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1 month in Sicily

I'm planning to be in Sicily for 1 month (Trapani or Cefalu) with a car rental. The car will likely be parked in a long term parking lot. I've read online that cars are stolen or broken into a lot in Sicily. Is this true - is Sicily a higher risk than other places in Italy? I never had a problem in Tuscany.

Posted by
3150 posts

I’ve rented and driven cars in Sicily and never had a problem but I’m not qualified to comment on crime rates. When renting the car, make sure you’re covered by zero deductible insurance and take common sense precautions. Don’t leave luggage in car, take all valuables with you, park in busy, well lighted areas.

Posted by
3150 posts

One other thought. Check the cost of leasing vs. renting. Often it’s cheaper to lease for a month and insurance provided is zero deductible. If you go to the AutoEurope website, you can find out more about the Peugeot leasing plan. You would have to pick up the car and return it in Rome. Nice ferry ride across the Strait of Messina!

Posted by
26840 posts

A month in Sicily would be heaven for those of us who've been there before and didn't have that much time.

But what are your plans for lodging in Sicily? From your initial post, it sounds as if you're planning to stay in one place the entire time. Sicily is too large for that to be a good technique--though obviously if you're doing a house-swap you may not have a good alternative. Assuming this isn't a house swap:

Cefalu is more centrally located than Trapani. It is about a 7-hour roundtrip from Siracusa and an 8-1/2 hour roundtrip from the lovely Baroque town of Ragusa. I've padded ViaMichelin's time estimates a bit since they are thought to be optimistic. Even so, my estimates do not include time for getting to your parking location, stopping anywhere, getting lost, and finding a new place to park the car.

In this recent forum thread there's a post of mine (the fourth post) which attempts to summarize the key stops by area. You could use ViaMichelin or Google Maps (probably even more optimistic) to see roughly how long you'd be in the car, getting to those places from Cefalu or (considerly worse as far as driving-time goes) Trapani.

Posted by
8 posts

Thanks for the info, Philip and acraven. We are, in fact, leasing a car for our 3 month total Italy stay. Renault. I plan to put an "Italia" sticker on the car to offset those French plates!

We stay in one location for a month for 2 reasons: we go to school and because we like to settle into a place and really get to know it. We were in Siracusa and Ragusa (and other towns nearby) on a bike tour in October. Good tip on Cefalu - and it is our first choice because the school there is a member of addiopizzo (google it if you don't know about this amazing organization). We're giving Sicily a second try - I did not love the place in October due to all the trash lining the streets - but the weather should be much nicer at this time of year than the northern mainland where we spent our last 3 month visit.

I do worry about more crime and having our car stolen, even with full insurance, would not be pleasant.

Posted by
26840 posts

Oh. Taking classes makes a difference. I've done that (though for just two weeks) in both Orvieto and Nice. Please report back afterward on how it worked for you.

I liked Trapani and Erice a great deal, and there are Greek sites nearby, and I think salt pans?? But it's geographically rather isolated and you'd need to use your car (and find a place to park it) to get to Palermo since public transportation on that route is extremely slow. Cefalu's proximity to Palermo (with train service) would be a plus for me (unless you find the city totally overwhelming). There's so much to see there.

Posted by
32 posts

I was lucky enough to spend 6 months in Sicily with a car (rental) and it was not enough to see it all. Don't worry about the car or crime. Just use common sense and you will be fine. Enjoy your trip!

Posted by
15043 posts

If u like small villages consider Scopello.
The island is big and does not lend itself to be visited from one base only. Consider 3 for 10days each or something like that.
I wouldn’t deem Sicily to be a higher risk for petty crime than other places in Italy. Big cities are more prone to crime than small villages however. The most dangerous place for petty crime is actually Milan, according to government statistics. Make sure you park it in a pay garage when you can, especially in large cities like Palermo or Catania.

Posted by
8 posts

thanks for the info. we are leasing a car for 3 months (when I must leave Italy, unfortunately. Schengen). Our goals are different than typical tourist. We like to stay in one place for the duration, become part of the community as much as a 3 month stay allows (in this case only 1 month before we return to our italian "home" in tuscany). Much more enriching for us than hopping from place to place. Find an apartment, upack, and don't think about packing again for weeks or months We'll go to a local school to continue to learn the Italian language.

Posted by
26840 posts

I assume you realize that the Schengen time limit is 90 days (counting both arrival day and departure day), not 3 months.

Posted by
8 posts

Si, ovviamente!! Se una persona conosce di Schengen it's a safe bet they know it's 90 days!! I countdown the 90 days here in the pazzi stati uniti until I can return again to good food, wine, great, safe cycling and a better, slower way of life. Nevetheless, my previous visit to Sicilia, senza machina, gave me the willies - so much trash, so many (angry) people tired of being treated like la merda (the north of Italy is not very nice to their sicilian brethren). It's a bit of a third world country there. But I'm giving it a second try and hope for warmer weather than tuscany/umbria/marche. I have read since my original post that car-break-ins are an issue throughout Italy; as well as in my So Cal neighborhood, actually!

Posted by
8 posts

I haven't thoroughly researched it, but our last apartment (for 3 months) had 5? editions of Rick Steves' book - and not one mention of Sicily. Curious.