Everyone has heard horror stories about taxies in Italy, as well as everywhere else. We will be in Palermo in a couple of weeks and will probably need to use one sometime during our visit. It has been suggested that you get a price before getting into the taxi. Is it proper to bargain for the trip? Or do you just have to take what the driver offers. If at a taxi stand, can you just go to the next one in line? Or are they usually metered?
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Most taxis have meters. The driver can probably tell you the approximate fare before you begin. There may be a surcharge for luggage in the trunk or extra passengers.
Taxis in Italy aren't like flea markets. Do you bargain for taxi fares where you live? The next driver in line probably won't give you a different fare.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23671 posts
There is no bartering. And he could lie to you saying it is 10E and the meter shows 15E. You pay the 15. And you do not jump the line if it is a proper taxi stand. Over five visits to Rome we have never had a bad experience with a driver of a taxi from a taxi stand. Don't know about Palermo.
Posted by
Carmel, CA, USA
2456 posts
Don, I did not use a taxi at all in Palermo, but did in both Naples and Rome, and in all cases the drivers were polite, helpful, honest and good drivers. On some routes there are fares fixed by law, for instance between airports and city centers, or from one city to another. By the way folks, you probably know there is a difference between bargaining and bartering. If a taxi driver says the fare is 15 euros, and you offer 10, that is bargaining. If you offer a pizza for a ride, instead of money, that is bartering. If he then responds that he'll accept the pizza plus a beer, then that is both.