When travelling by motorhome, you get to see a bit more than a charter tourist. You don't just see the perfect tourist resorts - but also everything in between. The best thing about Sicily is its beautiful cities, friendly people and interesting history. But we can't ignore the downsides either.
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Good and bad in Sicily
There are some really nice places in Sicily, and for those who want to visit the island, we have collected our best travel tips about Sicily here. But if we are to be honest reporters, we also have to report on the downside of Sicily. Unfortunately, we can't turn a blind eye to the mountains of rubbish and the completely hopeless roads ...
Sopor
The most notable negative in Sicily is the mountains of rubbish. Garbage management is not working, so the mountains around the garbage stations grow into huge piles. Do you think we took photos in extreme places? On the contrary!
Some municipalities have better rubbish sorting than others (east coast) but on most of the island it looks terrible. It's as if someone drove over the island with bombers and strewed rubbish. There really is rubbish just everywhere. Does it smell good in the August heat? Not exactly!
Neglected roads and signs
Another of Sicily's downsides is the utterly hopeless roads. There are so many holes and potholes that you sometimes think it's more hole than road. We drive the motorhome slowly and Peter says he can never look at the view - he has to constantly parry the potholes!
Road signs are also neglected. Sometimes signs have been forgotten and other times the signs are dented, broken, bent or have such scratched off colour that they can no longer be read. This is the sadder part of Sicily, but it also needs to be reported!
Want to read more inspiring stories?
No, we're not just being negative about Sicily, on the contrary! The island offers historic cities with beautiful buildings. Here you will find some of our reports.
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Renates Reiser says:
Wow, so much rubbish! Too bad when it looks like that... And most often it's the kind of thing you don't write / talk about, and then it can be a shock to others who are going there. So it's good that you inform about this too! Maybe it will be taken care of eventually, one can hope so. I remember it was the same way in Albania. Beautiful country, but an insane amount of rubbish along the roads and elsewhere.
09 August 2015 - 20:25
BP says:
I think it's good that you also show the backside of Sicily. These rubbish heaps are really horrible. Not only the smell but also the rats that should be permanent guests in the piles. No ugh! Perhaps the sanitation workers are on strike, considering how hard it must be to drive a garbage truck on such roads... Our Swedish sanitation workers would have done that!
09 August 2015 - 20:43
steel city anna says:
No waste sorting there ... Tank so Swedes wash every tin can.
09 August 2015 - 20:59
admin says:
Renate, yes the rubbish is awful! Interesting (but sad) that you write that it is the same in Albania. We are actually planning to go there!
BP, we feel we have to tell you about this too, otherwise we are not honest! We have heard that the mafia is involved in waste management, that they take care of it because they put in the lowest bid but then don't fulfil it. But we don't really know, it's just hearsay.
Steel City Anna, waste separation is actually available in many places, such as campsites. The problem is that no one comes to collect the rubbish...
09 August 2015 - 21:10
Marina says:
Unfortunately, the problem of rubbish and piles of rubbish is a recurring problem in many countries if you end up "behind the tourist routes".
09 August 2015 - 22:29
Katarina Wohlfart says:
Yes, but I think it looks like that in other areas of Italy too. Out on the islands near Venice, for example, the same. All of Greece, the same. But yes, Sicily is poor so yes, unfortunately it is probably so.
09 August 2015 - 23:01
Maggan och Ingemar says:
Yes, it is terrible with all the rubbish and all the bad roads. We reacted just like you. Still, there are so many nice places to visit, but usually you don't have time to see everything or it's like you, way too hot. Thanks for referring to my blog in previous posts. 🙂
09 August 2015 - 23:02
admin says:
Marina, we haven't had it so far (France, Spain, Portugal) but maybe it will come in Greece and Albania?
Katarina, yes, it can probably be like that in other parts of Italy. We have never been to Greece. But why does no one write about it then? Everyone writes all the time only about it being so fantastic in Greece?
Maggan and Ingemar, there is a lot to see in Sicily! We especially liked the east coast with Noto, Syracuse and Taormina. We also had many good experiences at nice campsites. Of course, we did not see everything, but we are still very satisfied. We do not want to write down Sicily, but we feel that we must also be honest. We ourselves were so surprised by all this rubbish ...
09 August 2015 - 23:17
Ama de casa says:
Yes, there are probably downsides in most places. Sad... The thing with rubbish and garbage... People don't seem to care in the slightest but drop everything they have in their hands right down when they don't think they need it anymore. HOW boring as well...
10 August 2015 - 10:11
anita wag agrimanaki says:
Here in Greklad, waste management has actually improved. Sometimes there can be mountains. Long weekends or strikes, for example. Waste sorting is available here even if not everyone respects it, but there are different containers so you can sort.
I'm reading a blog from Capri, where the rubbish management seems to be ideal. At certain times you can throw away the rubbish and it is collected even at those times so the rubbish is never seen.
10 August 2015 - 16:03
Alexandra says:
I have a friend who comes from Sicily (but lives in Sweden), his father told me a few years ago that rubbish is a problem in Sicily because of the mafia (just as you wrote). There is money to be made in waste management and therefore the mafia has seized it. But they don't take care of it.... but if someone else were to start taking care of the rubbish... well then you might wake up with a horse's head in your bed too (or some other Mafioso).
10 August 2015 - 16:29
admin says:
Ama de casa, what a shame! It could be nonchalance, but even when people put the rubbish in the right place - it's not picked up.
Anita, it's good to hear that waste management in Greece has improved. Temporary mountains may be acceptable if you don't have to see it normally.
Alexandra, interesting that you write that you heard the same thing about the mafia. Maybe not so easy to get to the problem... but it's not fun!
10 August 2015 - 16:47
znogge says:
I also recognise this from our visit. Unfortunately, a clear downside...
10 August 2015 - 21:59