Elderly American woman on self-drive tour in Sicily safe?

I've never felt unsafe anywhere in Sicily, but I did have other women friends with me. Driving in Palermo is extremely challenging. I would try to get rid of the car as soon as possible there. Do you have the new RS guidebook for Sicily? I was there a few years before it was published, and it would have made travel much easier. I also found that English was much less spoken than in more touristed areas of Italy. My Italian is limited, but Sicilians were universally patient with me. I'm sorry about your friend. If you are OK in general with solo travel, I don't think you need to worry more about Sicily.

Thank you, Ruth. The self-drive tour has reserved accommodation in or near Palermo, the final destination. I would assume they've arranged for parking but I will check if it's not explicit in the itinerary which will be provided 30 days prior to start date in mid-October. The rental car will be returned to the airport before flight home. I'll order RS Sicily Guidebook. I saw that Catania is included in RS's tour. Have you been? If yes, should I arrive a day early and spend it in Catania? (I'll be traveling from Zagreb.) Is the WWII Museum, the fish market, the town itself in RS's tour must-sees or nearly so? Nancy

I flew into Catania but headed immediately to Siracusa. I'm sure I could find something interesting in Catania if I were there again. Palermo is the place I would most like to spend time next trip. The RS guide has tons of info that would fill days for me.

I remember driving being fairly easy because roads were usually two lanes without too much traffic. Palermo was the exception! They routinely wedged five lanes of cars onto a three-lane road! If I were driving alone, I would want good NAVI in the car or plenty of data on my phone for maps. Small towns are charming but some have some very narrow streets and one way routes. My overall impression of Sicily was great food, lovely people, and lower prices than most of Italy. Enjoy!

Hi Nancy,

A few tips:

Most of the mature and especially the older crowd, will probably not speak English; maybe a few words or so.

The younger generation and those working in the tourist centers will.

Most waitstaff and store workers will probably have a decent understanding of English. In smaller, independent / "mom & pop" cafes, they may not.

In some larger restaurants, you may get asked jokingly or boldly about leaving a tip.

Italy is a non-tipping culture.

Do not leave your phone, camera, purse, or any bag unattended on a table or the chair next to you. Exercise common sense of course.

There may be little kids running up to you with paper cups looking for Euro change.

Always check your food or purchase tab whether you pay in Euro or by credit card --- get a receipt.

Make sure you have arancino!! (arancini --- plural) Sicily's version of street food 🌻

Also try Cassata --- a delicious Sicilian treat.

Pricing in little cafes were not that bad. One night, we had dinner in a nice restaurant near the city center --- we had fish and pasta which was a reasonable price.

Don't have any cashier convert the charges into $$ --- keep it in Euro.

Catania is beautiful, but it also has its gritty side like any big city.

I would suggest not walking or driving solo outside the city center after a certain evening hour --- maybe 10?

There is a lot of hustle bustle in the center because of all the restaurants, shops, and tons of people.

We stayed in two different areas of Catania --- one, on the outskirts of the center, and the other, close to the center.

Two different atmospheres and two different experiences. Great. No issues.

Catania itself is very walkable. There are city buses though. If you take a bus, be extra careful of your bag.

I am a bit biased about Catania, lol, because my family is from there. On a future trip, I hope to visit Caltanissetta
and Milazzo where my great-grandparents were from.

The WWII museum is a wonderful experience. It will affect visitors in different ways. I have veterans on both sides of my family --- Italy and America. I am a huge supporter of veterans.

The Fontana dell'Elefante is a symbol of Catania's square. Interesting history.

Sant'Agata's cathedral is very beautiful. She is very, very important to Catania. One of her celebrated feast days is August 17th, on a smaller scale. The larger, more celebrated feast begins February 3rd for a few days.

The parts of Sicily I visited were beautiful. The mesmerizing, crystal blue sea, the markets, the churches, the old buildings --- lots to experience.

Have a fun and safe trip. I extend good wishes to your friend.

*Added info

It is safe in all respects. There are better and worse parts in any city, but in Italy the bad parts are never in the city center, and bad by Italian standards is nothing compared to bad in any US city. Nobody will mug you at a gunpoint but someone trying to enter your car and steal your belongings is always a possibility, so no valuables left pun attended in the car.

I don’t find driving in Palermo a challenge, but traffic at peak time is bad, and parking in the city center is a nightmare, therefore make sure your accommodations (if in the city center) have parking (doubtful) or can suggest a private parking garage nearby.

i spent 28 days in sicily in june july travelling all over the island via public transportation. i felt less 'threatened' in sicily than in the usa, especially los angeles, where i lived for 32 years. not being female i dare not comment about the safety of women, especially travellers, but i can tell you what i observed or didn't. i didn't see or hear any obvious harassment anywhere. i saw young mothers with children in an almost deserted piazza europa in messina around 9:00 pm. i saw women of all ages freely going about their business, alone and in groups. i don't recall a single cat-call. i don't want to paint a rosy picture because 'i fell in love with sicily'. my point is that your individual experience may vary, hopefully, they are of the good kind. the cities and towns i visited are no worse than the ones we live in in the usa. certainly, there are 'bad' parts in big cities like palermo, catania, siracusa and messina. in catania my airbnb host drew lines around the areas that i should avoid! lastly, the roads and highways i travelled on via bus were in optimal shape and the traffic was not an issue. hope you enjoy your trip!

I didn't find driving in Sicily particularly challenging. After being a pedestrian in Palermo, I picked up the car in a city location and was terrified until I got on the highway - because I had seen pedestrians randomly walking across streets from between parked cars and I was afraid one would pop out in front of me and I'd hit him. Otherwise it wasn't a problem. I drove into Catania once and the traffic was very bad - worse than Palermo - but it wasn't hectic, just very slow. If I'd had GPS, I think I would not have got lost.

I drove into Catania to visit the WWII museum there and it was worth it. In my research I hadn't found anything else there. I drove up Etna and that was a wasted day. Although the coast was warm and sunny, in early May, the mountain was covered in fog and quite dreary. The intercity roads were very good and I didn't see "crazy Italian drivers" anywhere. Parking can be a problem since spaces are small, so take the smallest car you can get.

In fairness to the pedestrians in Palermo, at the time of my visit (2015) there were not very many traffic lights. I sometimes felt like I was taking my life in my hands when I needed to cross the street at an intersection.

Due to a research failure I missed the WWII museum in Catania. The city has an attractive historic center and an interesting market. I imagine the duomo is nice but didn't go inside it. Catania does take a back seat to Palermo and Siracusa, that's for sure.

I certainly hope that you have set aside time to visit Taormina before heading West. A bit touristy (sorry for the understatement) but Liz and Richard really knew how to spot the gorgeous views (Mt. Etna, the Med, the Greek theater).

Catania is interesting and worth a day at most, probably less. The most popular area is around Sant'Agata's cathedral as already stated. The main things to see include,
grand Piazza del Duomo & fish market
Piazza Carlo Alberto di Savoia - flea market (not on sunday)
Cathedral de Sant'Agata - ensure you check the hours it’s open.
Archeological complex, Terme della Rotonda
Anfiteatro romano
Roman theater
Piazza Federico de Svevia by Ursino castle

To me, the Roman ruins are not interesting compared to other ruins and temples on Sicily. The city is gritty, but much of the grit comes from Mt. Etna. When I was last there in 2018 Catania was much cleaner than when I was there (multiple times) in the 1970s. Back then all the city streets had no less than 1/4 inch of ash. As already mentioned, there are seedy areas that you’ll want to avoid.

A belated thank you to all for your help! -Nancy