Thinking of a driving holiday in Europe? Read on for 10 tips for driving in Italy to make your holiday stress-free!
Driving in Italy is not like driving at home, but don't let that scare you off. It may seem strange to see a topic like 10 tips for driving in Italy on a food blog, but read on. And if you're not the least bit interested in this topic, have one of my favourite muffins and poke around this site to find some new recipe ideas!
If you are interested in reading about our driving experiences while holidaying in Europe and some tips for driving in Italy, have one of those yummy muffins anyway, pour yourself a cup of coffee and read on.
Touring Europe by Car
Having your own car while holidaying in Europe allows you to set your own agenda, explore the back roads and see how the locals really live. It's our favourite way to travel.
After our sixth trip to Europe (five of which were driving holidays) and over 9 months of driving experience there, we feel comfortable enough to pass on a few tips for driving in Italy that would have been helpful to us the first time we came.
Denis is completely confident winding his way through the narrowest streets, backing into the tightest parking spots, navigating the Autostrade and recently, even driving on the Amalfi Coast road. He has an uncanny sense of direction that has saved us from getting lost more times than I can count.
Here are some tips for driving in Italy and a few suggestions to help make your Italian driving holiday stress-free.
1. Become comfortable using your GPS before you leave home. We brought our own with us because we were told there would be a charge of 17 Euros per day to have one in our rental car. As it turns out, our car came with one installed at no charge. Most rental cars now include a GPS. If you use your own, you can enter the addresses of your known destinations or accommodation before you leave--just one less thing to worry about.
2. Learn to use the Google Maps app on your iPhone. It saved us from getting lost many times when we were walking in cities.
Rent a diesel
3. When you rent or lease a car, consider a diesel-powered compact economy car, as diesel vehicles get better fuel economy and diesel itself will cost you less. Most vehicles in Europe are standard shift so either become comfortable driving one, or be prepared to pay a HUGE up charge for an automatic transmission.
And while we are on the subject of diesel, one of the easiest places to fuel up is at an AutoGrill. These are huge "rest stops" on the Autostrade where you can get a cappuccino, a panini, buy snacks, wine, and locally produced foods, and use the bathroom. (If you want to buy something to eat or drink, you pay the cashier first, then pass your receipt to the staff at the cafeteria counter and they prepare your food for you.)
Learn to drive like a local!
4. Learning to drive like the locals do means fast and aggressively. Speed limits are faster than at home. 130 km per hour is not uncommon. 90 km through narrow streets in the middle of small towns is also not unheard of.
5. Get used to always having someone on your tail. Italians are notorious tailgaters, even if you are driving at or above the speed limit. It seems they cannot stand not to be first, as they will pass you as soon as it is reasonably safe--or even if it is not.
Get used to the fact that parking is rarely easy.
6. You will possibly spend a good part of your trip looking for a place to park. We have found it useful to seek parking lots on a map before we enter a city so we at least have a general idea of where we're headed.
There is no such thing as a Costco-sized parking lot over here, or even a regular-sized one. You may have to let your passenger out first and fold in the car's mirrors before squeezing into a tight spot. Parcheggio = parking in Italian.
At most parking lots, you take a ticket when you enter a lot. Take that ticket with you, as you will need to insert it into a machine and pay when you want to leave. The machine will spit the ticket back out at you. Keep it as you'll need it to exit the lot. In other areas, watch for the colour of the painted lines: white means free parking, yellow is for residents only, and blue indicates paid parking by meter.
Exit - Pay over there=> Hmm . . . . nope! Don't go here!
7. Learn a bit of Italian before you leave home so you can interpret traffic signs.
Ingresso = entrance Uscita = exit. It's good to know the days of the week and the months of the year to avoid street cleaning (and possible tow-away) times.
8. Don't be surprised at the lack of signal lights. Italian drivers just don't seem to ever signal their turns. They also regularly drift into other lanes. The white line down the centre of the road seems to mean nothing to them at times. Motorcyclists seem to view it as their own private lane!
DO NOT drive the Amalfi Coast road!
9. We recently drove (sort of accidentally) on the Amalfi Coast road. My advice: Just don't.
There are lots of options for public transportation available and there is no need to take your own car on this spectacular but crazy highway. It's a very narrow road built into the side of steep cliffs that descend straight to the ocean. Buses squeeze by each other, often having to pull in their mirrors to allow passage.
Motorcycles and scooters weave in and out between the vehicles. Cars stop in the middle of the road to pick up a friend or have a chat. The road is a series of switchbacks and hairpin turns. While it didn't seem to faze Denis, I spent much of the time with my eyes either closed or covered.
At one point, we saw an ambulance attempting to get through traffic to reach victims of an accident. It struck me that this could be a life or death situation if time was of the essence. The following day we traveled the road by bus, so Denis could actually see the views instead of just the traffic!
10. And the last one of my tips for driving in Italy: Remember your polite North American roots! Denis consistently stops at crosswalks for pedestrians, unless there is someone right on his tail. They'll be surprised and will gratefully acknowledge that you did, as it seems the locals don't always do so.
While driving the Amalfi was NOT stress-free, we have many memories of our driving holidays in Europe that we wouldn't trade for anything.
Zipping past vineyards and through tiny medieval villages in Bordeaux was unforgettable! Climbing mountain passes high in the Pyrenees, to Annecy , driving through olive groves as far as the eye could see in Andalusia, and enjoying the spectacular views of rolling hillsides in Tuscany all made for great memories!
Do I need an International Driver's Licence?
Generally, all Canadian or U.S. citizens need is a passport and a driver's licence. Some countries require an International Driving Permit as well. You can get one from a CAA or AAA office at a nominal charge. We have never been asked to show one. You can read more about which countries might require one here.
Put your fears aside, rent a car and have the time of your life driving in Italy!
This post has been updated with new information.
Peggy Fender
Conditions driving from Montepulciano to Bellagio. Ok for first time driver in Italy to drive this route?
Elaine
I haven't been there since before the beginning of the pandemic, so I don't know current conditions. However, if you go, you're in for some absolutely spectacular scenery and a memorable trip!
Rudolf Postlethwait
Yes, that's right.
Daniel
Very useful and interesting.Easier to understand.Thankyou.
Flavour & Savour
You're welcome! Enjoy your trip!
Flavour & Savour
Thanks so much for your valuable insights and information. I'm sure these will be very useful to anyone planning a driving holiday in Italy! Much appreciated!
Luca
Hello, i just read your post about 10 tips for american driving in italy and since i love road trips (I had 4 trips in the US and i loved driving there) and be a native italian driver i want to share some tips to help you improve your post.
1. Cops and carabinieri difference
I’m sure you know that in italy we have plenty of police forces: local police, regional police, fiscal police, “highway police” and carabinieri. All off them can stop you ad give you fines for speeding etc, the reality is that:
- fiscal police may stop you outside highways toll or on the major roads to check your car. This happen usually because they was alerted about a particular type of veichle carring illegal stuff or smuggling goods. Of course they can fine you for speeding or for any violation of the “codice stradale” (ensemble of laws regarding driving) but it’s a white fly. You must be doing something very very bad to have them stop and fine you.
-carabinieri usually stop you for checking and rarely the fine someone if the violation of the road code. Usually they check for car insurance ( mandatory in italy and in case of rental car always included in the rent of the car) and drivers license. They may warn you about your bad driving habits. It’s a good idea to listen to them and apologize. If the violation of the road code is particularly bad the must fine you but they tend to give you the minimum fine for your violation if you apologize for your error.
-other types of police unfortunately will try to found any small violation and fine you. This happen because the amount of the fine will go directly to the town treasure.
Police warning sign:
It’s very common in Italy that a car coming from the opposite direction flash you once or twice. This usually means “Careful police ahead, slow down”. Almost every Italian driver will do that. Also motorcyclist will warn you usually putting one of their hand down or flashing twice. Italian drivers may appear crazy sometimes but they will help you avoid speeding fines if they can.
Speed traps
Ok here we got a LOT of options I will try my best to explain.
VeloOk: the small speed traps in the side of the road on almost every city entrance or exit usually orange. Almost all of them are just “scarecrow”, to be active the local police force must put the speed trap inside of them and they usually have just one or two the rarely do it. Usually Italians will slow down to the limit
Autovelox: normal speed trap, always active and remotely managed. You can’t avoid the check so slow down to the limit otherwise a speeding fine is guaranteed.
Tutor: present only on the highways. They measure your average speed by computing the time passed when your car pass under a tutor checkpoint to the next one. They read the license plate. This does not mean you can’t overpass a car going to 128km/h while you are driving at 130km/h. Some tolerance is present. In case of doubt just slow down a bit until the next tutor checkpoint.
Mobile speed trap: sometimes local police forces will use laser Speed traps. Be aware of the sign from the drivers coming from the opposite direction and you will have no problem.
Additional tips: by the law local police forces must publish all the speed traps and check points active every day on the town website. Of course it can be in italian only but in the last years even the small towns (like mine : 3000 peoples in the north east) have the English version due to the EU regulations.
Every speed traps or check point must have a signal of warning on the road before the checkpoint/speed traps usually about 100 m before.
The law granted you a 20% discount if you pay the fine within 5 days. They will give you a “bollettino postale” a pre-compiled payment form with the fine. Ask your car rental but it’s a good idea to pay it immediately at every postal office and keeps the receipt. Sometimes fines notification will be emitted even if you already paid the fine. In this case just contact the local administration who emitted the fine and email them the receipt of payment. By the law every public institution or office must have a PEC ( with stand for certified e-mail, it’s just a standard email with a bunch of cryptographic stuff and a lot of notifications for senders/receiver. If you send and email to a PEC mail box you will receive a lot of notifications in both Italian and English. When you receive the “Delivered” notification than the receiver is fully responsible for not reading it or not take any action. Ex: if you send a payments receipt for a fine to the local police and got the delivered notifications than if they does not answer you about some problems of the receipt or anything else it all their responsibility) and they must give it to you.
Speed limit and tailgating
Ok I have to apologize but almost every Italian have an aggressive driving style. speed limit are usually not respected but this not means crazy speed. Usually an Italian drivers will drive 10 to 20 km/h over the limit and will slow down when in the city center or in presence of speed traps or when alerted for police presence by other drivers.
Tailgating is also very common, if you don’t feel confident about as soon as possible keep the right and allow them to pass you
Highways:
On the highways remember the first right roadway are for slow vehicles or for the trucks and the minimum speed there is 80km/h, second roadway are for medium speed vehicles the minimum speed there is 100km/h; the third one is for the “ground jet”. This is the theory the reality is:
-first right roadways is for camper/ trucks/grandpa with the hat ;-).
-second right is the most common used. You will find slow vehicles here or trucks over passing other trucks. In this case just slow down or use the third roadway for right to pass them. Italian drivers will expect you to speed up when in the third roadway from right. If you are just overpass a slow vehicle or feel not confident to speed up to 130 or more ( usually Italians will go there from 130 to 150 km/h) just go back on the second roadway as soon as possible.
Although pass a vehicle on the right is possible on the highways the difference between legal and illegal behavior in this case is thin like a razor blade. I strongly recommend to not try to pass on right on the highways.
If you planned to use a lot the highways for saving a lot of time at the tollbooth I suggest asking your rental car company for a “Telepass” that’s like the eToll in the US. Every tollbooth have specific roadway for telepass user and you can avoid the queue, just follow the Telepass signals, enter the indicated tollbooth and you will ear two beeps.
Motorcycle
Motorcyclist in italy will try to pass you not matter what. Being one myself I realized sometimes I scare the shit out of other drivers when I pass them on the road.
When in queue at a semaphore every motorcyclist will skip the queue and reach the top . This behavior is tolerated in Italy.
Mountain and hill roads are the most common place where you can find motorcyclist passing you and seems to go at crazy speed. Surely some of them are insane but the majority will respect you.
Motorcycle culture is a bit different in Italy than in the US. Not matter what motorcycle or club you are affiliated, if you drive a motorcycle you are in the family. You will see them salute each other and help others when in need.
Scooterist are way different: they are simple crazy but they surely know how to drive around cars especially in big cities.
Gas station and rest area
If you need for a gas station I strongly recommend to exit the highways. Prices fall down outside highways and can vary a lot from a place to another. Some apps will help you find the best price on your area. ( like PrezziBenzina on the App Store). Also for a quick rest skip the autogrill and go for a bar outside. Maybe you couldn’t find all the tourist thing like in the autogrill but you will save a lot of money (tip: if you see a lot of motorcycle with an Italian license plate outside of a bar/restaurant it a good sign, go for it)
When at the gas station use the self-service pumps and you will save some cents per liter. As now almost every gas station has only self service pumps. Please remember that gas station pumps are opened usually 24/7 but the small market when present operate at standard work time so no 24/7 gas station market like in the US.
Driving behavior
As I mentioned italians in general has an aggressive driving style. Sometimes you will see people yelling from a car to another but real “road rage” is extremely rare. Please be aware that the driving style vary a lot from north to south. In southern Italy traffic can be chaotic and the streets very narrow. As an Italian I have only to apologize to everyone for that but we have small spaces and a lot of cars and we learned to use even the small amount of space on the streets.