid>
            </item>
        
            <item>
                
                
                <title>Getting there by train</title>
                
                <link>http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11650</link>
                
                <description><![CDATA[We took the train from Rome to Palermo and it was an amazing journey through the south of Italy and across the north coast of Sicily. Highlights included crossing the Messina Straits at 6am after being shunted whilst still on the train onto a ferry and passing by whole neighbourhoods of backyards in the villages of northern Sicily, getting a snapshot of semi-rural life.]]></description>
                
                <guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11650</guid>
            </item>
        
    </channel> 
</rss>

