Long term/ Long distance Scooter or Vespa rental

Posted by Noah Hutchens on 03/29/26 07:48 PM

Hello, I am planning a rather audacious adventure in Italy and am looking for some advice. I have two plans one seems more easy to achieve and the other is more audacious.

First and audacious plan is to fly into Palermo and rent a Vespa/Scooter and tour around Sicily for a week or two and then take the ferry to the Italian mainland and exploring southern Italy for another week or two(perhaps as far as Sorrento Naples region) and then either flying back from Naples or returning to Palermo if rental is required to be returned there.

The second less audacious plan is to rent the Vespa/Scooter in Palermo and only tour around Sicily instead of a wider journey.

The time aspect of it all isn't a big worry to me I am just having trouble finding a rental company that will rent a Scooter or Vespa for multiple weeks at a time. I even looked into fully purchasing a used Vespa when i get to Palermo but read that purchasing a motorcycle as a non resident is rather cumbersome in Italy(anyone have experience?). The Best option i have found is a Company in Palermo that will rent for 1 week unlimited miles and includes paniers for 400 euros.

Has anyone had any experience in a long term Vespa rental in Italy and have any tips on where to find one? I own a 125cc Honda, that goes 50mph downhill with wind, that I ride all the time so i am used to the slow going low power of a "scooter" type of motorcycle and it is honestly my preferred form of travel if i don't need to get somewhere in a hurry. Also with Sicily being a rather compact area (i.e. being able to get from Palermo to Catania in 4 hours avoiding the highways i don't see it being a hinderance at all.

Thanks in advance to anyone who reads this and gives opinions!

Posted by Roberto da Firenze ⚜

San Francisco Bay Area (USA)

03/29/26 08:24 PM

17626 posts

I found some companies in Palermo (see websites linked at bottom), the last two specialize in long term rental. I am pretty sure that you will need to return the moto to the same location, therefore I think that sticking to Sicily is the best plan. Contact them and inquire. Unless you are an Italian living abroad, purchase of a vehicle for a non resident is possible only for a new vehicle which you intend to export to your own country within (I think) one year. In that case they give you a special license plate with EE (Escursionisti Esteri, or foreign excursionist) designation. It is rarely done, except those who buy a new car in Italy, travel around a bit, then take the car to their own country.

As a former owner of a Vespa 125cc in Italy, I must say you are brave. To me it was a chore to ride from Florence to just Forte dei Marmi (120 km), which I did yearly, so I can only imagine what it would be to circumnavigate Sicily, which, believe you me, is huge. My arse hurts just at the thought of what you are about to embark on. The good news is that since January 2025 the Italian Vehicle Code allows motos over 120cc to use freeways. No such luck in my youth. The limit was 149cc and above so I had to stick to regular roads. Occasionally with my friends we illegally used toll freeways for short distances (like Forte dei Marmi to La Spezia to go to Portovenere or Riomaggiore), but it was very uncomfortable because my 125cc would not go much past 90 km/h (55mph)unless downhill, with tail wind, and with favorable planet pulling from the Moon, so it didn’t feel safe to have cars and huge trucks, traveling twice my speed just a few feet to my side. For more comfort we would ride to the far right of the roadway, in the emergency lane. That was illegal too, but better than being hit by a fast moving 18 wheeler. A couple of years later I decided that a Honda CM400T motorcycle would be a much better choice for traveling far from Florence, 400cc are way better than 125cc.
Good luck!

https://www.rentme-noleggio.it/
https://www.europmotorent.com/
https://www.city-rent.it/noleggio-palermo/
https://www.happyrent.it/noleggio-lungo-termine-moto