Skip to content
The coast below Taormina curving south to Giardini Naxos, with the railway along the shore and Mount Etna on the horizon

Where to stay in Sicily

Photo: Benjamin Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Places to stay in Sicily

Add your dates above to compare prices for your stay.

About Sicily

Palermo and Catania are about 208 km apart by road, each with its own airport, so the first choice in Sicily is west or east. The second is where the car will sleep, because the old centres of Palermo, Catania and Ortigia sit behind camera gates.

Italy. Guide last checked .

Facts and rules

Last checked . Each fact links to its source.

Airports
Palermo Falcone Borsellino, at Punta Raisi, about 35 km by road from the centre of Palermo; Catania, about 9 km from its city centre. The two cities are about 208 km apart by road. Source
Tourist tax, Palermo
Per person per night, up to four consecutive nights: hotels EUR 3.00 to 5.00 by stars; B&Bs, holiday homes and short lets EUR 4.00 (from 1 July 2025). Children under 12 and residents are exempt. Source
Tourist tax, Taormina
Per night by category: hotels EUR 1.50 to 5.00 by stars; holiday homes, short lets and room lets EUR 3.00; B&Bs EUR 2.00 or 2.50. Nights from the eleventh are exempt (rates from 1 September 2023). Source
Tourist tax, Syracuse and Ortigia
4% of the price of the night, breakfast included and VAT excluded, up to EUR 5.00 per person per night, for up to seven consecutive nights; short lets included since 1 June 2024. Children under 14 and people over 80 are exempt. Source
Tourist tax, Cefalù
Charged only from 1 April to 31 October, for up to five nights, with children under 12 exempt (regulation of 2025). The rates set in January 2024 were EUR 2 a night for B&Bs, holiday homes and short lets and EUR 2 to 5 in hotels; the 2026 rates are unverified. Source
Tourist tax, Agrigento
Per person per night for the first four nights: EUR 1.00 in holiday homes, room lets and 1 and 2 star hotels; EUR 2.00 in B&Bs and 3 star hotels; EUR 3.00 in 4 and 5 star hotels. Source
National code (CIN)
Every licensed stay in Italy, hotel or short-let flat, has a national identification code, shown outside the building and in every listing. The rules have applied since 2 November 2024, with fines since 2 January 2025. Source
Regional code (CIR)
Hotels, holiday homes and tourist lets under 30 days in Sicily also carry a regional code, the CIR. Hosts, agents and platforms must show it next to the property's name in adverts, promotions and bookings; the fine is EUR 500 to 5,000. Source
Check-in
A host may lodge only guests with an identity document or passport and must register every guest with the police within 24 hours of arrival, hotels and short-let flats alike. Source
Old town traffic zones
Palermo's central ZTL runs Monday to Friday 08:00 to 20:00 and on Friday and Saturday nights. Most petrol and diesel cars can enter with a EUR 5 day pass, activated before entering, and hotels inside can register guests' cars. Source
Monthly stays
Up to 30 days a flat is a short let. A lease of a home lasting more than 30 days in the year must be registered with the Agenzia delle Entrate within 30 days, whatever the rent. Source
Emergency number
112 Source

Areas of Sicily

The south side of Palermo Cathedral with its Gothic portico, dome and bell towers, and visitors crossing the square in front
Photo: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Palermo

The island capital and the shortest transfer from Palermo airport. Mondello beach is about 12 km from the centre and Cefalù about 72 km, so the city also works as a base for the north coast. It suits a city stay or a month with services close by more than a beach holiday.

Palermo airport
about 35 km
Mondello beach
about 12 km
Cefalù
about 72 km

Car and parking

The central ZTL, from Piazza Giulio Cesare to Via Cavour and from Porta Nuova to Porta Felice, runs Monday to Friday 08:00 to 20:00 and on Friday and Saturday nights. Most petrol and diesel cars can enter with a EUR 5 day pass, activated before entering, and hotels inside can register guests' cars. Blue bays cost EUR 1 an hour, Monday to Saturday 08:00 to 20:00, and the Piazzale Ungheria car park EUR 1.50 an hour by day and EUR 1 for the night.

The town beach at Cefalù below old houses built on the sea wall, with swimmers, a paddle boarder and the old harbour wall behind
Photo: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cefalù

A seaside old town on the north coast, with its beach below the old houses and the cathedral. It suits a beach stay within reach of Palermo, about 72 km away, at a slower pace than the city. Its tourist tax applies only from April to October.

Palermo airport
about 107 km
Palermo
about 72 km
Catania airport
about 182 km

Car and parking

The centre is a ZTL with gates. The comune's ZTL page gives no hours and handles questions on transits, passes and gate hours by email, so ask the host whether the stay is inside the zone and where to park. The Lungomare Giardina, the seafront road, has paid blue bays.

The coast below Taormina curving south to Giardini Naxos, with the railway along the shore and Mount Etna on the horizon
Photo: Benjamin Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Taormina

A hill town above the bays of Mazzarò and Isola Bella, with Giardini Naxos on the shore below and Etna in view. The town suits a stay on foot, the coast below a beach stay. Catania airport is about 70 km away.

Catania airport
about 70 km
Isola Bella
about 4 km
Giardini Naxos
about 7 km

Car and parking

Park in one of the two municipal car parks, both open 24 hours. At Lumbi, 24 hours cost EUR 30 from April to October and EUR 20 in most of the winter, and a shuttle runs to Piazza San Pancrazio at least every 15 minutes from 06:30. At Porta Catania the same 24 hours cost EUR 34 and EUR 25.

Piazza del Duomo in Catania seen from above, with the elephant fountain, baroque palazzi and the rooftops of the old town beyond
Photo: Mojnsen, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Catania

A working city about 9 km from its airport and about 35 km from the Rifugio Sapienza on Etna. A base with services all year and the shortest airport run in the east, better for a city stay or a month than for a beach holiday.

Catania airport
about 9 km
Rifugio Sapienza, Etna
about 35 km

Car and parking

The historic-centre ZTL and the pedestrian areas are in force 24 hours a day. A hotel or rental inside can register a guest's plate to unload luggage on the arrival and departure days, valid up to 12 hours. AMTS runs park and ride car parks, and its car park by the airport in Via Forcile charges EUR 0.50 an hour up to EUR 3.50 a day, for up to 20 consecutive days.

Houses along the Lungomare di Levante in Ortigia above the old sea wall, with clear water, rocks and a small beach below
Photographed in 2018. Photo: Ввласенко, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Syracuse and Ortigia

Ortigia, the island old town of Syracuse, puts hotels and flats on the sea, with Noto about 36 km away and the beach at Fontane Bianche about 19 km. It suits a stay on foot; with a car, a base on the mainland side of the city is simpler.

Catania airport
about 64 km
Noto
about 36 km
Fontane Bianche beach
about 19 km

Car and parking

Ortigia is a ZTL, closed to cars Monday to Saturday from 11:00 to 15:30 and from 17:00 to 02:00, and on Sundays and holidays from 10:00 to 02:00. Hotels, B&Bs and holiday homes inside register guests' plates for transit only: parking inside the zone is not allowed, so the car stays outside it.

The Temple of Concordia in the Valley of the Temples above olive groves, with the sea on the horizon
Photo: Sharon Hahn Darlin, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Agrigento and the south-west

A base for the Valley of the Temples, about 4 km from the town centre, and for the south coast, with San Leone beach about 10 km away and the Scala dei Turchi cliffs about 13 km. Both main airports are about 160 km away, so it suits a stop on a round trip more than a short break.

Catania airport
about 158 km
Palermo airport
about 161 km
Valley of the Temples
about 4 km
Scala dei Turchi
about 13 km

Car and parking

No municipal parking or ZTL source for Agrigento was found as of September 2026. Ask the host about parking before booking.

Guides

Questions

Where should a first visit to Sicily be based?

Pick by airport. From Catania airport, Catania, Taormina and Ortigia in Syracuse all lie within about 70 km. From Palermo airport, the city and Cefalù cover the west. Agrigento, about 158 km from Catania airport, suits a stop on the south coast.

How much is the tourist tax in Sicily?

Each comune sets its own. Palermo charges EUR 3 to 5 per person per night in hotels and EUR 4 in B&Bs, holiday homes and short lets, for up to four nights. Syracuse charges 4% of the price of the night, up to EUR 5 per person, for up to seven nights. Agrigento charges EUR 1 to 3 for the first four nights, and Cefalù charges only from April to October.

Can a rental car drive into Palermo, Catania or Ortigia?

Only under each ZTL's rules. Palermo sells a EUR 5 day pass for most petrol and diesel cars, activated before entering. Catania's zone runs 24 hours and Ortigia's is closed for most of the day; in both, a host inside can register the plate. Entering without authorisation costs EUR 83 to 332, and the fine goes to the rental company.

What codes should a Sicilian holiday rental show?

Two. The national CIN, shown outside the building and in every listing, and Sicily's regional CIR, which hosts and platforms must show next to the property's name in adverts and bookings.