Do Not Want to Rent a Car in Italy

[OldShooter]

Yes, what a shame! Go here (https://www.roadscholar.org/search?query=italy cooking) and look at the Sicily and Tuscany cooking trips. In both cases we had no need for a car and stayed in a single hotel.

I mention those because we have done them. Road Scholar has many other Italy trips and they do an excellent job of handling the logistics beginning and ending with you at the airport.

We also stayed in Bologna on the Tuscany trip and spent a few days with a private guide who also drove: Cecelia Alderighi (https://www.yourowntour.it/) When you travel with a private guide, the entire itinerary is determined by you with the guide's recommendations. So that's another option.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

Italy is so much fun to visit. And I don't know anybody who does not love the food.

And if you like Italy and Italian food, then you will LOVE Sicily and Sicilian food. Matter of fact, I could go for a simple arancini right now!

 

[NW-Bound]

And if you like Italy and Italian food, then you will LOVE Sicily and Sicilian food. Matter of fact, I could go for a simple arancini right now!

Of course. Did I say anything to give you the idea that I would not?

Besides, Sicily is also Italy, just different.

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

Well, some people look at a trip that's missing a bit of transportation, and think it's a lemon. Others look at the same thing and understand how good the limoncello is going to be!

 

[NW-Bound]

To be fair, earlier posters mentioned that without a car in Sicily, a traveler would miss out on a few things or have trouble getting about. But there are plenty of other things to enjoy, particularly for a first visit.

My recent month-long trip in Scandinavia was car-less. I only visited the 3 capitals with good public transportation, and did not need a car because I had no time to do more. Now, that I have gotten a feel of the Vikings, next time I probably will get a car to tour the countryside.

 

[stephenson]

Personally, I would not drive anywhere outside of US (well, maybe Canada). If it's available, I'd follow the advice given to buy full insurance from rental agency.

Really?

Misplaced sense of American exceptionalism?

 

[Gumby]

To be fair, earlier posters mentioned that without a car in Sicily, a traveler would miss out on a few things or have trouble getting about. But there are plenty of other things to enjoy, particularly for a first visit.

My recent month-long trip in Scandinavia was car-less. I only visited the 3 capitals with good public transportation, and did not need a car because I had no time to do more. Now, that I have gotten a feel of the Vikings, next time I probably will get a car to tour the countryside.

We spent a week in Sicily, flying into and out of Palermo. We rented a car and drove around the island. We stayed in Palermo, Agrigento, Siracusa, Taormina and Palermo again. No problems at all. The people were very attentive to their driving and the roads were good.

 

[NW-Bound]

It may not be any worse than crowded places that I have driven through, such as Florence, Milan, Genoa, Pisa, etc...

However, people also say that the further south you go, the worse it gets. I have not driven down south, so have no direct knowledge.

Of course, northern Italy, e.g. Piedmont, the Dolomites, was very nice country for driving as I have experienced.

 

[audreyh1]

When we went to that area, we took ferries and trains around the Bay of Naples and stayed in Naples itself, Capri and Sorrento. But we hired a driver and car to see the Amalfi Coast, which I highly recommend. Among the most important reasons was that it relieved me of the obligation to drive, which required careful attention to the twisty and narrow road full of switchbacks. I would not have been able to enjoy all the sights for which the area is justifiably famous. He also knew where exactly to stop and take the best photos, knew the best restaurant for lunch, and told us about the area while we were in the car. When we got to Ravello, Positano and Amalfi, he would park and wait while we explored the town on our own. When we were done with each, we went back to where he was parked and continued on. It was expensive, but worth every penny.

My kind of travel! How did you find the driver/private guide?

 

[brett]

To be fair, earlier posters mentioned that without a car in Sicily, a traveler would miss out on a few things or have trouble getting about. But there are plenty of other things to enjoy, particularly for a first visit.

My recent month-long trip in Scandinavia was car-less. I only visited the 3 capitals with good public transportation, and did not need a car because I had no time to do more. Now, that I have gotten a feel of the Vikings, next time I probably will get a car to tour the countryside.

We did the same thing in Portugal last trip. Rail mostly, and some bus.

BUT....Sicily is not Portugal. There were/are vast differences between the two vis a vis public transport. At the end of the day it will depend on what a person wants to see and experience in Sicily given the length of their stay.

 

[Gumby]

My kind of travel! How did you find the driver/private guide?

It was in 2009, so I don't recall precisely how we arranged the driver. Probably just through an online search and emails.

 

[kongmen]

What time of year is a good time to visit Italy/Sicily when it's not too cold or too hot?

 

[Gumby]

What time of year is a good time to visit Italy/Sicily when it's not too cold or too hot?

Due to the school calendar (the young wife was a teacher), we could only travel to Italy on regular school breaks.

We went to Milan and the Lake region along the Swiss border in July. It was hot but tolerable. Further south would have been too hot.

We went three times in February - to Sicily, to the Bay of Naples, and to Rome. All of them were quite nice at that time. It was the coldest it had been in Sicily in 40 years and there was snow on the mountains. The locals were wearing parkas, but I thought it was perfect in just a cotton jacket. Two years later, we were in Rome right after it had snowed the first time in 28 years. It was very clement, again with just a cotton jacket. All three places would be very hot in the summer.

We went three times in April - to Florence, to Venice and to Umbria. It was perfect weather in each with no jacket at all.

Except for the far north, I would avoid Italy in the summer, as it gets quite hot and air conditioning is not universal there.

 

[explanade]

So here's a wrinkle. I rented a car out of Milan, drove it to Stresa on Lake Maggiore and then to Lugano and then back to Milan.

I hit 2-4 toll booths on these trips but there were also signs on overhead passes about a toll-less tolls, go to some website to pay.

I couldn't even memorize the website address as there were maybe 2-3 overhead pass signs, spaced several kilometers apart.

I did a Google search and found a site and you have to register and then enter a license plate.

I did and they had a bill for €9.40. Went to TA and searched and found out this was a real thing so I ended up paying.

In all I paid maybe €20 traversing over maybe 150-175 kilometers of autostradas.

Seems pretty steep.

But that thing about having to go to some website and finding out how much you owed, just on the basis of two signs (at least it was in English), spaced pretty far apart, was something.

No billboards, which may not be the worst thing, limiting roadside signs preserves the scenery.

 

[Rianne]

What time of year is a good time to visit Italy/Sicily when it's not too cold or too hot?

We're booked for October. We'll see how it turns out this year being so hot everywhere. Hopefully, the weather will cool down and be in the 70s-low 80s.

Some mentioned earlier in the thread rental insurance. Could a few more chime in on what rental insurance is good coverage? My lurking scary thoughts include an accident, maybe not our fault, but how do the officials cover that sort of thing? Here, our coverage is excellent, the police issue a ticket or not, and our insurance is cut and dried. You don't have to worry about some foreigner coming after your life savings. Maybe I'm being overly dramatic, my imagination creates the worse possible scenarios

 

[OldShooter]

My kind of travel! How did you find the driver/private guide?

Probably everyone does it differently. The main method we use is described in my post #44.

 

[Gumby]

...
In all I paid maybe €20 traversing over maybe 150-175 kilometers of autostradas.

Seems pretty steep.

....

For comparison purposes, last weekend we drove from our house in Connecticut to Yardley, PA, just across the Delaware River from Trenton NJ. From the western border of CT, the distance is 98 miles. There are no tolls in CT. To get through New York and New Jersey, however, the toll is $22.70 going down, and $39.70 coming back (because you only pay tolls on the George Washington Bridge when crossing from west to east.)

 

[Jeffman52]

What a great and timely thread. DW and I are heading to Italy in early November. Yes we are aware of the rainy season and that the temps that time of year. Since this is our first trip we are going fully guided with a day to ourselves in each of the cities we will be staying in. (Venice, Florence, Rome)


Now one would think since I've worked for an Italian owned company for 24 years that I would know Italian.... but noooooooooo. So DW and I have been learning what we can so that we aren't 100% relying on them to speak American English. The hardest part of that for me is unlearning what Spanish I know. In some instances I catch myself speaking "Spanalian" when I mix the two languages in the same sentence. But two more months to learn what I can and hopefully retain some of it.

 

[Rianne]

OP here. We're going to Sicily with another couple. They discovered this service:

limousineserviceandguidesicily.com

As long as we can get to places we specifically want to see. Maybe stay a few nights or go to the bigger cities like Palermo and stay a few days, so much easier than trying to drive and worry about parking, getting into an accident, etc. Our traveling partner used a service like this in Egypt and said it was fantastic. The guides knew where to go and could provide historical information about the excursion.

 

[explanade]

OP here. We're going to Sicily with another couple. They discovered this service:

limousineserviceandguidesicily.com

As long as we can get to places we specifically want to see. Maybe stay a few nights or go to the bigger cities like Palermo and stay a few days, so much easier than trying to drive and worry about parking, getting into an accident, etc. Our traveling partner used a service like this in Egypt and said it was fantastic. The guides knew where to go and could provide historical information about the excursion.

That's fine if you don't want to drive.

But if that means staying in Palermo or Catania instead of some of the smaller towns, I think it may not be such a good tradeoff.

For instance, people will stay in Siracusa, Taormina, Ragusa, Agrigento, than the biggest cities.

Unfortunately those towns are some distance from the two main airports but there is at least bus connections from the airports to these cities.

There are highways on the island, at least 2 lanes in each direction. These are mostly along the coast. As you go interior to the smaller towns, you will encounter some very narrow roads or for instance bridges where cars have to take turns crossing because there's only one lane.

Otherwise, driving is a must unless you want to stay mostly in a couple of places and do day trips, either by bus or by private driver.

 

[Gumby]

That's fine if you don't want to drive.

But if that means staying in Palermo or Catania instead of some of the smaller towns, I think it may not be such a good tradeoff.

For instance, people will stay in Siracusa, Taormina, Ragusa, Agrigento, than the biggest cities.

Unfortunately those towns are some distance from the two main airports but there is at least bus connections from the airports to these cities.

There are highways on the island, at least 2 lanes in each direction. These are mostly along the coast. As you go interior to the smaller towns, you will encounter some very narrow roads or for instance bridges where cars have to take turns crossing because there's only one lane.

Otherwise, driving is a must unless you want to stay mostly in a couple of places and do day trips, either by bus or by private driver.

We stayed in Agrigento, Siracusa and Taormina (as well as Palermo). I highly recommend those smaller towns.

 

[NW-Bound]

In all I paid maybe €20 traversing over maybe 150-175 kilometers of autostradas.

Seems pretty steep...

I have not encountered electronic toll roads with autobilling in Italy, but I have in Portugal. I registered the rental car and my credit card at an unmanned booth as I crossed the border of Spain/Portugal.

Yes, toll roads in Europe are expensive. The toll cost is the same or higher than the fuel cost. But I am traveling on vacation, and it bothered me none. The high cost explains why traffic is so light on these long-distance freeways. Europeans don't drive as much as Americans, because it costs mucho.

For comparison purposes, last weekend we drove from our house in Connecticut to Yardley, PA, just across the Delaware River from Trenton NJ. From the western border of CT, the distance is 98 miles. There are no tolls in CT. To get through New York and New Jersey, however, the toll is $22.70 going down, and $39.70 coming back (because you only pay tolls on the George Washington Bridge when crossing from west to east.)

Man, when I made the RV trip to Nova Scotia and had to use the toll roads "back East", I had to pay through the nose. The motorhome counted as 2 cars, and the towed car counted as one more, so I paid 3x.

At a toll booth, I jokingly complained to the attendant that it hurt me like crazy, she grinned and said "I know!".

 

[Rianne]

That's fine if you don't want to drive.

But if that means staying in Palermo or Catania instead of some of the smaller towns, I think it may not be such a good tradeoff.

For instance, people will stay in Siracusa, Taormina, Ragusa, Agrigento, than the biggest cities.

Unfortunately those towns are some distance from the two main airports but there is at least bus connections from the airports to these cities.

There are highways on the island, at least 2 lanes in each direction. These are mostly along the coast. As you go interior to the smaller towns, you will encounter some very narrow roads or for instance bridges where cars have to take turns crossing because there's only one lane.

Otherwise, driving is a must unless you want to stay mostly in a couple of places and do day trips, either by bus or by private driver.

Our villa is in a small town with a view of Etna from the pool. It's within walking distance of the village bakeries, coffee shops, and restaurants. We could always rent a car for a few days to go on our own excursions. We're there for 17 nights. When we figure out the lay of the land we'll probably go on our own. It will be nice to have some input from the limo company. We're definitely not staying in the big cities for more than a night.

The village is Trecastagni.

 

[cyber888]

I’m enjoying the drive through Italy.
Drove the entire Amalfi Coastal Highway SS 163 ( Strada statale 163 Amalfitana) for more than 3 hours. Just like California’s Big Sur, but much narrower and twisted roads. You have to be patient with the motorbikes. Several amazing old Italian towns and the open sea besides us with yacht, boats and ships, Sorrento, Massa Lubrense, Positano, Atrani, Ravello, Maiore, and Salerno, then switch to the mountains going to Matera, Gravinia, Alberobello, then back to the Adriatic town of Vieste. We’re going to Vesuvius and Naples next.

 

[meleana]

We just booked a trip to Sicily and Southern Italy through Odyssey Unlimited for next October. Small group tour. I like that we are staying in one hotel for 5 or 6 nights in 2 areas, with the exception of 2 other places where we will spend 2 nights. Then touring out from there and a lot of free time.


First and probably only trip to Italy. Only other place we've been to in Europe was Scotland many years ago.


Decided to skip all the big cities and major tourist attractions as I hate crowds, though I am sure we will come across some for sure.



We will fly into Catania and be in Taormino for 6 nights. Then to Matera for 2 and Lecce for 2 and then Sorrento for 5 and fly home via Naples.


I wanted to just do southern Italy for 9 days staying in one hotel, but hubby really wanted Sicily, as his family was Sicilian (mine is rooted in Naples and Abruzzi (Aquila)) and he will be 70 next year so....I had to sacrifice Positano for him to have Sicily.


Very spendy trip to say the least...


We originally booked a one week stay at an all inclusive resort/spa about a half hour from Cefalu on the coast through booking.com. $2000 for the week. (not including airfare, of course).Was going to fly into Palermo. But then it seemed to be difficult to get a driver to take us around. We could take a bus to Cefalu and Palermo and that's about it. A far trip to have to stay at a resort the whole week and barely see anything. So we cancelled that. But would have been much more affordable by far!