Driving to Sicily - The Cost
We've completed a drive that took us from our home in northern Tuscany all the way to Agrigento, Sicily and back, a total of 3220 kilometers, or just over 2000 miles. You may be interested in the travel costs, considering we have leased an economical Renault Clio Diesel.
Diesel fuel has caused protests here in Italy for its rather sudden rise in price, now pretty close to the cost of gasoline at 1.35€ a liter. We bought 52 gallons of it on our trip.
Our Renault Clio got a respectable 38.5 miles per gallon. It might have been much better, except for the autostrada traffic we encountered on the trip back to Tuscany. In Campania, 30km from our hotel, we got caught in a jam caused by road work. It took us three hours to creep along for that distance, with the engine running most of the time.
So we spent €269 on Diesel fuel (gasolio). It really cost us more then you'd think of course, due to the incredible weakness of the dollar.
And the costs do not end there. The ferry to carry us over the Straits of Messina cost €40 round trip. Autostrada tolls added another €60.50.
All in all, we spent €372 in direct transportation costs for the trip, and that's not including the hotels we had to stay in that we wouldn't have if we'd opted to fly or to take the overnight ferry out of Naples as advised by friends. (We decided on driving mainly to get some idea of the extent of the garbage problem in Campania and to see a bit of both Campania and Calabria. I'm happy to report that we only saw one instance of garbage backed up to the autostrada and smelling worse than a politician caught in a lie.)
So if you're planning a long trip in Europe, these figures should give you some idea of the cost of a 1000 mile trip and return.
By the way, the current price of a standard second class train ticket one way from Florence to Agrigento will cost you €98.25. You can go overnight and save a hotel, a compartment with two beds and one way ticket will cost each person €138.25.
So the train is roughly the same cost for two people as driving an economical diesel car. Flights might be cheaper, but remember to add the cost of renting a car when you get there, or the cost of travel by train to the bigger cities.
Comments
This is a very helpful post, James - thanks for sharing details of your expenses. It’s very hard to decide in advance whether to go by car or train. We usually opt for car because there are four of us, but the trip you took is quite long and does require overnight stays (I’ve done it, from Formia to Sicily, and also from Palermo to Formia via hydrofoil ferry to Naples).
Sometimes, it seems to me, people make assumptions about transportation costs based on outdated information or on personal preferences. Your info is very helpful, because we can see which option really costs less.
I also know that traveling to Sicily in the off season means that not every budget hotel is open; if you want to see the island in winter or early spring, you have to plan for unexpected lodging problems. I’m sure the Calabrian hotel we stayed in (in Stilo) opened just for us, and we also stayed in a small hotel in Segesta that opened its doors for us…with surprise and amazement, that someone would visit a beach town in late March.
I really appreciate your willingness to share your expense information; when it comes to trip planning, nothing beats up-to-date cost info.
I loved reading about your trip. We try and get to Sicilia every three years or so. The ancient history there really gets to me! Never even thought of a train.
We fly from SD to Roma and drive down. Enjoying the scenery. There is a 2 star hotel a little over half way down, where we usually stay..off A1, the Rogliano off ramp, to SS 108, just after Cosenza. Mom and Pop place, very friendly, exceptable dinner, no breakfast. Last October $35-40 for two. Just a hop, skip and a jump to the ferry from there.
Our first time in Palermo which we loved, rode the double decker, on and off bus all over. What a way to go! Going again in 2010, considering taking a ferry to Tunisa. Any info there???
OHMIGOD! Forgot to include the name of the hotel. It’s the BJ Sala Ricevimenti They have 22 rooms but can accommodate about 350 people in their banquet hall. Imagine!