Pickpocketing in Sicily?
 

I had been planning to go to Sicily this year but have been worried when I read about pickpocketing, especially in Palermo. I also read that pickpocketing has become more prevalent since the covid pandemic ended and more people are traveling. Can anyone give me an idea how prevalent pickpocketing is in Sicily? Thanks!

Pickpocketing can happen anywhere. Stay observant, limit what valuables you wear/carry, consider a moneybelt just like travel to any other major tourist area. Watch out for traps to get your attention as well, especially if it is crowded.

We felt very safe in Palermo but, as always, kept our eyes open and wore our money belts. We had a wonderful time in Sicily and would hope to return someday. I hope you will have a great trip!

We were just there the last week of March 2026. Use the same caution as anywhere else and you'll be fine.

We weren't pickpocketed in Sicily but deliberately short changed three times. When I asked for my change or pointed out it was short, the money was handed over with a shrug or a smile. It almost felt like it was a game to them.

I don't think it's helpful to say pickpocketing "can" happen anywhere but the question is DOES it, or how prevalent as asked. There are definitely cities and countries where it happens more than others. But since I've been to some of them (Paris, Barcelona, etc.), I would agree that if you really want to go there, just take appropriate precautions and don't have stuff accessible to thieves. And you do have to be very alert and savvy, unfortunately some people not used to this type of thing can get duped, and it can be very sad. Like people who let others "help them" do things with money or at machines, or even stop to answer questions and help someone while their accomplice steals from you, or anyone with stuff dangling down to the side in something easy to reach into or lots of men who think having something in a front pocket is magical security versus back. Too bad but I don't engage with random strangers on the street. Hopefully you know all this stuff. If concerned, I agree, wear a small moneybelt inside your outer garment and limit what you carry around in it, also. A little money, maybe one credit card, stuff like that.

My last trip to Sicily (Palermo) was in 2024, and like others have said, I never felt the least bit at risk. It could be that I look a little Sicilian, or it was slow season, dunno. Reasonable precautions are advisable wherever you travel. Nothing in pockets, cross body bag kept in front of you, and limited risk - limited cash, not all of your cc's, or an under shirt money belt (waist or around the neck), etc..

Where I did feel more at risk was in the Netherlands. On a regional train headed towards the airport, I observed a group of yoots seemingly canvassing fellow passengers, in what I took to be looking for an easy mark. Shortly thereafter the conductor came on the the speaker multiple times and said "there are pickpockets operating on this train. Please watch your belongings carefully..."

@CHRISTINA-actually that’s exactly what articles that have studied pickpocketing literally say. It can happen ANYWHERE, and all of these scare tactic articles that say, for example, that Sicily and Rome are pickpocketing hotspots, really get my blood boiling because I KNOW that they’re based on anecdotes and as we all know anecdote does not equal data. I’ve been traveling Italy every year since 1999 and have been all over the country and have also lived there and have NEVER, even as a tourist, been pickpocketed. I’m also a native NYer and always see and hear people speaking of pickpockets in NYC. Yes, it can happen ANYWHERE, heck it happens in Piazza San Pietro in Roma during Holy Week.

We don’t need to carry much cash anymore. I think the most valuable thing you can lose nowadays is your phone. That’s the thing I guard with my life.

I also put an AirTag in my small cross body purse.

We had no problems last year but we do not carry much cash, use a money belt and guard the iPhone.

You do see a fair few locals in Sicily carrying their backpacks/shoulder bags on their chests but I don't think that is especially due to pick pockets, just a style that works in Sicily.

Don't take anything on holiday you might miss. Don't try to push through a scrum of people. You'll be fine.

The trains between Amsterdam and Brussels are notorious for baggage theft - not just a wallet but the whole bag. I escaped a bag theft narrowly In Brussels once myself, but that was while the train was still at the station (Brussels-Midi). A lot of criminality there. There is a new government and of course they are promising to clean it up. We'll see. It takes an army of social workers working together with the police to make any kind of difference, and they are slashing budgets in other areas so if this is properly resourced it will be meaningful.

Lavandula