Renting a car in Sicily

Posted by Ken (Washington) on 01/16/26 03:26 PM

What are reliable rental agencies in Palermo?
We are planning to rent a car in Palermo for travel to Ragus, Agrigento, Syracuse then back to Palermo.
I am finding that the Europcar location in Palermo is not open to return the car when we are planning to return (7 February).
My options seem to be to: 1. get a car at the airport which means is not convenient or 2. find another rental agency.

I know that driving in Palermo is not a good idea and that is not my plan. I will be using the car to tour the island and seeing other sites that aren't serviced by public transit.

Any help or ideas are appreciated.

Posted by Chris

01/16/26 06:53 PM

735 posts

Check AutoEurope. They are a popular consolidator that can get you the best prices and people on here really like.

Our last rental was from the Via Francesco Crispi Sixt office near the port (most convenient for you probably). They were fantastic. 5 stars above and beyond normal expectations and the price matched what AutoEurope was quoting.

Driving in Palermo is fine. I didn't think it was a big deal. Certainly not worth a long cab ride to the airport to rent from there. I certainly wouldn't keep a car in Palermo while I was staying because parking can be a PITA and it's just an unnecessary hassle. If you really want to use Europcar, just talk to your hotel about parking suggestions and return it the next day maybe. That's basically what we did when we came back to Palermo.

Get the EasyPark app, pay attention to the posted street cleaning schedules, and learn the color codes for parking.

Posted by Roberto da Firenze ⚜

San Francisco Bay Area (USA)

01/16/26 07:37 PM

17293 posts

February 7, 2026 is a Saturday. February 7, 2027 is a Sunday.
All rental agencies, except for airports, are generally closed from Saturday at about noon and reopen Monday morning.
So if your return time falls during a weekend, your only chance might be the airport return.

I also use www.autoeurope.com (a broker company born in Germany but now headquartered in Maine) for my rental needs in Europe. I generally pick the deals with the major brands (Avis-Budget, Hertz, Europcar, or also Sicily-By-Car, which is big in Italy and especially in Sicily, where it was founded).

The traffic in Palermo is bad, but not too bad outside of peak commute hours, therefore if you pick up or return the car in the city avoid the commute time in the morning or in the afternoon. You won't need a car while visiting Palermo, so make sure you pick up the car on your way out of the city and return it, as soon as you arrive to the city. I picked up in the city, but returned to the airport just before my flight out (was going to Florence, so the flight was not in the morning).

Posted by ekscrunchy

new york

01/16/26 07:44 PM

1116 posts

Are you staying in Palermo twice?
If not, why not rent in the city on your way out and drop at the airport before your flight out??

I like SIXT.