Italian Toll Roads: Ultimate Guide To The Italian Autostrada
When it comes to toll roads, Italy has quite a few.
The Autostrade, how they are called in Italian, run crisscross around the country, and are very convenient for getting places quickly. The price can rack up quickly, though, and it can be quite tricky to understand how to use them.
And then there are toll roads that don’t have the toll gates, but you still have to pay for using them. A good example of it is the Autostrada Pedemontana Lombarda A36. It uses a “Free flow” system, which means that there are no toll booths. You still have to pay for using the road, but you have to do it online, on their Free Flow app, or with an automatic payment.
In the last 10 years, we’ve driven thousands and thousands of kilometers on the Italian autostrada – in the north, in the very south, and everywhere in-between. Really, they are my favourite highways in Europe! The roads are quite straightforward, there is information everywhere, and main thing – there are so many beautiful views!
So let me tell you all you need to know about toll roads in Italy, that is, what they actually are, who can use them, how to use them, how to pay tolls in Italy, and how to understand the mess that is entering and exiting toll roads in Italy.
Toll Roads in Italy: quick facts
All of these are expanded on in the article, but if you don’t have time, these are the main facts quickly:
- Italian Toll Roads: autostrade in Italian. Where you are located, they might be called highways, freeways, motorways, autobahn, and other ways.
- Speed limits: 130km/h. Lower when it’s raining or snowing. Sometimes, there are signs showing lower speed limits.
- How are toll roads indicated: green signs indicate autostrade. The number of the autostrada has “A” in front of it.
- Where to pay the toll: there are toll booths on almost all of Italy’s Toll Roads where you pay the toll when exiting. The exception is Autostrada Pedemontana Lombarda.
- How to pay the toll: cash, credit card or debit card, TelePass, or online (Autostrada Pedemontana).
- How is the toll calculated: by kilometres driven and the vehicle type. On rare occasions, it’s a fixed rate.
What are Italian Autostrade?
Italian Autostrade (singular Autostrada) are the Italian toll roads. They’re highways (motorways/freeways) where you can usually drive 130km/h, but you must pay for using the roads. Most of Italian toll roads are run by the Autostrade per l’Italia or its subsidiaries.
The autostrade criss-cross all around Italy and are rather convenient to use. Most of them do get crowded, though, so traffic jams are not that uncommon.
They are marked by green signs and the name starts with the letter “A”. For example, the A4 goes from Turin (Torino) to Trieste. Sometimes, the highways have a nickname, for example, the A22 also gets called the “Autostrada del Brennero” – the highway of Brennero in English.
Speaking of the A22, when we visited the Dolomites in February 2024, we wanted to use it to go back home, as it also continues to Austria, but it was completely blocked (traffic jams up to 38km long) because an incredible amount of snow fell overnight. Which, of course, led to accidents. It was great for skiers, though.
Most of the highways have 2 lanes, but there are some parts which have 3, and tiny parts have four or even five lanes.
There are some highways which don’t have tolls and basically connect the “big” highways – they are called raccordo or bretella. They’re basically interchanges and mostly don’t have a 130km/h speed limit.
And some highways, for example, in Sardinia in Southern Italy, are for free.
Who can use the autostrade?
As is typical for these kinds of roads, the toll roads Italy has can be used by your typical small cars, campervans, and cars + trailers, motorcycles over 150cc, and trucks. The latter, though, have some exceptions, as they cannot use the toll roads on specific days (most Sundays of the year, for example).
Who cannot use the autostrade? Pedestrians, for example, are forbidden on the highways, as are bicycles, motorcycles with less than 150cc, and cars that can’t reach a speed of 80km/h.
How to use the Autostrade: entering, exiting, paying
So now let’s get to the most exciting part – how to actually use the Italian toll roads. I’ll talk about the autostrade that have toll booths, not the “Free flow” ones.
Entering autostrade
To enter the autostrade, you have to take a ticket from a ticket machine. Arrive by the barrier (there will probably be a lot of cars and quite a mess there), stop by the bar, and a ticket will automatically come out of the machine.
Sometimes, of course, it might not work, and in that case press the red button to get a ticket. If that doesn’t work, press the help (aiuto) button.
Make sure to use the white “biglietto” lanes. Do not use the probably empty, or at least emptier, yellow Telepass entrances. They are meant for cars that are registered in the Telepass system – it’s an automatic payment system for using the toll roads. Tourists don’t have them – and rental cars usually don’t, either.
Make sure you don’t lose your ticket – in that case, you will be charged from the furthest entrance, and that can get quite costly.
Getting on the Italian motorways after the entrance toll booth
Be careful, then, when you go on the other side of the toll booths. The signs for the different directions usually have the next major cities on them, for example, Milano or Bergamo. Your navigation will probably tell you which one you need to take.
Generally, the entry toll stations for both directions of the toll road are the same, which means that after the toll booth, there’s a ton of cars trying to find their entrance. Pay close attention to your surroundings and where you need to go – the signage is quite clear, actually.
Driving on Italian toll roads
The speed limit
Normally, the speed limit on the highways in Italy is 130km/h. When it’s raining or snowing, the speed limit is lowered by 20km/h – so, if it was 130, it’s now 110. And if it was 110, it’s now 90.
Pay attention to the posted signs, of course, as there can be a different speed limit at parts, for example, at entrances to the highways or if there are road works.
There is a minimum speed you can drive, too – for the left-most lane it’s 90km/h and for the middle one – 60km/h. The right-most lane doesn’t have a minimum speed limit.
From what we’ve noticed, Google Maps navigation is not reliable when it comes to speed limits in Italy so make sure to pay attention to the sings.
Speed cameras
There are different kinds of speed cameras on the autostrade.
One type is the standard booth thingy, called Autovelox, which measures your speed and if you’re driving too fast you get a picture.
The other one is called Sistema Tutor, and that one measures your average speed between two points on the autostrada.
So basically how Tutor works:
- you pass under a sign that says “Controllo della velocita con Sistema Tutor”.
- The system scans your license plate and type of your car, then sends the data to a database
- You drive a distance until the exit point to the tutor
- The system scans your license plate
- It checks the database for when you entered the measurement area and calculates the average speed it took you to get to the exit.
You get a 5% leeway on the speed, though.
Both Autovelox and Sistema Tutor have signs before them that say controllo elettronico della velocità – it’s a warning that a speed camera is coming. For the Autovelox, it’s at least 1km before, and for the Tutor, it can be anywhere from 250m to 4km before the measuring starts.
As an added bonus, there can be police on the highways with a speed gun measuring speed. And they can have like 20m of warning that speed is being checked.
Fuelling
You’ll find gas stations on Italian highways quite regularly. On quite a few of the autostrade, you’ll even find signs which state the name of the gas station, how far it is, and even the fuel price.
Keep in mind that the fuel stations on highways usually have higher prices. Plus, there are “manned” tanks where the fuel can be even 30 cents more expensive than at the ones where you fill up your tank by yourself – they are well marked, though. Choose the “Self” ones to avoid extra costs.
We usually look for gas stations somewhere off highways. If you’re close to Austria in the Dolomites, the prices for fuel there usually seem to be lower – so sometimes it’s cost-effective to cross the border to fuel your car. The further you go from the border, the cheaper the fuel.
Eating
In Italy, like many other places, there are different restaurants and rest areas on the highways. And luckily, unlike many other countries, they are not that far apart.
Autogrill is the most famous of them all, and everyone who lives in Italy recommends guests to try it out. I’ve never really understood the hype, though I must admit that it is convenient to use.
I do like the Autogrill’s market (shop), though. They have similar stuff like the duty frees in airports, so you can find different interesting things there. And they have some of the best bathrooms that you’ll find on the highways – definitely much better than the gas stations.
Exiting autostrade
The exits roads are on the right side of the highway so make sure to take the right lane. And don’t leave it for the last moment! We’ve sometimes struggled to get off the autostrade at the correct exit, as there was just a nonstop line of trucks blocking the right lane.
If you know that you’ll use the highway at the beginning of your drive, make sure to prepare your wallet, card, or cash, so that you don’t have to worry about looking for it when the exit comes.
Make sure to avoid the Telepass lane.
Prepare the ticket you got at the entry point and your payment method. Then, choose the correct lane.
How to pay Italian tolls (pedaggio)
When approaching the exit booths, pay attention to the signs on top of the lanes. There are white, yellow, and blue ones which tell you the payment methods available at the respective toll booth. In short:
- The white signs with cash drawn on them are for cash payments. If there’s only cash drawn on the sign, it means it’s unmanned. If the cash on the drawing is “held” by a hand, it’s a manned booth.
- The blue signs with “Carte” written are for card payments. Usually, you can pay with any of the biggest card providers, including Visa and MasterCard. NFC payments by phone were possible, too, the last time we used the toll roads in Italy.
- The yellow sings – for Telepass customers.To use the telepass lane, your car must have a special small device which, since you’re probably only visiting, your car will not have. Generally, the rental cars don’t have them, either. The number plate of the car with telepass is connected to a credit card that is charged automatically, thus saving the driver some time.
Sometimes, you can pay with a card at the cash lanes, or exit with the Telepass at the card lanes – in that case, on the big sign, there will be a smaller one indicating it.
When you get to the toll booth, insert your ticket in the appropriate place, and the machine will show you how much you must pay. Remember to prepare the entry ticket in advance!
Pay with a card or cash, and the barrier will open to let you through.
If you have any problems, don’t hesitate to call for help. Once, for some reason, my small car got charged like a truck for the segment. Since I drove that one often, I knew that the price was like 5x higher than usual. I called the attendant, and he fixed it for me.
In our opinion, the best way is to pay with a card – generally, the cash lanes take longer.
Exiting the highway after the exit booths
Just like when entering the autostrada, there will probably be quite a mess when exiting it, too.
The cars from all the booths will be going left and right to find the correct exit – so be careful and aware of your surroundings at all times!
Pay attention to the signs and listen to your navigation if you’re using it to find where you need to go.
How are tolls in Italy calculated?
Tolls in Italy are calculated by the kilometer that you’ve driven on the highway and your vehicle class.
When entering the autostrada, you take a ticket. When you exit, you insert that ticket in the machine. The machine reads where you entered and calculates the toll.
The toll is not calculated by the time you’ve spent on the highway – so if you stop for a lunch or gas, or just a little break, the price will not go higher. These are called “closed system” highways, as the system knows where you entered and exited.
Some of the highways have a flat rate for using them – these stretches of highways are called “open system”. You just pay a fixed sum at the exit points. Some examples would be the autostrada A8 Milan – Laghi and A12 Rome – Civitavecchia.
You can easily calculate the toll costs you’ll need to pay in advance – the official Autostrade per l’Italia website has a toll calculator.
On the same website, you can check traffic conditions and up-to-date road conditions, including webcam. That’s how we knew on one of the last road trips in Italy that there’s no point trying to wait in the traffic jam on A22.
Quick tips: toll roads in Italy
The slower you drive, the more right you should keep
The left lanes are for the faster drivers who want to pass others. You’ll see slower cars on the right – and if you’re not feeling confident about your driving, you should keep right, too.
If someone is flashing their lights behind you, they want to pass you
This follows the previous point – if you’re in the left lane and someone is flashing their lights behind you, they want to pass you. For us, this has happened even if we’re speeding a bit. Italian drivers are fast, and Swiss and French in northern Italy are even faster.
Make sure to move to one of the righter lanes – the cars behind you will not leave you alone and just become more aggressive.
Trucks will probably not notice you
Quite often when we were driving on the Autostrade, the truck drivers just showed the left turn signal and started passing someone in front of them, not even noticing that they were cutting us off. Since then, we’re always really careful when we’re passing a line of trucks – you never know when one of them will suddenly almost crash into you.
Check when the traffic will be awful and try to avoid those days
There are “red” and “black” days when the traffic on Italian toll roads is really bad. In Italian, they’re called giornate da bollino nero o rosso. If you google that and the year, you’ll see which days you might spend in traffic jams if you decided to drive on the highway. They’re quite common around school holidays, extended weekends, and especially august, when a lot of people have vacations and are going to, for example, the sea.
Google maps is sometimes (often) wrong
Whether it’s about speed limits, roadworks, or the road existing altogether, google maps have proven wrong on many of our trips to Italy. So yes, it’s ok to use it for navigation on Italian highways, but make sure to pay attention to the signage that’s on the roads. And it’s a good idea to check your route in advance at least a little bit to have some idea on where you have to go. And keep in mind that Italian road signs are mostly in Italian.
Other road tolls in Italy
There are some other roads, besides the Autostrada, that have tolls.
I can give you two examples of such roads, both in the Dolomites – the road to Rifugio Auronzo, where you’ll find trailheads to hikes such as Tre Cime di Lavaredo and Cadini di Misurina viewpoint and Laghi dei Piani. The other example would be the road to Prato Piazza.
So don’t be surprised, when researching driving in Italy, that there are paid roads.
Last thoughts on toll roads in Italy
Italian autostrada are not really that complicated as it might seem. Yes, you really have to pay attention when driving – they get crowded sometimes and some drivers are aggressive, but that’s everywhere, isn’t it?
If it’s your first time driving on the highways in Italy, it might seem scary. The good news is, though, that the driving on autostrade doesn’t differ that much from driving in other European countries or the United States. So if you know to drive there, you’ll catch on quickly!
Frequently asked questions: Italy toll roads
How to pay tolls in Italy with rental car
There were times when you could rent the telepass device together with your rental car, but now it’s basically never possible. So when exiting the highway, make sure to go to the “cash” or “card” lanes.
What side of the road do people drive in Italy?
On the right side of the road.
How much are toll roads in Italy?
It almost always depends on how many kilometers you drive, but they are really not that expensive – generally, from 6 to 12 cents per kilometer.
Who owns the toll roads in Italy?
Most of them are owned by Autostrade per l’Italia
Do you need a toll sticker in Italy?
No, there are no vignettes in Italy. To pay for the use of toll roads, you either have to pay online (Autostrada Pedemontana Lombarda A36) or pay at the toll booth or telepass (all other toll roads).
How to avoid toll roads in Italy?
The easiest way to avoid the highways is to set “no paid roads” on your navigation app or pay attention to the road signs – avoid the green signs for highways. But really, driving on toll roads is the most convenient way to drive long distances in Italy.
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