Sicily by Car Rental, Train, Taxi and/orCar Service

All modes of transportation for navigating Sicily are well covered in the RS guidebook - at least for getting between the areas covered. Note that there is more reliance on buses, especially in the more remote areas.

We picked up a car as we were leaving Ortigia and returned it at the Palermo airport before visiting Palermo. That worked well.

We've taken two trips to Sicily in past three years.

First trip: Hired drivers to take us from place to place, beginning with pickup at Palermo airport and transfer to Trapani. From Trapani, making counter-clockwise circle around island, overnighting near Agrigento; then drive to Licata (for LA MADIA), stopping at Mandranova olive oil estate; transfer from Licata to Ragusa Ibla (day trips with driver to Marzamemi, Chiaramonte Gulfi olive oil azienda, PortoPalo di Capo Pessaro; driver from Ibla to Catania; driver from Catania to Milazzo to catch ferry to Salina; driver from port to Taormina; driver from Taormina to Catania airport. We used the same driver a few times; other trips were with drivers we hired for a single trip.

Last fall: Combination of rental car (very easy driving)---from Catania airport to Marina di Ragusa and return to Catania airport; private driver from Catania city to Milazzo ferry; private driver, after 10 days on Salina, from Milazzo port to Sircusa (hotel had free shuttle to Ortigia); and driver, finally, from Siracusa to Catania airport.

Your hotel will be able to recommend drivers.

Driving in Sicily is very easy outside the cities; I enjoyed it and please note that I am a person who had been too nervous to rent a car in Europe until about four years ago. On recent trips to both Italy and Spain, I have rented with SIXT and been extremely happy with the car and the services provided at the offices.

Private drivers are the most pricey option but we had excellent experiences with each one we hired. Not all spoke English. I can give you names if you go that route.

We've thought driving in Sicily was easy on both of our trips there. Yes, stay out of cities, if you can --- we did drive into Catania on the latest trip and it was a bit hairy. But also be aware that small towns, even those without ZTLs, can have medieval streets that are narrow and twisty. And Google Maps does not seem to "understand" these medieval town centers and will send you on ridiculous routes that possibly might save a resident 2 minutes but will get you into trouble. So be a little skeptical and determine the real best route for you to take, maybe getting it from your hotel or your apartment host, maybe from looking at a paper map or just Google's own map --- we saw several times that there was a nice broad straight street and a parking lot a couple blocks away from the front door that Google was directing us to (because we had plugged in the exact address of where we were going to stay).

We picked up and dropped off the rental car at Catania airport and had it our entire trip. Rather than drive in Palermo we stayed in Monreale and took the bus into Palermo.

We chose hotels with free parking. For places we simply stopped to visit I looked up parking lots and bookmarked them to Google maps. On Ortigia, there were pay machines that only took Euro coins, no smaller denomination coins. In Noto there was a manned booth for paying. Everyplace else we visited parking was free.

From Trapani, it may be easier to drop the car off at Palermo airport, then take the bus into Palermo. The airport is fairly close to Trapani, but 40 minutes from Palermo.

Personally, I feel the rural roads were poorly marked.

There are buses from the Catania airport to Siracusa. I think there is some rail service from the station in downtown Catania to Siracusa, but it's neither frequent nor fast.

Trains between Trapani and Palermo take a convoluted route; buses are considerably faster.

A car would facilitate side trips from Siracusa to the Baroque villages in that part of the island (such as Ragusa) and allow you to stop off at the Villa Romana del Casale and Agrigento as you travel west to Trapani.

We travelled throughout Sicily by car. It was wonderful. Yes, a time or two, parking took a minute to work out but no more than elsewhere in Europe. We dropped our car on arrival to Palermo city, the one place you definitely do not want a car!! Then, took a private car hire, arranged by our accommodation, to the airport for departure. Would repeat in a heartbeat.

I think your plan is good. You don’t really need a car in Trapani — you can take the funicular up to Erice and a ferry to Favignana, if you choose to go there. Trapani is very walkable.

If you keep your car & drop it at Palermo airport (which most people suggest, rather than driving into Palermo), you’ll still need a bus into the city. Might as well take the bus from Trapani all the way into Palermo.

We stayed at a hotel in Trapani that offered a free shuttle to Palermo airport. If you don’t already have lodging in Trapani let me know & I’ll find its contact info. Then you’d just need a bus into the city.
Edited to add: hotel was Appartamenti Rosa Dei Venti. Not fancy. Great location. Confirm the free shuttle to Palermo (not Trapani) airport before you book if that’s important to you.