Sicily car rental for family of 4

[ArtichokeAardvark]

We've just booked Sicily for October half term. We plan to travel all around the island so definitely need a car. Everything I read recommends getting the smallest possible car (and having driven in other Italian towns I agree!) but is that even possible with kids and luggage? Children are 8 and 6 so leg room in the back isn't an issue, but any holiday with young children involves more packing than you'd expect!
Has anyone done Sicily with a VW golf, or a compact SUV? Just don't think we'd ever fit in a fiat500...

I can't answer your question, but would give you a warning about our car hire experience in Sicily.

When we returned it, the agent demanded payment for all the damage we had allegedly caused. It was several hundred €s, but below the insurance limit at that time. We argued & it got very nasty. I offered half of what was asked, & it was accepted - cash only of course.

I don't suppose Sicily is the only place that does this.

Since then, we take a lot of date-stamped pics, both inside & out, & concentrate on every scratch & stain we can find.

Apart from that, we love Sicily but used public transport the next time !

you're definitely not going to fit in a Fiat500, i could barely get my carry on case in the boot of the one I hired! It depends how much luggage you're taking.....carry on only, 1 big case between you all, a big case each??

You definitely want as small as possible! Alternatively the public transport is actually not bad and driving eg along the coast can be really difficult.

Plus - it's totally possible to travel light with kids, particularly if you can sort out laundry facilities along the way. We did 10 days interrailing when our kids were 6 and 10, and did hand luggage only - kids had their own rucksacks and we had two carryon sized bags with packing cubes. It was tight but doable!

Get Insurance4carhire or similar. And yes take photos of every angle! Be disciplined about packing. We have 2 kids but always travelled light with 2 squashy bags max for a week. A small/med car will be fine.

When you say travelling round the island will you be staying in different places or will you have one base and just do day trips? If the later then can you arrange transport from the airport to your base with all your kit, and then hire a tiny car for out and about?

If not then I recommend several small/medium squishy bags and no hard sided suitcases or large bags will be easier to fit into the car.

@ArtichokeAardvarkwe hired a Fiat 500 in Sicily last year. Only two of us, and we put the back seat down for luggage space. If you are travelling very light, then a Fiat would be just about okay, as the boot is actually quite spacious (bigger than a Mini Cooper ime). I think a WW Polo equivalent would be better for your family. You definitely need a small car, as parking spaces are often tight, and the roads in historic towns are narrow. Be careful about restricted traffic zones in towns (ZTLs) because you can get fined if you enter without a permit. They usually have illuminated warning signs or barriers, but it’s also easy to enter without realising. Driving in Sicily was absolutely fine, although the Sicilians do like tooting their horns at other drivers. When we visited, we picked up our hire car on day 3, after we had stayed in Palermo.

We had a touring holiday in Sicily a couple of years ago. We hired a small SUV type car. We spent a couple of days in Palermo before picking it up and setting off on our tour and had no problems with parking or driving anywhere, apart from an interesting experience in an underground car park in Ortigia- we had to ask the attendant to drive the car in and out as the ramp was so steep!

@ArtichokeAardvark We went around Sicily on a 100 guest cruise ship. We had various trips included - by coach! You really do not need a small car! The important places you might like to visit are accessible by most cars and a small suv or Golf would be ideal. Obviously if you are intent on trying to drive down very narrow streets you won’t find it that easy but we saw hardly any Fiat 500s. Most people do have bigger cars and I’d think about security and safety too.

I only ever book with Zest now.

Zest Car Rental | Which? Customer Service Brand of the Year

They are head and shoulders above any other agent and include all the protections and their prices are competitive. They cover your excess too

Thank you everyone for the recommendations! We do need a car rather than public transport as we are spending a couple of nights each in different towns around the island. No plans to drive in Palermo but we are spending three nights in Taormina and our last two nights in Cefalu, in the old town in both cases. Overnight parking is a 10 minute walk away, but we can apparently drive up to the hotel to drop off luggage so may need to contend with teeny tiny streets. Interesting that a couple of you have had issues with rental companies, that's good (or bad!) to hear and we will be aware.

I chose Sicily as the first time to drive abroad in a left hand drive car! I hired a VW Golf sized car for two of us with large ish suitcases… plenty of room still in the back. No problems at all. Satnav is a huge help. No problems with the hire place, but can’t remember who I used. Picked up the car in Palermo, drove around the island, stopping overnight in places. Dropped the car in Taormina before getting a bus to Catania airport. Despite being very nervous beforehand, ended up really enjoying the trip.

@ArtichokeAardvark If you can drive to a hotel to drop off luggage, you won’t find it difficult! Everyone will be doing it. Even large SUVs I expect. Get a taxi back to the car. Also decant luggage! Leave a suitcase or two in the car. Then it’s far less lugging about. Make sure the car has a secure boot.

I went round Sicily in a fiat 500 but there were three of us. We had two suitcases and just got them in by the skin of our teeth.