HOW TO TRAVEL BY BOAT IN ITALY
The traghetto (ferry) and aliscafo (hyrdofoil)
Italy has 5,275 miles of shoreline, a whole passel of islands—from giants like Sicily and Sardegna to smaller, popular vacation islands like Capri, Elba, and the Aeolians—some world-famous coastal regions (Amalfi Coast, Cinque Terre), and several large lakes. Even in Venice you will need to use a ferry to get over to the Lido, if you are travelling by bike.
That means, at some point, you will likely have to get into a boat to explore the best bits of Italy. If you are travelling by foot you are able to use any type of service, the aliscafo being the quickest. However, if you travelling by bicyle you will only be able to utilize the traghetto to make your transfers (and many time these are much slower than the hydrofoil)
www.traghetti.com - Has a good listing of routes and timetables of most ferries in Italy.
www.aferry.to
www.traghettionline.com
Regional ferry lines
- Campania - www.alilauro.it, www.caremar.it, www.snav.it, www.vetor.it (islands of Ponza, Ventotene, Ischia, Procida)
- Sicily / Aeolian Islands - www.snav.it, www.gnv.it, www.siremar.it, www.usticalines.it
- Sardinia - www.gnv.it, www.mobylines.it, www.saremar.it, www.corsicaferries.com
- Liguria / Cinque Terre - www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it
- AdriaticCoast - www.tirrenia.it
- Lazio - www.alilauro.it
- TuscanIslands (Elba, Giglio, Capraia) - www.toremar.it, www.mobylines.it
Ferries on the lakes
- Major northern lakes (Lago del Garda, Como and Maggiore) - www.navigazionelaghi.it
- LakeIseo - www.navigazionelagoiseo.it