I am starting to plan a trip to Sicily to celebrate an anniversary at the end of January 2026. I have only started to plan an itinerary and would like to gather more information before I make firm plans.
My expectations are to fly to Rome from Seattle early in the week (probably Monday or Tuesday) arriving in Rome the following morning, and fly to Palermo early that afternoon.
I would hope to find a hotel in Palermo to rest and recover a bit before finding a rental car and driving to probably Agrigento for a couple of nights.
I have contacted a winery near Vittoria where we can do a tour/wine tasting before an anniversary dinner Saturday.
Next (on Sunday) I would plan on taking a scenic drive ending up near Catania for a couple of nights and maybe a night in Taormina. Etna will definitely be on the must see list. Otherwise, I will rely on the "Rick Steves Guide Book" for recommendations.
Lastly, back to Palermo for a couple nights mostly to just rest/relax before returning home.
Is it better to take a taxi in to Palermo to a hotel and get a rental car the next day or get a rental at the airport. I could also get a hotel near the airport upon arrival and get a car the next morning to start the adventure.
Everything is open to change at this point so I welcome any suggestions and insight anyone may have.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7899 posts
You don’t want to drive in Palermo unless you absolutely need to. To avoid driving in Palermo we stayed in Monreale at a B&B with parking and took the bus into Palermo. I believe there is a bus from the airport into Palermo. The airport is 30+ minutes from the city.
Posted by
NC
622 posts
Agree, that the one place in Sicily where you do not want to have a car is Palermo. You might consider what we did, which is to fly directly from Rome to Catania. We then drove on to Taormina which is lovely in itself and convenient to Mt. Etna and wineries. Highly recommend Emilio Sciacca for a wonderful wine tasting with a view of Mt. Etna: https://www.emiliosciaccaetnawine.it/en/the-company/emilio-sciacca-etna-and-wine-the-volcanic-nature/
From there we toured around Sicily, dropped the car on arrival to Palermo, enjoyed the city, took a taxi to the airport and flew back to Rome.
Happy planning!
Posted by
Washington DC
29276 posts
I hope you can add some days to what seems like a very short trip so you can get a more comprehensive look at Sicily. To me, it's a shame to miss Ortygia (Siracusa) and the Baroque villages in that area--Ragusa, Noto, Modica and Scicli among them.
There's a lot to see in Palermo. Certainly the Monreale Cathedral is one of the island's very top sights, but I wouldn't want to spend multiple nights out in Monreale and commute into the city repeatedly by bus. And I agree with the others: Driving into or within Palermo is the stuff of nightmares.
Posted by
16 posts
(Greetings from Tacoma!) Having been to Sicily several times I agree with the advice to fly to Catania and leave from Palermo. Suggested itinerary: if you want time in Catania, take a taxi from the airport into town (faster and more pleasant than the bus). You can take tours to Etna so don't need a car for that. I can't comment on wine tours/tasting except that there are many options throughout the island. Take the regional bus from Catania or from the airport to Syracuse (about 1 hour) and walk or taxi the mile into Ortigia. If you rent in Catania at the airport and want to stay in Ortigia, parking is a real challenge (and a car is completely unnecessary). When you are ready to leave Ortigia, you can walk or taxi to the car rental agencies in Syracuse. You'll be able to get around easily to Modica, Ragusa (either park in upper Ragusa and walk to Ragusa Ibla, or leave your car in a Ragusa Ibla lot), Argrigento, the amazing Roman Villa with mosaics, the coast, etc. Then return your car at the Palermo airport and take the train into the city. And don't miss the Opera House in Palermo!
Have you driven in Italy before? Even if you have on the mainland, driving in Sicily is a different experience - much more intense, I would say.
Have a wonderful trip!
Posted by
USA
462 posts
Hello,
I have been to both Italy and Sicily many times and never rented a car-remember, you need an International Permit (Triple AAA office) in order to drive there- and there are ZTL's (restricted areas) that you absolutely cannot drive in. If you accidently drive in or thru a ZTL you will incur a heavy fine and by the time the fines catch up to you in the US, it could be thousands of euros. To me that is not worth the hassle. I have also seen on this forum and many others where rental cars are broken into and damaged, items stolen, etc. Sicily is very easy to get around by bus, comfortable and efficient, and there are trains too, but buses are preferred. I flew into Catania one trip and took a bus directly to Siracusa, stayed there for a few days (lots to see and do), and then went to Catania. From Catania I did day trips to Savoca, Cefalu and Taormina. If you base in Palermo, you can take a direct bus to Agrigento very easy and a nice trip. Tickets purchased right on bus. From Palermo it is an easy bus to Trapani and from there Erice. I found no need for a car anywhere in Sicily. There are also trips to Etna from Catania as well.
Enjoy-here is a link to a great Air BnB in Catania
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/28537611?source_impression_id=p3_1755546882_P3twFM6-t3ZqFKtn