Car rental in Sicily: how to avoid scams?

Are you going to Sicily for a road trip of a few days? Here is our mini-how to rent a car in Sicily!

Sicily is the largest island in Italy and the Mediterranean Sea: an area of 25,709 km2 (2.5 times the size of the Gironde), 5,032,818 inhabitants and two of the ten largest cities in Italy (Catane and Palermo). If there is a public transport network (buses and trains), renting a car in Sicily will greatly facilitate your travel. To visit Sicily freely, however, attention: driving on this island is a real sport and avoiding scams with unscrupulous renters is also one.

When you think of Sicily, you think sun, beaches, crystal clear and warm waters, hiking on the Etna, exquisite culinary specialties, incredible historical and cultural heritage, holiday in Catania, grandiose landscapes... We rarely think of possible scams at car rental. And yet, many tourists – far from being isolated cases – have the bad surprise to lose a few euros in the renter (or after returning the vehicle). Here are our tips for renting a car in Sicily: companies to avoid, companies to prefer, driving, etc.

Rent a car in Sicily : the conditions to be fulfilled

To rent a car in Sicily, in most cases it will take 21 years minimum, sometimes 25 years old and provide an identity document and driver’s license to its name. Entering an additional driver will be charged. A credit card will also be required with sufficient funds available to cover the deductible and the security deposit.

The owner will also take the fingerprint of your card so that you can hold a deposit, be cashed and returned to the key return, or be blocked on the account during your stay. Careful, it is necessary to ensure a small nuance that can cost dearly: while our French banks often issue a "debit card", Sicilian leasing often impose a "credit card". The mention is indicated on your credit card.

Rent a car in Sicily: compare prices

You understood it, the scams for car rental in Sicily are legion, but there is not that scams and scams come mainly by naivety or lack of information from travellers. Note that rental agencies will be more expensive in airports (Catane and Palermo) than in city centers or other secondary cities (Trapani, Syracuse or Messina). There are many rental agencies: Rent a car, Autonoleggio, Locauto, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, Noleggiare, Sixt, Sicily by car, Win Rent, Target Rent, etc.

We recommend you select your desired dates and vehicle type on an online comparison, as Rentalcars which is the reference, but note that the cheapest is not necessarily the best! Be aware of the deductible and insurance because having a hook, a scratch, or an accident can cost very much if you do not subscribe to any insurance. Rentalcars can filter results by type of payment card to the support.

Ask about car rentals

During our trip to Sicily in the summer of 2018, we were victims of a scam with the rental agency Sicily by car and we advise you to rent a car in Sicily with this company. On the comparison, this agency had competitive and advantageous rates. However, when we arrived, we had to pay €270 on the ground that we had a “debit card” and not a “credit card” and that we had to pay card insurance, a device that was said to be decided internally.

On the other hand, while our pre-booking contract stipulated a blocking of the deposit on the card, the lender proceeded to the debit of the card: nothing serious a priori, but it can make the ceiling of withdrawals and payments to the bank, and block any transaction, which can obviously be very damaging, especially during a trip. As a result, the car cost us 636 € instead of 365 €. We had, however, rented several vehicles on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands (Spain) with the same map, without any inconvenience: all the renters are not crooked!

Reporting

Once you have received the keys from the car, you must make a tour of the car to check if visual defects have not been omitted on the contract. We advise you, if it happens, to take pictures in order to protect yourself against the possible bad faith of the parking agents.

Choose unlimited mileage option

It is important to check the kilometric package, because a mileage can cost very much, even on an island like Sicily. Choosing an unlimited mileage allowed us to make more than 1,000 kilometers in all serenity, without fear of overtaking and overbirth.

Check the fuel option

Sometimes the renters confide their cars with the option “full to make empty”, “full to pay on site”, “return to the same level of fuel” or “taking and returning with the full”. This is the last option that is the most advantageous because you only pay what you consumed. Also, it is difficult to make a vehicle with the same level: either there is too much gasoline, or it is lacking, and the customer then risks losing in both cases.

Directions in Sicily

Driving and renting a car in Sicily is done well, but it is necessary to be on his guards: the driving of Sicilians is sporty and confusing. They like speed, play klaxon, and seem to ignore flashers. So it often takes to forceps in a crossroads, always be careful (scooters, pedestrians, cars, buses, trucks in all directions) and check his blind angles.

Beware of panels zona traffico limitato (limited traffic zone) in the city center: fines – more than 100 € -, cumulative if you cross this area, could be addressed to the car rental agency in Sicily, which will charge you on the bank card after your return!