By car in Sicily on your own. Independent travel through Sicily. Useful tips

Sicily is synonymous with sun, history, lemons and mafia. But don't let thoughts of the mafia put you off visiting this place, they don't want tourists. Instead, you will receive a warm welcome from most Sicilians, who are more interested in showing off their treasures than depriving them of yours. There are many reasons to visit Sicily, a huge island in the Mediterranean, including magnificent cities, fascinating archeology of ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, delicious seafood, wine and cassata (a local dish). It has everything you need for a holiday: the best food, good beaches and, ultimately, this is Italy!

Ancient city of Palermo

The ancient city of Palermo, the capital of Sicily, is an excellent starting point for exploring with a rental car. Arriving there early on the overnight ferry from Naples, we took a taxi to the central train station, where we caught a local bus for the 15-kilometer journey to Montreal, famous for its great Arab-Norman Cathedral, decorated with colorful glass mosaics from the 12th century. Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox cultures are wonderfully mixed here, so there is much to admire, including the monasteries and their bronze doors.

The bus took us back through Independence Square, home to one of the most beautiful castles in Europe. The Royal Palace in Palermo has housed the rulers of Sicily since the 9th century and is even now the seat of regional officials. Local politicians were lucky enough to govern in such an architectural gem with its beautiful mosaics, painted roof and marble walls.

In 1599, a local nun was mummified in Palermo, so you can still pray for her. Today her body joined thousands of others that lined up like a painting within the walls of the Capuchin catacombs. There are their bodies in original medieval clothes, skeletons and even children. This, of course, is an eerie sight, but then we went out into the fresh air with the bright sun and still had lunch of pepperoni, salami, olives, fried eggplant and polenta.

Ancient fishing town of Cefalu

With our rented car it was easy to drive an hour east to Cefalu, which initially positions itself as a fishing port. It is now an attractive cobbled tourist town with a sandy beach not yet completely filled with sun loungers. We settled in an old stone house just a minute's walk from the Cathedral on the main square. It's easy to find a table at a restaurant overlooking the sea, serving chilled Sicilian wine while the explosive sunset sky provides a backdrop for strolling families. The next day, after a croissant and cappuccino in the square, we headed further to the coast of the town of Tindari to enjoy a refreshing swim in the sea. We then took the motorway to Taormina, through tunnels past Messina, until we climbed a steep hill from where we could see the entire city at a glance.

It took us a while to find the entrance to the car park from where we took the elevator to our hotel, located on Corso Umberto, the main pedestrian street here with its extraordinary views of the Ionian Sea, located just 250 meters below, and overlooking Mount Etna above, one of those operating in Europe.

Sicilian walk

Taormina has many bars and restaurants where you can drink a Marsala or Campari martini and just people watch. On most evenings you can see Sicilians, dressed in their finery, strutting through the streets. Alternatively, book the Opera or visit the Ancient Theatre, dating back to Greek and Roman times. It's a pity that the Opera was canceled during our stay. But washing down the cooked swordfish at a local restaurant with local wine helped ease the bitterness of the loss. 🙂

Two days later we arrived in Syracuse on the southeast corner of the island, one of the most powerful cities in the Mediterranean. We stayed on the island of Ortigia, in the oldest part of the city, which is connected to Syracuse by a bridge. With its mix of magnificent medieval buildings, including an early 7th century Cathedral and Greco-Roman amphitheaters on the outskirts, it's no surprise that UNESCO has included the area as a World Heritage Site.

The next day was an easy day trip to the ancient limestone cities of Modica, Ragusa and Noto, the latter of which was quickly rebuilt in the 18th century in Baroque style after the city was destroyed by an earthquake in 1693.

After two nights in Syracuse, we drove through the countryside through olive groves and vineyards to find the world's largest collection of Roman mosaics at Villa Romana del Casale in the Piazza della Armory. The large villa once belonged to Emperor Maximian and is also under UNESCO protection. Its mosaics are very well preserved because they were covered with earth during a landslide in the 12th century.

Valley of Greek Temples

Our final destination of the day was Agrigento, famous for its Valley of the Temples. It was exciting to look out the hotel window and see if there were Greek temples there. In ancient times this city was called Akragas, dominated by seven great Doric Greek temples built in the seventh and sixth centuries BC. Today, some of them are perfectly preserved, making this area one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. It’s very nice to walk here for a couple of hours with a local guide, especially at the end of the day, when the setting sun illuminates the temples.

We had planned to spend our last night in northeastern Erice. I had read that it was a medieval town near the coast, but didn't realize, as our GPS directed us into the hills, that it was located on top of a mountain with dramatic views down to the wide plain and town of Trapani.

It seemed as if our hotel pool was on the edge of an abyss, and the city was hidden behind an old stone wall. Erice, with its slippery polished slabs, also tumbles down the hill with its bars serving icy cocktails and excellent restaurants where vineyards hide their doors.

From here it was easy to take the motorway to the airport in Palermo to catch our flight the next morning.

Our week in Sicily gave us a great taste of the region - food, wine, archeology and stunning medieval cities - and we hope to return for another trip.

How to get to Sicily?

By air: by plane to the cities of Palermo, Catania or Trapani from the international airports of Rome or Milan (there are good connecting flights).

By train: there are a lot of railway connections that go through the Strait of Messina.

By sea: Ferries and ships depart to Sicily from several cities in Italy. The ferry ride from Naples takes 5 hours, some companies can additionally transport your car. Ferries depart from Naples, Citavecchia (Rome), Genoa, Livorno, Salerno, Calabria, Malta and Tunisia. One of the most popular ferries is from Villa San Giovanni in Calabria to Messina, in eastern Sicily.

We traveled overnight on the Tirrenia ferry from Naples to Palermo www.aferry.com/Tirrenia-Ferries. The cabin was clean and tidy and there was a canteen style restaurant on board. Arriving at 6.30am gave us a full day to sightsee in Palermo before we picked up our rental car in the afternoon and drove to Cefalu in the evening.

If you're an independent traveler, renting a car is a great way to get around the island, but due to some of the narrow village streets in Sicily, I recommend renting a small car. We rented a car from EuropCar Ristorante Monte Sa Guillano, Erice

#travel #rentcar #italy
Concluding about our difficult, but, in general, successful experience of the first car trip around Europe, I would like to talk separately about the features of traveling by car specifically in Sicily. Although I admit that much of this post can be applied to all of Italy.

Navigator: friend or foe?

One of the biggest problems in our road trip was the navigator, which was later nicknamed Figator for all the “good” it did for us! It seemed expensive, smart, with updated maps of Europe, but at first it generally refused to receive signals from the satellite. It was only later that experienced users explained that this often happens when using a “sophisticated machine” in a new place, and then we were seriously scared. However, the problems did not end there. Here are some other surprises Figator presented...

Incorrect information about the maximum permissible speed on highways
In this sense, always rely only on road signs, because very often the navigator gives a completely different permitted speed, but you will have to pay the fines, not him!

Calculation of the route without taking into account repair work and bypass roads
Again, look at the signs and be guided by the situation on the road. Information about repair work and options for bypassing it is updated more slowly than the repair process itself occurs (strange, right?)))

Problems with orientation in small towns
Either because of the weak signal from the satellite on narrow streets, or because of the frequent turns and U-turns between short alleys, in small Italian towns our Figator was completely lost and did not have time to understand where we were. Here we can only advise you not to get into the center of such cities by car, and if you do get there, then move slowly, not paying attention to the horns of impatient local residents.

At intersections and on roundabouts, the navigator must be “trusted, but verified”
In other words, in those places where the road diverges in different directions and there are several route options, you need not only to listen to the navigator, but also to turn on logic, look at the signs, and sometimes also at the map (this should be done by the navigator). It often happens that the electronic guide does not see some roads and, for example, at a roundabout it advises you to take the first turn to the right, but in fact you need the second turn, the navigator just doesn’t know about the first one.

Incorrect calculation of the shortest route
One day, Figator led us from one coastal city to another almost through the center of the island. At first we blindly trusted him and moved along the proposed route, but halfway through the journey we came to our senses, grabbed the map and went as common sense dictated. Therefore, always check the route that the “infernal machine” offers you with the terrain plan.

Don't trust electronic timing calculations
Since the navigator rarely knows the maximum permissible speed on the highway, and even more so he does not know at what speed it is actually possible to move along a mountain serpentine road, it is impossible to rely on time calculations of the electronics. Unfortunately, in the mountains, it’s difficult even to predict how many hours it will take to cover this or that section of the road. The most difficult journey for us was 160 kilometers of serpentine road, which we covered for four and a half hours! In some places it was impossible to drive at a speed of more than 50 kilometers per hour; in some places there were restrictive signs. Plus a couple of rest stops: such roads are difficult for both drivers and especially sensitive passengers. Well, as always, allowance for wandering through the navigator, which was the only one to navigate between countless ascents and descents, but clearly forced us to add an extra 10-20 kilometers. In this case, we can only advise one thing: look at the map and try to avoid mountain roads where possible. It is better to drive a longer section along a normal road than a shorter section along a serpentine road.

Serpentine climb to the town of Savoca, Sicily
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Road in the Le Madonie mountains, at the entrance to the town of Isnello, Sicily
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Route through the Le Madonie Natural Park, Sicily
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Toll roads

We encountered toll roads in Sicily only twice, spending a total of 3.5 euros (10 cents per kilometer) on them. Moreover, the function of plotting a route along toll roads in our Figator was turned off! No comments needed)))

We didn’t notice anything wrong with toll roads, although we initially tried to avoid them. For the first time, the navigator brought me to a toll section on the way from Palermo to Cefalu (Palermo-Messina highway). At first we drove along a regular road, although on the maps it was indicated as a toll road, and then suddenly we saw “Telepass” signs and after a couple of kilometers we found ourselves in front of a checkpoint. Then we proceeded as follows: we went to the “gate” where there was NOT the inscription “Telepass” (this is only for those who have special cards for paying for roads), took a ticket from the machine, after which the barrier opened and we entered the toll highway. After 9 kilometers, the checkpoint loomed again, we drove up to where payment was shown in cash or by bank card (not “Telepass”!), gave our ticket to the employee at the window, paid 90 cents and drove on.

The second time we drove onto the highway deliberately, because we were tired of driving around on free roads that go through all the cities and towns, where the Figator always gets lost and tries to send us somewhere in the wrong direction. This is how we ended up on the toll road on the road from Catania to Messina. For this pleasure I had to pay more - 2.6 euros (apparently, for 26 kilometers of travel). By the way, we drove back along a free and more picturesque road along the sea. Beautiful, of course, but much more confusing and slower, while Figator cursed desperately and again tried to drive us deep into the island!

An amazing route, and it’s also free! Somewhere in the south of Sicily...
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Parking in cities

The issue of parking in Italian cities often becomes the biggest problem for car travelers. That is why we tried in advance to find the largest number of free or paid (but organized!) parking at the points where we were going to stop.

In Italy there is several types of parking:

• Large multi-storey car parks, quite expensive, but there are always free places there. Payment is carried out as follows: when entering, you need to take a special coupon from the machine in front of the barrier, on the basis of which you can then pay at the cash desk before picking up the car.

• Equipped parking lots They will cost a little less, there is less space on them, but we had no problems with this. Payment is usually made according to the same scheme as for parking, although we received a coupon not at the entrance, but at the ticket office itself after we parked the car.

• Parking spaces on streets and squares cities, in turn, are divided into three categories: free (outlined in white), paid (outlined in blue) and private, assigned to organizations or residential buildings (outlined in yellow). It is absolutely forbidden to borrow the latter. With free parking spaces, everything is simple: you came, you saw, you won, you took it, if you’re lucky. However, on the busy streets of big cities or around iconic landmarks, finding free parking is more difficult than finding a needle in a haystack. Therefore, sometimes you had to get into paid blue spaces, the cost of which is always indicated under the parking sign (usually from 50 cents to 1 euro per hour). Here there are also variations on the theme of payment:

— payment to the "caretaker" parking cash directly into your hands. Tariffing can be either daily (about 2-3 euros) or hourly (0.50 - 1 euro per hour).

— payment at the machine, which, fortunately, we did not encounter! In this case, it is probably easier to ask local residents for help than to try to deal with the machine. Italians (and especially Sicilians!) are for the most part very kind and sympathetic, so the only problem that may arise is ignorance of Italian. But in the case of hourly parking, pen and paper will save you: you can write and understand what time you want to pick up the car in any language!

— payment with special coupons, which can be purchased at the nearest tobacco shop, it is usually located nearby. First, figure out how long you want to leave the car in the parking lot, and then inform the seller at the tobacco shop about your plans, who will determine how much and what you need to purchase. Usually one coupon corresponds to one hour of parking, but there are also options for half a day, a day, a week, etc. A coupon with lots of numbers will make you panic at first, but it's actually not hard to figure out. Here, as in lottery tickets, you need to use a coin to erase the protective layer in the corresponding columns (see photo below). In the first line you need to note the year (anno), below - the month (mese), and then - the date (giorno). Even lower, erase the hour (ora) and in the last line – minutes (min). This indicates the date and time when you leave the car, and then based on the face value of the coupon you can determine how long the parking is paid for. We didn’t bother at all and asked the tobacconist’s seller to help us figure out all these numbers. And then all that was left was to put the coupon under the windshield and go for a walk.

Coupon for parking in Messina, Sicily
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It must also be said about siesta, which even exists for paid parking spaces! On weekdays, from approximately 1 to 3 p.m., the whole of Italy goes to lunch; during this time, parking in paid blue parking lots often becomes free. Similar concessions sometimes apply at night and on weekends, and near attractions - during the break between tourist seasons, for example, in winter. However, the exact schedule and price tags should always be looked at on special signs located under the parking sign! To better understand them, I recommend learning or writing down how months and days of the week are indicated in Italian.

We were lucky to get such semi-free parking in the center of Messina. Leaving the car for three hours in paid blue spaces, we purchased a coupon only to pay for the first hour, we were forgiven for 20 minutes, and then lunch time just began, during which parking became free. It turned out very profitable!

• Free unmarked parking spaces they are most frightening because it is not always clear whether you can stand there or not. In this case, we again had to turn to the local population for help. Therefore, for those who do not speak Italian, I advise you to also learn the phrase “ Mi scusi, signor / signora! Il parcheggio qui è gratuito?". With the answer " si" or " no"I don't think there will be any problems)

In conclusion to the topic of parking, I would also like to note that valuables left in the car No one will be held responsible, even in paid parking lots or parking lots. Therefore, always carry cameras, laptops, and gold and diamonds with you. In addition, it is not recommended to leave bags and packages in a visible place, so try to put everything in the trunk or hide it in the glove compartment as much as possible, just don’t forget about the hidden stuff later)

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Traditional Italian parking style)))
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Gas stations

We were most lucky with fuel, or more precisely with the fact that the rented Citroën-3 was powered by diesel, the price tag for which is always lower than for gasoline. At the time of our trip approximate figures were as follows:
gasoline – 1.83 euros per liter
diesel - 1.72 euros per liter (although it was both more expensive and cheaper)

Concerning gas stations, then two types were discovered:

• automatic, where you can only refuel for a certain amount, but it is impossible to set the displacement or, for example, fill a full tank, which became a small problem for us;
• traditional non-automatic, no different from their Russian counterparts.

We were lucky: at all gas stations it was possible to pay with living people, in fact, with those who served the car, and they didn’t even take tips, apparently, it’s not customary. However, judging by the reviews of other car travelers, at night and on weekends (and in the north of the country even during the day!), most gas stations operate in automatic mode, so be prepared to communicate with a machine or try to refuel on weekdays during daylight hours. The only exceptions are AutoGrill complexes, located mainly on large highways. Here you can find not only 24-hour non-automatic gas stations, but also cafes, toilets and even a small store.

Average fuel prices in Italy
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Features of national roads and driving style

Roads all over the island are quite good, and everything from toll highways to village roads, from mountain serpentines to streets in small towns. Rumor has it that this is all the work of the Sicilian mafia, which for some time has been trying to keep the island in order, including the roads))) The only serious flaws we encountered were only in the area of ​​​​the northern slope of Etna, but it was clear that the road itself was good , therefore, we attributed all its “swelling” to the conscience of frequent eruptions and earthquakes in this area.

But on the southern slope of Etna the roads are fine!
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Road markings I was also pleased, especially the presence of reflectors, which greatly helped when driving in the dark. I would like to note that at night we drifted onto a non-main road, but due to the competent markings, driving along it was quite comfortable.

A separate story - Sicilian road signs, which may take some time to get used to. The biggest problem is that it is not always clear where exactly a sign or pointer to a particular settlement is directed. A couple of times we even had to stop and check the map: where we were going and what the sign said about it.

Road signs in the town of Corleone (yes, that same one!)
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On compliance with traffic rules The locals don't bother much. Usually they break the speed limit; overtake where it is prohibited; rarely use turn signals; they park at random, sometimes under “no parking” signs, but more often in the second and even third row with the emergency lights (although they are not always turned on). However, I would not recommend adopting Italian bad manners. Remember that they are violating the rules in their own country, but you still have to obtain Schengen visas, which may not be affected in the best way by the presence of fines.

Despite the frequent violations and generally somewhat chaotic situation on Sicilian roads, accidents on the island occur much less frequently than in Russia. Probably the main reason for this is mutual understanding between all traffic participants. It often becomes unimportant which road you are driving on (the main one or not), they may give way to you or, on the contrary, gently ask you to go ahead. Much here is decided at the level of glances, gestures (exceptionally decent!) and polite attitude towards other drivers. Everyone tries to give way to each other, especially on narrow streets or when climbing a hill. Illegal parking (second or third row) or violation of rules by pedestrians is treated leniently. There are also cases when two drivers chat too enthusiastically at a traffic light and do not have time to react to the green light, or, for example, while standing in a traffic jam, someone driving meets a familiar pedestrian and, after talking with him for a couple of minutes, brakes and movement is already slow. All this is in the order of things in Sicily and it is customary to respond to such situations patiently. However, if you hesitate at a fork or park on the street for too long, you may be honked at. The logic here is inexplicable, but you need to take everything calmly, after all, in this case you are a guest.

Heavy traffic on the roads happens, especially during working hours and in big cities (Palermo, Catania, Messina). True, if you remember St. Petersburg or Moscow, then Italian traffic jams can rather be described as “small congestion.” But if you suddenly find yourself in heavy traffic on the highway, remember that in Europe there is a rule: the last car arriving must turn on its hazard lights so that the cars behind it have time to reduce their speed in advance. This allows you to avoid accidents involving a large number of cars.

Other Animals can create emergency situations, freely accessing the road from numerous pastures. We came across dogs like this a couple of times, but the worst thing was the encounter with a herd of horses walking right along our lane, and against the movement of the car! True, we must give them their due, at the sight of us the animals quickly mobilized, crossed into the oncoming lane and continued to walk at least according to the rules of the road. In addition to dogs and horses, on the roads of Sicily you can also meet cows (there are warning signs about this everywhere), and less often sheep.

Cow warning signs are scattered all over the roads in Sicily
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And here is the hero of the occasion, walking along the highway
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And finally the latest feature of Italian roads lies in their size and inclination relative to the horizon line. Since most of the country is located in mountainous areas, and cities with cramped streets were built many centuries ago, residents of the Russian plains may have some conflicts with the surrounding reality. The first concerns narrow roads, which are mostly one-way, but there are exceptions. Therefore, if you are moving along a street or road where only your car can fit, this does not mean that no one will come towards you because of the turn. Another surprise is usually sharp ascents and descents, both on mountain serpentine roads, which is expected, and in big cities or small villages. And no matter how experienced your driver is, Italian roads can surprise even those who have seen a lot behind the wheel!

Big car on a small street in the town of Monreale, Sicily
During the filming of this shot, two balconies of a residential building were damaged.
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Alcohol standards

In Italy, the maximum permissible blood alcohol limit for a driver is 0.5 ppm. Therefore, if you don’t get carried away, then in the evenings you can taste a variety of local wines or even something stronger. However, I would advise young and inexperienced drivers to study the Italian traffic rules in more detail, because I just recently found information about additional restrictions specifically for this category of people.

Communication with the traffic police

There were few law enforcement officers seen on the roads of Sicily, but we were still lucky enough to talk to one of them. The policeman stopped us just at the moment when we were arguing with the Figator and trying to figure out where to go next. Either by the horribly pronounced “bongiorno” or by our frightened faces, the Italian immediately realized that he was dealing with foreigners and switched to English. It's strange that he even knew this language! First he asked where we were from, then he clarified that the car was rented, and then he let us go, wishing us a good day. I didn’t even have time to get very scared and put on a seat belt, which I really didn’t want to fasten in the back seat, although in fact it was necessary. No one stopped us again, but it should be noted that we did not violate any traffic rules. That is, they didn’t violate AT ALL, even in small things (unfastened seat belt in the back seat doesn’t count)))

That's all for today! All that remains is to sum up our road trip through Sicily, but this will happen next time along with all the numerical indicators of the trip that many of you asked to publish. So I’ll go count the euro-liters-kilometers, and you wait for the new post! See you)

Many experienced travelers advise exploring Sicily by car. Indeed, public transport in this part of Italy is not very well developed. But still, even tourists who do not have the opportunity to rent a car can easily travel around the main part of Sicily using trains. If you still rent a car (you can find the right one using this link), you will still find useful information in our article.

Catania

Most people begin their acquaintance with Sicily from Catania, where one of the largest airports in Italy is located. If you decide to rent a car, the counters of the relevant offices can be easily found at Catania Airport by following the signs. Car rental services operate around the clock, but we recommend taking care of this in advance.

Taormina and Etna

If you are more attracted by natural beauty and beaches, then we advise you to settle closer to the sea coast. So you can visit Isola Bella – the most famous beach of Taormina, Mazzar and a resort town located a little further Giardini Naxos . Choose suitable accommodation in this part of Taormina by clicking on the names of the beaches, and in our special article see the best hotels with their own beach. However, you can get to the sea from the city center, for this you will need to take a bus or funicular. All accommodation options.

Cefalu

Next, our journey will continue towards Cefalu, located on the northern coast of Sicily. To get from Taormina to this city, you will need one change in Messina. Trains depart from Taormina - Giardini . Travel time is from 3 to 5 hours. The trip will cost from 12 to 23 euros.

Cefalu is notable for its beautiful landscape, Norman architecture and the soothing tranquility typical of fishing towns. To get to know it better in a short period of time, try to find accommodation near Cathedral Square (you can find the best hotel deals in this area at this link, and all options).

Agrigento

The next point of our journey is Agrigento, which itself is a kind of open-air museum. This city is located two hours from Palermo. The train arrives at the station Agrigento Bassa . The cost of the trip is approximately 9 euros.

Syracuse

A trip to Sicily would not be complete without seeing Syracuse, where to this day the spirit of antiquity coexists quite harmoniously with the modern pace and way of life. A trip to this city from Agrigento by train will take a long time - from 5 to 8 hours, and will require at least one change. In terms of price, a trip to Syracuse will cost 14-19 euros.

If you manage to find time for a beach holiday, then Syracuse has a lot to offer to tourists who dream of cooling off in sea water. Beach Calamosche many consider it the most beautiful in Sicily, and the only thing in which it is inferior to the beautiful beaches of Taormina is its insufficiently developed service. WITH Agnone there is an amazing view of Etna. And the beach Punta Asparano will delight lovers of solitude: usually there are much fewer people here.

You can get acquainted with the historical and architectural heritage of the city and learn about significant events that occurred in different eras of the existence of Syracuse by ordering.

Having traveled along this route, we can safely say that you have seen the main attractions of Sicily, and it’s time to return to the starting point of our journey - to Catania. Travel time is about 1.5 hours, a ticket will cost about 7-11 euros.

We wish you a fun and joyful trip to Sicily!

On In fact, there is nothing particularly scary about traveling by car in Sicily. If you have not yet decided whether to take a car or not, read. We also recommend directly when renting and how to choose a car rental in Sicily to avoid bad surprises.

And if the iron horse has already been booked and you can’t wait to travel around Sicily by car, then here are a few points that will give you an idea of ​​the local driving style:

1 When do you drive through a red traffic light?
The prohibitory red light of a traffic light can be different. What does it mean? Of course, according to the rules, you should always wait until the red light goes out and move after. But in Sicily you can see not only drivers running red lights, but also honking at you from behind when you stop at a red light. This often happens at so-called pedestrian traffic lights: when a pedestrian on a busy street presses a button and the light turns green specifically for him, then the driver, seeing that this pedestrian has already crossed the road and there are no other people on the way, will often move off without waiting a couple of minutes until will switch to green. Naturally, this applies only to pedestrian traffic lights and in no case to intersections.

2 Parking
The general rule is this: on blue lines parking is paid, on white lines it is free, and on yellow lines it is not possible (for disabled people and special groups). But each city will have its own rules. For example, the white lines in the center of Giardini Naxos are for residents only. When parking on lines, you should always look nearby for a sign about parking rules and understand it. The cost of an error, as well as being late, if you park on the blue toll lines, is on average 40 euros.
3 Parking Mafia
Sometimes you may come across strange-looking, toothless guys waving their hands at you in front of the car, as if to help you with
parking lot. They will expect small money (1 euro) for their “services”. It’s better to avoid meeting with them or pay if you still leave the car “under their supervision,” otherwise you may find the car scratched or with a broken tire.
4 Cars are sometimes stolen in Sicily
This happens sometimes and more often in certain areas of the city. Since you, as a tourist, will not be able to immediately understand whether this is such an area or not, it is better to look for a closed parking lot or at least a central square/street (not streets and gateways). Ask your hotel or the owners of the apartment or house you are renting where it is best to leave your car. In large cities, it makes sense to have closed 24-hour paid parking lots (in the center of Catania, for example, there are 3 of these). Most often, Fiats, Smarts and motorcycles are stolen. The general rule is this: on blue lines parking is paid, on white lines it is free, and on yellow lines it is not possible (for disabled people and special groups). But each city will have its own rules. For example, the white lines in the center of Giardini Naxos are for residents only. When parking on lines, you should always look nearby for a sign about parking rules and understand it. The cost of an error, as well as being late, if you park on the blue toll lines, is on average 40 euros.
5 Freeways
The motorways in Sicily are good, the Catania-Palermo road is close to ideal and is even free along its entire length. If you want to save money on a toll road and take a secondary road, banish this thought: most often you will use more gasoline and waste a lot of time. All other things being equal, always take the motorway. The most expensive section of the motorway in Sicily is Messina – Palermo (along the northern coast), but even here you definitely shouldn’t look for “goat paths”.
6 Traffic rules in Sicily
Of course, there are rules, and passing the driving test is no easier than ours. It’s even harder, since there are practically no cronyism and “paid” rights. But you will have the feeling that half of the drivers did not even open their books. Also, you are unlikely to find, for example, a sign for the main road. Use the rules you know and use common sense.

7 The most important!
Driving in Sicily is different from what you are used to, but anything is possible! To minimize the risk of unpleasant consequences, follow two basic rules: obey the speed limit and be predictable, and the Sicilians will adapt to you!

Travel preparation
We heard so many rave reviews about Sicily from friends who had been there that we soon began to rave about the trip ourselves.
When we finally decided to go, friendly advice and Guide Verte Michelin “Sicile” (possibly it was translated into Russian) helped us decide on the route. In general, I am a long-time fan of Mishlyanovsky guides; they have never failed with the choice of routes and restaurants on numerous trips.
The auxiliary guide was Routard. This was the first close acquaintance with this guide, and I was pleased with him - choosing a route with him is of course less convenient and the restaurants are not always the best, but in Ruthard you can find where to eat delicious ice cream (checked!) and it is written in a very lively language (with This is where Michelian’s guide is a little slow) - the rutard is easy to read and gives good introductory information about the new place.
So, the route was chosen like this: Taormina (+ Volcano Etna) - Palermo (+ Monreale) - Castellammare del Golfo (+ Segesta + Erice) - Agrigento (Valley of the Temples) - Ragusa Noto - Siracusa.

A little about choosing the time to travel: all guides advise avoiding July and August, I can add to this that already in the second half of June it was HOT. Therefore, it’s probably better to go in general in May. We planned to relax according to our favorite formula - the beach in the morning and evening (until it was crazy hot), in the afternoon - look at the beauty. But this formula works well if there are mountains or the sea nearby (in Sicily there were places where it was not hot during the day - Etna, Erice, and it was quite tolerable in the Zingara nature reserve because the sea was nearby), and on flat terrain, especially in cities, it was hot everywhere during the day. The narrow streets (if there are any) still help a little. So it’s best to avoid the hottest months so as not to ruin your trip.
And a little about the route: Ours turned out to be quite dense and rich. We visited everywhere we had planned (and even more) and were satisfied, but it was still sometimes tiring (especially difficult for those who drive a car - in Sicily this is a rather nerve-wracking activity). So if in doubt, it is better not to try to be on time everywhere, especially since you can painlessly shorten the route if you avoid “repetitions”. Well, for example, the ruins of Greek theaters are the same everywhere, and the same goes for Greek temples. The biggest difference is the area where they are located. The Greeks had no equal in choosing a place, as well as in the art of hewing huge columns, so their landscapes are also works of art. If we take our route, then it seems to me that, if desired, we could sacrifice the Valley of the Temples of Agrigento in favor of Segesta (where the temple and theater (especially) are framed by a fabulously beautiful landscape). Ragusa is a nice town, but if time is tight, it’s better to spend it on Noto.. (We ourselves actually cut down only on the Greek theater in Syracuse, we watched everything else as we had planned). In general, look at your strengths.
A little about driving: In Sicily, driving a car is an extreme sport (at least it was for me). On the road, cars, mopeds and pedestrians move as they please, road signals (especially speed limits) are completely ignored (as are solid medians). There is very little information - street names are often not visible. Therefore, I strongly advise you to take a GPS Navigator and, before moving to a new place, enter the parking coordinates into it (which it is advisable to first localize on Google Maps). Don’t just type “city center” into your navigator - this is often not what you need and not the right place to park! If there is a parking lot on the plan in the guide, then it is better to localize it again in Google Maps and enter the verified coordinates into the navigator - this will help minimize driving in cities where the traffic is absolutely crazy (and there are often errors in guides).
And more about the car: When moving between hotels, there are often some intermediate stops, interesting places, and it can be very difficult to follow the golden rule “don’t leave anything in the car.” Those. If you manage to never leave anything in the car, that’s great; if not, then you should at least try to follow the rule “don’t leave anything in the car that can be seen through the window.” As a rule, two full-sized suitcases do not fit into the trunk of inexpensive rental cars, so it is better to take one suitcase and one soft bag that can be packed into the trunk together with the suitcase.

Selection of hotels and car rental:
I booked all hotels through http://www.booking.com/. The site is excellent, I use it often and am very pleased. The principle of choice was the following - the most inexpensive hotel with a good rating and reviews + convenient location (I always looked at the map where it was located). The result was good - of the six hotels I liked some more, some less (I will say a few words when I talk about the point of the visit), but there were no problems or special disappointments associated with any hotel.
The cheapest option for renting a car was found at http://www.ebookers.fr/ (http://www.ebookers.com/). I honestly looked at others, but it wasn’t cheaper, and besides, the company was well-known - Hertz (which really disappointed me with the wildest mess on the day we rented the car - we probably spent two hours on this, and besides, in this madhouse they told me They introduced the option “if you buy gasoline from us, you return the empty tank.” I don’t think I lost a lot of money on this, but it’s still a clear scam in favor of the rental company, don’t be fooled).
Below is our preliminary travel plan (the time in the “plan” column is the time it takes to move from one city to another), a list of hotels and their prices to give a rough idea of ​​the budget (there are no restaurants on the list (our bill for two was approximately 40-50 euros) and tickets to museums, etc.)

(the flight was on the route Paris - Catania - Paris)

The following issues contain some useful information and impressions of the places we visited:
Taormina and surroundings
Palermo (+ Monreale)
Castellammare del Golfo (+ Zingare Nature Reserve+ Segesta+ Erice)
Agrigento (+ Valley of the Temples + "Turkish Rock")
Ragusa, Noto
Syracuse

Enjoy your trip to this incredibly beautiful and very hospitable country!