Is Driving in Sicily Crazy?

You don’t want a car in Palermo. And you can go to Monreale on bus or taxi. Cefalu maybe day trip tour. Then to and from Agrigento by train easily. We used trains with a much longer itinerary.
Train is nice. Just get on and enjoy the scenery. No stress of driving.
You could do Palermo to Cefalu to Agrigento and back to Palermo.without doing Cefalu as a day trip.
For your itinerary a car would not be needed.

You don't want a car in the city of Palermo. Once you are there, Palermo is very walkable and parking would be an issue. Chances are likely your hotel or BnB will not have guest parking. Traffic seems hectic and best left up to those who know the city itself. To get to Monreale you can go by bus, taxi or private driver. You might want to conisder a daytrip tour that combines Segesta and Erice, both are beautiful. I hired a driver to take me to those two places as well as a stop at the cave of Santa Rosalia on Monte Peregrino. Cefalu is an easy train or bus ride from Palermo. It is very compact and also easily walkable. Many streets are pedestrianized. That is true in the historic centers of many towns. You can get to Agrigento by train or bus. I stayed two nights in Agrigento city itself and took a short bus ride out to the ruins. We got on and off at a bus stop right in front of the train station. Our BnB was right off the main street, Via Atenea, not terribly far from the train station. Walked everywhere in the city. I don't think I would want to drive in the very narrow streets and have to park a car in the city of Agrigento itself but if you are planning to stay outside of the city nearer the ruins, or at an agriturismo or if you are planning to visit the Scala dei Turchi I could see how a car would be convenient. Remember that in December you will have fewer daylight hours,

I rented a car when I was there - this was around 2018 or so. I planned my route starting in Palermo and flying out of Catania - hence, no back tracking. I only picked up the car when I was leaving Palermo so didn't have parking issues.

The reason for the car was the flexibility to first swing by Segesta on the way to Agrigento where we stayed outside of town so no problem with driving or parking. We were also able to stop and see the Villa Romana de Casale and stop for a night in Ragusa on the way to Catania. Obviously your route is different, but if you have a desire to see more sites/places, then consider a car. On trips like these, I don't worry too much about parking just figuring there are always paid parking to be had (I do research where these are ahead of time or check with the hotel I'm staying at).

It does help to have a navigator with you especially as I encountered quite a bit of construction on the highways that required detouring but that was the only drawback.

You really would only need the car for the trip to Agrigento. It can be done by public transport, but much easier by car. That also opens lots of options for lodging, we stayed at a nice duplex type house with a private pool, very cheap, but only accessible with a car.

Whenever this topic comes up I think of this blog. https://blog.ricksteves.com/cameron/2018/06/sicily-driving/

Haha, Allan! You've convinced me not to drive in Palermo!

Many of you have persuaded me that we don't need a car in Palermo. Thanks for that.
Pat, thank you so much for the detail. I'll be copying your response in my Sicily Doc.

Paul, "I planned my route starting in Palermo and flying out of Catania - hence, no back tracking. I only picked up the car when I was leaving Palermo so didn't have parking issues." Ok, now I'm going to do research on flying out of Catania. Where did you pick up your car when leaving Palermo? Do I have to go back to the airport to rent a car? We might want to drive to Agrigento if we want to stay outside of that town.

I'm learning so much from your responses, and they're helping me firm up the very beginning stages.

I cannot speak for all of Sicily, but having recently taken a RS tour of Sicily that started in Palermo and ended in Catania, I would NEVER drive in those cities. My cab rides there were frightening enough. Traffic signals, stop signs and lane lines were merely suggestions that were rarely followed by most drivers. But horns were constant. Good luck!

We picked up and dropped off the rental car in Catania and drove clockwise around the island. Rather than drive in Palermo we stayed at a B&B in Monreale and took the bus into Palermo.

I wouldn’t say the drivers are crazy, but you need to remain alert while being defensive and aggressive at the same time. If you are courteous and let someone merge, three others may merge too. The only real traffic was in the Palermo area and it was like in any other city. The rural roads were not a problem other than not being marked well.

Have a good navigation system. There were times I had no idea what road I was on. Bookmark parking lots onto Google maps or your navigation system so you can go straight to them when entering a town. Be familiar with what the ZTL signs look like to avoid driving in one and getting a ticket. I felt the no driving zones were fairly well marked.

In Agrigento we stayed at Villa San Marco. It’s down a dirt road. From it we walked into the temple complex via a path from the B&B through an olive grove. The B&B had dinner options we took advantage of and never went into Agrigento itself.

I enjoy the flexibility having a rental car affords. You can stop en route to your next destination at small sites and it’s your schedule not that of a bus company. With limited time, I don’t want to be forced to sit around for a couple hours waiting for a bus. It comes down to personal preferences whether to get a rental car or use public transportation.

When we toured around Sicily we had a car and went all around the island. I did not drive in Palermo itself (we picked up our rental car there and drove straight out of the city, returned it at the airport in the early morning hours).

I actually found the driving in Sicily essentially no different from driving elsewhere in Italy, just with less traffic. Yes, there were a few super-aggressive fools who passed on blind curves, tailgated, cut-off others, drove way too fast, acted like they didn't care how much longer they lived, and generally had little regard for their own or others' lives. So basically, it was pretty much like almost anywhere else (even at home nowadays). I would not say driving there was significantly more "crazy" that what I see routinely on local streets where I live, and about as "crazy" as anywhere else in Italy. Just give these crazy people the room to do what they're going to do, always drive defensively and expect the worst from other drivers, and don't let them goad you into behaving the same way. They'll be on their way and out of your sight quickly enough (probably ending up in a fiery crash somewhere else, and you won't be involved).

No need to fear driving in Sicily. Many of us have driven in far, far worse places and lived to tell about it.

Of course: Always avoid driving in the center of old cities anywhere.

I would echo David's comments above. We toured Sicily by car in 2018 without issue and found the driving to be straight-forward, no worse or better than anywhere else in Italy (or in North America for that matter). Outside of the major centres (e.g. Palermo) on the highways and local roads, our experience was generally positive - we didn't experience much in the way of the bad behaviour that David describes. So there's nothing "crazy" about driving in Sicily as long as you drive as you would elsewhere in Europe - defensively and with eyes wide open.

We did drive into Palermo one day from Monreale and it worked out fine but not without some stress - suffice to say that if you're a quick learner and you can make sense of the unofficial rules of the road, you'll quickly get the hang of it. "Rule #1 of driving old city centres around the world - there are no rules."

Thanks you, everyone, for your experiences and thoughts. They are instructive. Once my husband returns from his fly fishing trip and the glow has worn off, we'll be discussing the the ups and downs of car rental in Sicily.

We rented a car in Siracusa and returned it at the Palermo airport. I would not discourage anyone from driving but do wonder if it is worth the trouble to do so just to go to Agrigento. You would either have to rent in the city (And driving in Palermo is a bit dicey. We did not do it but watched others do so.) or go to the airport which is quite a ways out. It might be simpler to just take the train from Palermo and then take a bus or taxi to the Valley of the Temples.

We took a train from Palermo to Cefalu for a day trip and it was very easy. I would not drive.

Good points, BethFl. I like less stress. We''ve not been to Italy in 24 years but I'm assuming the ease of taking trains/busses is on par with France and Spain where we spend the majority of our travel. Thanks!

We have now firmed up our Sicily trip and changed it to staying four nights in Palermo. We will take day trips to Monreale and will use a taxi to get there and back. We may go to Cefalu by either bus or train and tour Palermo, itself. The sticking point is the Valley of the Temples which we have tickets for on December 30 at 3:30. Before that we have lunch reservations for Osteria ex Panificio in town at 1:00 and later, dinner reservations for Il Re di Girgenti at 7:30. I mention the names of the restaurants for logistics. Is it possible to take a train/bus from Palermo to Agrigento and then go from lunch to the Valley of the Temples, from there to dinner and from dinner to the train/bus station to return to Palermo? I'm assuming that taxis or intracity busses would be necessary but need those details. I'd like to do this without renting a car since we would use it only for the Valley of the Temples unless we can get a car rental in Palermo instead of the airport. TIA

Thank you, miuccia, for that information.