Planning a road trip in Italy? In this post, we share our experience of driving in Italy as a tourist, what to be aware of, and what you can do to prepare before you go.
Italy is one of our favourite countries to explore by road, and over the past 20 years we’ve covered quite a bit of it by car.
Driving in Italy can take a little getting used to though, and knowing what to expect before you get behind the wheel can make the difference between a smooth road trip and a stressful one. There are definitely a few things we wish we’d known before our own first drive in the country, so we’ve pulled together our top tips and takeouts here.
Drawing on our own experience (including more than one lesson we’ve learned the hard way), we go through some of the key considerations for driving in Italy as a tourist, from hiring a car and using toll roads to finding parking and avoiding Italy’s infamous limited traffic zones.
Quick guide to driving in Italy
Drive on the right: In Italy, keep to the right side of the road when driving.
Licences: Carry your valid driver’s licence from home. You may also need an International Driver Permit (IDP) depending on where your licence was issued and how long you’ve held it. Confirm what you need before you travel and also check car rental requirements.
Metric system: In Italy, road signs show speed limits in kilometres per hour (km/h), and distances in kilometres (km) and metres (m).
Speed limits: Vary from 130km/h on motorways and 110km/h on major roads, to 90km/h on secondary roads and 50km/h in urban areas (sometimes dropping to 30km/h). Limits are lower in wet weather. Always look for the posted speed signs.
Speed cameras: Don’t risk it – mobile and fixed speed cameras are common on Italian roads. Some cameras measure your current speed, others clock your average speed between two points.
Toll roads: There are toll roads throughout the country, including in Sicily. Unless you have a Telepass e-tag, collect a ticket at the start and pay when you exit with cash or card.
Lights: Outside of built up areas, keep your sidelights and dipped beams on both day and night.
Insurance: We always have travel insurance, but we also get additional insurance when we rent a car, just in case.
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Why explore Italy by car?
As road trippers, we’re naturally biased, but in our opinion, having your own wheels is the very best way to explore Italy independently.
A car offers the freedom to go beyond the cities, venture into the countryside, cruise the coast, visit rural villages and wander ancient sites off the beaten track. You can search out local restaurants, peaceful vineyards, uncrowded beaches, and places far beyond the tourist trail. You also have the chance to explore busier sites before and after the crowds roll through.
Plus, Italy is home to the world’s first engineered highway, the ancient Via Appia Antica. Road tripping feels fitting in a place where paved roads have been connecting people for thousands of years.
That’s not to say that trains and buses aren’t a great way to travel in Italy, especially if your trip is city-focused. There’s no need for a car if you’re exploring a major city like Rome, Florence, Naples or Palermo for instance (and in our opinion, you should actively avoid driving in Italy’s cities wherever you can).
The beauty of having a car is that you can create an Italy itinerary that suits your specific interests, timings and pace. And that makes for an unforgettable trip all your own.
Driving in Italy gives you the freedom to explore on your own terms and off the beaten track (like here in beautiful Sardinia).
This guide is based on our own driving experience and research, but it should be used as general guidance only. When it comes to driving in any new country, it’s always a good idea to read up on official road rules and information as well.
A great way to get familiar with the practical side of driving in Italy before you go, including road rules, signs, getting petrol, using roundabouts and more, is with Tripiamo’s Driving in Italy guide. This info-packed kit is designed for international visitors and brings together all the key things you should know before you get behind the wheel, helping you to arrive better prepared and feel more confident from the get-go. Find out more(and get our discount code) further on.
What to expect when driving in Italy
Even today, with plenty of experience driving around Italy, we still feel a touch of nerves when we pull out of the rental car park. There’s a bit of a mental reset required as we adjust to local driving behaviours and customs.
In our experience, driving in Italy as a tourist can feel intense at first. Local drivers are generally more assertive than you might be used to, and often very expressive (it comes with the territory). Traffic can be every-which-way chaotic, especially around towns, and you have to be on constant watch for weaving scooters. One-way routing systems, roundabouts, restricted access roads and limited traffic zones can make navigation tricky.
Italy’s motorways are mostly straightforward and in good condition, with plenty of speed and directional signage. Just stay in the far right lane unless you’re overtaking.
Despite frequent speed cameras, drivers often whizz past at well above the speed limit, and we’ve had plenty of instances of drivers flashing their lights and riding our bumper if we’re not moving quickly enough for them. Don’t feel pressured, just let them pass as soon as it’s safe to do so, while keeping an eye on your own speed (more on this further on).
No surprise then that our favourite kind of driving in Italy is out in the countryside – well away from the towns and main roads – cruising winding, narrow lanes through rustic villages and beautiful scenery. Even on these roads though, you’ll probably encounter the occasional driver in more of a hurry than you.
Just take a deep breath and stay alert to what’s going on around you. Honestly, for us, the most nerve-wracking parts of driving in Italy are finding parking, and navigating the outskirts of a new town while trying to avoid limited traffic zones. We talk about both below.
Driving in Italy as a tourist can be daunting if you’re not used to it.
Choose the right rental car
With the exception of one visit where we drove from the UK to Puglia and back in our own car (a driving experience unto itself), we always hire cars for our road trips through Italia. Here are our top take-outs for renting a car in Italy:
Book early: Reserve a hire car as far in advance as possible for the widest choice of vehicles and the best deals, particularly if you’re planning to visit during high season.
Small car vs big car: We always go for smaller hire cars in Italy. Roads and lanes are narrow, corners and archways can be squeezy, and car spaces are very tight. Big cars just add unnecessary stress in towns and villages. A 4WD is only worth considering if you’re planning to go off-roading in remote or mountainous areas (itself a highly regulated activity in Italy that requires specific research).
Boot space: If you do go for a small hire car, make sure it has decent boot (trunk) space. We’ve been caught out by this, having to upgrade our hire car on the day for quite a bit more money when we realised we could only fit one suitcase in the boot (and if you’re road tripping, you do want to be able to pack all of your luggage out of sight).
Manual vs auto:Manual cars are quite common in Italy’s rental market and tend to be slightly cheaper than automatics. If your preference is for an auto, consider booking well in advance as they can go quickly, especially in peak period.
Documentation: Car hire operators will accept most valid licences that use the Roman alphabet but if you’re from outside the EU, you may be asked to present an International Driver Permit (IDP) as well. Conditions can vary between places and operators, so it’s important to check terms and conditions before booking.
Collection and drop-off: We try to avoid driving in Italian cities as much as possible, so we usually collect and return our hire cars at airports or rental offices outside city centres. If our trip begins with a city stay, we’ll book the rental to start when we leave the city. Likewise, if we finish with a city visit, we’ll return the car before checking into our accommodation.
Video your hire car when you collect it and return it: This is something we do as a matter of course these days. Dinks and scratches happen, this just removes any doubt about the condition of the car at the start and the end of your hire. Also be sure to flag any pre-departure damage with the rental agency before you drive off.
Read the fine print: Know what the restrictions are for your car rental before you book, as it can impact your itinerary and liability; for example, there may be restrictions around taking the car on ferries, islands, into rural areas or across borders, among other things.
Consider taking out additional insurance: Car rental agreements in Italy come with basic third-party liability insurance included by law, and it’s normal to get some form of theft protection and collision damage waiver when hiring a car these days. While this does offer some protection, there’s normally a long list of exclusions and a hefty excess that you’d still need to cover if something goes wrong. We usually take out additional coverage, as it can significantly broaden the scope of what you’re covered for and reduce the excess (or even remove it entirely).
We’ve been using DiscoverCars to find and book rental cars for years now and we highly recommend them. They’re a great one-stop shop for searching and booking cars across a wide range of rental companies, both big and small. Booking well ahead usually means more choice and better deals.
Add a guided tour, day trip or unforgettable local experience like a cooking class to your Italy itinerary. Check out the wide range of options available on GetYourGuide.
Speed limits vary by road type across Italy. In the main, these are typically 130km/h on the green-sign autostrade (motorways), 110km/h on blue-sign major dual-carriageways, 90km/h on single-carriageway roads outside of built-up areas, and 50km/h in urban areas (though this can drop to 30km/h in city centres like Rome).
As with everywhere though, speed limits can be variable depending on weather, road work and other conditions, so always look out for speed limit signs as you drive.
We’ve seen plenty of speed cameras everywhere we’ve road tripped in Italy. The autovelox, which is usually on regional and local roads, can be mobile or fixed and checks your speed at a single point. The Tutor system (Sistema Informativo per il Controllo della Velocità) is on quite a few motorway stretches and measures your average speed between two points.
There’s usually a warning sign in advance of speed cameras, like the blue ‘controllo elettronico della velocità‘ sign. Sometimes it’s just a small sign with a bell symbol (which reminds us of a British police officer in a bobby hat). Signs can be missed though and we’ve found some autovelox cameras pretty hard to spot. The best way to avoid a fine is to stay within the posted speed limit. Fines can – and do – find tourists well after they’ve returned home.
It’s fair to say that many drivers in Italy treat speed limits as more of a guide than a rule. And there’s plenty of debate out there about what to do when you’re going the speed limit but everyone around you is flying past well above the posted limit.
We know from our own experience that in these moments, it feels like going faster would be the safer option. The risk, of course, is that if you’re pinged by a speed camera, it makes no difference that everyone else was going faster too, you’ll still end up with a fine.
Look out for speed camera warning signs when you’re driving around Italy.
Watch out for limited traffic zones
You’ll encounter the infamous Zona a Traffico Limitato (ZTL) in many central and historic town centres across Italy. These limited traffic zones are one of the most important things to be aware of when driving in Italy as a tourist.
ZTLs are restricted driving areas, put in place to reduce congestion and pollution, and protect the built heritage in town centres.
While they make for a much more pleasant pedestrian experience in the old towns, for unprepared drivers they can very quickly ruin a good mood. Notwithstanding the potential fine you can receive for driving into a ZTL without a permit, trying to navigate the uncomfortably narrow laneways of a medieval city centre isn’t fun, especially in a hire car.
Every entrance to a ZTL is marked by a sign showing a red circle with a white centre, and they’re not always obvious. ZTL signs will generally include information such as the hours that the ZTL is active and exemptions (eccetto) to the restriction, such as residents or authorised vehicles. Some entryways are camera-controlled, and where a ZTL has variable times, you might see an electronic board showing the hours.
Don’t rely on your navigation app to tell you where ZTL boundaries are. In our experience, the safest bet is to check official town websites for ZTL maps before heading there, then mark up the best parking options outside of the ZTL on your app map.
If you’re staying within a ZTL and you have a car, it’s essential to ask your host in advance about entering and parking within the traffic limited area. Even if you can’t park in the ZTL, your host may be able to arrange for you to drive in to drop your bags. They’ll also know the best places nearby where you can park overnight.
Spot the ZTL symbol! They’re not always obvious but it’s essential to look out for ZTL signs when driving near town centres in Italy.
Low emission zones and congestion charge schemes
It’s also worth noting that some Italian cities and regions have seasonal or permanent low emission zones (LEZs) and/or congestion charge schemes in addition to ZTLs.
This can mean further restrictions based on vehicle emissions (generally not an issue if you’re driving a hire car as they tend to be newer), or there may be a fee to enter the zone.
Milan, Naples and Palermo are among the cities where there are multiple zone types in operation (there are also seasonal zones across a number of northern regions), but it’s worth checking the rules for the places you plan to visit on your itinerary, particularly if you’re driving your own car and it’s an older vehicle. For us, it’s just one more reason to steer clear of city centres when driving.
Plan ahead for parking
To be honest, when you’re road tripping anywhere, but especially in Italy, finding parking can make or break your day. You’ll save a whole lot of time and stress if you understand how parking works in the country, and have an idea about where you’re going to park before you set out each day. Here are our top take-outs for tackling parking in Italy:
Look for the main car parks in each place you visit: Many towns have dedicated car parks or parking garages, called parcheggi. Some are free but many are paid parking with part-hour, hourly and/or day rates. Sometimes there are pay machines that take coin or card, and sometimes you pay attendants on site.
We always mark up several parking options on Google maps before we set out for the day – we’ve learned that having aPlan B, even a Plan C, means we’re less likely to have to improvise our driving en route (for us, a guaranteed fast-track to a ‘cargument’).
Look for blue and white lines if you’re planning to park on the street: Parking spaces on the street and in public car parks are often marked with blue, white and yellow lines. Rules can vary from place to place so check the nearest signs, but generally speaking:
Blue linesare paid parking spaces – you’ll usually find pay machines or booths with attendants nearby; like parcheggi, they may charge by the part-hour, hour or day; have coins handy in case cards can’t be used.
White linesare free parking spaces – we’ve encountered white line spaces with time limits and some designated as residents parking only, so again, check signs.
Yellow linesare restricted parking spaces – these are for specified uses and vehicles only.
No lines? We’ll usually check for signs and take our cue from the locals.
Always check the nearest parking signs: Things change. One town’s parking rules can be different to the next. Some public parking lots close on certain days for local markets and festivals; we’ve seen others sectioned off for residents at certain times. Wherever you’re parking, always check the nearest parking signs (Google Translate’s camera is helpful for interpreting signs).
Park outside the Zona a Traffico Limitato (ZTL): When visiting any town with a ZTL in place, the safest bet is to find the nearest public car park or street parking outside the ZTL and walk in. If your accommodation is located within a ZTL, ask your accommodation host for their advice on where to park.
Factor parking costs into your daily budget: You’ll be up for parking costs on a regular basis when road tripping Italy; fees range from a euro or two for a couple of hours to €20+ for overnight parking in some places. Carry coins and have a card handy so you’re ready for all payment options (we’ve often encountered fussy parking machines that don’t like our credit cards).
Watch out for unofficial parking attendants: On your travels, you may come across unofficial ‘parking attendants’ who try to direct you into a parking space and then ask for money to keep an eye on your car. They aren’t legit so if you give them money, you may still be up for any official parking fees for the space. If we come across them, we tend to just look for somewhere else to park.
Blue lines, yellow lines: Understanding and planning your parking in Italy goes a long way to easing stress on the day.
Know how Italy’s toll roads work
If you’re driving around Italy, there’s a very good chance you’ll end up driving on a toll road at some point – most of the motorways have tolls. In the main these are based on the distance you travel, though there are some sections with a fixed rate.
Toll costs can vary quite a bit, and they do add up if you’re using the motorways a lot. We’ve paid as little as €1.60 for a stretch on the A18 during a road trip in Sicily, to around €30 for a 4-hour drive along the A14 on the mainland east coast, to a hefty €55.50 for a 15-minute cruise through the Mont Blanc Tunnel in the alps.
You can pay tolls with cash, card or a Telepass e-tag. If you’re hiring a car, you’re unlikely to have a Telepass unless you rent one for an additional daily fee. We don’t reckon this is necessary though – paying as you go is very straightforward and easy:
As you enter a toll road, you’ll pass through a plaza with ticket booths. Slow down and take a ticket from the machine, then pass under the raised barrier.
As you approach the toll plaza at the other end, look for blue signs showing credit cards and/or ‘Carte’ for card payments, and white signs showing coins and bills for cash payments. Avoid the yellow signposted Telepass lanes unless you have an e-tag. Sometimes the payment lanes are separated but they can be all-in-one.
Toll booths can be automated or have attendants. Pull up, insert your ticket into the machine or hand it to the attendant, pay the amount shown, wait for the green light and drive on.
Some newer motorways in the north of Italy use licence-plate recognition technology so you won’t pass any toll gates but you will need to go online and pay your toll within a certain time period. Look out for signs.
Check before taking your car on a ferry
Italy’s car ferry network is extensive for both international and domestic crossings. Services range from short trips like the Villa San Giovanni–Messina route linking mainland Italy to Sicily, to long-haul ferries out of ports on the east and west coasts to various islands and countries around the Mediterranean.
We’ve used car ferries to travel from Civitavecchia (near Rome) to Sardinia for a road trip, and from Sardinia to France. We booked our tickets online and found the process of arriving, queuing, embarking and disembarking very easy and well-organised. Parking onboard can be tight and tricky (we had to do what felt like a 50-point turn to get into the space on one ferry), but staff are there to guide you.
Our top tips if you’re considering using car ferries during your trip:
Confirm that your car rental company actually allows you to take your hire car on a ferry;
Make sure you book a ferry that carries vehicles rather than a passenger-only ferry;
Check for any seasonal or residents-only car restrictions if planning to visit smaller islands with your car.
Also, if you do take an overnight car ferry, we recommend staying in a cabin. While it’s cheaper to get a seat on the main decks, they can be crowded and uncomfortable. You’ll have a much better chance of actually sleeping in a cabin, and sleep is essential when you need to drive at the other end.
Car ferries mean you can extend your driving trip in Italy, but check the rules if you’re hiring a car.
Carry the right documents and equipment
Things we didn’t know we needed to know until we drove our own car from the UK to Italy: the documents and various equipment you’re required to have in (and in some cases on) the car.
Documents – You must carry your valid driver’s licence from home, your IDP (if you need one), plus your car rental agreement and vehicle registration documents. If you’re driving your own foreign-registered car, check the specifics of what you need to carry (for example, we needed a copy of our insurance certificate and the original V5 rego paperwork for our UK-registered car).
Safety equipment – It’s a legal requirement to have a warning triangle and high-viz reflective vests in the car. Keep the vests in the car cabin; anyone who gets out of the car while it’s stopped on a major road outside an urban area must wear one. Rental cars must have them, check before you drive away.
Winter gear – If you’re visiting Italy between mid-November and mid-April, be aware that there are many areas across the country where snow chains must be carried in the car or winter tyres fitted. Road signs mark out these areas. Check with your rental car agency if you’re travelling over this period.
Foreign-registered vehicles – If you’re driving into Italy with a car from elsewhere, check what additional requirements may apply. For example, when we drove our UK-registered car around Italy, we needed a visible UK sticker on the car, and headlight beam adjustment stickers so our left-side-drive car lights didn’t dazzle other drivers at night (some newer cars have a mode to change the beam angle automatically).
What you can do to prepare before you go
If you’ve made it this far and you love the idea of exploring Italy by car, but the thought of actually getting behind the wheel there still gives you pause, it’s definitely worth checking out Tripiamo’s Driving in Italy Made Easy guide for international drivers.
While we’ve covered off our personal top tips and takeouts in this post, Tripiamo’s Italy driving kit will take your pre-trip driving prep to the next level with a range of practical information and guidance on Italy’s road rules, conditions and driving culture.
Tripiamo’s driving guides are developed by experts and certified by local driving schools so you can trust the content. The Italy guide covers everything from road rules and road signs to parking, getting petrol, navigating roundabouts, city driving and more through a series of short tutorial videos, plus 360-degree driving tours that give you an immersive intro into what it’s actually like driving on Italy’s roads. Plus, there’s a downloadable PDF mini-guide that you can take with you covering on-the-road practicalities like road signs, emergency info, and other essentials.
We road-tested the Tripiamo UK guide and we found it very practical, easy to use, and packed with genuinely useful tips for a safer, far less stressful driving experience. It’s ideal if you’re new to driving in a country or simply want to feel better informed and more confident on the road.
Head over to Tripiamo to learn more about their driving guides. For a limited time, our readers can also get 10% off with our exclusive code: TWOFORTHEWORLD2026.
Being familiar with road signs from the get-go makes driving in Italy far less stressful.
Know what to do in a breakdown or accident
It’s important to know the basics of what to do if your car breaks down or you’re involved in an accident.
Basic roadside assistance is usually provided with car rentals, with extra cover available for a fee. Check what comes with your rental, and have the call-out number handy when you’re driving.
If you’re in an accident and urgent assistance is needed, call 112 (this is the emergency services number for all EU countries).
Switch on your hazard lights and, if you’re outside of an urban area and need to get out of the car, put on the high-viz vest. The warning triangle may also need to be set up.
We had to learn how things work on the fly when we were involved in a minor collision on a motorway slip road in Sardinia. Fortunately, no one was hurt and the damage to both cars was mainly cosmetic. We were also lucky in that a passenger in the other car spoke some English and knew what to do, which made working through the necessary next steps that much easier.
We spent the next two days completing the required paperwork, dealing with our insurance company, and getting our car repaired to the point that we could continue our road trip. All of it reinforced the value of knowing what to do in a situation like this, and the importance of having the right kind of insurance…as well as some flexibility in a travel itinerary!
In Italy, if you’re in an accident, there are forms to complete and requirements around how and when to notify your car rental company and insurer. These can vary, so if you’re hiring a car, be clear on what the rental company requires before you set off .
Tripiamo’s Driving in Italyguide also walks you through what to do if something goes wrong on the road.
Accidents happen – know what to do and always have insurance.
Some final tips for driving in Italy
Hopefully we’ve given you a little more insight into what to expect on Italy’s roads, especially if you’re driving there for the first time. Here are some final tips:
Download an international eSIM: This is a must for us and Airalo is our preferred international eSIM provider. Having internet on-the-go makes a massive difference when we’re navigating in a new place, especially if we need to change plans in response to weather, traffic or road conditions. Find out more about Airalo Italy eSIMs.
Trust signage over navigation apps: We personally use Google maps when we drive in Italy and for the most part it’s fine. We are aware though that many people prefer using Waze as its crowd-sourced data provides real-time info on things like traffic, road works and speed camera locations. It’s apparently also helpful with roundabouts and, to an extent, ZTLs. No navigation app is perfect however, so always look to road signs over GPS instructions.
Download offline Google maps just in case: This is a good backup for ensuring you still have GPS navigation while you’re driving, internet or no internet.
Always give yourself extra time to get somewhere: This is Italy, it will take longer.
Bring a car charger or a power bank for your phone: There’s nothing worse than your phone giving out and losing your navigation app en route to a new destination.
Avoid leaving valuables in your car: Common sense but worth reiterating; make sure anything you do leave in the car is tucked away out of sight.
Modern roads through ancient gateways: one of many things we love about driving in Italy.
Plan your next Italy road trip
Ready to buckle up and explore Italy by road? We have a collection of detailed self-drive itineraries for Italy, all put together based on our own experiences, learnings and insights travelling around this wonderful country. Head to our Italy hub or start with the road trip posts below:
