Hi all - I will be grateful for your help. We are a couple in 60s coming to Palermo airport on 30/4/26 at 9pm. My wife has slight mobility issue because of foot pain but is OK with some walking. We are a little uncertain about the plans:
30/4- Palermo, rental car from airport and stay Palermo centre ? Mercure Hotel but any other suggestions welcome
2/5 - drive to Syracuse - stay at Palazzo Artemide
A19 Palermo-Catania motorway: stop at Villa Romana del Casale and Graamichele
4/5 - drive to either Donna Carmela resort in Carruba di Giarre or Palazzo Priviterra in Linguaglossa: which one would you suggest
5/5 - drive to Mount Etna- suggestions please as to how we plan this
6/5 - drive to Taormina in the day, come back and stay at either Donna Carmela resort, or go to stay in Catania Town, or stay at the Catania Airport International Hotel - which has its own shuttle but the reviews are not that great
6/5 10pm or 7/5 : drop rental car at the airport - 7am flight Catania to Malta on 7/5
Would welcome any suggestions/changes to this itinerary:
-should we see Agrigento, Ragusa and Nato - is there enough time? Should we stay elsewhere rather than in Syracuse? maybe in Catania for the whole duration?
-should we stay in Donna Carmela or Palazzo Priviterra?
-How do we go about seeing Mount Etna- drive? or take a tour?
-6/5 night is it better to come to the Airport Hotel for the early morning flight?
Many Thanks
Posted by
New Orleans
1249 posts
How wonderful for you all having an adventure in Sicily soon! My first and top suggestion (having spent two wonderful vacations exploring all throughout Sicily) is do not do not DO NOT attempt to drive in central Palermo!!! Other posters will likely say the same thing! Arrange other transportation into the city, then pick up your car back at the airport (or elsewhere?) once you leave central Palermo. Not only is the traffic super crazy for most North Americans to navigate, but there are laws governing what cars can come into the central city. Without the right certification, you would be heavily fined. I don't know if a rental car from the airport would have that certification, but the traffic alone would make this venture highly difficult.
Posted by
Saint Paul, Minnesota
2077 posts
Right, you don't need or want a car in Palermo. Here's a previous thread about where to rent a car without going back to the airport after your stay in Palermo: Rent car
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
8429 posts
I agree about not driving in Palermo, but more importantly, don’t try to drive in any city at night when you haven’t been there before. Hotels in Europe are not marked the same as they are in the U.S. Don’t expect a large lighted up sign since there probably isn’t one. Street signs are difficult to see during daylight hours even if you know where they should be located on buildings. There may be a small brown or yellow sign with the hotel name and an arrow on it along a street in town, but there’s a slim chance you’ll see it at night. Finally, there are plenty of one way streets, pedestrian only areas, and no driving zones (ZTL) in cities now. Trying to navigate around them could be challenging.
If you’re intent on picking up the rental car upon arrival consider staying near the airport that night. The airport is about a 40 minutes drive from the city center.
When we visited and had a rental car, we stayed in Monreale and took the local bus into Palermo. For the departure we stayed at a hotel about 6 miles from the airport. Catania airport isn’t large and the rental car return is right beside the terminal.
Posted by
860 posts
Honest reaction... It's a really full itinerary; which will be compounded by any mobility issues. I think you're moving around way too much and trying to see a lot for such a short time in Sicily.
I agree with others, that a car in Palermo is an expensive and useless hassle. There are rental offices at the port and other places close to your hotel. Driving from those central rentals as you leave Palermo shouldn't be a big deal. Just avoid leaving at rush hour.
Just driving across Sicily will eat up most of a day out of your 6 days.
Valley of the Temples is awesome. But it involves a TON of walking. Maybe there are golf car tours for folks with mobility issues but the only such thing I saw was a little Cushman shuttle between the lower area and the west parking lot entrance. It wasn't running very often; maybe every half hour??
I could give lots of other specifics but I really think you might want to rethink the whole scope or timeframe of this trip.