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It is very useful to have an approximate travel budget for Sicily when planning your trip. It is actually quite easy to do, as you can easily estimate hotel and food cost on the internet.
In this article, we are going to tell you how much we spent in Sicily over 10 days. This was the very first trip where Dani and I traveled together, and it was not a backpacker’s trip. If your idea is to travel inexpensively, I assure you there’s quite a bit of cut back on the budget you can make from what we show in this article.
sicily trip COST BREAKDOWN
FLIGHTS to Sicily
To make the most of the 10 days that we were going to spend in Sicily, we flew into Palermo airport and out of the Catania airport. If you think round-trip tickets to Sicily are not cheap (unless you know how to find cheap flights), imagine how much more two one-way tickets are instead.
The Madrid – Palermo tickets were € 263 between the two (with one checked bag that we shared). And the Catania – Madrid tickets were € 300.
Total flight costs = €563 (two people + 1 checked bag)
Travel INSURANCE
For those who are coming from outside the EU, you need Travel Insurance for Europe.
From my experience, Heymondo is one of the most reliable travel insurance companies and the one I recommend for your trip to Sicily.
Total expenses in travel insurance = 65 € x 2 people = 130€
TRANSPORT
Communications are not exactly the strong point of Sicily. Public transportation here consists of non-existent buses and old, extremely slow trains. The most convenient, practical, and unique way to travel around this place is by renting a car.
We rented a car for 8 days and visited Palermo via public transport. The price of the rental was € 216. Also, because we did not drop off the car at the same place where we had picked it up, we were overcharged € 60. We also rented a GPS which cost € 80. In addition, we contracted an all-risk insurance that cost € 84. Although this adds to your Sicily travel budget significantly, try not skimp on the full coverage insurance.
Total transport cost = € 440 (rental car for 8 days)
ADVICE FOR NOT LOSING MONEY WITH CAR RENTAL
If you have experience with rental cars, then you’ve probably heard this advice before. However, I clearly remember the moment we picked up our rental car in Palermo and there was a huge argument taking place at the counter.
A group of about 10 people, probably a family, were trying to pick up two rental cars they had booked to travel around Sicily. It turns out that none of them had remembered to bring a credit card, which was required to put down the deposit and access the car.
Long story short, you must have a credit card if you want to book a rental car in Italy. If you don’t have one, I recommend applying for one of the best credit cards for travel.
ACCOMMODATION in Sicily
It is essential to consider the cost of accommodation when calculating a travel budget for Sicily.
We pre-booked all accommodations through Booking before we went to Sicily. Of all the places we visited, Taormina and Stromboli are undoubtedly the most expensive because they are the most touristic (We traveled during the last week of July at high season).
- Palermo: €50
- Milazzo: €43
Stromboli: €86- Taormina: €62
- Syracuse: €27 (it included bicycles
- Aci Trezza: €34
Luckily, I managed to convince Dani to sleep in the open in Stromboli so we could watch the volcano erupting under the stars. We canceled our accommodation at the last minute and managed to recover part of the reservation. And no, we did not do it for the money. Seeing Bivouac in Stromboli for the first time is a memory that we will never erase from our minds.
Total accommodation costs = €216
OTHER TRAVEL EXPENSES IN SICILY OVER 10 DAYS
In addition to flights, rental car, and accommodations, other expenses have to be taken into account in the travel budget to Sicily. For example, we pre-booked the ferry to Stromboli while in Spain. The round-trip price between Milazzo and Stromboli was € 45 per person. We reserved it with the company Usticaline.
We each spent € 370 on the trip, which included pizzas and pasta dishes that made the mouth water along with many mezzilitri di vino biancodellacasa. Within that amount, we also hired a boat trip in Aci Trezza to make a boat tour around the riviera dei Ciclopi for € 15 per person.
THE BEST WAY TO SAVE ON YOUR TRIP TO SICILY
Also, if you have already read our post about Ragusa, Modica, Noto and Avola, you
will know that we spent two nights with Dani’s Sicilian friends, Jonathan and Anthea. Two days of incalculable value for all the history and culture that they showed to us, so much that we fell in love with Sicily.
If you have the opportunity to stay at a local house, do not hesitate to take it. It is the best way to get to know the authentic Sicily. The savings in your Sicily travel budget won’t matter compared to everything you will gain from that incredible experience.
Also, what is better than a Sicilian to advise you on where to find the best Italian food?