Driving in Sicily--some confusion

We flew into Palermo, stayed for a few days and then rented a car to go to Erice, Marsala, Siracusa, and Acireale (near Taromina). We found it very easy to drive, the freeways were brand new, very speedy. We did the driving portion of our Sicily trip in 5 days (after spending 2 in Palermo) and then drove out of Sicily up to Tuscany. With 2 full weeks in Sicily I think you'll have a good amount of time to enjoy it all. Of course, driving into cities was the hardest and even driving out of Palermo took a good bit of time, but it was much faster than Ireland because of the good motorways.

You are wise not to have a car in Palermo as you would never use it there. My husband and i have had a car in Sicily almost every time that we have gone there and it has never been a problem. Italians quite often make three lanes out of two, but just move over a little and don't panic. It does work. Be sure that you go to the markets in Palermo as they are fascinating. Have a wonderful trip.

Hi Jill,

Driving in Sicily IS a breeze; it's the finding your way that can be a pain. The quirkiness of Italian road signage is at its most intense in Sicily. Here are a few examples. Your gps (DO bring a gps) may say to turn right on SS 143; but there is no sign saying SS 143 until a short distance after the turn. Or, you get to an intersection and more than one arrow points to Palermo. Or, no sign is labeled for your destination. In more urban areas there may or may not be street signs. We developed a strategy as follows. Have a good map. Plan to use the autostrada as much as possible, even if it seems to go a bit out of your way. In Sicily the shortest distance between two points is not always a straight line. Also, the secondary roads may have remarkably few services. Try to familiarize yourself with the names of intermediate towns along your route, so that you won't be thrown into a tizzy when you suddenly see them but not the name of the one you're heading for. All that being said, driving gives you great flexibility; and I wouldn't dream of doing Sicily any other way.

We traveled all around Sicily almost 20 years ago. We had no problems anywhere except in Palermo where they were doing a lot of construction and only had a map from the car rental place. Eventually ended up finding where we needed to go. Taormina was a challenge with its narrow one-way streets. Today, with a good map, a GPS and their improved roads and signs you will not have any problems. The roads between cities were good roads, even then. Two weeks will give you enough time to see a good part of Sicily and after seeing it will make you want to return. Have fun!

Follow a counterclockwise loop, for example:
Palermo-Segesta-Erice-San vito lo Capo-Selinunte-Sciacca-Agrigento-Piazza Armerina-Siracusa-Taormina-Cefalu-Palermo.

Roads are very good. 4 lane freeways connect Palermo to Trapani, Palermo to Marinella (near Selinunte), Catania to Palermo (via the interior), Catania to Messina, Messina to Palermo.
Non freeways are still good, but they are two lane highways.
A good map is just as important or even more important than a GPS, because as explained above, road signs in Italy indicate the next town not always the highway number. Therefore it's important that you or your passenger has a map in front on which s/he can follow the towns that come next in the itinerary you have selected.

Last year we spent 28 days in Sicily and had a car for 24 days. We drove from the Palermo airport around Sicily in a counter clockwise direction. We returned the car to the airport and took the train to Palermo where we spent 4 days. We did have a GPS, printed instructions from Google maps, and a Michelin Sicily map. We had no problem on the roads but we did get lost a couple of times after entering small towns. Luckily, the Sicilian people are very friendly and helpful. In Sciacca a couple even went out of their way to drive to our hotel with us following them so we would be sure to get to our destination. It's all part of the fun!

As for if you have enough time, you will have to decide which towns you want to see and where you want to stay. You can check on Google maps for approximate driving times and either add or subtract towns. There is a lot to see and do in Sicily. Have fun planning!

Roberto's suggested itinerary is great. If you prefer not to do a loop, you could take the train to Cefalu as a daytrip from Palermo and fly out of Catania. But I love Cefalu and always try to spend a couple of days there.

Thank you soooo much! You guys are the best and thanks to you especially, Roberto. Great advice on the route.

Hi Jill,

I'm planning much the same trip (13-15 days), right after Easter, flying into Palermo and out of Catania.

Here's the thread I started a few weeks ago https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/2-weeks-in-sicily-please-help which may give you more information on route planning.

I plan to pick up a car in Palermo, after visiting Cefalu by train, and have it for 7-9 days, then seeing Etna, Taormina and Catania by public transportation.

Public transportation is a very bad choice to visit the Etna. A car would be of great help to explore blackened villages on the slopes of the volcano and other areas than the base station.

You can hire a guided tour for Mount Etna if you want to avoid a drive, but the drive is not bad, On the other hand, there's a point beyond which you can't drive a private car, from that point on you can take a tour or ride the funivia if it's running.

Thank you Chani and great advice about Etna!

What would it be like to go to Sicily and rely on public transportation? What would we still be able to see? What would we miss?

Are plans are to come from Dubrovnik to Bari and then head to Sicily from there. I haven't really checked out that part of the trip either, so any suggestions about that would also be most helpful.

Thanks!

Dorothy

As the others said. the driving is pretty easy in Sicily. Avoid Palermo and I'd suggest Catania as well. Taormina was a bit of a chore but not too bad. Roads are in good shape and you'll probably find not too much traffic away from the cities. Have fun!

Dorothy, read this thread on Trip Advisor

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187886-i343-k4390170-Trip_Report_Sicily_Without_Wheels-Sicily.html

It's a trip report from a woman who spent almost 2 weeks in Sicily with her father, all by public transportation.