Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

On this page you’ll find the answers to frequently asked questions. Feel free to contact us if your questions aren’t answered here:

questions about accommodation and booking
general questions
car rental and transfer service

Frequently asked questions

On this page you’ll find the answers to frequently asked questions. Feel free to contact us if your questions aren’t answered here:

questions about accommodation and booking
general questions
car rental and transfer service

Spring in Sicily!
How can I book one of your apartments or holiday homes?

You can search for available apartments, villas and holiday homes on the search and book page and directly book the holiday accommodation you like! You can also email us or chat with us and let us know which apartment, villa or holiday home you’d like to book and we’ll book the holiday accomodation for you.

Can I make a provisional booking?

Yes, please contact us if you’d like us to hold a certain period for you. This will give you three days to book flights, check other details, etc. Feel free to contact us if you’d like to make a provisional booking.

How can I see whether an apartment or holiday home is still available?

On our search and book page you can check the availability of our apartments, villas and holiday homes in Sicily and directly book the holiday accommodation you like.

Are there fixed check-in or check-out days?

We don’t use fixed check-in or check-out days.

Can I book for more or less than 7 days?

Yes, you can! With a minimum 4-day stay, you can choose any amount of days/weeks that you wish to rent. We do not use fixed check-in or check-out days. This allows you to create the perfect holiday to fit your schedule and travel needs!

Are towels, bed linens and beach towels provided?

In all our apartments and holiday homes you’ll find towels and bed linens. In some, beach towels are also provided. If that’s the case, it will be mentioned on the information page of the apartment, villa or holiday home.

Can we rent a travel cot and/or highchair?

No problem! We have travel cots and Chicco booster seats (portable highchairs). The rental price is 25 Euros per week for a travel cot and 15 Euros per week for a booster seat. You can use these items free of charge in the Borgo delle Olive and in most villas.

What is the check-in and check-out time?

Standard check-out time for all apartments, villas and holiday homes is 10:00 am. If there’s no arrival on the day of your departure, a late check-out is possible. However, if you’d like to make sure you can stay in the accommodation after 10:00 am, we advise you to book an additional day.

There’s no fixed check-in time. Check-in is possible as soon as the accommodation has been cleaned. If you arrive on the departure day of another family, it might take until 2:00 pm to clean the apartment, villa or holiday home.

Do you have apartments or holiday homes in other parts of Sicily?

No, we don’t. We personally welcome every guest in Sicily, so all our apartments, villas and holiday homes are located in the Golfo di Castellammare area, close to our home in the coastal town of Balestrate.

In the coastal town of Trappeto
What are the opening hours of the shops in Sicily?

Most shops are open Monday to Saturday from 08:00 am to 1:00 pm and from 04:00 to 08:00 pm and on Sundays from 08:00 am to 01:00 pm. Some supermarkets, such as the Lidl in the town of Partinico and the Auchan in the Poseidon in the town of Carini are open every day from 09:00 am to 09:00 pm. It’s a 20-minute drive from most of our apartments, villas and holiday homes in Balestrate to both the Lidl and the Poseidon shopping mall.

Where can I do the groceries?

At Bontà Più in Balestrate you’ll find excellent quality Sicilian and Italian products (like cheese, bread, meat, meats, olives, olive oil, etc.). You’ll find Bonta Più here. There are also several supermarkets in the area:

In the coastal town of Balestrate: Sisa, Conad and Cento piazze

In Castellammare del Golfo: Sucameli

In Alcamo: Lidl, Carrefour and Conad

In Carini: Auchan in shopping mall Poseidon

In Partinico: Lidl and Ard

I don't want to drive in Palermo. Is public transportation a good alternative?

Public transportation is an alternative, but keep in mind that it will take quite some extra time tot get to Palermo by bus or train and that the last bus and train to Balestrate and Castellammare del Golfo leaves at 07:30 pm from Palermo. We therefore advise you to drive to Monreale and to take a bus or taxi from there to Palermo (see car routes) We can also organize a transfer from and to Balestrate, Trappeto and Castellammare del Golfo.

How does (paid) parking work in Sicily?

When you park your car in an area marked with a blue line, you either have to pay or use a parking disc (signs will tell you which applies). If the parking space is marked with white lines, you can usually park for free. However, always pay attention to the signs! These indicate whether you have to pay, and if so, how much, or how long you can park with a parking disc. If you have to pay and there’s no parking meter in the area, then you’ll have to buy parking cards (schede parcheggio) at an edicola (where newspapers and magazines are sold) or a bar (NB not all bars sell theses cards). These scratch cards are valid for one hour, so if you want to park for more than an hour, you’ll have to scratch more cards, one for each additional hour. The first card needs to show the time and date you’ve parked your car and every additional card should be scratched using the time of the previous card + 1 hour. So, if you park for 4 hours, starting at 09:00 am, you need to have 4 scratch cards on your dashboard (visible from outside), one saying 09:00 am, the next one 10:00 am, the third one 11:00 am and the last one 12:00 am (which will be valid until 01:00 pm). Now isn’t that a simple system?!

Please note: every town and village has its own scratch cards so you can’t use scratch cards from one town in another town!

A yellow line means no parking and if the parking spaces aren’t marked at all, it’s usually free parking.

The Sicilians often do whatever they like, so don’t just follow their example but look at the parking signs…

Where can I find bus or train timetables and where can I buy tickets?

You can find the timetables of bus company Russo here. The website is in Italian, so to be clear, you can check the departure times underneath “Scopri i nostri orari e le nostre tariffe”, where partenza is the town from where you’d like to take the bus and arrivo is the town/city you’d like to go to. You can buy tickets in the bus.

Visit the Treniatalia website for train schedules.

On what day is there a market in the area?

In Balestrate there’s a market on Monday morning (close to the train station). In Alcamo there’s a market on Wednesday morning and in Castellammare del Golfo there’s one on Saturday morning.

Flowers in the sun
Do I need a rental car?

If you want to visit the places of interest on the island, we recommend you to rent a car. If you stay in one of our apartments, villas or holiday homes close to the sea and a town center and you only want to go the beach, then a rental car is less important. If you don’t want to rent a car or if you don’t want one for your entire holiday period, we can arrange a transfer to and from the airports of Palermo and Trapani. A transfer costs 85 Euros from and to Trapani Airport and 65 Euros from and to Palermo Airport (*).

(*) Up to 4 people. Each additional person pays 10 Euros.

Can you organize car rental for me if I fly to Catania or Comiso?

Unfortunately, we can’t. We only organize car rental in combination with a transfer service from and to Palermo and Trapani airport.

Can I pick up the rental car at Palermo of Trapan airport and drop it off there on the day of departure?

That’s possible, but additional fees apply.

What does unlimited mileage mean?

This means that you don’t have to pay additional fees if you drive more than a certain number of kilometers. NB This doesn’t mean that fuel is included in the rental price.

What is super cover?

Our rental prices always include super cover. This means that there’s no deductible in case of damage to or theft of the rental car.

Are there any hidden costs?

No, our rental prices are All-inclusive, so including onsicilycard discount, super cover, cover for additional drivers, unlimited mileage and the transfer service (no deposit or safety deposit). Because most of the time other car rental agencies only publish a basic price, without cover for additional drivers and super cover, our rental prices might seem a lot higher. However, when you add the surcharges they charge, you’ll see that our prices are competitive for the excellent service provided.

I see additional drivers are covered. Do I get a discount when I'm the only one driving the rental car?

The cover for additional drivers is free of charge, so no discount will be applied in cases where there’s only one driver.

I don't have a credit card. Can I still rent a car?

If you booked one of our apartments, villas or holiday homes, you can rent a car without credit card. If you only want us to organize the car rental for you, than you’ll need to have a credit card.

Is a navigation system included?

Some models, like the Fiat 500L, have a built-in navigation system. If you rent a different model, you can rent a Tomtom for only 10 Euros per rental period.

How much do you charge for child seats?

The rental price for child seats is 15 Euros per rental period. The rental price for booster seats is 5 Euros per rental period.

Early April in the Sicilian coastal town of Balestrate
Chat with us