My wife and I are traveling to Sicily for 2 weeks in mid-April, and after 2 nights in Palermo intend to rent a car for the balance of the trip. At least one rental company has offered a 100% electric vehicle. How practical would this be? Are we better off simply renting a gasoline/diesel-powered vehicle?
Posted by
OP
Bethesda, MD, USA
19 posts
Thank you, David, for the prompt and focused response. We own an EV in the DC area and have rented one in California before, but there is a robust charging infrastructure on both the East and West Coasts, so it has rarely been a problem. Our plan is to drive all over the island and stay at 5 different places, with day trips from each, so I think the petrol-fueled vehicle is the better choice.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
24064 posts
We have owned AE vehicles since 17 but I would not do it in Sicily without a good understanding of the charging system I don't know if any of the US apps would have charging info for Sicily. I think I would pass in Sicily.
Posted by
3422 posts
To be honest, we found filling the car up with gas challenging enough in Sicily. I can’t imagine trying to find a charging station. I don’t recall ever seeing one but of course I wasn’t looking.
(Self serve in Sicily means no one on site. We could not get our credit card to work. We found another station with an attendant and had no problem. But awfully glad we had not waited for empty!)
Posted by
new york
1251 posts
The only way I would rent an EV in Sicily would be if I contacted my accommodations and asked if they have a charging point on site.
For renting, I highly recommend SIXT and have hired from them many times in southern Italy and in Sicily.
We take the option for fill up and usually have no need to fill up the cars on our own since the total mileage is usually not enough to need a fill up during the trip. I also take all insurances.