Italy by campervan: best regions and routes

Areas of Italy

The regions of Italy: the Alps, the hill towns and the deep south

Italy is 1,200 kilometres from the Brenner pass to the tip of Sicily, and driving it changes the weather, the food, the price of a coffee and how seriously anyone takes a parking sign. Pick the region by the month you are travelling, not the other way round.

Dolomites and the Alps

The Dolomites and the Alps: a three-month season and the best roads in Italy

South Tyrol, Trentino, the Veneto Dolomites and the western Alps from Aosta to Lombardy. German is co-official in South Tyrol and comes first on the signs. Passes such as Sella, Pordoi and Gavia are a summer proposition only, and several close with the first heavy snow.

Best June to September

What it is like

• The most organised part of Italy. Signage, cycle paths and mountain huts all work the way you would expect in Austria.
• Bolzano in the valley reaches 30 °C in July while the passes above it are cold enough for a jacket. Pack for both.

Where to go

• The Great Dolomites Road, Bolzano to Cortina
• Alpe di Siusi and the Val Gardena

For the vehicle

• Winter equipment is required from 15 November to 15 April in South Tyrol and on the Brenner motorway, and from 15 October in the Aosta Valley.
• Pass roads are steep, narrow and full of cyclists and motorbikes. A long motorhome is hard work on the hairpins and some passes restrict length.

Italian Lakes

The Italian Lakes: Garda, Como and Maggiore, and nowhere to turn a van around

Garda, Como, Maggiore, Iseo and Orta, an hour or two north of Milan and the first thing most people hit coming over the Alps. Garda is the biggest and the most van-friendly, Como the most beautiful and the worst to drive.

Best April to June, September to October

What it is like

• Garda's eastern shore has the campsites, the flat cycle path and the beaches. The western shore has the drama and the tunnels.
• Como's lakeside road is two lanes wide in theory and one in practice, with stone walls on both sides and buses coming the other way.

Where to go

• Sirmione and the southern Garda shore
• The Ponale road above Riva del Garda, on foot or by bike

For the vehicle

• Lake Como is the wrong lake for a long motorhome. Take the ferries across rather than driving round, and check the length limits when you book.
• Milan's Area B and Area C both run Monday to Friday 07:30 to 19:30. Area C is 7.50 euros a day. Area B is free but bars older engines.

Tuscany and Umbria

Tuscany and Umbria: hill towns, and a ZTL around every one of them

The classic Italy: Florence, Siena, Pisa, Lucca, San Gimignano, and Umbria's quieter equivalents in Perugia, Assisi, Orvieto and Spoleto. Also the part of the country with the densest concentration of restricted historic centres.

Best April to June, September to October

What it is like

• Every town worth visiting is on a hill, walled, and closed to traffic. That is the whole appeal and the whole logistical problem.
• Siena averages 31 °C in July and August with almost no shade in the Val d'Orcia. Spring and autumn are better in every way.

Where to go

• Val d'Orcia, Pienza to Montalcino
• Siena, parked below the walls

For the vehicle

• Florence runs one of the strictest ZTLs in Italy, on a winter and a summer timetable with over forty camera gates. Park in a peripheral car park and take the bus.
• Most hill towns have a marked camper or coach car park below the walls, often with a service point. Use it rather than trying the centre.