Taxis in Sicily

Where do you want to go by taxi from the Catania airport? Since you're flying into Catania for a tour that starts in Palermo, I presume you plan to arrive a few days early and possibly spend that time somewhere not included in the tour.

If you plan to take a taxi from Catania to Palermo, the only advice I can give you is to bring a lot of dinero with you, because it is going to cost you plenty. It's at least a 2 hour drive.

First of all, thanks for the replies so far.

Second - I posted that question when I was post migraine. (I live in the south. It's a constant possibility depending on the weather.)

Anywho, we are flying Rome to PALERMO which is what I should have posted but didn't b/c I was looking at the wrong part of the tour.

Taxis from the airport in Palermo to the city proper/hotel where the tour starts. Do I need to look for anything special to make sure it's an 'official' taxi?

Thank you!!!

Go to the taxi stand in front of the terminal signaled by this sign

Taxi cabs look like this

The City of Palermo imposes flat taxi fares to the city center which are 35€, 40€ and 45€ depending on the area of the center, but unless you are on the far north or the far south of the city center, yours will be almost certainly 40€. That is the main central part of the city center where nearly all hotels are located. Confirm the fare before boarding so that you don’t enter into an argument when it’s too late. Sicilians are nice people, but...avoiding heated arguments with Sicilians is a good policy which I like to follow.

There is also a shuttle bus (Prestia & Comandè bus company), that takes you to the city center for about 6€ only, if you want:
http://www.prestiaecomande.it

I always take the P&C bus, which will drop you in front of the train station. Where is your hotel located? You may be able to walk to it, or take one of the free Centro Storico shuttle minibuses.

I took the RS Sicily tour last Easter. Take the bus to the train station in downtown Palermo. It’s a short walk to the RS hotel. You’ll repeat this walk in reverse when your RS group leaves Palermo and gets on the RS tour bus, which will be parked at the train station. Only a few blocks. You could take a taxi from the airport, but IMHO it’s a waste of money.

Thanks everyone for all of the replies! :-)

We finished this tour last month (it’s so incredible btw!) and we flew Vueling from Barcelona,where we spent a week before the tour. Vueling had an option to arrange for a transfer from the airport to the hotel. We selected that for around €30 and it was great. We got off the plane, there was someone with a sign with our name and they took us right to the hotel in a Mercedes with water bottles and mints. I noticed that British air also offered this service on our return flight from Catania. I was also told that Uber is available in the large cities of Sicily.

Enjoy the tour! It’s just amazing!

Took the RS tour in March. I took the bus from the Palermo airport into the city. There are many stops, so I was glad that I was getting off at the last one at the square at the train station.. I’m glad I took the bus, but the ride was during the evening. This made it a little difficult to find the right street from the square to the hotel. So, if you arrive at Palermo during daytime, I recommend the bus. If you arrive in the evening, a taxi ride right to the hotel will be easier.