My Experience Road Tripping Around Sicily

Like anyone doing anything for the first time these days, upon first deciding to use four wheels for my two-week adventure exploring Sicily, I immediately headed to the internet in search of reassurance.

Like most people who seek answers to life’s great questions on travel blogs, Reddit threads and Google reviews, I was left with no clear answer and a newfound sense of dread and anxiety. Sure, they told me driving around this island is doable, but also that the local drivers are crazy, many of the roads are borderline unusable and parking is a nightmare.

With the glorious benefit of hindsight I now remember that many of the internet’s answers are pumped up and a little heavy on the shock-factor – that trail I read was supposed to be for experienced hikers only turned out to be full of German toddlers and old Italian men in Speedos – and, while this can serve a positive purpose in getting people prepared for their excursions, it seems to be that what we’re told ahead of time is often wildly exaggerated.

Back in the UK I’m a confident driver of pretty much 10 years, with plenty of experience on motorways, country backroads, city one-way systems and endlessly complicated roundabouts. Sure, my foreign driving anxiety gets a further fattening thanks to our insistence on sticking to the opposite side of the road to most of the world, but I should be well set up for this, right?

The truth is, I was. Totally capable and extremely well prepared. Don’t get me wrong, that first hourlong trip from rental lot to Airbnb had my heart pounding as if someone had spiked my drink – the dark nighttime conditions and frazzled long travel-day brain didn’t help – but of course there’s going to be an element of in-at-the-deep-end.

To be honest there was zero chance of accidentally driving on the wrong side of the road. There are plenty of signs and, crucially, other vehicles around that make doing that borderline impossible for anyone with an ounce of common sense. The spatial awareness was tricky for the first couple of journeys, though, and it always takes a few minutes to adjust to the new clutch bite and breaking strength of an unfamiliar car.

I would say that by day two or three of my two-week odyssey around Sicily I had adjusted pretty much completely to the Sicilian roads and even the Sicilian drivers. By the end of our trip, I couldn’t possibly imagine how anyone could get a real feel for this amazing island without the freedom that renting a car affords.

So, let’s dive a little deeper into my rental experience in Sicily.

I am an obsessive when it comes to prep for any holiday. So I read just about everything there is to read on car rentals and driving in Italy. While I do feel much of this gave an unfair perception of the experience, it also prepared me very well., and most of the guidance I’m about to give relates to renting a car pretty much anywhere.

First up, you need to book your rental. There are plenty of aggregators out there that show you a variety of deals. Generally speaking the names you’ll know are a lot more expensive than those you don’t – some of which are disconcertingly cheap. I opted for a national Italian firm, Noleggiare, and all went swimmingly, although I certainly don’t speak on behalf of anyone but myself on that.

You should always check the legitimacy and review history of whichever company you choose, but don’t panic, they all have terrible reputations, a slew of horror stories and a pitiful review score attached. In fairness, does anybody really log into Trustpilot to give a glowing review?

There are definitely dodgy companies worth avoiding but the truth is that the car rental game is not exactly customer orientated, so the most important thing is that you clue yourself up ahead of time and book the right package for you, and that’s not only determined by price.

Of course you want the right car. Is there enough space for luggage? Is it automatic or manual? In my case, having clocked over 1,000mi (1650km+) in Sicily, does it include unlimited mileage?

There’s more, too. Some companies offer a second named driver free of charge, while some might be a little more stingy with their insurance coverage. If your drop off point is different to the pick-up point, how much do they charge for that? Generally speaking prices plummet if you’re over 25 and under 75, but some companies opt for 26, 27 or even 28 as a minimum age.

A major consideration should also be the deposit. All rental companies take a chunky deposit as a precaution when you pick-up the car. Mine was €600 but many people speak of charges up to $2,000. Most companies only accept credit cards for this, so if you don’t have one you’ll need to find a company that accepts debit – and in that case, you better make sure you have enough Ps in the bank.

Once your car is booked there is one crucial final step – excess insurance. Rental companies all offer basic coverage on specific scenarios, but they rarely offer enough protection. Of course, on arrival, they’ll try to sell you enhanced coverage at inflated prices that can reach as high as £25-30 a day, practically doubling the cost of your rental.

Opt instead for an external insurance deal – using an aggregator like MoneyMaxim – and you’ll get excellent coverage for as little as £2-3 a day. Sure, if anything does happen you’ll have to front up the money to the rental company before going through the insurance route to reclaim, but honestly the savings are so vast it’s worth it.

Book in advance and do the online check-in and this process is pretty simple. The rental company will scan your passport, ask you to sign a form or two, try to upsell several unnecessary packages that you can politely decline, and then the keys are yours.

The most important step here is to remember to have a thorough examination of the car’s conditions, look for pre-existing scratches and dents and take plenty of pictures – if any claims do arise, those could save you big time.

Other than that, take your time to figure out the car. Adjust mirrors and seat position, figure out how to turn on the lights and windscreen washers. Make sure you know where you’re going – most cars have USB or Bluetooth GPS included – and you’re ready for an adventure!

The most important thing to remember here is that you need to fill up the tank as close to the drop-off point as possible, or you will be charged inflated fuel prices and a chunky admin fee.

You don’t need to clean the car if it’s the kind of general dust and dirt you pick up along the way – and you will pick up a lot of dust in Sicily. Same goes for a bit of sand on the floor or some bird droppings on the window. Just be sure there’s no garbage left in the car, or that there are any stains or more serious clean-up jobs – they will charge you for that.

Read the T&Cs of drop-offs – is there a charge for returning early or late? Will they charge you for cleaning? How does the deposit return work?

In my case with Noleggiare it was pretty simple. I returned the key, the staff member had a quick 5-minute observation of the car’s condition, I signed the check-out form and the deposit was released. Nice and simple. So in most cases you shouldn’t need to arrive too early at the airport, even if you are dropping a car off.

Contrary to much of what I read ahead of time, driving in Sicily is pretty relaxed. I’ve been in taxis in Turkey fearing for my life. This place is totally different. In general there’s a fairly laid-back attitude – a combo of island spirit and Italian lifestyle – so people aren’t usually in a crazy rush and nobody seems especially angry. This is good. This is helpful.

What you will notice very quickly is that people aren’t sticklers for the rules here, so the experience is different to driving in the UK, or how I imagine it is in Germany, France or the US. These differences are subtle but noticable, and the best way to tackle them is to simply accept and embrace the local approach.

So, indicating is not much of a thing. The concept of ‘right of way’ is pretty loose. Think of it as a more fluid, vibes-based system where everyone is looking after themselves but also respecting others. You’re gonna have to choose for yourself when it’s appropriate to get on the roundabout, and you’ll have to nudge out of the road when you’re trying to turn on a busy junction. Even pedestrians here back their own right to cross the road wherever and whenever they please.

The trick is simply to be aware of your surroundings and sensitive to the movements of cars around you. Be ready to break, anticipate the movements of the cars ahead and, most importantly, be decisive in your actions. Do this and you’ll be respected by other drivers.

The only time you will catch some heat is when indecision kicks in. Italian drivers do seem to toot their horn hilariously quickly if you don’t instantly accelerate when the green light appears. A few hand gestures may appear if you start to pull out but don’t fully commit. If this does happen, don’t worry, ignore it and look after yourself and your precious rental car. In my experience, this was never more than a slight expression of annoyance, and I experienced no aggressive, angry or dangerous driving across two weeks of driving all over Sicily.

As an island the roads are beautifully simple, with a few major two-lane motorways that are very easy to navigate and seem to rarely clog with traffic. Lanes are simple and mostly well signposted. Likewise with roundabouts. There are some one-way systems in major cities but follow the signs and your GPS and that shouldn’t be an issue.

The quality of roads does dip if you venture far off the beaten path, so be ready to dodge potholes and do account for a later arrival time than your GPS suggests – it may think you can go at 60kmh, but some roads disagree.

You’ll also notice that most people on the island drive small vehicles like Fiats and Smart cars, with good reason. Some windy mountain roads and tight city streets can get very narrow, especially with cars parked on the side of the road. Be wary of the size of your car, don’t risk it if something feels too tight – one scratch and the rental company will be licking their lips.

There are two toll roads in Sicily and they span the busiest side of the island, so there’s a good chance you’ll find yourself passing through one at some point. One is on the A20 between Palermo and Messina, the other is on the A18 between Messina and Catania.

This is how they work – when entering a toll road you’ll pull into a booth, grab a ticket from the machine, press the big red button and drive on. Keep hold of the ticket, that’s important. When you exit the toll road you’ll arrive at a similar multi-lane situation, this time with some ‘self-serve’ and some human-operated lanes. Avoid any lanes dedicated to Telepass members – this isn’t for you – other signage can direct you towards booths that accept card payments or just cash.

In my experience it was always either below €1 or €2, depending on length of journey and potentially what time of day you passed through. I preferred sticking to the human-operated booths, keeping some coins within easy reach. This was a quick and seamless process.

The unsung hero of my holiday prep was almost certainly the parking research. I can imagine some travellers opting for the “we’ll find someplace in town” mentality and losing quite a bit of time, effort and money trying to find a space.

I highly recommend pre-empting this by searching for parking spaces ahead of time on Google Maps. This way you can scout out the good – and not dodgy – car parks and side streets, but you can also figure out which ones are easy to get into and out of. I found that finding spaces within walking distance of town but not too deep into the maze of the city meant a smooth and affordably priced way of popping in and out for the day.

The other important thing to do is download the EasyPark app, which seems to be in use over almost all of the island and makes things very, very easy. The app does charge a 15% booking fee, which can be avoided if you sign up to a 30-day free trial, which can be cancelled free of charge, perfect for a holiday!

Parking in Sicily is colour coded. Yellow is residents only, so that’s a no-no, white is generally free of charge (unless in a private car park) and blue is paid. If there are no markings then you may be able to park for free, just be wary of signage stating otherwise.

If you can’t bag a free spot then don’t worry, prices are very reasonable, often at around €1 per hour. Even some paid spaces and car parks are free out of peak season (June-September) or offer some free parking on Sundays or national holidays. We benefitted greatly from this during the Easter holidays in April, but EasyPark also comes in handy to reassure you that a space is free – the best thing to do is still reserve a space on there, but at a cost of €0!

The local approach to parking in Sicily is hilariously nonchalant, so expect lines to regularly be crossed, with large spaces becoming very small thanks to the dreadful parking job next to you.

Between finding free spaces and travelling into towns off-peak, we spent less than €10 on city and town parking across two weeks of travel – how amazing is that? The only times you’ll have to cough up a little more is when you’re visiting specific places, like the Valley of the Temples, Zingaro Nature Reserve or Rifugio Sapienza on Mount Etna. Some car parks are more ‘official’ than others – although quite frankly I respect the entrepreneurial spirit of some locals – and are rarely more than €5. The most we paid was €9 for a whole day spent in one of the most beautiful coastal nature reserves I’ve ever encountered.

Many of Sicily’s old and beautiful towns and cities – AKA most of Sicily’s towns and cities – have implemented a ZTL (Zona Traffico Limitato) in order to reduce pollution, increase pedestrianisation and protect ancient streets. These zones are easy to avoid if you follow my smart-parking advice, but can be easily spotted either way. The sign is a big empty red circle on a white background, usually with “Zona Traffico Limitato” written above and often with further details on times of day and exemptions below.

As a tourist you’re likely to be fined if caught going through one of these, so be wary, but my advice is never to find yourself driving through the old town of any city in Sicily in the first place. Research parking first and there’s nothing to worry about.

This trip was the adventure of a lifetime and, quite frankly, I can’t imagine how you’re supposed to see half of Sicily without the freedom of your own set of four wheels.

We crammed so much more into our two weeks than you ever could by relying on public transport, and several of the most amazing places we went to aren’t even reachable by bus or train. The taxis are supposedly very expensive, especially if you’re travelling between towns, and you never want to find yourself at the behest of your hotel when it comes to where you can and can’t day trip.

And driving is half the fun! You see so much whizzing by as the landscape changes in front of your eyes. Wave at old nonnas crossing the road, pull into the random layby with an epic view, and feel like an F1 driver as you wind down hairpins to get from mountain to sea using little more than gravity and a steady hand on the wheel.

Get the music pumping, or perhaps an audiobook that captures the vibe of the trip, and you’ll quickly find that driving around Sicily is no chore, it’s actually part of the fun.