Driving in Sicily - need advice

We will get a rental car in Palermo - which is the best company to rent a car from?

The one that offers a good price, and has a reasonable price for a level of insurance you are comfortable with. Be aware that many credit cards do not include Italy in their free coverage. I used Avis in Sicily (Had a company deal), but have used Europcar other places.

Should we get a rental car at the airport?
The airport is quite distance from town, to the West. If you are heading to Trapani, Marsala, or points West, then yeah. If heading South or to the East, then look within Palermo. Do consider where you really need a car, we started in Palermo, but only rented a car in Catania, to do South Central Sicily. Hard to say without knowing your itinerary.

If we have car problems while on the road, who do we call for help?
Talk to your rental agency, they usually have a number to call, you may also want to consider insurance that covers road service.

Is gas expensive?
By US standards? Yes. Figure about 7 euros per gallon, but then cars tend to have better mileage.

Anything else we need to be aware of while on the road through Sicily?
Cars tend to be manual transmission, but you can pay more for automatic. While not as bad as Tuscany, there are some ZTLs, Google it. Roads for the most part are pretty good, some of the speed limit signs are kind of confusing, but we had no issues.

If you get in smaller towns (and some large) roads can get narrow (like car width narrow) and very steep. Parking at a premium.

We had no real issues, and we found for the segment of the trip we did, car was the only logical option, But we used the car for a specific segment, picking it up after a week and three stops, then returning it before our last stop. We used the car for two stops over about a week and a half.

We rented from Hertz, picking up at Catania airport and dropping off on arrival to Palermo after a stop at Monreale. Except for Palermo, driving was easy and pleasant. Driving in Palermo is neither. In some locations finding parking can require some patience but was always doable. Pick up your car when you are ready to leave Palermo. Hertz has one, maybe two, locations in the city. The airport is about 30 km away. You will love Sicily!

We used Avis through auto Europe. We stick to the majors which were more because of too many stories about other companies. Most cars are manuals which is what we rented from Siracusa and returned at Palermo airport. We did a combination public transportation and car rental and thought that worked well. You certainly don’t want a car in Palermo. We flew into catania, took a bus to Taormina, then a train to Siracusa and rented car when leaving Siracusa.

Gas is expensive by US standards. One thing you should know is self service is really self service. No one works there. We couldn’t get our credit card to work at first station so found a full service station. So don’t wait until you are on empty to fill up. We also could not find a single gas station coming from the west to the Palermo airport. We just paid what they charged us to fill up.

There are lots of country roads. Some of them are in poor repair. But if you mess up , there is always another road. The only stressful part of driving in Sicily was around the Palermo airport. There were lots of cars (which had not been the case) and they drive fast. The entrance ramps go right onto the high way as opposed to merging gradually in US.

Our credit card Chase Saphire covers Italy car rentals. Most do not. But I messed up and used my card but my husband would have been the driver and he would not have been covered. So I ended up buying insurance through Auto Europe.

I don't know about "best," but we've been very happy renting from Europcar in Italy once a year for the last 13 years. We just rented from their office at the Palermo airport in March and drove all around Sicily for four weeks. The only city we drove in was Catania, but we stayed in or visited lots of towns. My husband is experienced with driving in Italy and finds it fun. From my perspective as navigator, Sicily driving was no more difficult than any other region.

Don't drive in the left lane on the highway --- it's for passing. Go the speed limit, but cars will pile up behind you --- we just pull over as soon as we can and let them go by. Get a small car. Add about 20% to the driving time Google Maps gives you.

Speaking of Google Maps, I was pretty irked by its directions an unusual number of times in Sicily --- I don't know if this was about Sicily or some change in Maps. It kept sending us on what I suppose were shortcuts that might have saved a few minutes, but which were on ridiculously unpaved and potholed roads in the countryside instead of on perfectly good straightforward roads. Similarly, in towns, Google Maps behaved as if there was no difference between main roads and extremely narrow, difficult, and crooked streets (and sometimes one way streets). Because we stayed in several towns for multiple nights, we discovered how we SHOULD have driven to our accommodation instead of the Google way. I know that part of the problem was that Google was trying to deliver us right to our apartment or B&B front door instead of what to a human being was a much more sensible place to drive to, park, and then walk for 2 minutes. We probably should have asked our hosts for the most simple and obvious route, but we didn't. Maybe it would be easier to tell a "good" street from a tricky one on a paper map? Anyway, just something to be aware of.

We returned the car to Palermo airport, too --- easy, just be sure to locate a gas station close to the airport.

We were told by our Airbnb host that the best rates are at the airport. You can easily get there by train or bus. Driving in Palermo is very challenging. There are few traffic lights at intersections.

I use this consolidator/broker
www.autoeurope.com
They offer deals with the main companies (Europcar, SicilybyCar, Hertz, Avis-Budget, etc.)
As pick up location select PALERMO ALL LOCATIONS. Then pick up where the price is lower. The airport pick up is nearly always more expensive, besides requiring a lengthy taxi or train transfer since the Palermo airport is far from the city.

In case of road help (tow truck) the equivalent of AAA in Italy is ACI (Automobile Club of Italy). The toll free number while in Italy is 803 116.
The equivalent of 911 in the US is 112, which will connect you with the carabinieri (police).
If medical emergency and you need an ambulance, the number is 118.
If fire emergency and you need the fire department, the emergency number is 115.

The average price of gasoline today in Sicily is €1.71 per liter (approximately $7.40 per gallon)

To practice driving in Italy drive on the Crow Canyon road, then turn left on Castro Valley Blvd and take Palomares Road to Sunol. Do it a few times back and forth. Driving up and down to Mt. Diablo helps too, although the Summit Road is wider and less curvy than most two lane country highways in Italy.

Be aware of British and Australian tourists driving rental cars. They like to drive on the wrong side of the road and are more dangerous than the mafia.