How much does it cost to travel by car in Italy?

Hello dear readers! How are you today? It’s great to have you here! Today we’ll find out how much does it costs to travel by car in Italy. In this post you will be able to know the approximate values, the variations in the value of the fuel, mileage, type of car and values of the tolls and parking spaces that can make the values mentioned here expensive or cheaper! Also visit our Driving in Italy section! Here at Your Travel to Italy with Ana Patricia you make the trip of your dreams!!! ALSO: see our “Accommodation in Italy – Tips for your holidays!”

Introduction

First of all remember that to drive in Italy it is MANDATORY to have the International Driving License, the famous IDP (International Driving Permit). The certificate is not issued in Italian, but it is accepted in English! The IDP lasts 180 days (it depends where you live) and is issued by the Traffic Department of your country (if you have the European Driver License, you don’t need to worry about it!).

Note

Ccheck with your country’s Traffic Department which documents are required and the rates for issuing the IDP.

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1) How much does it cost to travel by car in Italy? BENEFITS

The advantages to take a car trip are tempting, here are the main advantages:

Benefits

Freedom of schedule;
Freedom in choosing the itinerary;
Best option for getting to know southern Italy where public transport does not work well;
Discovering incredible towns;
Excellent roads to drive;
You can stop whenever you want to take a picture;
If you are in 4 or 5 people it will be a great option instead of using the train or the bus;
Great for visiting more places on the same day, at your time and pace;
It is the best form of transport for people who are used to driving anywhere and it is good at “locating” themselves.

2) How much does it cost to travel by car in Italy? DISADVANTAGES

However, it is not always a bed of roses! Let’s see some disadvantages that can discourage you, but don’t think negative, just make a good plan that will be worth it.

Disadvantages

Concern about what route to choose;
Speed and road directions;
Parking can be a big problem;
Driving in unfavorable weather conditions (especially in winter); See the post: How to drive with snow?
Unforeseen expenses with parking and fuel that, unfortunately, cannot be calculated, but this is normal, in my opinion the biggest disadvantage is the lack of knowledge of the territory, which can sometimes result in a waste of time to find the main cities, and make a pleasant journey an incubus;
Generally, those who drive, cannot appreciate the beautiful view around, because they cannot take their eyes off the road;
If you’re driving DO NOT DRINK! Under any circumstance! Italian laws on this are very strict and you risk getting a really huge fine, plus, I don’t even need to say that it could be very, very, very dangerous! So if you intend to taste great Italian wine during lunch remember that! Don’t risk ruining your vacation!
It is not legal for people who are not safe to ask for information, especially if they do not speak Italian, just as with the train or the bus not knowing the territory, you may end up wasting precious time that could be used for tourist visits.

Important to Know

It is important to know that in tourist cities there are places (Historical Centers) where PARKING IS PROHIBITED (read about the ZTL – limited traffic zone – here), and can only be used by people who live there! So it is important not to go to these places so as not to take unnecessary fines. PAY ATTENTION! In Italy it is common for them to tow the car or put that hubcap that blocks the vehicle’s exit! Be careful!
How to understand what these places are? See the post on Car Rental in Italy that talks about it; another tip for who are unsure about it, is to park a little outside the center and go to the center walking or, spending a little more, by taxi or other public transport.

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How to get from Milan airport to downtown? How to get from Rome airport to downtown? Find out the best routes!

FIND HERE THE BEST PATHS!

3) How much does it cost to travel by car in Italy? RENTAL AND FUEL EXPENSES

As a basis we will do some calculations, we will pick up an Economy Car at Milan Malpensa Airport. We will spend a week with the car going to: Venice, Florence – visiting some villages such as Moltalcino, San Gimignano, Monteriggioni and Siena, Perugia, Rome and, finally, we will return the car at Naples Airport.

The car chosen was an average car, in this case a Citroen C3; the rental price, for 7 days, is around 35 to 60 euros a day with a full tank + 10 euros a day to rent the GPS – (when you deliver the car, the tank must also be complete!); According to the automaker, the car makes, on average, 13 km per liter of fuel. From Milan to Naples, the distance is 820 km (nonstop) but consider that we will make other stops.

Let’s see the approximate mileage below:

Routes to be covered	Quilometres (km)
Milan – Venice	310
Venice – Florence	268
Florence – San Gimignano	55
San Gimignano – Monteriggioni	33
Monteriggioni – Siena	17
Siena – Montalcino	43
Montalcino – Perugia	104
Perugia – Rome	171
Rome – Naples:	220
TOTAL	1.221

IMPORTANT!

If the car is 13 liters per gas liter, and the tank capacity of the C3 is 50 liters, it means that, with a full tank, you can cover about 650 km. As our trip is 1.221 km, it means that you will need to refuel 2 or 3 times. Of course, it will depend on other tours that you may decide to take in the area of the cities visited and also to deliver the car with a full tank at the rental company. Gasoline in Italy costs, on average, EUR 1.55 (2020 data), which means: to fill the tank you will spend around EUR 80 (round value); filling the tank twice – you would spend around EUR 160.

4) How much does it cost to travel by car in Italy? TOLLS

What about the tolls? Well, each region it has a different rate, as well as each road. Following our itinerary example, the average toll spent was 80 Euros.

5) How much does it cost to travel by car in Italy? PARKING

When it comes to parking, it is very difficult to make an average calculation, as it depends on where you stop the car and in which region. In Milan, some car parks charge 4 euros per hour (!!!), in other places, as in Rome, an average daily cost 20 euros and in Venice it can reach 30 euros a DAY! So I advise you to put the price high when including these rates on your budget and calculate something around 30 euros per day, just for parking, which would give a total of 210.00 euros in 7 days. Let’s see the summary of everything we’ve talked about so far, remembering that the values are estimated (item 6).

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6) How much does it cost to travel by car in Italy? SUMMARY OF EXPENSES

EXPENSES	EUROS
Car Rental (average value 50.00 Euros x 7 days) This value changes according to the car.	350,00
GPS (15,00 Euros x 7 days) – This value changes according to the car. (TIP: you can also use the GPS on your smartphone if you want to save Money)	105,00
Fuel	160,00
Toll	80,00
Parking (30 Euros x 7 days)	210,00
TOTAL CAR EXPENSES IN 7 DAYS (average value)	905,00

GOOD TO KNOW…

There are websites that do these calculations based on your itinerary; one of them is Michelin. You can access it by clicking here – this link!
Find out more about transportation in Italy by reading some posts in the Driving in Italy category.

Traveling by car in Italy

How about if I give you a rental car option? Are you ready for it? If you are renting a car be sure to read our posts in the section Driving in Italy on the blog Your Travel to Italy. In addition to car itinerary tips, we have everything about signage, tolls, roads and many more tips.

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Important

If you are driving in Italy, you need the International Driving Permit (if you’re not European Citizen).

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Conclusion

How much does it cost to travel by car in Italy? We just found out that traveling by car in Italy is worthwhile if you are in a group of at least 3 people, otherwise it is very expensive! The roads are great, really, and a GPS is very necessary, although the signage in the main cities is excellent. The important thing is to evaluate your needs very well before traveling and plan everything calmly so that you will not regret it, after all, it is not a trip we take all the time and it is nothing, cheap, right?

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