Italy by campervan: driving, tolls and rules
Driving a campervan in Italy: speed limits, tolls, low-emission zones, required equipment and key road rules. What to know before you go.
Published 18 September 2026Last checked 18 September 2026
Currency
Euro
EUR. Cards must be accepted, any amount
Language
Italian
German is co-official in South Tyrol
Driving
Right
Motorway 130 km/h, 100 km/h over 3.5 t
Power
230V, type F and L
Italy keeps its own three-pin plug
Tap water
Safe to drink
Ask for acqua del rubinetto
Emergency
112
Any language. ACI breakdown 803 116
Driving
Driving
The ZTL is the single most expensive mistake a foreign driver makes in Italy. A zona a traffico limitato is a camera-controlled restricted zone in a historic centre, and around 350 Italian towns have one. A camera reads the plate, and the fine, 83 to 332 euros under the road code, arrives at your home address months later. Each crossing is a separate fine.
ZTL zones, the thing that catches foreign vehicles
- The sign is a white circle with a red border, the same as a no-entry-for-vehicles sign, with a panel reading zona traffico limitato and the active hours below it. Many towns add an electronic display saying varco attivo or varco non attivo.
- Hours differ in every town, and often by day. Rome's Centro Storico zone runs Monday to Friday 06:30 to 18:00 and Saturday 14:00 to 18:00, with a separate Friday and Saturday night zone from 23:00 to 03:00. Florence's runs a winter and a summer timetable and adds late evening hours in season.
Speed limits by weight
| Vehicle | Motorway | Main road | Secondary road |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 3,500 kg | 130 km/h | 110 km/h | 90 km/h |
| Over 3,500 kg to 12,000 kg | 100 km/h | 80 km/h | 80 km/h |
In rain, the motorway limit drops to 110 km/h and the main-road limit to 90 km/h for everyone, automatically and without a sign. Italian speed cameras apply it.
What the crossings and the charges cost in 2026
| What | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Autostrada, Class B | around €0.07 to €0.08 per km | Typical car rate. Class B applies to anything over 1.30 m high at the front axle, which is every motorhome. Tolls rose about 1.5 percent on 1 January 2026 |
| Fréjus tunnel, Class 2 | €74.70 single, €93.80 return | 2026 tariff. Class 2 is two or more axles, up to 3 m high. Return valid to midnight on the seventh day |
| Mont Blanc tunnel | aligned with Fréjus | Both tunnels rose 1.19 percent on 1 January 2026 and their tariffs are kept in step |
| Area C, Milan | €7.50 a day | Monday to Friday 07:30 to 19:30, public holidays excluded. One ticket covers every entry that day until 19:30 |
| Area B, Milan | free | Same days and hours. Not a charge, an emission-class ban covering almost the whole city |
Fuel
- Two prices at every station. Fai da te is self service and cheaper. Servito means an attendant fills it and costs noticeably more. Read the board before the nozzle goes in.
- Self service diesel averaged 2.294 euros a litre on 18 September 2026 on the ordinary road network and 2.375 on motorways, both records.
Parking, and what the lines mean
- White lines: free, but check the sign, because free often means time-limited with a disco orario clock disc on the dashboard.
- Blue lines: paid. Buy a ticket from the machine and show it on the dashboard. Parking there without one is a 41 euro fine.
Winter equipment is required from 15 November to 15 April on roads and motorways where the authority has ordered it, and the signs say obbligo di pneumatici invernali o catene a bordo. Winter tyres fitted, or chains carried, both satisfy it. The Brenner motorway and South Tyrol run those dates. Aosta Valley starts on 15 October. The fine is 80 to 318 euros and you can be stopped from continuing.