Practical Information for visiting Sicily

Sicily is large and its public transport is uneven. For anything beyond the main cities, a car is close to necessary.

Arriving

Catania Fontanarossa serves the east and Palermo Falcone-Borsellino the west; Trapani and Comiso handle low-cost routes. Ferries run from Naples, Salerno and Civitavecchia to Palermo, and trains from the mainland are loaded onto a ferry across the Strait of Messina — slow, and a curiosity rather than a good way to arrive.

Trains

The network is coastal and slow. Messina-Catania-Syracuse works reasonably; Palermo-Catania is being upgraded but remains slower than the bus. Cross-island services are limited. The exception worth taking for its own sake is the Ferrovia Circumetnea, a narrow-gauge line that circles Etna through the lava towns.

Buses

Long-distance coaches are generally faster and more frequent than trains between the main cities, and are how most Sicilians travel. Services thin out considerably on Sundays.

Driving

• Motorways connect Palermo, Catania and Messina; the A18 is tolled, the A19 across the interior is not.
• Minor roads vary from good to poor without much warning, and repairs can be slow.
• City driving in Palermo and Catania is assertive, and lane markings are treated as advisory. Park outside the centre.
• ZTL restricted zones operate in most historic centres, with automatic fines forwarded months later by the rental company.
• Hire cars sell out in summer; book well ahead.

Islands

Ferries and hydrofoils serve the Aeolians from Milazzo, the Egadi from Trapani, and Pantelleria and Lampedusa from Trapani and Porto Empedocle. Sailings are weather-dependent and reduce sharply outside summer — worth building slack into any plan that ends with a flight.

Coverage for mobile networks is good in the cities and along the coasts, and thinner in the interior and the mountains.

• Cellular data. 4G covers inhabited areas well and 5G reaches Palermo, Catania and the larger towns. Signal drops in the Madonie and Nebrodi, on Etna's upper slopes, and in parts of the interior.
• The smaller islands have coverage but it can be slow when summer populations multiply. Pantelleria and Lampedusa are the most limited.
• SIM cards. TIM, Vodafone, WindTre and Iliad. A passport is required by law to buy an Italian SIM. EU visitors keep their home allowance under roaming rules.
• Wi-fi. Standard in hotels, common in bars. Public wi-fi exists in the main piazzas of larger towns.
• Power. 230 V, 50 Hz, type L and type F sockets. Older buildings often have fewer sockets than a modern traveller expects.

Italian is universal. English is common in Taormina, Ortigia and the main hotels, and much less so in the interior and in markets, where a few words are genuinely useful.

• Buongiorno / buonasera — used on entering any shop or bar.
• Per favore, grazie, prego.
• Quanto costa? — how much? Worth having in markets.
• Il conto, per favore — the bill, which is not brought unasked.
• Un caffè — an espresso; in summer, caffè freddo is cold and already sweetened.

Sicilian is a separate language rather than an accent, and in smaller towns it is what people speak among themselves. Nobody expects a visitor to use it, but recognising that it is not "bad Italian" matters. A few words are ubiquitous: picciotto (young man), camurria (a nuisance), talè (look). Note also that Sicilian Italian often uses the simple past where the north uses the perfect — andai rather than sono andato.

Sicily's reputation is badly out of date. Organised crime exists but has no bearing on visitors; the real risks are ordinary and mostly avoidable.

• Petty theft. Pickpocketing in Palermo and Catania markets and on crowded buses, and scooter-borne bag snatching in Palermo — carry bags on the side away from the road.
• Vehicle break-ins. The most common problem visitors actually meet. Leave nothing visible in a car, anywhere, including the boot if you were seen loading it.
• Traffic. The genuine daily hazard. Crossing the road in Palermo or Catania requires committing and walking predictably; drivers expect it. Mopeds ignore lane discipline and one-way signs.
• Etna. Access above about 2,500 m requires an authorised guide, and this is enforced because eruptive activity changes quickly. Ash falls can close Catania airport at short notice — worth allowing for around a flight.
• Sea and sun. Currents around the smaller islands and at exposed beaches are stronger than they look, and summer heat is the thing most likely to actually harm a visitor. Midday sun at an unshaded archaeological site is a real risk, not a caution.
• Mafia in practical terms means extortion of local businesses, not crime against tourists. The anti-mafia movement is visible and public; several restaurants and shops advertise membership of Addiopizzo, the network that refuses protection payments.

Healthcare is available across the island, with the best-equipped hospitals in Palermo, Catania and Messina. Facilities on the smaller islands are limited, and serious cases are transferred to the mainland by helicopter.

• Emergencies:112. Emergency treatment is provided regardless of nationality.
• EU/EEA and Swiss visitors should carry the EHIC or national equivalent; UK visitors the GHIC. Others need travel insurance, and anyone planning to climb on Etna should confirm it covers that.
• Pharmacies (farmacia, green cross) are widespread and can advise on minor problems; each town posts its out-of-hours rota in the window.
• Heat is the main seasonal risk. July and August routinely exceed 35 °C inland, and heat exhaustion at archaeological sites is common and preventable — water, shade, and an early start.
• Sun. UV levels are among the highest in Europe in summer.
• Water. Tap water is safe in most towns, though many Sicilians prefer bottled for taste. In drought years supply to some inland towns is intermittent — hotels store their own.
• Jellyfish appear along the coasts in warm summers and are a nuisance rather than a danger; local advice about a given beach is reliable.

Sicily is relaxed about most things and firm about a few.

Rules with real penalties

• ZTL zones in historic centres generate automatic fines, forwarded months later by the rental company with a handling charge.
• Removing material from archaeological sites — pottery, stone, mosaic fragments — is a criminal offence, and so is taking lava rock off Etna. Both are checked at airports.
• Swimming in marine protected areas is allowed but anchoring and fishing are restricted; the Aeolian and Egadi zones are patrolled.
• Identification. Hotels must register a passport or ID card at check-in.

Etiquette

• Churches require covered shoulders and knees, applied more strictly here than in northern Italy. Several — Monreale, the Cappella Palatina — enforce it at the door.
• Processions are religious observances, not spectacles. Stand aside, and do not photograph participants at close range during the solemn parts.
• Coffee standing at the bar costs less than sitting, at a published rate.
• Tipping is not expected; a coperto on the bill is a cover charge, not a tip.
• The afternoon closure is real, particularly in summer and inland: many shops shut from about 1.30pm to 4.30 or 5pm. Plan errands around it.
• Hospitality is offered readily and refusing outright can read as a slight; accepting a small coffee is the easy way through.

112 is the single emergency number, connecting to police, ambulance and fire. English is generally handled. The older numbers — 113 police, 118 medical, 115 fire, 1530 coastguard — remain active.

• Coastguard — 1530. The relevant number for trouble at sea, including on the ferry routes to the smaller islands.
• Mountain rescue — 112. Covers the Madonie, Nebrodi and Etna. Rescue is chargeable.
• Etna and volcanic activity. The INGV Catania observatory monitors the volcano continuously and publishes alert levels; access restrictions follow them and change at short notice. Ash can close Catania airport with little warning, with flights diverted to Palermo or Comiso.
• Pharmacies on duty — posted in every pharmacy window.
• Consulates. Several countries maintain consulates in Palermo or Catania; anything else is handled from Naples or Rome.
• On the smaller islands, serious medical cases are flown out. Travel insurance covering evacuation is worth having if a trip includes the Aeolians, Pantelleria or Lampedusa.