Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Palermo and Western Sicily

Before you go

What happens when you get there

Getting there

Palermo airport serves Palermo and Cefalù, and Trapani Birgi serves Trapani, Erice, Marsala and San Vito. Sciacca and Verdura are about 90 minutes by car from either. Dogs can't fly in the cabin into or out of the UK, so from the UK the realistic route is driving, then the Strait of Messina crossing or an overnight ferry to Palermo. From Ireland or the continent, ITA Airways via Rome or Milan takes a small dog in the cabin, 12 kg including the carrier on Italian domestic flights and 8 kg on other flights.

Trains

Trenitalia carries a small pet free in a carrier up to 70 x 30 x 50 cm, one per passenger. A dog of any size can travel on a lead and muzzled with its own ticket, which on Regionale trains is half a second-class fare. The Palermo airport train and the Palermo to Cefalù line are both Regionale. Carry the dog's registration certificate and health booklet, they're compulsory.

Beaches

Sicily's summer beach rules come from a regional ordinance each year, with each comune adding its own and naming dog areas. Those rules aren't published here, so check locally for the beach you have in mind. They cover the bathing season on named stretches of beach, not the whole coast, and each lido sets its own dog rule. Planeta's Insula Beach Club at Menfi says small pets are welcome. Verdura Resort keeps dogs off its own beach all year.

Temples and ruins

Dog rules for Segesta, Selinunte and the Valley of the Temples aren't published here. Ask the park office before you drive out, rather than turning up and hoping.

Heat

July and August are hot on this coast, and the sirocco pushes some days far higher. Segesta and Selinunte are exposed stone with almost no shade, and the salt pans at Trapani and the Stagnone are flat and shadeless too. Go at opening time, carry water, and test pavement and sand with your hand.

Dogs in restaurants

None of the hotels on our list lets dogs into its dining rooms. Le Calette Bay, Villa Igiea and Verdura all say so in writing. Outside the hotels, a terrace table is the likeliest yes, so ask for one.

Leaving the dog in the room

Villa Igiea and Verdura allow it if reception knows and the Do Not Disturb sign is out, and both can book grooming and dog sitting in advance. Le Calette Bay says never. Everywhere else, ask.

Weight limits

Small dogs only at Cefalù Sea Palace, Hotel Kalura, I Mulini, Le Calette Bay and Limen. About 4 kg at Parco degli Aromi, 10 kg at the two Mangia's resorts, 12 kg at Villa Igiea and Verdura, 25 kg at Palazzo Sitano. Baitan, Relais Antiche Saline and San Vito Resort don't publish a limit, so ask before you book with a bigger dog.

Best walks

In Palermo, the Foro Italico seafront lawns, Villa Giulia gardens beside the Orto Botanico and the Parco della Favorita at the foot of Monte Pellegrino. In Cefalù, the Lungomare Giuseppe Giardina and the path up La Rocca from the old-town lanes, with Castelbuono and the Madonie woods a drive inland. At San Vito Lo Capo, the seafront promenade and the flat lane of about 2 kilometres out to the Capo San Vito lighthouse. In Trapani, the Lungomare Dante Alighieri and the tracks of the Saline di Trapani e Paceco reserve, keeping to the tracks because it's a protected bird site. At Marsala, the Lungomare Boeo from Capo Boeo and the Stagnone salt road towards the Mozia jetty. In Sciacca, the terrace on Piazza Angelo Scandaliato over the harbour.

When to go

The months either side of high summer are the easy ones. July and August are hot, the sirocco makes some days much hotter, and the temples, salt pans and lagoon have almost no shade, so in summer they're a first-thing or sunset walk. Summer is also when the beach rules apply on named stretches, so check locally before you head for the sand.