Health & Insurance

The cost of travel insurance varies widely, depending on the cost and length of your trip, your age and health, and the type of trip you're taking.

Check your existing insurance policies and credit card coverage before you buy travel insurance. You may already be covered for lost luggage, canceled tickets, or medical expenses.

Trip-Cancellation Insurance -- Trip-cancellation insurance helps you get your money back if you have to back out of a trip, if you have to go home early, or if your travel supplier goes bankrupt. Allowed reasons for cancellation can range from sickness to natural disasters to the Department of State declaring your destination unsafe for travel. In this unstable world, trip-cancellation insurance is a good buy if you're getting tickets well in advance -- who knows what the state of the world, or of your airline, will be in 9 months? Insurance policy details vary, so read the fine print -- and especially make sure that your airline is on the list of carriers covered in case of bankruptcy. A good resource is "Travel Guard Alerts," a list of companies considered high risk by Travel Guard International. Protect yourself further by paying for the trip with a credit card -- by law, consumers can get their money back on goods and services not received if they report the loss within 60 days after the charge is listed on their credit card statement.

Note: Many tour operators, particularly those offering trips to remote or high-risk areas, include insurance in the cost of the trip or can arrange insurance policies through a partnering provider, a convenient and often cost-effective way for the traveler to obtain insurance. Make sure the tour company is a reputable one, however: Some experts suggest you avoid buying insurance from the tour or cruise company you're traveling with, saying it's better to buy from a "third party" insurer than to put all your money in one place.

For more information, contact one of the following recommended insurers: Access America (tel. 866/807-3982; www.accessamerica.com); Travel Guard International (tel. 800/826-4919; www.travelguard.com); Travel Insured International (tel. 800/243-3174; www.travelinsured.com); and Travelex Insurance Services (tel. 888/457-4602; www.travelex-insurance.com).

Medical Insurance -- For travel overseas, most health plans (including Medicare and Medicaid) do not provide coverage, and the ones that do often require you to pay for services up front and reimburse you only after you return home. Even if your plan does cover overseas treatment, most out-of-country hospitals make you pay your bills up front, and send you a refund only after you've returned home and filed the necessary paperwork with your insurance company. As a safety net, you may want to buy travel medical insurance, particularly if you're traveling to a remote or high-risk area where emergency evacuation is a possible scenario.

If you require additional medical insurance, try MEDEX Assistance (tel. 888/MEDEX-00; www.medexassist.com) or Travel Assistance International (tel. 800/821-2828; www.travelassistance.com; for general information on services, call the company's Worldwide Assistance Services, Inc., at tel. 800/777-8710).

Lost-Luggage Insurance -- On international flights (including U.S. portions of international trips), baggage coverage is limited to approximately $9.07 per pound, up to approximately $635 per checked bag. If you plan to check items more valuable than the standard liability, see if your valuables are covered by your homeowner's policy. You can also get baggage insurance as part of your comprehensive travel-insurance package. Don't buy insurance at the airport, as it's usually overpriced. Be sure to take any valuables or irreplaceable items with you in your carry-on luggage, as many valuables (including books, money, and electronics) aren't covered by airline policies.

If your luggage is lost, immediately file a lost-luggage claim at the airport, detailing the luggage contents. For most airlines, you must report delayed, damaged, or lost baggage within 4 hours of arrival. The airlines are required to deliver luggage, once found, directly to your house or destination for free.

Health & Safety

Staying Healthy -- In general, Sicily is viewed as a "safe" destination, although problems, of course, can and do occur anywhere. You don't need to get shots; most foodstuffs are safe; and the water in cities and towns is potable. If you're concerned, drink bottled water. It's easy to get a prescription filled in towns and cities, and nearly all places contain English-speaking doctors at hospitals with well-trained medical staffs. In other words, Sicily is part of the civilized world.

Before you go, contact the International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers (IAMAT; tel. 716/754-4883 or, in Canada, 416/652-0137; www.iamat.org) for tips on travel and health concerns in the countries you're visiting, and lists of local English-speaking doctors. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (tel. 800/311-3435; www.cdc.gov) provides up-to-date information on health hazards by region or country and offers tips on food safety.

The website www.tripprep.com, sponsored by a consortium of travel medicine practitioners, may also offer helpful advice on traveling abroad. You can find listings of reliable clinics overseas at the International Society of Travel Medicine (www.istm.org).

What To Do If You Get Sick Away From Home -- If you suffer from a chronic illness, consult your doctor before your departure. For such conditions as epilepsy, diabetes, or heart problems, wear a MedicAlert identification tag (tel. 888/633-4298; www.medicalert.org), which will immediately alert doctors to your condition and give them access to your records through MedicAlert's 24-hour hot line.

Pack prescription medications in your carry-on luggage, and carry prescription medications in their original containers, with pharmacy labels -- otherwise they won't make it through airport security. Also bring along copies of your prescriptions in case you lose your pills or run out. Carry the generic name of prescription medicines, in case a local pharmacist is unfamiliar with the brand name. Don't forget an extra pair of contact lenses or prescription glasses.

In case of emergency, dial tel. 113 for the police, or tel. 112 for the Carabinieri (army police corps): They can call an ambulance or help you in many ways. If your situation is life-threatening, go to the pronto soccorso (emergency department) at the local hospital.

Many, but hardly all, doctors in Sicily speak English. If you get sick, consider asking your hotel concierge to recommend a local doctor -- even his or her own. You can also try the emergency room at a local hospital. Many hospitals also have walk-in clinics for emergency cases that are not life-threatening; you may not get immediate attention, but you won't pay the high price of an emergency-room visit. In the chapters that follow, we list hospitals and emergency numbers under "Fast Facts" in the sections on various cities.

Under the Italian national health-care system, you're eligible only for free emergency care. If you're admitted to a hospital as an inpatient, even from an accident and an emergency, you're required to pay (unless you're a resident of the European Economic Area). You're also required to pay for follow-up care.

If you do end up paying for health care, especially if you're admitted to a hospital for any reason, some health-insurance plans and HMOs will cover at least part of the out-of-country hospital visits and procedures. Be prepared to pay the bills at the time of care, however. You'll get a refund after you've returned to your country and filed all the paperwork.

Staying Safe

Don't think you'll be at the mercy of the Mafia the moment you step foot in Sicily, as popular belief around the world suggests. The Mafia is virtually invisible.

You'll face more danger from petty thieves, such as pickpockets, than you will from the Cosa Nostra. Scippatori, or purse snatchers and pickpockets, are the curse of such cities as Palermo, Messina, and Catania.

Country towns, of course, are far safer. Avoid walking on dark streets in the old towns of Sicily at night. Even during the day, relatively deserted inner-city streets can put you at risk of robbery. Although many tourists are robbed, violence against visitors is rare.

Never leave valuables in a car, and never travel with your car unlocked. A U.S. Department of State travel advisory warns that every car (whether parked, stopped at a traffic light, or even moving) can be a potential target for armed robbery. In these uncertain times, it is always prudent to check the U.S. Department of State's travel advisories at http://travel.state.gov.