Getting a Palermo taxi service
Palermo is a sprawling city, filled with historic monuments and rich cultural sites. To avoid the crowds and the Italian summer heat, taking a Palermo taxi is the best way to travel. Although not the most affordable transfer option, taking a taxi in Palermo will provide a safe, relaxing and completely private way to explore all this fascinating city has to offer.
Most Palermo taxis are white with a red and black ‘TAXI’ sign on the top of the car. There are many ways to get a taxi in Palermo, from calling for a pickup, using a taxi app, walking to a taxi rank or pre-booking your Palermo Airport taxi. With so many ways to catch a ride, taking a Palermo taxi to explore couldn’t be easier.
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How much does a taxi cost?
| Taxi prices | Day time (05:00 - 24:00) | Night time (00:00 - 05:00) | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| FROM PMO TO PIAZZA PRETORIA | 35 € | 45 € | 22 MIN |
| FROM PMO TO PORT ANTICO | 48 € | 61 € | 40 MIN |
| FROM PALERMO TO ALTAVILLA BEACH | 50 € | 60 € | 23 MIN |
| FROM PMO TO MASSIMO THEATRE | 41 € | 53 € | 30 MIN |
| FROM PALERMO PORT TO MONDELLO | 35 € | 45 € | 22 MIN |
| FROM CITY CENTRE TO MONDELLO BEACH | 30 € | 35 € | 20 MIN |
What are the Palermo taxi prices?
Palermo taxis are notorious for having high prices. All local taxis in Palermo use taximeters to calculate their fares based on both time and distance elements. There are two different tariffs when it comes to taxi prices in Palermo, one for during the day and another for the nighttime (22:00 to 06:00) and Sundays. Your driver should always have the correct tariff showing on their taximeer.
Taxi Fares:
Tariff 1 – From Monday to Saturday from 06:00 to 22:00
- Base fare (incl. 2 km): €6.35
- Price per km: €0.84
Tariff 2 – Monday to Saturday from 22:00 to 06:00 and Sunday all day
- Base fare (incl. 2 km): €8.26
- Price per km: €0.84
The only exception to this rule is if you are taking a taxi from Palermo Airport to the city center. This journey will have a fixed fare of €35, not including any luggage surcharges.
Extra charges:
Note that an extra €0.30 will be charged per piece of luggage. Keeping your driver waiting for an hour will also incur an extra charge of €16.90. You can avoid these surprise charges by pre-booking with Welcome Pickups.
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How to get a taxi in Palermo
Unlike many other major cities, it’s difficult to hail a taxi in Palermo. Most taxi drivers won’t simply stop in the street to pick up passengers, and if they do, they are usually unlicensed taxis. Having said this, there are many other ways to get a taxi in Palermo. You can call a phone dispatch taxi company, use one of the local Palermo taxi apps, pre-book your rides with a private company or walk to one of the taxi ranks located around the city. You will find a designated rank outside of most major tourist areas, shopping centers, the train station, Palermo Airport, Piazza Ruggero Settimo, Teatro Massimo and Piazza Indipendenza.
How to get a taxi from Palermo Airport
The official Palmero Airport taxi rank is located on the left side of the Arrivals Hall. As you exit the doors, you will see the line of licensed airport taxis waiting. All taxis that operate from Palmero Airport are white with a yellow stripe down each side and a ‘TAXI’ sign on top. The journey from Palermo Airport to the city center will take around 30 minutes and will cost a fixed fare of €35.
How to get a taxi from Palermo Centrale Train Station
Taxis are available 24 hours a day from the Palmero Centrale train station. You will find a line of taxis waiting outside of the main exit doors. The taxis from Palmero train station don’t offer fixed prices for their services, you will be charged using a taximeter for all taxi rides originating from Palmero Centrale.
How to get a taxi from Piazza Politeama
Unlike many other squares in Palermo, Piazza Politeama has direct road access and its own taxi rank. Along the road next to this centralized plaza, you will see the white local taxis waiting. To take a taxi, simply walk to one of the vehicles near the front of the line and hop in. Taxis from Piazza Politeama don’t have fixed prices, you will be charged using a taximeter.
Popular Palermo taxi apps
Hailing a taxi in Palermo usually isn’t advisable. Most Palermo taxi drivers won’t stop for passengers in the street and it’s hard to tell which taxis are licensed. Instead, you can use a Palermo taxi app to book a taxi and track its progress in real-time. The local taxi app is called Free Now and Uber is also available throughout the city. Having said this, only Uber Black is operational in Palermo, which is a luxury service with very high fares.
If planning ahead and enjoying zero wait times is more your thing, you can also pre-book your rides with a world-renowned company such as Welcome Pickups. Welcome offers guaranteed on-time pickups, pre-paid journeys and competitive fixed-rate fares.
Useful Palermo taxi numbers
To avoid having to download yet another app to your phone, you use a local phone dispatch Palermo taxi service. Your hotel reception will usually be able to call a cab for you, however, this may come with an extra cost due to their affiliations or commissions.
To avoid the extra charge, you can call one of the local Palermo taxi companies yourself. The two recommended radio taxi numbers are:
Radio taxi Trinacria: +39 (091) 6878
Autoradio Taxi Palermo: +39 (091) 8481
It’s important to note that there will be an average waiting time of 10 to 15 minutes for your taxi to arrive and there may be additional charges for using a radio dispatch taxi in Palermo.
Benefits of booking your Palermo taxi in advance
As the local Palermo taxi prices are elevated, trying to budget your trip can be stressful. Whereas, pre-booking your taxi rides will allow you to plan, budget and save for your journeys around this historical city with ease.
There are plenty of different Palermo taxi companies to choose from, however, many of the local companies add on additional fees and surcharges to your fare, after you have already booked your ride. To enjoy a competitive all-inclusive fare, we suggest pre-booking your rides in Palermo with a trusted company such as Welcome Pickups.
Palermo taxi tips
- Make sure your driver resets their taximeter to the correct base fare before you begin your journey.
- Almost all Palermo taxi drivers accept credit card payments. However, they do prefer being paid in cash and may often tell you their POS system isn’t working.
- Sicilian taxi drivers are renowned for overcharging, either by adding extras on the meter or taking a longer than the necessary route. It is important to check this, either by asking for a receipt or by following your route on Google Maps.
- At the end of your journey, be sure to ask for your receipt. This will be needed if you want to make a complaint or if you left something in the taxi.
- Baby seats don’t come as standard but you can fit your own seat for no extra cost.
Wheelchair accessible taxi in Palermo
Although standard taxis in Palermo are not wheelchair accessible, a few companies do offer this option. If you wish to book a fully accessible taxi with spacious seating, large walkways and access ramps, it is best to contact a disabled-accessible taxi service in advance.
Palermo taxi safety and complaints
The most common issue when taking a taxi in Palmero is being overcharged. Your driver will usually try to take a longer route, use the incorrect tariff or add extra charges to your fare for unnecessary things. To avoid these issues, asking for your receipt, ensuring your driver has the taximeter switched on and tracking your journey on Google Maps is important.
If you do need to make a complaint, you can either contact the company you traveled with or, for more serious issues, you can notify the local authorities by calling 112 or 113.