Driving in Sicily
 

Does anyone have any suggestions or comments about driving in Sicily. We won't be driving in Palermo or Messina. We'll just be passing them on the highway.

Driving there is easy. Never had a problem. I don't know what kind of specific suggestions or comments you're looking for.

Patricia

We're used to driving all over Italy and some of the islands. I have never driven in Sicily so I was wondering how good the signs on the highway are and any problems anyone has encountered. We are fluent in Italian so that's not a problem.

As the main highway goes straight through Palermo, with multiple entry and exit points, traffic can get extremely busy and slow at rush hour. Keep the latter in mind if you have to pass through on the way to the airport.

Sicilians have a rather "Relaxed" attitude to things like "right of way" and "Lanes".

Overall, I found driving in Sicily to be one of the major stresses, althoughI had the added issue of it being on "the wrong side of the road". The Cities. particularly Syracuse and Palermo, can be manic.

Once out of the cities it was fine, although speeds were high, and some of the overtaking manouvers could have been described as suicidal (Catania to Syracuse is particularly bad for this).

Hi Ann, We drove all over Sicily including driving through the larger cities like Palermo, Syracuse and Taormina. Yeah, these towns can seem chaotic, but the traffic works. The countryside is wonderful with little traffic. In fact, I've found driving in Sicily and Europe in general to be a fun experience because drivers pay attention and don't hog the inside lane of highways as US drivers like to do.

We drove the island counterclockwise during a one-week stay. From Palermo through Monreale, Trapani and Marsala (go to an excellent restaurant called Eubes, right on the salt flats near Marsala) down to Agrigento, then through Caltagirone and Piazza Armerina to Taormina. Driving was very easy. Roads are well-marked. Get a Michelin driving map and plot your route before you arrive.

The roads in Sicily are good with good signage. Just relax and let the locals do their thing and don't stress about it. We did not drive in any large city except part of Catania. Traffic between destinations was OK - actually pretty light in most places. Did not get lost at all even when driving at night. Much of the countryside is quite beautiful.

You need to alot for more time than appears on the map when plotting distances on your route. There are not a lot of modern 4-lane autostrades in Sicily, which means that if you get behind a slow bus or truck, you either have to pass or stick it out. Since Sicily is a major farming province, there are a lot of trucks on the roads.

Likewise, if there is construction or some other obstacle, traffic can really back up.

I drive in Italy all the time and I found driving in Sicily less crowded but more demanding. People drive faster, take more chances passing, and in general drive aggressively. I found two hours of driving in Sicily more tiring than two hours of driving elsewhere abroad, mainly because I felt the need to stay vigilant because of the higher speeds.

Hope that helps.

Thanks everyone. It sounds like a cross between driving in New York and the rest of Italy. We'll do fine. Thanks for all of your input.