I moved to Palermo to study, and I have to say it was a HUGE mistake. And this isn’t coming from ignorance or a lack of experience with other places.

I hear people saying that the problem with Sicily is the Sicilians, and that couldn’t be more true. People try to scam you and steal everything, all the time, and like to make a small deal out of it by saying, “It’s cultural.” ... NO. Scamming and stealing are not culture; they are crimes.

Plus, there is an absolute hatred and disdain for foreigners. It is just insane.

Today, I’m a bit extra bitter because I went to the gym with a backpack, as I needed to shower there. Attached to my backpack was this silly Labubu stuffed keychain. It was silly and nothing fancy, but I liked it, and it reminded me of home.

I had to leave my backpack in the room before going to the showers (which is just how poorly organized the changing room is, too: the showers are all open, with no doors or anything, and there is no way to leave your things within sight). And guess what? When I came out of the shower, someone had stolen the keychain.

Is it silly and petty? Yes. But it is like living somewhere where you need to be on alert 24/7 and are constantly, nonstop, being stolen from. From toilet paper in the bathroom to not even being able to leave shampoo and soap in the bathroom without your Sicilian roommate moving the contents around and leaving them empty when you come back. And when your roommate leaves the shower carrying “his” toiletries, you notice they smell just like your products that were just emptied...

And multiply that by everything you need to do involving Sicilian people, every day, all day.

Lots of foreigners, mainly digital nomads who are here for just a couple of months, take it as a “jungle experience” and laugh about it. This disturbs me even more, because now it is seen not only as “cultural” but also as a fun experience, where expats meet up and laugh about how they got scammed, the scams they dodged, and the things Sicilians have stolen from them since they last saw each other.

It is insane. Absolutely insane.

And the reason I’m ranting here is not just to vent, but also because I see so many people hearing all the great things about the “Palermo experience,” coming here, and then getting completely overwhelmed by the craziness that nobody talks about. Some even buy houses before living here, and by the time they realize what they’ve gotten themselves into, they are completely screwed.

It is a beautiful city, with amazing beaches and great summer vibes, but the idea of staying here for more than a couple of days is insane and impossible. .

I just came back from a road trip in Sicily I did with my best friend and I just wanted to share our experience in case anyone finds it useful :) Here's what we did and some of my thoughts on it:

• We flew to Palermo and rented a car with RecordGo car rental company. We booked it on Booking.com and even though it seems quite cheap, it was very reliable. What I don't recommend doing is getting an insurance through the Booking app since they told us it has nothing to do with them and we still ended up paying their insurance on the spot. It cost around 200€ for 6 days with insurance for a small car, and they organise a shuttle that takes you from the airport to their office.
• Went straight to Mondello beach which was a beautiful way to start our trip and relax after a plane ride. Be careful of the men that sell things on the beach, if you start talking to them even for a second, they will not leave you alone until you buy something.
• We spent 3 days in Taormina and completely fell in love with the place. One day is enough to walk around town and even visit the beach and Isola Bella, so we took the rest of the time to enjoy food and wine. We ate our dinners at Gambero Rosso, which is a locally owned restaurant with amazing service and food, we drank our coffee at Vincenzo Dascanio Cafe, a gorgeous boutique cafe and restaurant with cannoli's to die for. For a night out I'd recommend Daiquiri bar or for a more fancy experience Morgana Taormina. Also, don't be scared to meet some locals, we had a beautiful experience with people there and they treated us like queens :) Something to mention if you come with a car, the parking is very expensive - we ended up paying 50€ for 2 days. Parking in the city is not possible since you need a permit, you have to use one of the 2 parking lots.
• After, we drove to Catania for one afternoon, since we had to cancel our trip to Noto due to bad weather. It's a completely different vibe, big city with a lot of hip bars and restaurants. A bit more wild and authentic, it comes alive at night so I guess a night out there would be a fun experience. Not our favourite place but worth the visit. We ate at Vermut, very cool place with low prices.
  
• We drove to Palermo and stayed there for the next 3 days, with a one day trip to Cefalu. Cefalu was so cute, but there were a lot of tourists and not much to do. Maybe it would be a nice romantic spot to come with a partner. We ended up drinking a bottle of wine on the beach and just got dinner and walked around a bit until we got bored and went back to Palermo.
• In Palermo, we spend one whole day just walking around town and seeing what it was all about. It didn't feel dangerous at all and we found it quite charming. We visited all the markets, found a nice little gallery for some unique souvenirs called Galleria Popolare, for a night out we decided to go to Colletti Bar and had the best time, for lunch we went to Fava's bar and cucina, and for dinner I recommend going to Casa del Brodo, a restaurant with rich history, authentic food and incredible service. If I knew better before the trip, I'd book acommodation in Kelsa neighbourhood. We stayed a bit further away and used Lime scooters you can get on Uber app. It's a cheap way to get around town, an even though it seems a bit scary because of the chaotic traffic, it was actually a lot of fun to drive those things around :)

All in all, I can say this trip changed us and raised our standards for life in general. You'll find people there being very friendly and sociable, food and wine are amazing, the place has a soul and everywhere you turn everything looks so beautiful. If you are someone that's bothered with chaos, noise, busy streets and people smoking everywhere, this is not a place for you. We're definitely coming back next year to explore the rest of the island <3

We are planning to go to Syrakus/ Ortigia (staying 20 min away from Ortigia in end of October)

Any recommendations for restaurants with authentic Sicilian food? my husband loves wine, charming places and Orginal local experiences.
Since we have a 2 year old, I am not sure going to a tight place is a good idea.

Let me know if there are any recommended activities that we can do around here!
What was your best????

I am here since Oct 14 and I cant find a single parking ticket machine to pay. Whats going on?

Are machines off in October

Hi everyone,
I’m from Norway and rented a car from CarMotion in Sicily, Italy, in July 2026.
I recently received an email from the rental company informing me about two traffic violations that occurred in Siracusa on 10 July, just one minute apart:
21:00 – Via Malta: Driving in a lane reserved for authorized vehicles.
21:01 – Via dei Mille: Entering a restricted traffic zone (ZTL) without authorization.
I stayed at an apartment in Siracusa from 10–12 July and had paid for parking inside the restricted area. I believed this also allowed me to enter the ZTL, so I’m currently checking with my accommodation provider whether my vehicle was properly authorized.
My main concern is the rental company’s administrative fees.
CarMotion charges €25 + 22% VAT (€30.50) per traffic violation, meaning I could be charged €61 in total, completely separate from the actual police fines.
The company informed me that it would automatically charge my card, even though the rental ended almost three months ago and my security deposit was already released.
I understand that I signed a rental agreement containing a delayed-charge authorization.
However, I found that the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) ruled against several car rental companies in 2024 and 2025 for unfair administrative fees related to traffic violations.
I contacted CarMotion and challenged the fee, referring to Articles 33 and 36 of the Italian Consumer Code and the AGCM decisions.
Their response was essentially:
The administrative fee was clearly disclosed in the rental agreement.
I accepted the terms when signing.
The company may incur administrative costs from leasing companies.
Their fee is reasonable compared with the higher charges involved in some previous cases.
They rejected my request to cancel the charge.
What I find particularly interesting is that one of the AGCM decisions concerning Hertz involved an administrative fee of €25 + VAT, exactly the same amount CarMotion is charging.
My questions are:
Is CarMotion legally allowed to charge these administrative fees despite the previous AGCM decisions?
Does signing the rental agreement make the fee enforceable, even if similar contractual terms have been declared unfair?
Can the company automatically charge my card several months after the rental, despite having returned my deposit?
Would disputing the transaction with my bank be appropriate if they charge me?
Is it worth filing a complaint with the AGCM or the European Consumer Centre?
To clarify, I understand that the actual police fines are separate and must be dealt with directly through the Italian authorities. I’m mainly questioning the additional €61 charged by the rental company.
I’d appreciate any advice from people familiar with Italian consumer law or anyone who has experienced something similar.
Thanks in advance!