Hello,

I am planning to drive from Bari, Puglia to Condojanni, Calabria (where we will stay a week) and then to Palermo, Sicily (6 days) before going to Scopello, Sicily (4 days). We have booked a rental car for the whole time.

I'm a little worried about driving in Italy, especially in these regions as I've heard it can be a little intense (winding roads, aggressive drivers). My husband and I are in our 30s and have done a lot of travelling together, including the South of France with very tight roads and turns.

My questions are:

Do you have any advice for routes or tips on driving in these areas? Is this a crazy idea or fairly standard?

I want to confirm it's possible to drive from Reggio, Calabria to Palermo, Sicily. You can bring a car on a ferry at Reggio in Calabria, correct? And then drive along the North coast of Sicily to get to Palermo? Which ferry is best? I read that driving around Palermo is a nightmare, but we plan to just park our car at our Airbnb and explore the city by foot, and possibly do a day trip outside of the city.

I would also love any recommendations for sights to see along any of these routes!

Thank you in advance!

What time of year?

Why do you want to do this by car?

Once you answerer the very knowledgeable Bilbo, I will tell you that I am a New Yorker. We are not used to much driving. I rented my first car in Spain two-plus years ago, solo and I was terrified. Since then, I've rented again in Spain and in southern Italy as well (last September) where I drove a winding, confusing route from Vietri to Senise to Matera to the Gargano and back to Fiumicino town.. Both on the autostrada and on small roads, I had NO problem at all and this was in semi-high seasons.........drive carefully and know your basic highways signs and what they mean. Know how to navigate round about or as we call them in the US, traffic circles. You barely need a map..follow the signs.

Get an IDP if you thin you need one.

It is so freeing to be able to drive although often public transport is the best option..you need to research and decide that part.

I will be renting a car in Catania next month (airport) and driving on from there for about a week, but I would NEVER within cities....

Good luck and let us know how you fare!

IME, driving around Palermo was a nightmare. Other than the area near Palermo, I had no problems with the autostradas.

But elsewhere in Sicily, virtually everything I think of as a rule-of-the-road seemed taken, at best, as a suggestion. That included lane choice, so I often found cars approaching me in my lane, even on stretches of road with little or no shoulder. And sometimes they were in my lane because they were passing one or more vehicles on a road that was not designed to allow three cars from edge to edge. I found it particularly, uh, disconcerting when that happened (as it often did) on twisting mountain roads where one or more of us didn't have good sight lines and had barely enough time to adjust. Yikes! IME, it was definitely more challenging and more nerve-wracking than driving in southern France. YMMV.

Many of the places you might want to visit from Palermo are easy to reach by public transportation, so you might consider returning the rental car ASAP upon reaching that part of Sicily.

Funny cause this nervous driver had no problems anywhere in Sicily including picking up a rental in the city and driving from hotel to autostrada. I just drive slow in the right lane. Let them all pass me!!!

As with any city in Europe, we do not drive in cities. Having a car is rather pointless in the city, as you can usually walk or take a bus to anything within the historical center that you want to see. Also parking in a city is expensive, and difficult.

We have driven around Sicily twice, and did not care to drive in Palermo. It is pretty crazy traffic. Our friends had the tires stolen off their rental car recently in Catania. Just saying...lots here love Catania, but we didn't love it.

Also in Syracuse, the driving is not too difficult, but the parking can be. But we have had parking in Ortigia at our hotel, from where we did day trips along the coast and to Noto. It takes a bit of nerve, but it can also be fun. Depends on your confidence level, I think. Just make sure your hotels have parking and are not too difficult to drive to, ie not in the middle of the historical center, where cars are restricted. Ortigia has restricted vehicle traffic, but our hotel looked after that aspect for us, and gave us instructions on how to access the hotel by car.

I've done a fair few trips in Puglia and Sicily, never been to Calabria.

I find Italian drivers generally very skillful and prepared to interpret the driving law pretty widely.

My first advice is get the smallest car you can put up with. Parking is going to be a drag and big cars will not fit some of the roads.

Most of the touristy places you will want to visit will have great public transport. But if visiting family or friends then a car might be more useful.

Time of year is important. Do you understand ZTL?

IME, driving slowly in the right-hand lane doesn't solve the problem of a car coming at you, in your lane, as you approach a blind curve on a narrow mountainous road.

Well it works well for me....I go slow in the right lane and pay attention to road signs signaling curves ahead. No one has ever "come at me" in the wrong lane head on. Guess I've been lucky but Italians are very skilled drivers..not something I would stress about. We were in Maratea last September and the entire coastal stretch is nothin but curves and tunnels. I drove every night of that week to dinner, save one (not good) dinner at our hotel. Not a single problem!!! And if you get lost, sometimes after you stop someone to ask directions, you engage in a long conversation about things totally unrelated to driving!!! Such fun! I do recommend learning a few phrases inn Italian if you do not speak the language and, again, memorize the common road signs...the one I see most is "rallentare!"


I thought driving the Amalfi Coast was great fun....you can't speed and those curves were so much fun to drive, slowly.
Like driving on a ride in Disneyland but with a lots better scenery!

AGain, I am a nervous driver and HAD NO problems at all in Italy, although I do not like driving the beltway around Rome.

A few years ago, we watched two men alight from their car, open the driver side door of an adjacent car driven by two women who were stopped in traffic. One off the men attempted to drag the driver from her car, screaming that she had done something "wrong" on the road!!! It was something to see....oh those excitable Italians! we loved watching...thank goodness we were safe in our own car right behind the women. But all part of the fabulousness of Italy.

Take public transport wifi you like and if it works for you, but do not be afraid to drive in Italy. If I can master it, so can you. And if you are in the rural areas, not driving means eating within a walk or taxi from your hotel. If food is a big interest for you as it is for me, you might find the some of the best eating spots are at agriturismi or country restaurants where the locals drive to. Last May in Sicily we had no car and relied on drivers to get from place to place. But once at our hotels, it was either stick to often touristy restaurants in the town, or taxi to places deep in the countryside. One of our best (of many!) eating experiences in the Gargano in Puglia was at a family farm restaurant deep in the olive groves outside Vieste. Each way taxi was 40 euro!! And the driver never showed to pick us up!!! We ended up getting a lift back to our hotel outside Vieste town with Italian tourists who did have a car. I would not have missed that experience for the world and unless we paid the 80 euro RT taxi, we would have missed out! Just one example of restaurants in Puglia and Calabria and Sicily ONLY accessible by car.

Mid Sept - Mid Oct

Renting a car because I think it's the only way to get from Puglia to Calabria. Is there a train? I also don't expect there to be easy transportation in Calabria. We are staying in Condojianni which is very remote.

It's cheaper to rent the car for the whole time then to rent it from Puglia > Calabria, and again for the end of Palermo so it seems to make sense to have it the whole time. I'm open to other suggestions though?

I should also add that we are planning to just park our car in Palermo (free parking at our airbnb) and not really use it all while we are there. Just have it to get in and out, and keep the rental as again it was cheaper than renting 2 cars!

Has anyone here ever driven from Puglia > Calabria

or

Calabria > Sicily/Palermo

It's only happened to me once outside of Sicily, but it happened to me multiple times in only a few days while driving in Sicily. That's why I mentioned it. It's not my preferred driving scenario.


@ margarethowl: I have not driven that particular route and so can't offer direct commentary. But as I noted upthread, I found the autostradas in Sicily quite easy to drive and it looks like you can take autostradas for most of your route through Sicily. I would recommend staying on them as much as possible. Sorry I can't be more helpful!

I am Belgian and Belgians are known to be the worst drivers (on the worst possible roads), I never found driving in Italy a problem. Especially in Puglia and Calabria the roads are fairly quiet. Sicily is very busy in the cities (yes, I drove in Palermo city centre) but driving on the autostradas is a piece of cake. Hesitating to hit the road is something you shouldn't do.

We drove from Calabria to Sicily and crossed in Villa San Giovanni (some 15 kms north of Reggio) to Messina. Quick and easy.

We've driven from Calabria to Puglia with stop in Bernalda, Basilicata. Not a problem, although there were road works going on (years ago).
There are some interesting places to stop along the route.

Want to see the town where Rudolph Valentino was raised and every business is named after him?

Or, more likely, stop at Metaponto for the ruins, or go inland to spectacular Tursi,which I predict will become the "next" Matera in ten years.

This is one area of Italy that does not get scads of foreign tourists and if you want a "real" experience, it's worth checking out. Where are you coming from in Calabria?

There's a good book about the area written by (I think) Mark Rotello....if you want the name I can check into it.

ek, I think you mean Stolen Figs?

Yes, Susan, STOLEN FIGS!

Thank you!!!

ek, you're welcome. I'm pretty sure I bought it based on your recommendation. I'm partway through it. The only problem is that it just gives me even more places in Italy I'd like to visit! 😀

I'm going to order it thank you!

This one. is about Basilicata, which you will drive through, so maybe its of interest: