Sicily car rental

We rented a car from Sicily by Car on Via Napoli in Palermo. It’s in a ZTL but you are able to get a paid day pass. They can give you information at the office.
But we have also rented a car at the Catania airport and dropped off at the Palermo airport. There is a reasonal bus that goes into Palermo.
Palermo is an extremely hectic an confusing city with many one way streets. I woukd try not to drive in the city.

We did as you plan — picked up a car at Catania airport and dropped it off when we arrived to Palermo at the end of our trip. When we were ready to leave Palermo, our accommodation arranged a driver to the airport. It worked out great for us. You do not need or want a car while in Palermo but driving into the city to drop off the car was not a problem. There are several drop off locations in the city depending on which agency you use. Just do a Google search.

We are definitely not driving in the city! Just needing to drop the car before we stay in Palermo. Thank!

Two Sicily-By-Car offices to choose from downtown:
One is on Via Napoli
This is what the entrance looks like:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/KxQQqgmg6DnMpDQf9

The other one is near the Cruise port, here.
The entrance looks like this in the image below.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/vTQsuZBkm3J2Yq4A8

The former is inside the ZTL, therefore the agency will need to put your car's license plate in the White List in the City's portal, or you will get a fine. The one near the port is accessible without entering the ZTL.

Check the reviews for that business.

We rented from Sixt and picked up/dropped at their office by the pier in Palermo after circling a chunk of the island. Navigating in and out of Palermo was pretty easy. I didn't think the driving is particularly challenging once you get used to it. Plus you will have been driving in Sicily for 2 weeks by the time you get to Palermo.

Get the EasyPark app, pay attention to parking signs, get the zero deductible insurance

Hi! Not sure if this will help, but we just rented a car for a week in Sicily. When I picked up the car at the Avis in Siracusa (across from the train station), I found out that the international site directed my booking through the US site (where I live) rather than than the Italian site (where I was renting). This resulted in an odd record that only showed windshield protection being selected rather than any damage coverage when I had selected what I thought was the super damage coverage recommended on the forum. They were able to change everything and it worked out, but the rental cost $400 more than expected. The manager explained that the local site is often cheaper (who knows if that is true). Anyway, just wanted to share my learning! Happy travels!

I use www.autoeurope.com then I choose the best deal available for my dates of travel. They work with all major companies, including SicilybyCar which is big in Sicily especially. Enter the pickup city (All Locations) and drop off city (all locations). For one way rentals there might be a one way drop off fee, but it is generally not as large as the one way drop off fees as in the US.

Once you select the company and vehicle size, the above website will give you the option to choose the insurance coverage levels. The basic level is included in the price of the rental, the level above (no deductible) is about $5 a day extra, then the total coverage (includes windshields and undercarriage) costs about $12/day. I always select the total coverage.