Girlfriend and I are traveling to Sicily early March for about 7-9 days, then to Puglia area on the mainland--and ending up in Rome for a couple days. I have driven over most of Italy (north to south) in years past. Am aware of the theft and parking problems--I do not drive in the large cities. Am trying to decide which way to go in Sicily--car or use public transporation to get around. Some friends say you "have to have a car to get to all the sites" and others say you can take the bus or train everywhere quite easily. I'm in a quandry as to what to do???? Must decide soon so can make plans, etc..... We definitely plan to rent a car on the mainland for Puglia area and either drop off outside Rome or take a train to Rome. Cost is a factor, but we are sharing so...have not checked any prices yet--I may have sticker shock. Also, what car rental cos. are the best/cheapest, etc.?
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6788 posts
Patricia, it's been a few years (but I doubt much has changed), when we visited Sicily, we rented a car and it worked out great. At the time I had looked into public transit options and there simply were none that would work for us. I don't believe there's much of a rail network on Sicily, and busses looked like a major hassle and inefficient. If your time is limited, I think a car is an absolute must.
FWIW, we took an overnight train from Rome to Palermo, which worked OK (it was strange when they put the train cars on the ferry in the wee hours...). We picked up our car in Palermo (downtown, within walking distance from the ferry), drove around the island for a few days, and dropped it off at the Palermo airport before we caught a flight to Milan.
We loved Sicily -- the Greek ruins alone make it worht the trip. Wonderful place!
Hope that helps.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Public transportation is not the most efficient way to get around Sicily. Most travelers to Sicily, who report in on this site, rent a car. Here's a popular car rental website:http://www.autoeurope.com/carsplash.cfm?aff=RICKSTEVES
Posted by
OP
Irvine, California
66 posts
Thanks, Kent! Someone else recommended autoeurope and I think I have rented from them previously in Italy....will check it out. Since I am flying in to Catania, would you recommend that I start my itinerary going south around the island or north? Can I make it around the island and visiting all the major towns and sites in 7-8 days if renting a car?
Patricia
Posted by
Atlanta
800 posts
Patricia - we did a 7 day trip to Sicily with a car - here was our itinerary:
Day 1 - arrive Palermo
Day 2 - explore Palermo, including Monreale
Day 3 - took a taxi to Corleone to research family, lunch in Corleone, return to Palermo, get rental car (we used AutoEurope as well - the actual car was through europecar). Drive to Marsala.
Day 4 - visit Segestra & Erice
Day 5 - depart Marsala, drive to Acireale (between Catanai & Taormina). We missed seeing Agrigento.
Day 6 - visit Siracusa
Day 7 - Mt. Etna & Taormina
Day 8 - Depart Acireale, drive to Messina to take ferry to mainland.
We were a family of 4 - I enjoyed having a car. The ride up to Mt. Etna was the only bad part. The freeway driving was great - wide open roads, nice big highways, brand new. We were able to get from place to place pretty quickly.
Posted by
Olympia
62 posts
I lived in Sicily for 2 years so I am car biased. It doesn't take long to get from one end of Island to the other and a car is just faster. I would drop car off at airport in Roma. Don't take it into Roma.