The first question I always get when people find out we’ll be driving in another country, is if they drive on the same side of the road as we do here in America. And, yes, they do! And, although the fear of driving on the wrong side won’t be a concern, there are still some different rules that you should be aware of while navigating the roads in another country!

For our honeymoon in Italy, we flew into Milan, drove over 28 hours across the country making our way south, and ultimately flew home from Naples. Along the way, we did hit some bumps in the road, — some figuratively, and some where we literally hit bumps — but navigating the Italian roads was quite easy overall.

Opt for Compact

For starters, try and get the smallest car possible to rent. Remember those bumps I mentioned above? By bumps, I meant other cars. Many of the streets within the cities are very narrow, and despite a stranger trying to guide us through the small space in the road, we still hit the mirror of the parked car next to us. On top of that, some parking spaces were so tight, Joe had to pull back out, have me park the car, and then I crawled out the back because we couldn’t even open the doors. So… yeah, don’t take that free upgrade when offered. 

International Drivers License

I read mixed reviews on if this was actually needed or not to rent a car in Italy. It mostly depended on the rental company, but we did need to provide it when we picked up our car with Sixt. It also will be necessary in the event that you get pulled over at any point. Luckily, an International Drivers License is simple to obtain through AAA and only costs a small fee. 

Toll Roads

Ask if your rental car company provides a prepaid toll responder. If yours doesn’t like ours didn’t, then make sure to avoid the yellow lanes on the highway at the toll sections. These lanes are only for transponders, so instead, use either the blue lanes to pay with card or the white lanes to pay by cash. And better to keep cash on hand. Just in case you miss the same exit 3 times in a row, and the card reader won’t accept your card payment anymore, so then you have to reverse on the highway to get in the cash lane or else you’ll be stuck at the toll booth. 

ZTL Zones

You’ll find these located in the heart of most cities. They are pedestrian areas that have restricted access for cars, so be sure to be on the lookout for the signs, since GPS doesn’t avoid these streets for directions. If your hotel is in one of these zones though, the hotel will most likely submit the license plate number to the police, saving you from a hefty fine. Shout out to the city of Pisa and the 300€ ticket we received 4 months later.

Parking

We learned this parking tip a few days in to the trip from a nice local in Lake Como — which explained why the night before the man we asked was very sketchy with his answer on whether or not we were fine to park where we did without getting towed. Similar to the toll roads, parking spots with yellow lines are reserved for residents only. Or according to the man, you’re okay to park at night, but not overnight, and maybe only an hour. Parking spots with blue lines need to be paid for, and, if you’re lucky, anything marked white is free parking.

Although Italians can drive a little crazy in city centers, just stay alert and defensive. And if you keep in mind the above tips, driving in Italy should be a breeze!

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