Italy travel by car. Independent travel by car in Italy: a complete guide for curious tourists

30.03.2020

So I have returned from a trip to Italy and now I will tell you how you need to organize your acquaintance with this country so that everything goes “like clockwork”. My independent trip to Italy lasted 24 days. During this time I managed to visit so many attractions that on the last day I could already work as a guide :) . Of the cities I remember most are Venice, Milan and Rome. They are a must visit.

What to do in Italy? Yes, there is a huge space for relaxation. Beaches, wines, walks along the embankments, meeting the passionate local population :), a huge number of attractions, and just enjoying life. I rode my bike through the cobbled streets of Florence, crossed Italy from north to south by train, walked at night with Italian girls along the sparkling streets of Milan :) . Moreover, as always, my knowledge of saving while traveling helped reduce expenses several times. And now to the specifics.

Travel route

My route

According to the already established tradition, I began my independent journey through Italy from Novosibirsk. The flight was morning - Novosibirsk - Milan, with a transfer in Moscow. 10 o'clock and I'm there (I slept on the plane, so time flew by :)). The plan that I had under the code name :) “Trip through the cities of Italy” consisted of visiting the following cities: Milan -> Venice -> Bologna -> Florence -> Rome -> Naples -> Palermo. From north to south in 24 days, and in cities such as Bologna and Naples I only stayed for 3 days, they were just on my way, so I decided to visit them too.

What guided me when choosing these particular places. I wanted to see the peculiarities of life in all parts of Italy, visit many attractions that belong to different cultures and eras (in the place of modern Italy, for many centuries there were independent states, such as the Venetian Republic, the Florentine Republic, the Kingdom of Sicily and others, each with its own characteristics and history). Therefore, I put together a route that would include most of the most significant cities in history for cultural enlightenment, but would also allow me to swim, sunbathe on the beach, and leisurely enjoy a seaside holiday. Sights + sea = perfect holiday in Italy ;) .

Because cheap flights from Russia to Italy means landing in one of the largest cities, and, most often, this is Rome (the capital), Milan, Venice ( Northern part Italy, some of the cheapest plane tickets are sold here), then I decided that I would start my journey in Italy from its northern part, namely Milan, and gradually move south. Because my trip started in mid-June, then I was not limited weather conditions: the weather was good, there was very little rain, the sea had already warmed up well, in general, it was an ideal time.

Additional routes

I have compiled alternative routes around Italy for website visitors so that everyone can choose the most suitable one for them. Some people want to focus on visiting the sights, some like to spend their entire vacation on the beach in the sun, swimming and enjoying every moment of a sea holiday, and others (including me) want to combine beach holiday and sightseeing. In addition, the number of days allocated for vacation in Italy varies from person to person.

Up to 5 days

It makes no sense to include visiting 5-10 cities into a 5-day trip; such a vacation will only make you tired and you won’t really see anything; it’s better to savor your stay in each city. Only have 5 days to rest? Then it’s better to visit 1, maximum 2 cities (for me, it should be a city with a large number of attractions, and a beach resort city, sometimes these concepts characterize the same city, for example, Naples, Genoa, but most often change your vacation spot to find better conditions and more comfort). If you do not want to move somewhere, then it is better to choose a good beach resort, like Rimini or Bari, sea holiday It gives the recharge of vitality much needed by most people, so it should not be neglected.

6-10 days

If you have 6-10 days to vacation in Italy and you want to visit several places, then choose cities according to the logic described above: city-attraction + seaside resort, the only thing is that you can increase their number, because... there is more time. A good option for this type of holiday would be the route Rome->Florence->Genoa (in the vicinity of the latter there are several good beaches, and there are plenty of attractions there).

11-15 days

With an independent trip to Italy, designed for 11-15 days, you can further expand the area of Italy you are exploring. Milan->Venice->Florence->Rome->Salerno (the last city is a seaside resort, located near Naples) is good route for those who want to see as much as possible, but it is important to understand that such a vacation will be eventful, but not so relaxed, because... There will be a lot of places on the route, you will have to move often, this route is justified if you are traveling around Italy by car, because in this case, the time spent on travel is reduced, and there is more comfort, especially since you will always be free to stop in the place you like as much as you want, without even completing your route. I like it better when the ultimate vacation spot is a seaside resort, because... A good swim before returning home has a positive effect on the overall holiday experience.

From 15 days

If you want to get to know Italian culture well, see how you can more places, without being in the state of a driven horse, then set aside more than 15 days for an independent trip to Italy. During this time, you can travel along the following route: Genoa-> Milan -> Venice -> Florence -> Rome -> Naples -> Palermo. This is a kind of alternative to my route; it begins and ends in seaside resort towns. So you can see the sights and swim to your heart's content.

When you plan your trip to Italy, then stick to the following:

Get to know your new city thoroughly. There is no need to visit 10 cities in 2 weeks, such a rush is very tiring. It’s better to be in a new city for at least 3 days, then you will learn a lot about this place and enjoy your vacation, and not compete with time.
Don't plan your trip in detail. It’s better to indicate the main points of the trip (for example, cities or beaches), and already “on the spot” you can figure out where you want to go and what to visit. With this form of travel you will have more freedom of action, which will give you more impressions and more positive emotions.
Decide how you will move in Italy. Different modes of transport have different advantages and disadvantages. By plane you can quickly move from place to place, on train trips you can see amazing landscapes, when traveling in a rented car you have enormous freedom of action. If you buy tickets in advance (at least 2 months in advance), you can save up to 70% of their cost.
Visit “non-touristy” places. Tourists are shown only certain places, and to learn interesting details about the country, you need to get acquainted with the daily life of the local population. This way you will get much more pleasure from your trip.

Cheap tickets

A ticket to Moscow from Novosibirsk cost me 4,500 rubles, and from Moscow to Milan – 5,000 rubles, I booked it in advance, which I advise you to do, it’s cheaper. Of course, you can still wait for airline ticket sales, but, unfortunately, they are very rare, and the number of tickets is limited, they are sold out in a few minutes, so you can miss out on low ticket prices while waiting for sales simply by early booking (it’s better to buy air tickets 3-4 months before travel), because the closer the departure date, the higher the prices.

Tickets on the route Moscow->Rome->Moscow in the summer will cost 10,500-14,000 rubles. For those who live in Moscow, flying to Europe is much cheaper.

Calendar of low prices for air tickets

Check airfare prices:

Hotels

I lived in comfortable hotels that cost me quite cheap (for example, in Rome, the capital of Italy, I paid only 17,000 rubles for 7 nights in a 3* hotel almost in the city center; in the same hotel you could book a double bed room for 19,500 rubles, let me clarify that I booked in advance). Naturally, I used my knowledge of . In short, I used the site, which itself finds the best options in terms of price/quality, so I recommend it to you. On this site you can find great hotels, and in any country. It is convenient that photographs and descriptions are added to each hotel, and tourists who have already visited the hotel leave reviews, which makes it much easier to choose accommodation when traveling.

Some tourists look for hotels only on, and this is not entirely true from the point of view of effective spending of money, because... You can often find exactly the same hotel room as on Booking, but much cheaper on another site that is equally safe and trusted. After all, there are many other hotel booking sites that have sales, and sometimes prices are reduced, which is why it turns out that Booking often has higher prices. In order not to check all sites separately, while spending several hours or even days searching for a suitable hotel at the lowest price, the RoomGuru service was invented - it itself compares prices on several dozen hotel sites, including Booking, and offers you to book hotel room at the lowest price. The service is free, very convenient and reliable, I recommend using it, you will save a lot of money and time.

Here is a clear example, 3* hotel, 2 adults, 7 nights. Please note that the lowest price is not on Booking (315€), but on Amoma (273€).

And here is another example for two in a 4* hotel.

In addition to the fact that the price for the room itself is low (252€), in this particular case you can also save 122€ (price on Booking 374€, price on Agoda 252€). As you can see, the price for the same hotel room can vary significantly on different sites, which is why it is very profitable to use the RoomGuru service, which will compare everything for you and offer the lowest price for the room (this is exactly what is shown in the screenshot).

There is an alternative service, but it’s still better to use RoomGuru - it’s more reliable, convenient and efficient. As for the search itself, if you want to save as much as possible, then choose accommodation away from famous attractions and the city center; of course, you will lose a little in comfort, because... It will take longer to get to the right places by public transport, but the savings can be significant, and it’s up to you to decide what is more priority – comfort or savings. I try to choose housing either in the center or close to it, if available good hotels at low prices (they are always available when booking early), transport costs sometimes “eat up” most money saved on a cheap hotel far from the center, so, in the end, those hotel options with convenient access to the main attractions are still preferable.

The most expensive place to live is in Venice. I would even say not more expensive, but very expensive. Here I had to pay 90 euros per night in a hotel. I was in Venice for 5 days, paid a total of 450 euros, for comparison, I could live on this money for a month and a half!!! in Thailand. But I must say that this was not the cheapest hotel, there were cheaper options, I just liked the view from the window of this hotel, so I booked it :).
It is important for me that when booking there is a 100% guarantee that I will arrive at a comfortable hotel that matches the photographs, the building is located in a convenient area of the city for me, and that there are no problems when checking in like “wait another hour, we’ll forgot to clean the room” or “there was a mistake, we moved another person into this room 5 minutes ago, look for another hotel.” Is this important to you too? Then use it.

I have selected hotels in Italy with the best price/quality ratio (in my opinion), based on my travel experience, tourist reviews, convenience of location, reliability (reliability and safety), and, of course, attractive prices (hotels are listed in order of increasing comfort, from hotels with the lowest price to more expensive hotels). If you want to find a comfortable hotel, accommodation in which will not force you to trudge across the city to attractions in crowded public transport or look for a long time for a place to park your car, with good service (clean bed linen, comfortable and hassle-free check-in, good Wi-Fi, allowing you to seamlessly use social networks and immediately publish stunning photos from your vacation, communicate with relatives, search for the information you need), with a low cost of living, then choose a hotel from this list and book as early as possible (these hotels are in great demand, rooms there is often not enough for everyone, and if you book in advance, you will certainly ensure that you stay in one of the best hotels, and the price will be even lower).

Find inexpensive hotel from RoomGuru right now:

Rental of property

As an alternative to staying in hotels, it is possible to rent accommodation from the Italians themselves. Among the advantages of this method of finding a place to stay, we can only note that it is an acceptable cost for a large company or for a large family (if 6 or more people are going on vacation), because can fit in a large apartment a large number of people (but you still need to look for a large apartment at a good price; as a rule, such options are already booked 6-8 months before the summer months), and in terms of per person, the cost of a night’s stay in Italy is somewhat lower. But this plus, in my opinion, becomes insignificant when taking into account the many disadvantages of renting housing, such as insecurity, the risk of being deceived by the owner of the property, the lack of even basic tourist services, and additional inconvenience when checking in and out.

Because Renting housing abroad has some difficulties, so you have to use the services of intermediaries who charge a hefty commission and, in some cases, include additional payments in the cost of living, which makes renting not very profitable.

One of the most famous rental services is Airbnb. If you decide to rent a home rather than book hotel rooms, you can use it for a discount to save money.

It is important to note that renting housing from owners is a rather risky business. Increasingly, there are cases when housing does not correspond to the photographs presented on the service (especially true for cheap options with a small number of reviews). It is also possible that noisy neighbors live in the next apartment, which will cause a lot of inconvenience (if in a hotel, for the most part, you are protected from the bad behavior of your neighbors by a concierge or security, then in a rented apartment you will need to call the owner of the property or the police, which will require additional time and nerves). Several of my friends have found themselves in a very unpleasant situation when landlords simply canceled a reservation a few days before arrival (relatives may come to visit him, or he will be offered a higher price, or his plans will change - anything can happen), and travelers urgently have to look for other housing, but time early booking has already passed, which means that the new housing was much more expensive than the previous option, additional expenses appeared that spoiled the planned vacation. Therefore, I recommend not renting housing, but booking hotel rooms, it is safer, more reliable and, in the vast majority of cases, cheaper.

Documentation

The required documents, as in almost all of Europe, are the following: passport, visa and insurance. I have had a foreign passport for a long time, and for those who don’t have one, I recommend applying for one as early as possible, they take 1-4 months to get it (through the State Services website you can get a passport in about a month if you live at the place of registration). I wrote a whole article about it, so I recommend that you read it. In short, the best insurance at low prices can be bought on the website.

Italy is part of the Schengen zone, which is why I received it. Here is the list necessary documents to receive it:

Round-trip air tickets (you can book, or you can already purchased)
Confirmation of accommodation (confirmation from the hotel, as a rule, it is automatically sent to your email when booking a hotel)
Medical insurance (coverage amount over 30,000 euros)
Completed application form (can be downloaded from the Italian Visa Application Center website)
Photo (1 piece, no frames, color)
International passport valid for more than 3 months on the date of return from the trip
A copy of the main page of the international passport (where the photo and personal data are)
Financial guarantee (account statement with a sufficient amount of money (the amount depends on the number of people going on the trip and the number of days in Italy)
Confirmation of employment (certificate from work, or a copy of the certificate of inclusion in the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs (for individual entrepreneurs), or a certificate from the place of study, or a pension certificate)
Receipt for payment of the consular fee (it must be paid after concluding the contract if you submit documents through the visa center))
Russian passport (original and copy of pages with photo and registration)
Consent to the processing of personal data (can be downloaded from the visa center website)

A Schengen visa to Italy will cost 35 euros (consular fee) + 2200 rubles visa center service fee. If you live in Moscow, you can save on the visa fee by submitting documents directly to the Italian Embassy. It is important to note that if your visa is denied, the consular and service fees will not be refunded.

Around Italy by car

Solo travel Traveling around Italy by car has its pros and cons. Whether you should choose this type of travel depends on several answers to questions that you need to ask yourself: I really want to be free in choosing a route, I really want to see the ordinary life of Italians, I can pay 20-40% more money ( compared to traveling using public transport) for the opportunity to travel around Italy, I am ready to solve problems with parking, I do not want to use public transport? If you answered “Yes” to all these questions, then indeed, traveling by car can turn your vacation into something completely different, very rich in pleasant events, diverse, and unusual.

In short, traveling around Italy by car is super interesting, but expensive, and, in some cases, problematic.

It will be more comfortable and cheaper not to travel from Russia in your own car, but to fly by plane to some large Italian city, pick up a rented car (you need to rent it in advance, on special, trusted sites) and go driving around Italy.

Some points about traveling by car:

The cheapest and safest way is to rent a car on the website. Book a car in advance, several months in advance, so the price will be much lower
Be sure to purchase comprehensive car insurance. In Italy, the streets are narrow, and there is a very high chance of scratching or damaging your car.
During your trip, you will need a navigator with up-to-date maps (if you travel by car often, you can buy yourself a navigator rather than pay extra for it every time you rent)
In some major cities There are special rules for entering the central part, sometimes you need to buy an additional entry permit, sometimes entry is prohibited at certain hours.
In roadside cafes and shops, prices are significantly higher; to save money, you can stock up in advance in city supermarkets
It's cheaper to refuel in cities rather than on highways. Gasoline on toll roads is more expensive.
In Italy, there are two types of filling at gas stations: Self (you refuel and pay for gasoline yourself) and SerV (accepts payment and is filled by a gas station attendant, the price for each liter of gasoline is 10-20 euro cents higher here).
Majority good roads north of Naples - paid. To travel from north to south on a toll road you will have to pay 70-90 euros.
To avoid the hassle of finding parking, book a hotel with its own parking.
The crossing to Sicily will cost 50 euros.
1 liter of 95 gasoline costs 1.6-2.1 €.

Popular resorts and cities in Italy

Where exactly to go in Italy depends on your preferences. I have already given some recommendations in the “Routes” section of this article. In short, if you have a very limited budget, choose a seaside resort that also has attractions, for example, Rimini, Genoa, Naples (with the latter - be careful, thefts happen there very often, but there are attractions and the sea, which is a big plus). If you want to see the life of Italians, then plan a route from north to south. For brand shopping you should go to Milan, Rome, Florence. If you only need a beach holiday, and the best one in Italy, then it is better to choose the islands - Sicily, Ischia, Elba. Well, for the sights, go to Rome, Venice, Florence. The choice is huge, each city has its own merits, decide based on your vacation goals and budget.

I will give a list of the most popular places, where you can relax in Italy. For convenience, I have indicated the main distinctive features of the holiday for each resort (each has attractions in one form or another, it’s just that somewhere there are more of them, and they are world famous):

Turin - attractions
Genoa – attractions, sea
Milan - sights, shopping
Venice - attractions, sea (in the vicinity)
Bologna - attractions
Pisa – attractions
Florence – attractions, shopping
Rimini – attractions (few), sea
Rome – sights, shopping
Naples - attractions, sea (in the vicinity)
Salerno - sea
Bari – attractions (few), sea
Palermo (Sicily) - sea (in the vicinity)
Syracuse (Sicily) – attractions (few), sea
Olbia (Sardinia) – sea

Money

What money to take on a trip to Italy? Take euros. Moreover, do not carry all your savings in cash, put the bulk of the money on a card, ruble or euro - this does not play a special role when paying (payment will go through in both cases), because Even if you have a ruble card, then when paying for a purchase in Italy, rubles will be automatically converted into euros and no problems will arise.

If you often travel to Europe (several times a year), then in some cases it is beneficial to get a bank card with an account in euros, top up your account, and pay for purchases in Italy using it, so you will not be charged for converting rubles into euros. Just choose so that everything is really good.

Attractions

There are more than enough attractions in Italy. There was no plan for visiting attractions, museums and exhibitions. I simply bought guides to the cities from my route, and when I was already there, in 5 minutes I figured out where I should go today and what to visit. Without a plan, you can act according to your momentary desire, which when traveling gives you freedom of action, “flight of imagination” and more positive emotions, there is no need to rush anywhere, you are not late for anything, but simply enjoy your vacation.

The only thing I did as soon as I arrived in a new city was buy a discount tourist card, which gave me up to 50% discount on visiting attractions, public transport, as well as skip-the-line access to some museums. Traveling around Italy on your own, visiting many attractions, actively using public transport - such cards for tourists will help you save money.

For Rome - this is the Roma Pass card, for 3 days it costs 36 €, for 2 days - 28 euros, allows you to visit 2 (for a 3-day card) or 1 attraction (for a 2-day card) free of charge and without a queue, free use of public transport and receive discounts on visiting other attractions. It is best used to visit the Colosseum and the Borghese Gallery, because... there are the longest queues, and with tourist card they can be avoided by going through a special entrance.

Using your card data, you can avoid standing in long lines at museums and exhibitions and pass through as a VIP visitor. These cards are inexpensive, you can buy them on the official websites of cities, at airports, train stations, tourist centers. I wrote about how to save money while traveling.

Most of all I remember places like the Duomo ( Cathedral) in Milan, the Colosseum in Rome, La Scala (opera house) in Milan, Palazzo Pitti in Florence, Pompeii near Naples. I recommend that you familiarize yourself with the list.

If you want to see the sights as part of an organized excursion group, find out much more interesting facts O memorable places from Italy personal guide, order unusual excursions from local residents, then use the site. Choose a few excursions you like, read reviews about them and feel free to book them to add variety independent holiday in Italy.

Transport in Italy

It is more convenient and, most often, cheaper to travel between Italian cities by train. Developed railway network and availability high speed trains(except for the southern part of the country) allow you to get to the desired city very quickly. Buy tickets by the desired route can be found on the official Italian website railways Trenitalia.com (the earlier you buy tickets, the lower the prices).

There are several types of trains in Italy:

“Arrows” (high-speed) - FrecciaRossa (the fastest and with relatively at a high price ticket), Frecciargento (average in price and speed), Frecciabianca (the slowest of the “arrows”, but also with the lowest price). Choose these trains for long distances to save time, for example Rome-Milan, or for better comfort.
Regular intercity ones are Intercity (they travel slower than “arrows”, but connect more cities, and the prices are lower). You have a lot of time, but if you want to save money, choose them, but for long distances it is more convenient to use “arrows”.
Intercity overnight - InterCityNotte (like the previous ones, only conditions have been created for a comfortable night trip). A good option for a trip to Sicily, because It’s a long drive, but the “arrows” don’t go there.
Electric trains – Regionale. A good, very inexpensive option for traveling to the suburbs and neighboring cities. There are a lot of stops, so be patient.

Domestic flights in Italy are also developed and inexpensive, but, in my opinion, this type of transport is not always convenient. It is worth flying by plane if you are going to get to another part of Italy, for example, you can fly to Sicily from Rome or Milan. Although prices for air travel are low due to the presence of low-cost airlines (Ryanair, Vueling, easyJet; low-cost airlines also have sales several times a year where you can buy air tickets for 10-15 euros one way without luggage, for luggage you usually need to pay an additional 15- 30 euros, but such sales are rare, while you wait for them, you can miss out on low prices on regular tickets), but the time it takes to check in for a flight, travel to/from the airport, and frequent delays on domestic flights make airplanes not a very attractive means of transport.

You can also use intercity buses, but this is not very convenient, although it is the cheapest option in most cases. In the hot summer months, the buses are stuffy, air conditioning is not always a help, and the comfort level on the buses is at a minimum. Better use the trains.

Buy a tour or go to Italy on your own

I decided to travel around Italy on my own, without the help of travel agencies, and will continue to do so. But some tourists still choose the tour. The fact is that in rare cases, with special offers from tour operators, you can relax at the most popular resorts at relatively low prices. Such last-minute tours need to be carefully monitored and purchased immediately (if you are completely satisfied with this type of vacation), because the most attractive options in terms of cost are sorted out in literally 5-10 minutes. This specificity of cheap tours makes them elusive, because... you have to constantly monitor the offers of tour operators, most often for several months in a row, and, more often than not, such offers become available in work time, which means that it is not always possible even if there is cheap tour buy it, because this takes time, you need to interrupt your work (which is not always possible), you need to have access to the Internet and a bank card at hand.

Those who still decide to choose offers from tour operators do so on or on. The services are time-tested, there are convenient filters for searching, and there are many options available for various resorts. Just don’t forget that the cost of most cheap tours only includes hotel accommodation (and not always good, only with breakfast or no meals at all) and air travel, and does not take into account expenses for food/cafes/restaurants, insurance, travel around Italy itself ( between cities and in the cities themselves), the purchase of souvenirs and other standard expenses on vacation, so if these expenses are added to the cost of the tour (to see the real required budget), then offers from tour operators are often not profitable.

The main reason why I don’t buy tours, but travel around Italy on my own, is the constraint of choice interesting route, limiting yourself to strict limits on specific dates of arrival and departure (last minute tours with low prices the dates are often not convenient, the flight can be “tomorrow” or vice versa, in a few months (which is less common), you have to change your plans, adapt to the tour operator, and most are given vacation only with a few weeks advance notice or even an annual vacation is assigned only on specific dates determined by management, which creates difficulties for rest on the tour), a small number of days for rest (in a few days you will not be able to fully get acquainted with different parts of Italy, you will have to limit yourself to one or two cities, which will not bring so many positive emotions compared to flexible independent travel), not much comfortable hotels(most often, cheap tours include accommodation in low-level hotels, with poor food or no food at all, in an area remote from the city center).

If you want to see several cities, visit best beaches, see the real Italy (and not just the part that is visited far and wide by tourists), enjoy your vacation at a pace that is convenient for you, experience as many positive emotions as possible and get a large number of pleasant impressions (much more than a standard tour vacation gives ), then choose an independent trip to Italy.

How to save money

Cost of a trip to Italy – prices and budget

How much it will cost to fly to Italy on your own is up to you to decide; this is a huge advantage of independent travel. Different travelers have different travel styles. Some people like to spend money left and right, live in 5-star hotels and rent a Cadillac to get around the city. The price of such a holiday will be several tens of thousands of euros. And someone uses advice, and. Such a trip can cost about 30,000 rubles per month of vacation. My independent trip to Italy, which lasted 24 days and included many cities in different parts of the country, cost 125,000 rubles (if I lived in the European part of the Russian Federation, this figure would decrease by 10,000), I’ll say right away that it was not super economical travel, I just sometimes bought what I wanted, I used to travel around Europe for 25,000 rubles a month (it was an interesting adventure :)). First you need to decide how you want to travel and only then calculate your approximate budget. Independent trip to Italy for 10 days for two requires an average of 95,000-125,000 rubles, but take into account the information provided in this section.

Expenditure

To create your own travel budget, you will need this table with approximate expenses:

The budget for your trip is greatly influenced by the number of cities you want to see, how many attractions you consider a must-see, how important shopping is for you, where you will eat (cafes, restaurants, or just buy food in supermarkets). If you have already traveled to any countries, then be guided by your previous experience with an eye to the prices in Italy, which are given in this article.

Prices in Italy

Housing prices

Prices are given for the cheapest options, which cannot boast of super service, fine cuisine, and, often, a convenient location. It is better to book accommodation slightly higher than the minimum price, based on the hotel rating, customer reviews, and location amenities. Hotels with the best price/quality ratio are indicated.

Food prices in supermarkets

Product	Price (Euro)	Price (rubles)
Milk	1.1	79.2
Eggs (12 pcs)	2.7	198
Pasta	2.1	158.4
Juice	1.6	118.8
Hard cheese	12.8	950.2
Ham	13.9	1029.3
Sushi set (300 gr)	10.7	791.8
Apples	1.6	118.8
Potato	1.6	118.8
Tomatoes	1.8	134.6
Chicken breasts	7.5	554.3
Beef	15	1108.5
Shrimps	12.8	950.2
Wine	5.4	395.9
Vodka	8.6	633.4
Beer (0.33 l)	1.1	79.2
Water	0.7	55.4
A pack of cigarettes	6.4	475.1

Prices in cafes/inexpensive restaurants

Transport prices

Solo travel to Italy - an 18-step plan

Decide on travel dates and number of days to rest
Think over the route and decide on places (cities) for vacation
Buy air tickets to Italy and back
Book your accommodation
Buy insurance
Get your visa
Decide what type of transport you will use when traveling between Italian cities
Buy tickets for intercity transport in Italy (early purchase/booking of tickets for trains, buses, planes, car rentals can significantly reduce your expenses)
Choose and pay for excursions in advance if you need them (early booking is cheaper and guarantees that there will be free places in the guide’s group for individual excursions this is especially important because During the high season, popular guides plan all excursions several weeks in advance)
You can make a rough list of attractions that you want to visit (optional, but it saves time “on the spot”)
Download maps to your smartphone so as not to get lost and to navigate well in unfamiliar cities (it is advisable to download applications with maps that work without the Internet, for example, Maps.me)
Write it down (or remember if you have a good memory, but it’s better to write it down) important information about each city on the route (how to get from the airport, which metro or other public transport station is near your hotel, the name and address of your hotel)
Exchange some of the money for euros, take the necessary ones bank cards(And credit card, if you rent a car)
Pack your suitcases/backpacks (documents, first aid kit, equipment, clothes, Power Bank (external battery, needed to recharge your electronic devices, often required when traveling), etc.)
Set an alarm in advance that will remind you at the right time that it is time to go to the airport
Check in for your flight in advance ( online registration usually opens 24 hours before departure (sometimes earlier, check on the airline’s website)) to ensure the most comfortable and comfortable seating good view seats, and also eliminate troubles with possible overbooking (when an air carrier sells more tickets for a flight than there are seats on the plane)
A little time has passed since you packed your suitcases, and you remembered what you forgot to put in - take the missing things with you (just don’t take everything in a row, there’s no need for extra cargo)
The alarm clock rang. Go to the airport. Have a great trip!

Now you can go on your independent trip to Italy cheaply and comfortably. Italy will give you a lot of positive emotions. After my trip to this country, I was very happy, and I wish the same for you. Visit SpiritRelax often and relax anywhere in the world. All the best!

A trip to Italy by car will reveal all the delights of this most beautiful country without the need to purchase plane tickets or other public transport, and beautiful roads and landscapes will greatly enhance the positive emotions of the trip. Along the way there is something to see, something to try and be sure to buy at least once in your life. It is your own car that will allow you to go everywhere, do everything and not miss anything.

Why go to the Apennines

The homeland of amazing cuisine, perfumes and clothing is interesting even without unique resorts, world-famous museums, historical and architectural monuments, and almost every stone here is a UNESCO heritage. A road trip around Italy will allow you to see many of them with your own eyes.

In Venice, it’s worth getting acquainted with the Grand Canal, St. Mark’s Basilica and not forgetting about the world-famous carnival and gondolas.
You cannot drive past the “falling” bell tower of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Pisa or the Vatican.
The height and length of the nave of St. Peter's Basilica is amazing.
In the Papal Palace you can admire the frescoes of the great Raphael, and in the Sistine Chapel you can bow your heads before the genius of Michelangelo.
In the Pantheon in Rome, it is easy to feel the greatness of the Empire, but it is difficult to believe that this splendor of marble columns and a dome with the Heavenly All-Seeing Eye was created by people, and not by gods.
You should definitely see the Forum, under the Black Stone of which, according to legend, Romulus himself is buried.
And, of course, the Colosseum is a grandiose amphitheater that personifies the power of the now defunct empire today.
The Milan Cathedral took 427 years to build and is considered the largest Gothic temple. Here is a golden statue of the Madonna, the patroness of the city, and above the altar is kept the nail with which Christ was nailed.
You can visit Florence only because of the Uffizi Gallery - the mecca of art lovers.

Adriana's Villa in Tivoli, Pompeii, Verona, commemorative of Romeo and Juliet, the resorts of Rimini ─ the list of places to visit is endless. You need to have time to visit everywhere, but what better way to do this than if you don’t go yourself in your own car?

What you will need for your trip

First of all, preparing for a road trip includes obtaining documents:

Foreign passport.
Schengen visa.
Documents for the car.
Medical insurance.
Green Card (international car insurance).
An international driver's license (IDP), if there is no new national license.
Power of attorney for the right to drive if the car belongs to another person.
Confirmation of hotel reservations along the route.

In addition, when traveling abroad, representatives of a foreign state have the right to ask to confirm the sufficiency of finances. You will need a printout of your account statement or bank card.

A visa to Italy by car can also be issued at the Italian visa center. It is recommended to start the procedure three months in advance.

Schengen can be ordered at a Polish diplomatic office, if selected transit visa, since Poland is the first Schengen country on the route to Italy.

You can buy health insurance using one of the services, for example, and issue a Green Card right on the border with Poland - it’s even cheaper.

An IDP can be obtained within a day at the MREO at your place of residence. Advance booking of hotel rooms is required for each night of stay in the Schengen area.

It is advisable to draw up detailed route by cities of Italy and other countries along the route, indicating hotels and dates of stay.

Italian customs

The border crossing procedure, required documents, and crossing rules are identical for all Schengen countries. The queue at the border is always the same on weekdays, holidays and weekends, and the corresponding services work around the clock. Signs and markers make it easy to figure out the order of passage in corridors, the choice of which is determined by the contents of your wallets and trunks.

Customs rules in Italy are no different from those adopted in the EU:

The import/export of currency is not limited, but amounts over 10 thousand euros must be declared;
persons over 17 years of age are allowed to import up to 1 liter of spirits, up to 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars or 250 g of tobacco duty-free;
The import of coffee and tea is allowed in the amount of 500 and 100 g, respectively;
you can import up to 50 ml of perfume and 250 ml eau de toilette, as well as goods personal use and souvenirs at the rate of up to 175 euros per adult and up to 90 euros per child under 15 years of age.

When entering from the territory of EU member states, the rate of duty-free import of goods has been increased. The import of drugs, drug-containing medications without a prescription, bladed weapons and firearms, ammunition, explosives, pornography, plants, flowers with soil, meat and dairy products is prohibited.

There is no ban on baby food and special medications for people with chronic diseases. Products and medications must be packaged, and their weight should not exceed 2 kg. Our recommendation is not to travel with animals, as a lot of paperwork will be required.

Foreign citizens are not allowed into Italy or the Schengen zone:

declared prohibited from entry in one of the states of the zone;
recognized as dangerous to public order and safety;
those convicted of drug trafficking, sexual violence, aiding and abetting illegal emigration, and involving minors in illegal activities.

After control, border guards make a note in the passport indicating the date and place of border crossing.

Car requirements for traveling to Italy

The machine must be technically sound and equipped with:

European-style first aid kit;
emergency stop sign;
worker fire extinguisher;
flashlight;
vests (must be in the cabin), seat belts, spare fuses, light bulbs and a tow rope.

It is advisable to go to a service station a month or two in advance and do a full diagnosis. The headlights must work correctly, and the chassis and engine must not rattle.
There should be no tinting other than the factory one and no stickers on the windows. Even the transportation of radar detectors is prohibited.

It is important not to forget to update the maps in your navigator. If it is not there, you should install an application on your smartphone (for example, Sygic Navigator or Mapsme). In this case, you also need to take care of the mobile Internet.
Route selection

The route to the EU border is selected based on the location of the starting point. In most cases you will have to travel through Poland. From the north-western part of Russia you can take a ferry and start your journey through Europe from Germany.
We are leaving Moscow

Most often, Russians begin their journey to Italy by car from Moscow or through Moscow. You can get to the border with Europe:
Through the Baltic states, the Kaliningrad region and Poland.

Through Belarus and Poland.

The first route is long and is chosen only to kill two birds with one stone - to see the Baltic states and Kaliningrad at the same time.
The second one is optimal. From Moscow you need to get onto the M-1 highway in the direction of Smolensk, and then follow the E-30 to Minsk and Brest. This will take one day.
Through Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria ─ four days of travel with three stops. Krakow is 1500 km from Moscow, Vienna is another 500 km, and from there Venice and Milan are only 5 hours away.

Through Warsaw with stops in Berlin and Munich - four days.

Through Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia with stops in Lublin, Krakow and Budapest ─ just over four days.

Travel from St. Petersburg

Traveling to Italy by car from St. Petersburg It can be more enjoyable if you drive through Finland or Estonia, put the car on the Finnlines ferry in Helsinki or Tallinn and in about a day end up in Travemünde (Germany), from which the Italian border is about 1100 km.
It is also possible to leave Russia by ferry from St. Petersburg via Sweden or Denmark. In this case, it is worth considering that the Storebaltsbroen and Oresundsbron bridges are toll bridges (32 and 43 euros, respectively).
Popular Italian routes

Driving routes in Italy must be planned in advance, although the complete freedom that your own car provides allows you to change directions and stops at any time. A month is not enough to explore the country.

If you only have 10 days, you will have to choose what you would like to see first. Buy a guidebook if you don't know where to start.
Europeans who appreciate the beauty of Italian landscapes have a particularly popular route to choose from in Northern Italy:
The S222 Via Chiantigiana highway, crossing Tuscany, will provide the chance to taste real Chianti, produced only in this region, to visit nature reserves and medieval cities, castles and monasteries.

The road around Lake Como in Lombardy near Milan will give you an unforgettable experience of one of the most beautiful lakes in Europe.

The famous Great Dolomite Route (Grande Strada delle Dolomiti) allows you to enjoy beautiful views of the Alps, lakes, waterfalls and ancient cities.

In addition, the S163 highway is beautiful, running along the Amalfi Coast in the Naples area along a mountain serpentine through lemon groves and ancient towns with an endless string of vineyards and beaches.
Italian traffic rules

Traffic rules in Italy are not without their peculiarities.
Permitted speed for cars/motorcycles:
within city limits ─ 50 km/h;

out of bounds settlements─ 90 km/h;

on roads ─ 110 km/h;

on highways ─ 130 km/h.

In conditions of reduced visibility, rain, fog, snow, the permitted speed is reduced by 20 km/h.
Low beams are required for use outside populated areas, at the entrances to tunnels. On the circle, the cars located on the ring have an advantage.

All passengers are required to wear seat belts, and it is prohibited to transport children under 3 years of age without a special restraint device.

In the blood of a driver over 21 years of age and with more than 3 years of experience, up to 0.05 ppm of alcohol is allowed.

Talking on a cell phone while driving is prohibited.

In the period from October 15 to April 15, the use of winter tires is mandatory in the north of the country.

At night (from 22:00 to 7:00) the already European fines for serious violations increase by a third. They can be charged on the spot ─ up to a quarter of the maximum amount.
Parking Features

In the centers major cities There is little free parking, and evacuation is imposed for violations of the rules. Parking zones are divided into three types, indicated by different marking colors:
Blue – paid. The payment method is indicated on the sign. A parking disc for parking lots with a time limit (Disco Orario) is available to buy at a tobacco kiosk (Tabbachi), at a gas station, at a bank. There are parking lots with a free starting time. This is usually written on parking signs. For example, 30 minutes are free. If you get into one, be sure to indicate the time when you got into the parking lot.

White - free.

Yellow parking in Italy is reserved for disabled people and delivery vehicles.

There may also be green markings indicating places where parking is prohibited on weekdays from 9.30 to 16.00.
The cost of parking is determined by the municipality. On average it is 1-3 euros per hour or 15-25 euros/day.
Payment is made at parking machines. In underground parking lots, payments are made at the ticket offices based on actual time.

Free roads in Italy are of very decent quality. As a rule, for any paid version there is a free alternative.

Major highways are toll roads. The average tariff is 7 euros per 100 km. To calculate the cost, you can use the official website of the country's road network.

There are several toll tunnels in the northern part of Italy. One of the most popular is Mont Blanc, which costs about 45 euros one way.
A round trip on the Timmelsjoch High Alpine Road (open from July to October) costs €21.
You can drive through the country from north to south using a toll highway:
By east coast─ for 70 euros;

Western ─ for 60 euros.

The ferry to Sicily costs around 40 euros. The road in the northern part of the island through Palermo is tolled. The fare costs 10 euros.
Now about how to pay for roads. This is done by credit card or cash. At the entrance, you need to select the appropriate lane, stop, press the red button on the machine and pick up your ticket.
Payment is made at the exit along the lane marked biglietto. The ticket is inserted into the machine or given to the cashier, and payment is made. A characteristic feature is that not all machines accept banknotes.
Fuel costs and types of gas stations

The price of gasoline in Italy is one of the highest in Europe:
a liter of gasoline costs 1.5-1.65 euros;

diesel is estimated at 1.47 per liter;

gas cost ─ 0.66 euros.

In cities, prices are lower than on highways, but only there there are 24-hour gas stations.
Our advice: fill up to capacity in Austria, where fuel prices are perhaps the lowest in Europe.

Gas stations in Italy have two types of service:
automatic ─ you will have to refuel yourself (marked with the inscription Self). At the entrance, you need to insert a bill into the machine (accepted denominations of 10, 20 and 50 euros), after which you can get fuel exactly for the amount entered. When paying with a card, they can additionally block a significant amount on it - up to 100 euros. After one or three days it will be unblocked, but it’s still unpleasant.

with a live refueler (Servado or Servito) ─ payment is made after the fact at the cash register.

At self-service gas stations, a liter of fuel costs about 10-20 cents less.
Route optimization

Optimize your trip to get to Italy and back with minimal costs A few life hacks will help you in no time:
An interactive map of checkpoints in Belarus will allow you to determine where there is less queue. Here you can see the queues. On the way back, the official website of the Polish Border Service will help you cope with this task.

Studying and taking notes on the selected locations of food outlets, parking lots and hotels on Google maps will help you plan your budget. A Google account is required. On the point’s website you can find prices, menus, and user reviews while still at home. The coordinates can be immediately entered into the navigator.

It is worth building different routes there and back to see not only Italy.

You will have to travel several thousand kilometers in a limited time. It's good if there is a second driver. Otherwise, you should not plan rest stops over a distance of more than 500 km, otherwise you will only have to admire the Italian beauty from the car window.

It is cheaper to eat and sleep in small towns.
Hit the road in a small car - this makes it easier to park and drive through narrow streets.
If you only have a week, excluding travel, go to Venice, Rome and Milan first.
Important phone numbers

If your car breaks down, you will have to go to the nearest service station or call the emergency service at 116. For this purpose, there are free pay phones on the highways. Other emergency numbers:
ambulance - 118;

police - 112, 113;

firefighters - 115;

traffic information – 1518.

If you don't have a phone, you can contact a police officer. In the most extreme cases, you can call the Russian Embassy in the Italian Republic: +39 494-16-80, 494-16-81, 494-16-49.
conclusions

A trip to Italy will be remembered for a long time. Not so much a complicated, long and expensive road, but rather a stock of impressions that will last a lifetime. Main:
prepare the necessary package of documents for the trip;

plan the most convenient route;

successfully pass customs;

remember the features of Italian traffic rules;

stock up on money, taking into account local gasoline prices;

and of course, don’t forget to upload a map of Italy to your navigator.

If you have carefully read the article, and nothing interferes with your desire to travel, feel free to hit the road. We are sure that you will want to make the trip more than once.
Cost of traveling by car to Italy: Video

Around Italy by car. Our experience

Dima and I live in Belgium. Dima's sister lives in northern Italy. We visit our relatives here several times a year. Accordingly, we drive around Italy using Belgian license plates.
In 5-6 trips we were never stopped by the police. Pah-pah! We traveled through Austria, France and Switzerland. By the way, if you go through Switzerland, there is a very high probability that you will be stopped at the border.
In the cities we saw several times how the police or carabinieri stopped and checked documents.
The last time we went with little Eva. She was only two months old at the time. 3,000 km. she stood it very steadfastly. There are a lot of cargo trucks on some sections of the roads. Despite the fact that, according to traffic rules, they are allowed to drive only in designated lanes, in practice, not everyone adheres to traffic rules. Trucks can overtake where it is prohibited, exceed the speed limit, or even occupy all lanes. In addition, many sections of the road are being repaired, so traffic may be difficult.
Every 30 - 50 km. The highways have gas stations, most of them with cafes (my favorite with the AutoGrill cafe). Prices here are higher, both for food and gasoline. Therefore, it is better to buy groceries and refuel your car in the city.

How to rent a car

To rent a car in Europe, we use the website rentalcars.com; they have a large selection of cars and reasonable prices.
Take the car with full insurance. Italians drive very erratically. Once you cross the border, it becomes clear - we are in Italy! In addition, narrow streets and sharp turns only increase the chance of damaging your car. Believe me, insurance is not something you should skimp on.
Almost all rental services block the deposit on your card. As a rule, it is 400-800 euros. After returning the car, the amount will be released.

Toll roads in Italy

Most Italian motorways have tolls. You can calculate approximate travel costs using this website. You need to enter the point of departure and arrival, and the program itself will calculate the cost of travel for the selected section. In addition, here, in real time, you can see the traffic along the route: which sections are closed, which are being repaired, and which are very busy.

This website provides information on motorways. All available infrastructure is described: parking lots, gas stations, exits to cities and much more. The two above-mentioned resources became a lifesaver for us.

How to pay for travel

When entering the highway, you press a button to get a ticket, you don’t pay anything. Do not throw away the coupon under any circumstances. You will need it to pay when exiting the motorway.

You pay a fixed amount at the entrance and continue driving; you don’t need to pay anything at the exit from the highway.

To pay for travel, prepare cash in advance. Many points are automated (that is, without a person at the window), but not all accept cards.

Tourists need to choose a point with the inscription “Biglietto”, on which bank cards or pennies are drawn. Points that support "Telepass" - for locals who have a deposit chip.

Gas stations in Italy

Average gasoline prices in Italy are:

Super 95 - 1.6 euros,
Premium 98 - 1.7 euros,
Diesel - 1.45 euros.

In Italy you can refuel in two ways: with or without help.

A gas station marked “Servito” indicates service at the station. That is, you don’t even have to get out of the car, everything will be done for you. You tell them what to fill, how much, and give them the money. The station employee will pay for gasoline at the cash register and return your change. Gasoline labeled “Servito” costs more than if you did everything yourself. On average, the markup is 10-20 cents per liter. It is not necessary to leave a tip; payment for assistance is already included in the higher cost of gasoline.
The second option is to refuel the car yourself. In this case, the regular price for gasoline applies, which is indicated on the board at the entrance to the gas station. Please be aware that some stations are closed on weekends and holidays. You can pay for gasoline by card or cash at the terminal.

Where to park

Parking spaces are indicated by a sign or road markings. Most often, the signs indicate the days and times when parking is paid. As for road markings, this also has its own nuances.

Blue - paid parking zone. You need to buy a ticket at the parking meter and place it under the windshield. Parking meters accept pennies, less often cards and bills.
Parking with white markings is free, but you can leave your car for a limited amount of time. Permitted parking times are indicated on signs. Typically this is one or two hours. A parking disc is required to stop in this zone. It is very rare to find white zones in which there is no time limit.
On average, parking costs 1-2 euros per hour.
A good way to save money is to book accommodation with free parking. However, please be aware that some cities may not be allowed to enter the city center. Take this fact into account if you plan to live in the center.

Disadvantages of traveling in Italy by car

As I wrote above, the roads are toll. Gas and highway tolls eat up the lion's share of your vacation budget. In general, this, unfortunately, does not apply to transport.

The north of Italy, especially the part near the coast, is very hilly. Now it's a descent, now an ascent, now a long serpentine road, now a tunnel, now a repair - in general, the ride is quite difficult! You need to watch the road very carefully. And in large cities there is also traffic, you can get stuck in a traffic jam for a long time.
During the season there may be problems with parking. There are many applicants, but few places.

In my opinion, traveling around Italy by car is expensive and tiring. This trip is definitely not for everyone! But if you look from the other side, there is a lot of good here. Travel costs are the price for freedom of choice and action. At any time you can redo the route or go to places that cannot be reached by public transport.

Photo article about a trip to Italy by car. Gasoline prices, toll roads and parking. Where to rent a car, where to refuel and park. Pros and cons of traveling around Italy with your own transport.

Our trip to Europe lasted 25 days. During this time, we traveled from the Czech Republic (Prague) through Austria and Germany to the south of Italy along the east coast, covered about 1000 km in Sicily, and then returned along west coast Italy back to Prague. Total about 6000 km.

I will describe the route and details of the trip in another article, but here is just a story about what everyone who plans to travel around Italy in their own or a rented car should know.

The car we drove all over Italy

Motorway in Italy

Car rental and travel around Italy

You can rent a car in Italy and other European countries on the website rentalcars.com

We traveled in Czech license plates. Traffic police stopped me once when entering Italy. Passports checked. The car documents, license and insurance were not checked. The traffic police were never seen again

Speed limit on motorway 130 km per hour, but Italians drive faster. There are cameras recording speed. Signs on the board warn that there will be a camera soon. The navigator also rang, warning of speed control.

On the day we left the Czech Republic, the navigator broke down, so we bought it in Italy new navigator Tomtom with lifelong map updates of Europe. While driving without it using apps on the iPhone, we repeatedly got to the wrong place due to junctions and 180-degree turns.

If your goal is only Sicily or just a vacation in the south of Italy, and not a trip as such, then it will be cheaper and more logical to buy a plane ticket, fly to Sicily or to the south of Italy and rent a car on the spot. I talked about how to search for air tickets, including for low-cost flights, in the article:. Ryanair flies throughout Italy; Alitalia has normal prices for flights within the country.

Take full coverage insurance when renting a car. In 8 cases out of 10, your antenna will be torn off, your doors will be scratched, or your rear bumper will be scratched.

There are cafes along the highway, but their prices are quite high (a 300% markup on prices in supermarkets), so if you want to save money, buy food and water for the trip in advance in cities

If you plan to catch a plane or something else, allow more time for the road. For example, when we were returning north, we were driving through Calabria. The freeway suddenly ended. There were renovations going on there, which were not warned about in advance. There was no bypass road. Just a closed highway and repairs. We had to drive along serpentines to the coast, which is why we lost 4 hours. Anything can happen in Italy.

Entry into Italy from Austria

Gasoline prices in Italy

Gasoline costs in Italy 1.6-1.8€

The cheapest gasoline that could be found in Italy was 1.53€ at a half-abandoned Sicilian gas station. Expect to pay on average 1.64-1.7€ refueling in the north and 1.55-1.74€ refueling in southern Italy in Calabria

It is better to refuel in cities rather than on a toll highway - it will be cheaper. Gasoline and diesel on the motorway cost 20 - 30 cents more per liter than in cities. Gasoline prices on the motorway reach up to 1.9-2€

In Italy, diesel is cheaper than gasoline by an average of 20 cents per liter, so if you are traveling with a rented car, it is better to take a diesel car

Natural benson is a 95. Available at almost all gas stations. Usually the hose with 95 gasoline is painted green.

Prices for 95 gasoline in Europe:

Czech Republic 1.2€
Germany 1.5€
Austria 1.3-1.4€
Italy - 1.6-2€

Diesel prices in Europe

Czech Republic – 1.15€
Germany - 1.25-1.3€
Austria – 1.2€
Italy - 1.4-1.7€

Senza Piombo is also gasoline

Super SP is also gasoline

Gas stations in Italy

In Italy there is such a thing as a gas station. What does it mean? There are two types of gas pumps at the same gas station:

Self

You refuel yourself. The price of gasoline corresponds to that indicated on the sign at the entrance to the gas station.
To refuel, you need to insert a bill into the payment machine (it is located near one of the pumps). For example, we insert 20 euros. The message “Credito 20 euro” will appear.
After this, you need to select the pump where you will refuel. Next, insert the hose into the gas tank. If you insert 20 euros, the tank will be filled with gasoline exactly 20€ .
Refueling machines accept notes of 10, 20, 50 €. They don’t take 100 and 500 euros, they don’t give change.

The column says Self. On the left, a little further away, there is another column that says “Serv” - prices are higher there

Shows the number of liters, fuel price and amount

A miracle of nature - a terminal at a gas station that accepts bank cards for payment

Standard terminal that accepts only euro cash for payment

Servado or Servito or SerV

If the pump says “Servado” or “Servito”, this means that a gas station attendant will refuel you. This person can accept payment in cash, sometimes they take cards and give change. The only negative is that gasoline with this option will cost 10-15 cents per liter more than the price initially indicated on the sign at the entrance to the gas station. There is no need to tip the gas station attendant - it is already included in the price of gasoline.

If you want to save money, drive up to the “Self” pump and refuel yourself.

Gas station with the inscription “Serv” and higher prices

Toll roads in Italy

The whole of Italy from north to south can be driven along a toll motorway. To travel from north to south along the east coast, you need to spend 70€ , along the west coast - 60€. Procedure on the motorway:

When you enter the freeway, you press the red button on the machine and you get a ticket. Or the ticket is already in the machine, you just need to pick it up.

When leaving, you insert a ticket and pay the amount indicated on the machine. If there is a person sitting at the window, you give him a ticket, money or a bank card.

Do not drive up to the exit that says Telepass in large blue letters on a yellow background - this line is only for those with a Telepass. If there is no Telepass, then choose the exit on which biglietto is written, cards or pennies are drawn.

It is advisable to have small euro pennies with you, since not all machines accept banknotes, and there is not always a person at the window

Roads in southern Italy (south of Naples) are toll-free.

We were transported to Sicily by ferry. There - 38€ , back - 40€

There are toll and free roads in Sicily. The road leading through the north of the island through Palermo is tolled and costs 10€

Motorway in Italy

Motorway ticket

Ferry ticket to Sicily

Parking in Italy

We rented apartments in Italy and hotels through booking, having previously set “availability of free parking” in the additional amenities filters.

In cities, parking behind the white line is free; parking behind the blue, yellow and red lines requires tickets. Some parking lots are only for residents of a certain area or for people with disabilities.

At some resorts, parking is free even behind the blue line in the low season, and from June a fee is introduced.

In the north of Italy you can often come across such a picture when you pull into a free parking lot, and there is a certain person standing in a free space, waving his hands at you and trying in every possible way to help you park (but in fact only gets in the way). The above-mentioned person, after the “service” provided, asks for money and pretends to be a parking attendant. They can ask from 1 before 3€. This face can be understood - a man came to Italy illegally from Africa and is trying to somehow survive. Whether to give him money is a private matter for everyone.

The price for paid parking in Italy is on average 1-3 euros per hour or 15-25 euros per day. You need to pay at parking machines.

If you plan to stay in cities (for example, Florence, Siena, Rome), it is better to rent accommodation with parking in advance to avoid headaches. For example, vehicle entry into the center of Florence is prohibited until 19.30. You can, without knowing this, rent housing in the center and not be able to get to it by car. More information about (agritourismo, camping, guesthouse, hostel, apartment or hotel)

There are no lines on the asphalt. Parking is free

Blue lines on the asphalt - paid parking

Pros of traveling around Italy by car

Freedom of movement, independence from public transport schedules

You can rent housing on the highway, stay in agro-tourism resorts or small towns, where prices for renting apartments and hotels are lower. All the apartments we rented during the trip cost 50-70 euros per day for three-room apartments.

The ability to leave the highway, change the route, or go to a deserted beach found on the map.

We saw the whole country. We drove along the east coast of Italy to the very south, drove around Sicily (about 1000 km), and returned back along the west coast. We saw rocks, volcanoes, bare fields, cacti, tangerine plantations, vineyards and high mountains. In Italy there are landscapes that are characteristic of Georgia, Armenia, Mexico, Austria, Croatia, Uzbekistan and even Belarus. All this can be seen on the scale of one country.

Disadvantages of traveling to Italy by car

Expensive. Gasoline, parking, toll roads, ferry to Sicily. Considering that we traveled about 4,700 km in Italy, the cost of fuel and toll roads became a significant cost item. Read more about

Problem with parking. If you plan to travel around cities, rent the smallest car. Parking and driving through narrow streets in a jeep or station wagon is almost impossible.

Our car was scratched. If you look closely, absolutely all cars in Italy are scratched. The streets are narrow and there are few parking spaces, so a typical car in Italy often has no bumper, dangling mirrors and huge scratches on the sides.

The car is scratched

Other cars are also scratched

Is it worth going to Italy by car?

A controversial question, the answer to which everyone seeks for himself. On the one hand, it is expensive, tiring, there is a high risk of scratching the car, plus a constant headache with finding parking. On the other hand, our trip was so eventful and full of positive impressions that it was definitely worth the money spent on it.

If you are traveling to Italy for a seaside holiday, but want to save money, it might make sense to go not to Italy, but to Croatia. Holidays in Croatia are much cheaper than in Italy. You can read my article about that last year.

Have you traveled by car in Italy or other European countries? Liked? Or is public transport king? If you still have questions about traveling to Italy by car, ask them in the comments to this photo post.

Have a magical holiday in Italy! Sincerely,

After our first successful road trip to Prague in New Year holidays 2012-2013, we, feeling a surge of optimism and self-confidence, set our sights on our old dream - to visit Venice without the help of travel agencies, according to our own scenario. And they not only took aim, but also visited. And not only in Italy, but in six other countries. This is perhaps our most memorable European two-week holiday on wheels.

Is it possible to go to Italy by car from Moscow?

Travel agents ourselves, upon arrival from Prague, we began to carefully think through and develop the upcoming summer route from Moscow to Italy by car . We dug through a bunch of information on the Internet, reviews from experienced people and questions from newbies like us. As a result, this route was born...

Route: Moscow - Rimini

Moscow - Brest (border crossing "Domachevo") - Krakow (Poland - overnight) - 1500 km;
Krakow - Vienna (Austria - overnight) - 500 km;
Vienna - Mödling - Graz - Bled (Slovenia - overnight) - 420 km;
Bled - Postojna - Venice (Italy - overnight) - 300 km;
Venice - Rimini (Italy - 5 nights) - 270 km.

Route: Rimini - Moscow

Rimini (Italy) - Torbole (Italy - overnight) - 330 km;
Torbole - Innsbruck (Austria - overnight) - 230 km;
Innsbruck - St. Pölten (Austria - overnight) - 420 km;
St. Pölten - Voskreznice (Poland - overnight) - 940 km.
Voskreznitsa - Brest (border crossing "Brest Bridge") - Moscow - 1100 km.

We had: two weeks of legal vacation in July, a faithful Korean-made four-wheeled friend, a budget of about 120,000 rubles for two (the euro exchange rate in 2014 was about 50 rubles) and a desire to see Europe in all its glory along the entire route. At the same time, the main condition was to spend five days at sea and not deny yourself anything.

Looking ahead, I’ll say that we managed to: while traveling around Austria, drop into a cute provincial town, hometown Arnold Schwarzenegger - Graz, in Slovenia we visited the city of Postojna, admired medieval castle, where the famous Jackie Chan filmed his film “Armor of God”.

In Venice we managed to ride on. And from Rimini we went to the republic.

The road home was not boring either. On the way we walked around. A stop in Innsbruck gave children the delight of visiting a unique place. On the way we unexpectedly stopped at Lake Mondsee and the city of Melk. In general, the trip was very eventful, but not very tiring.

If you really want something and show maximum ingenuity, hard work and patience... Nothing is impossible. And at the appointed time, without missing a beat, we sat on the embankment in Venice, ate amazing Italian ice cream and admired the sunset over.

Route to Italy on the map

Where to start and what is most important when traveling by car to Europe

Our preparations for a long trip to Europe by car look something like this:

1. First of all, for a trip to Europe you need. In total, we stayed in Italy for the largest number of days, so the visa was issued at the Italian Visa Application Center. The Italians are generous with their annual visas.

To obtain a Schengen visa (if you are traveling to Europe with your own car) you will need a whole bunch of documents. But it’s not so scary, some of them can be obtained without leaving home. The Internet rules... In particular,

detailed and hotel reservations along the route. The reservation must be for each night of stay in the European Union zone.

Therefore, take a thorough and serious approach to planning your route and... For example, we try to make travel from country to country no more than 500 km. Otherwise, everything is cultural - historical features will remain only outside the car window. And the driver (and we have only one) will soon look like a “cornered horse.”

And so, there is enough time to go to some interesting places along the way, see the main attractions at your overnight stay and have a good rest and dinner in the evening with a glass or two of local beer.

Medical insurance ( Step-by-step instruction for purchasing insurance online).
An IDP is also one of the necessary documents to obtain a Schengen visa.

Since we are traveling by car, we must have an IDP (). There are many opinions and discussions on this subject on various thematic forums, but it is better, as they say, to play it safe. This is not such a big financial investment, but when it arises emergency situation on the road, you will save much more nerves.

Also, when traveling by car, “” - international insurance is required. Of course, the MTPL policy does not work in the European Union.

As for documents, you also need to take care of the necessary kit for crossing the border, a standard list.

If you already have an open Schengen visa, do not forget about travel health insurance. In order to purchase it, you do not have to waste time going to the insurance company. You can compare insurance prices and buy the most profitable one without leaving your computer, using one of the services, for example Cherehapa.ru:

2. It is very important to plan the route correctly, distribute distances and rest time. This takes an enormous amount of time. I want to see a lot, walk around different cities, embrace the immensity. But the main thing here is to avoid fanaticism, so that there is no feeling of “galloping across Europe.”

Although there will still be ☺, there are so many interesting things along the way and there is always a catastrophic lack of time.
Along the way, as a rule, the route is adjusted for various reasons - unplanned traffic jams, bad weather, fatigue, mood... whatever. We were never lucky enough to see some of the sights. This is nothing, because more often, just as unplanned, you manage to visit completely unexpected places and see something interesting that you didn’t even know about. This is why independent travel by car is good.

3. Since the route from Moscow to Italy runs through the territories of different countries, we study information about traffic rules in different countries along the route and all sorts of different specific ones. And also the rules on the roads, because even in neighboring countries they can differ and you can easily get into trouble. Why do we need unnecessary problems and frustrations? He who is forewarned is forearmed.

Personally, we always find a lot of relevant information related to driving a car abroad on the website: autotraveler.ru (the cost of gasoline, innovations in traffic rules and fines for violating them, speed limits, what you must have in a car and what is prohibited from using, and many other things useful up-to-date information). Take the time to study these questions. I even printed some out and took them with me on a trip. For example, in which countries should you purchase a vignette and where to stick it correctly. Yes, yes, everything is written on the vignette, but it’s calmer and faster.

4. We update maps in navigators in advance (usually there are two of them, just in case: the irreplaceable “i go” and the mobile “Google navigator with current traffic jams”).

5. We take care of mobile Internet in advance, which functions when moving from country to country. This is always a lifesaver. We refused the Goodline Internet SIM card (there are a lot of bugs and the support leaves much to be desired.

We tested the international SIM card Dreamsim, we were satisfied, we recommend it. I will definitely write more about it.

What makes life easier when traveling and saves valuable time

From personal experience- useful for properly organizing a road trip...

If you have a Google account (if not, then registering is easy, the registration procedure is standard).

When the travel route and overnight cities are known, I study the main attractions nearby, as well as restaurants and cafes where you can have a tasty and inexpensive meal. Then I mark them with an asterisk on Google Maps. They are saved in my account and are always at hand if there is Internet or wi-fi. It is very comfortable. Helped me out more than once. After all, in addition to the address, in Google maps you can quickly find up-to-date information about the facility (opening hours, address of the official website, restaurant menu, etc.).

Thus, when I am in an unfamiliar city, I always know what I need to visit and where I will have lunch or dinner. A huge amount of time is saved. As for restaurants and cafes, I was convinced that it is much more convenient to choose them at home. You can look at the menu in advance using the translator, find out the average cost of dinner, choose an establishment with a traditional local cuisine, as well as read customer reviews.

Also, before the trip, I make sure to enter the coordinates of all important objects into the navigator (border crossing points, hotel addresses, important attractions) and on the road all that remains is to select the desired destination in just a few clicks.

So, all the preparatory efforts to prepare for the Moscow-Italy trip in your own car are over. Let's go tomorrow. The first destination is the city of Krakow.

To be continued…