Planning a trip to Sicily and wondering whether to rent a car or use public transport? You’re right to think about it in advance! Sicily, the pearl of the Mediterranean, is a place that deserves to be explored in depth. And believe us, without a car that’s almost impossible. Buses do run, but they’re slow and they limit which interesting places you can reach. We have experience of renting a car in Sicily and it speaks clearly: a car in Sicily is simply a necessity if you want real freedom and want to discover the island’s most beautiful hidden corners.
Thanks to our experience we’ll save you thousands of crowns on a week’s rental! Unbelievable…
Choosing the right rental company: what to watch out for
Before you even get behind the wheel, the most important step awaits: choosing the right rental company and, of course, the right car. This is where you can save thousands, or alternatively lose both your nerves and that money 🙂
Online vs on the spot: where to book?
Booking online (recommended!):
Advantages: usually better prices, a wider choice of cars, the chance to compare offers calmly and clearer terms up front. You can read reviews comfortably from home and avoid dishonest firms. On top of that, free cancellation is often available.
Disadvantages: sometimes you’ll find less flexibility on the spot if you want to change the type of car. Customer support is also often poor and unreachable by phone.
Booking on the spot:
Advantages: an immediate solution if you haven’t arranged a car in advance. You can look the car over right away. Personal interaction with the staff, so you get answers to the questions you actually have.
Disadvantages: usually significantly higher prices (roughly 20 %, whichever company you go to). The risk that no cars are free and that you’ll be pressured into “quick, take what’s there so you have something at least”. Airport chaos – you usually won’t be the only one heading to the rental desk. The chaos of the situation and the place leaves you annoyed and grumpy after a long wait.
Price comparison sites: which to use and how to work with them
For comparing car prices you can use aggregators like Rentalcars.com, DiscoverCars.com or EconomyBookings.com. These sites gather offers from dozens of rental firms, from the biggest (Hertz, Avis, Europcar, Budget) to local ones.
Tip: Always look at the total price including fees and insurance. Don’t be lured by a low daily rate that then balloons with insurance. If you can, take the maximum insurance so you avoid entanglements when returning the car or if it breaks down.
The second option is to use local rental companies. We have experience with the desks right at the airport. The first time we used Centauro and the second time it was Sicily by Car (the reason we changed was that we hadn’t booked a car in advance and the on-the-spot price was genuinely eye-watering – about 100 EUR more than Sicily by Car).
The joke was that we walked into the Sicily by Car office. I didn’t have a credit card, and without one they won’t rent you a car on the spot. So they recommended I book the car online there and then, come back to the desk (which was another 30 EUR cheaper! 😃) and off we drove without a care. The deposit came back to me within 10 days of returning the car.
Type of car: why a smaller one pays off in Sicily
You might be dreaming of a big SUV, but in Sicily something smaller and more nimble pays off. Why?
- Narrow lanes: the historic centres of towns and villages are full of winding, very narrow streets. With a small car you thread through more easily and minimise the risk of scrapes.
- Parking: parking spaces in Sicily are often scarce, and the smaller the car, the easier it is to find a gap.
- Fuel consumption: small cars are more economical, which you’ll appreciate on longer drives. Fuel on the island is roughly 20 % more expensive than at home.
- Manual vs automatic: most rental cars in Italy (and Europe generally) have a manual gearbox. If you’re used to an automatic, make sure to book one in advance – they’re pricier and there are fewer of them.
- Car equipment: with the last car it turned out there was no way to connect a phone by USB. That wouldn’t have been such a complication if we’d had a power bank. Since I don’t know Sicily and we had to use the phone both for navigation and as a map in the towns, battery life became a significant problem.
Renting a car in Sicily – our own experience
There are two options (at the airport, or in town). At the airport on our first visit we used Centauro (pricier, good references, and no deposit required). More recently we also used Sicily by Car (dreadful support – they don’t answer the phone at all, whatever time I called, not even when I asked them to call me back; several insurance packages).
Centauro – easy rental using either a debit or a credit card. Importantly, they don’t require a deposit! You pay for the car and off you go. They don’t have XY insurance packages, because you’re “fully protected” either way, which is reflected in the final price.
On the spot the rental price is 40-50 % higher. Online you get another 8-10 % discount. The rental desk is roughly a 2-minute walk from the arrivals hall.
Sicily by Car – we wanted to try a new rental company for a bit of fun. They have a nice choice of cars; what hurts are their “insurance packages”. More on that later. If you decide to use this company, you can book the car straight on their website.
You have two options:
- you have a credit card
- you only have a debit card
I have a credit card
Then you can take the standard route, pick a car and then choose from a tangle of insurance packages. I dug through their documentation to find out what exactly each package means, but couldn’t find anything. Not even by what % the best one reduces your “deposit cost”.
The advantage of a credit card is that it’s the only way you can pay for the car on the spot. For instance if you don’t trust online payments or prepaying for a rental (don’t worry, that’s natural! 🙏)
I have a debit card
You aren’t being persecuted, you just can’t rent the car on the spot – online only. You also have to prepay a “debit package”, which includes maximum insurance and presumably some fees covering the rental company’s costs for a debit card payment.
Either way the company blocks a 305 € deposit, which they return within 6 working days of the car coming back. 5 € of the total goes on a “money transfer fee”.
If you want to return the car at the latest possible time, most rental desks in Catania operate until 23:00-23:30. If you have a morning flight, we used this hotel near the airport. Walking distance (10 minutes) to the departures hall, a very friendly price. A clean and pleasant place.
The second way to return the car is self check-out. The car park has a 24/7 attendant. You just drive up, he opens the barrier, you park in the space reserved for your rental company and drop the key into a prepared box. The condition is that the car is fully refuelled and “clean” – no, it doesn’t have to be tidied to the point where you could eat off the mats 😀
Also, don’t forget when you pick the car up to check and photograph the fuel level, any existing scratches, the mileage and the overall look of the car. All of that is for resolving any disputes. Dated photos put you in a better position if there are any complications.
Our final recommendation
Neither rental company is bad – see the pros and cons. If I were sorting the car out well in advance, I’d go with Centauro – no credit card needed, easy pick-up and return thanks to the “no stress” package included in the price. A clean, air-conditioned environment with staff who speak well.
If I were sorting a car out on the spot, I’d go with Sicily by Car on price.
Driving in Sicily: what may surprise you
Sicilian roads and local drivers are a chapter of their own. Be prepared for an entertaining ride!
The Italian mentality behind the wheel: a bit of humour and some practical advice.
Forget the rules you know from home. In Sicily it’s more a case of “whoever honks first goes” and “honking means letting you know I’m here, not that I want to annoy you”.
- Honking: it isn’t a sign of aggression, more a form of communication. People honk to say hello, to warn, to thank you, to signal that they’re approaching. In short, it’s part of driving. Don’t be afraid to honk yourself.
- Rules are recommendations: indicating when turning? A solid white line? A no-entry sign? These are often treated more as inspiration. Always be alert, though, and stick to the rules yourself at least.
- Chaos and tight spaces: especially in cities like Palermo, Catania or Syracuse, prepare for genuine chaos. Narrow lanes, scooters weaving from left and right, pedestrians in the least expected places. Drive slowly, carefully and stay alert. Phone out of your hand!
- Aggressive overtaking: outside the towns, expect Italians to try to overtake you in the least suitable places.
- Don’t stop on amber: if you’re already at the junction and the light turns amber, just go. Stopping could cause a collision with the car behind.
Roads and motorways: quality and toll gates
- Road quality: it varies. Motorways are mostly in good condition (if sometimes a bit dated); regional roads can be worse – full of potholes and bumps.
- Motorways (Autostrada): most motorways in Sicily are tolled. The toll gates work similarly to those in Croatia. They take both cash and cards. Watch for the “Carte” (cards) or “Contanti” (cash) signs and avoid the “Telepass” lanes (electronic tolling).
Parking: zones, paying, tips for parking in towns
Parking in Sicily is an art. There are free zones, but there are also “no go zones”. Not once did we pay for parking in a town. The trick is that you have to watch the lines painted on the ground.
- White lines and no lines: mean free parking.
- Blue lines: mean paid parking. Look for a parking machine (parcometro) or check whether there’s a sign nearby with instructions for paying by SMS or app. The price varies, but count on 1-2 EUR an hour. Always put the ticket visibly behind the windscreen. In Catania, for instance, it’s around 0.87 € an hour.
- Yellow lines: mean resident or reserved parking (for disabled drivers, for example). NEVER park here; you risk being towed or a heavy fine (up to 60 euros).
Tip for cities: If you’re heading into the larger city centres (Palermo, Catania) and have booked accommodation, ask where you can best park. There are plenty of places where you can park for free. For example from 20:00 to 8:00, or even all day. In Catania we parked right in the centre all day for nothing.
ZTL zones (Zona a Traffico Limitato): what they are and how to avoid fines
This is possibly the biggest trap for tourists in Sicily! ZTL zones are areas in historic city centres where only vehicles with a permit may enter (residents, taxis, public transport). They’re monitored by cameras and entering without a permit brings a hefty fine (often several hundred euros) by post to your home, several months later.
- How to spot them: they’re marked by a white circle with a red border and the words “Zona a Traffico Limitato”. Below the sign there’s usually a time restriction (e.g. Mon-Fri 8:00-20:00).
- How to avoid fines
– Always watch the signs!
– Use navigation with up-to-date maps that takes ZTL zones into account (Google Maps or Waze, for instance, though even those can be wrong).
– If your hotel is inside a ZTL: ask the hotel! Some hotels can register your number plate and get you a one-off permit to enter and unload luggage. Never drive in without confirmation from the hotel.
– Park outside the ZTL: the safest approach is to park outside these zones and get into the centre on foot, by public transport or by taxi.
Petrol stations: self-service vs attended
Self-service (fai da te): ordinary self-service, you pay by card or in cash at the machine. They’re often open around the clock.
Servito: an attended pump. The attendant fills the car for you. It’s a few cents more expensive, but you save time and hassle.
Payment: you can usually pay in cash or by card. Make sure your card works abroad.
We’ve given you everything we’ve learned about renting a car in Sicily. We hope you enjoy driving around this pearl of the Mediterranean as much as we have, repeatedly. Next time we may add experience with another rental company. If you don’t know what to discover in Sicily, take a look at our article with tips on what to see and do in Sicily under your own steam.
Do you have experience of your own? Write to us in the comments so we can take inspiration and avoid mistakes.
