If you’re planning a visit to Sicily, Italy, and you want to drive while you’re there, you may wonder if you should rent a car and what the driving experience is like.
Here was our take on road tripping in a rental car around the southeastern part of the island:
Driving is doable there, but you’ll want to stay more aware of road hazards, pedestrians, and narrow spaces. If you’re a laidback or only mildly nervous driver, you should do OK. If you’re a nervous driver, maybe let someone else take the wheel although you may be OK on the highways. If at all possible, avoid driving in city centers–definitely not Catania or Palermo but maybe not even in medium-sized towns. The driving in those areas is more chaotic.
I share this answer based on my 9-day trip around Sicilia bedda (beautiful Sicily) off-season, in February 2026. I flew into Catania, on the eastern portion of the island close to Mount Etna, and stayed in Noto as my base–I would definitely recommend having a base town, and Noto was a solid choice.
I drove every day except the day I arrived, the day I flew home, and one day when I didn’t feel great and decided to just stick to Noto.
Sicily has public transportation like buses and trains, but they are apparently not as well used as in northern Italy. You can get by using public transportation with some planning, but having a car will get you farther (no pun intended). Plus, I’ve had Sicilan locals tell me flat out that if you’re traveling there, go ahead and rent a car–especially if you want to spend more time outside the bigger cities.
So, to make your trip a little easier to plan–and perhaps a little safer and enjoyable–here are my 10 tips for driving in Sicily, geared toward visitors. Although I was a female traveling solo, I sometimes use “we” in my articles to avoid overusing “I.” Let’s go!
—Get an International Driver’s Permit (IDP). If you’re coming from the U.S., you’re required to have an IDP for driving in many E.U. countries. The Italian embassy says you can also have a copy of your U.S. driver’s license translated into Italian but if you’re going to get that done officially, you may as well go ahead and get the IDP. Yes, it’s one more item on your to-do list, but it’s only about $20 along with the cost of a passport photo of yourself. You can go in person to a AAA office to get one or apply by mail. I got mine before traveling and scored a cheap offer to join AAA while there.
You still may be able to rent a car without an IDP–your rental agent may only ask to see your regular driver’s license (my agent asked to see my IDP)–but you may have a steep fine from the police if you are stopped and don’t have an IDP.
—Rent as small of a vehicle as you can. Upon checking in with Sicily by Car at the Catania Airport, everything was going well. The agent was friendly and she liked my colorful earrings and purse. That love fest led to an upgradewith a slightly nicer vehicle than what I paid for, or so she said. A Kia Sportage? Great! I drive a Kia Sorento at home, I said. Well, the car was definitely comfortable but I wished later on that I had something smaller. Navigating some of Sicily’s more narrow roads was doable in my SUV but made me a little nervous. This would probably apply to other areas of Italy as well. If you can get a smaller car and still comfortably fit your luggage, do it.
—Get full-coverage car insurance for your visit. Your auto policy in the U.S. won’t cover your car rental in Europe. Don’t cut corners here–or should I say, if you cut a corner while driving, insurance will cover the cost for it. Ask me how I know. While leaving the small town of Modica (famous for chocolate), I scraped against a building. Oops! I scraped the right back passenger side of the car, and my rental car company had to clock the damage when I returned my car. I had to pay US $972 upfront for the damage and when I returned home, I filed a claim with my insurance company. It took a few weeks but guess what? One day, that $972 reimbursement showed up in my bank account. If you get into an accident, hold on to any paperwork given to you by the rental company as your insurance company will need a copy.
I got my coverage through Booking.com, which is where I also booked my rental car. Maybe it was $80 to $100 total? Some people say online you should get your policy through a third-party provider and not the rental car company itself. I can’t advise you there but all I can say for sure is, get the coverage.
—Don’t drive distracted. If you’re driving in the U.S., then you already know to watch out for pedestrians, whether they’re zombies starting at their phone or kids or animals running out in the road without looking. The same applies in Sicily. With everything scrunched together in cities or town centers, it can be easy to miss something. If you’re on the autostrade, or highways, in Sicily, you may encounter beautiful scenery (it reminded me of California wine country with valleys, greenery, and coastline in the distance). It’s soooo nice to look but then, oops, there’s a car newly in front of me! You get the point. The novelty of your visit can make everything more distracting. Do all you can to focus.
—Avoid driving in big cities. Before arriving in Sicily, I decided not to pick up my rental car at the airport the same day of my arrival. Since I was arriving in the evening, I knew it would already be dark and my B&B was in the center of Catania. I had zero interest in city driving, especially after my long journey. It was the right choice. Catania driving definitely seemed more chaotic compared to other areas I visited, probably similar to scenes of foreign driving you’ve seen in person or in movies. Think: Fewer people following the rules, no real use of turn signals, confusion at roundabouts, and more. This meant that I had to take an Uber to my accommodations that evening and the next day to get my car. Although I wasn’t crazy about the extra Uber costs, it was still the right decision. Plus, I didn’t have to go on a crazy parking quest in Catania.
I haven’t been to Palermo, but I’m guessing the same principles apply. If you’re a driving pro and want to take your chances driving in the city, be my guest. I’ll stick with my own two feet in the cities, grazie.
—Think narrow. Not every stereotype you see about Italy in movies or TV shows is correct (perhaps that’s an article for a different day). Yet one stereotype that’s accurate is that many roads are narrow, particularly in the cities or town centers. The autostrade (highways) were nice and open–maybe not as massive as U.S. roads, but they were manageable and usually scenic. Yet in the city or town centers, roads were often narrow and sometimes had cars parked on one or both sides. There also were a few streets where I wondered how any car could fit–needless to say, I avoided those streets, even if my GPS was urging me to turn left or right.
As previously mentioned, that nervousness ultimately led to my rental car scrape in Modica. I wasn’t even on a super narrow road, but who knows? Maybe my sense of space in that moment was just off.
Honestly, sometimes, I just needed a break from driving while there as it did make me a little nervous. At one point I considered taking a short train ride for a day trip but ultimately decided against it. There’s a real convenience with having a vehicle.
—Have a GPS backup. We all use the navigation system in our cars or on our phones, right? Mine helped me tremendously in Sicily, but there were also times it got things wrong–like the time I typed in a destination and next thing I knew, I was on a dirt road and there was a guy with a machete on the side of the road (I think he was a farmer trimming extra grass). Or, as a pedestrian in Catania, I was trying to get back to my B&B and my phone GPS kept taking me farther away from there (I eventually took an Uber back!).
I don’t have a good alternative to suggest when your GPS fails except to stay aware of possibly bad routes. If you can find an actual map book, that may be useful. If you’re traveling with a guidebook, they will sometimes have small maps you could use as a backup.
—Know a little bit of road-friendly Italian. So yes, most of what you see on the road will be the names of towns and their distance from where you are (remember that 1 kilometer is 0.6 miles). However, you may be surprised by how handy it is to know some road-friendly Italian. Plus, the use of road signs is sometimes different compared to the U.S. Check out these road-friendly phrases from Italy Magazine and this guide to driving in Italy from the blog Mom in Italy. You’ll be glad you did. Prego.
—Watch where you park. This tip has a few layers to it. First, Italy is notorious for its ZTL signs in historic city centers. ZTL stands for Zona a Traffico Limito, which basically means that traffic is limited there and you could get a big fine if you park or drive there without authorization. So, before you think you scored the spot of the century, look out for a ZTL sign.
Next, find out about the parking situation near your hotel/B&B before you arrive. In the U.S., we’re spoiled in suburbs and small towns with ample parking lots. Italy, including Sicily, doesn’t always have that space. Find out where you’re able to park, if parking is a tight squeeze, and whether it’s close to your place. In Noto, I was fortunate to have a small lot right beside my B&B that always had at least one space for me. It shared space with a small fish market and a butcher. Only one time did I make a tight squeeze and apparently cause a block for others, leading a Sicilian man to grumble something to me in frustratrion. I gave my best “Sorry I’m a tourist” smile and moved my car elsewhere.
If you’re visiting a larger area, use your GPS or an online search to find out about parking areas in advance. In Ortigia (loved Ortigia), there was a parking lot on the edge of the historic area where I was able to park all day. I had to download an app to pay for parking, similar to what you might do nowadays in the U.S. It was great to park on the edge of the action, although I did have to drive first through busier Siracusa during rush hour and it made me somewhat nervous.
Bottom line, doing some research on parking options can help save you some headaches. Just look up “parking” + “name of town” online and you’ll find some guidance
Enjoy your trip and drive safely!
Italy Dreams 