The joys and excitement of driving around Sicily and Sardinia

There is light at the end of the tunnel for overseas travel again as borders begin to reopen, and there are plenty of tunnels to pass through in Europe. Many years ago when our family travelled around Italy by car our young children were so fascinated with the tunnels that they started recording the number we passed through. As there were so many they finally gave it up and found other things to amuse them.

But this is a story of the trials and tribulations, and the joys and excitement of driving around Sicily and Sardinia.

Before you pick up a car anywhere in Italy, make sure you have comprehensive insurance because it appears a dent or two on your car is almost a badge of honour. That said, the Italians are far better drivers than rumour has it.

Admittedly, parking anywhere seems to be a given right to the local inhabitants. It is not unusual to find a rear end of a parked car protruding into the road. This can present a real challenge to anyone trying to squeeze through a narrow street, but that is part of the fun – or at least of the experience.

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And pedestrians don’t realise how vulnerable they are. Stepping out in front of a car is part of their way of life. Luckily driver’s reactions are excellent, so although we saw a few near-misses we didn’t see any unpleasant instances. New Zealand drivers could learn a few tips from their Italian counterparts – but not from the pedestrians.

Talking of parking, that is a constant battle. First of all you need to understand the rules and beware if you ignore them. Deep pockets are needed to pay any fines or parking fees. Don’t expect to just drive up and park wherever you wish. Even at the beach, if you can find anywhere to leave the vehicle, there is bound to be a fee, often from a pay and display stand. If so, it can be a trick trying to spot the booth, then to see if it is working, and then to puzzle out how this particular one works. Maybe there will be a youth happy to help as long as you hand over a nice tip.

Then, added to the expense of parking the car, you might then need to pay an exorbitant amount for a beach umbrella and lounger, and that’s if you manage to find a strip of free beach with a piece of sand or pebbles with barely space enough to fit your bodies. But that’s another story…

If you are in luck you might find a parking area with an actual human being ready to take money from you – and be careful that the money-taker is legitimate. However, we found that sometimes if a helpful local guides you into a spot, they will then keep an eye on your car for you.

When we left our car for a few days in a free parking area we felt happier knowing someone was looking after it for us and we had no unpleasant surprises. It was worth the money we handed over. Of course, there is no guarantee that will work but it did for us, and he deserved the extra tip we gave him.

Take note of the colour codes that indicate different types of parking areas. Those with painted white spaces are free but be careful there is no time limit. Those with blue markings denote paid parking spots, so make sure you’ve got change or a credit card on hand.

Travelling in Europe, especially on our exchange rate, is dear enough without adding charges for parking infringements. Sending a sympathy card to the authorities in Italy would probably not suffice – that is what my husband did in England years ago after receiving a parking ticket. I often wondered if they hung it on the wall in the office as a good example of an excuse. At least it seemed to work. He never received a follow-up notification, and it’s made a good dining out story ever since.

The other thing to be aware of is ZTL areas, which indicates limited entry, possibly just for locals or official vehicles. And don’t even think of using a yellow marked spot. Watch for any road signs which are often hard to see among the myriad of signs or obscured by trees. You need eyes in the back of your head to first notice the signs, then to interpret them.

Some towns and cities have limited access at certain times, or sometimes no vehicle access at all, so after finding somewhere legitimate to leave your vehicle a lot of humping of packs or trundling of cases along cobbled streets is required for the traveller, so good shoes and a level of fitness are necessities.

Then there is the actual driving, which I didn’t do, but I did have a very able driver, and after three weeks of travelling on all sorts of roads we are still friends. There were a few tense moments, especially when “Mr. Tomtom” gave instructions to turn right here, and whether right here meant right here into this impossibly small opening really was right here was sometimes in dispute.

After a few wrong turns, a few u-turns, a few times going round a roundabout again, a few turning the car on a spot the size of a ten cent coin, a few hair-raising backings and a few rude words we were soon back on track and back on friendly terms.

Of course it was never my fault as navigator. “Mr. Tomtom” had a bit to answer for. He didn’t like to acknowledge that a new roundabout had been installed since he’d last visited Italy a couple of years previously, or that a few roadworks could throw his system into a hissy fit. In spite of his quirks he became a valuable third person in the car and where we’d be without him, I don’t know. He didn’t take up any room, and he did have a nice voice.

Driving many kilometres round Sicily and Sardinia brought great rewards. Both are delightful places to visit, full of interesting historical sites, great food and wine, very friendly people and marvellous scenery. But the scenery was often a real challenge. Both islands are very rugged. Road surfaces varied from excellent to atrocious. Motorways were mostly good, but a few toll roads meant we needed to be prepared to pay. Sicily boasts many tunnels and extremely long viaducts, often passing over olive groves, citrus orchards and vineyards.

Sardinia has fewer tunnels and viaducts, so climbing, climbing, climbing up narrow twisting roads and then negotiating many hairpin bends on the way down, then up and down, and up and down became part of the routine. There are practically no passing lanes or places to pull over to let traffic through, or to pass other vehicles. And if there are any official places to stop they are often very small, and regularly used as a rubbish dump. Where else do you leave your plastic bags overflowing with rubbish, or your cigarette butts or your drink bottles? And don’t be surprised if you suddenly find yourself on a narrow, dirt road or on a one way street facing the wrong direction.

A piece of advice we were given, and one that I fully endorse, is to get the smallest car that meets your requirements. You’ll be grateful when negotiating the incredibly narrow streets – and for parking. And make sure it is quick off the mark as a quick response is essential.

Would I recommend travelling these Italian roads by car again? Yes, yes, yes, as long as I have a competent and patient driver, a thick skin, a good GPS system, plenty of time and bags of cash.