Your Discount Rental Car Specialists in Italy

Italy resembles a boot about to kick a Sicilian "football." One of the most densely populated countries in Europe, Italy is characterized by mountainous terrain.

The Alps form a barrier to the north (blocking bad weather more successfully than they ever did invaders), while the Apennines run the length of the boot. Only in the north, in the Po River valley, is there relatively flat land.

No place is very far from the sea. To the east is the Adriatic, to the southeast the Ionian and to the west the Tyrrhenian. Italy can seem surprisingly dry and, in the south, a bit dirty and run down in spots.

Besides the renowned cities of Venice, Genoa and Naples (each with its own unique identity Italy was only unified in 1870), there are romantic Medieval hill towns, such as San Gimignano in Tuscany, and unspoilt fishing villages, like the unforgettable Positano on the Amalfi coast.

Visit vineyards and cellars to taste the very best regional wines: The Veneto, famed for the sparkling white prosecco, and Tuscany, home of the highly acclaimed robust red, Brunello di Montalcino.

And to really get away from it all, take a boat to the islands of Sicily or Sardinia to experience rural hospitality in the blissful Mediterranean. Italy: still so much more to discover.

Driving Advice ITALY:

Drinking and driving: If the level of alcohol in the bloodstream is 0.051 per cent or more, severe penalties include fines, confiscation of vehicle and imprisonment.
Driving licence: Minimum age at which a UK licence holder may drive temporarily imported car and/or motorcycle (over 125cc or with passenger) 18. All valid UK driving licences should be accepted in Italy. This includes the older all-green style UK licences (in Northern Ireland older paper style with photographic counterpart) although the EC appreciates that these may be more difficult to understand and that drivers may wish to voluntarily update them before travelling abroad, if time permits. Application form D1 (in Northern Ireland DL1) is available from most Post Offices. Alternatively, older licences may be accompanied by an International Driving Permit (IDP).
Fines: On-the-spot. Fines are particularly heavy for speeding offences. The police can impose the fine and collect 1 quarter of the maximum fine, and must give a receipt for the amount of the fine paid. Illegally parked vehicles can be clamped or towed away and a fine imposed.

Child Seats:

Children less than 1.5m have to use a suitable restraint system or an adaptor for a seat belt and must travel on the rear seats. Children are only permitted to travel on the front seats if they are over 1.5m in height. Rear-facing child restraints must not be used in a passenger seat equipped with an active passenger airbag.

Speed Limits:

Standard legal limits, which may be varied by signs, for private vehicles without trailers: In built-up areas 31mph (50km/h), outside built-up areas 55mph (90km/h) on ordinary roads, 68mph (110km/h) on dual carriageways and 80mph (130km/h) on motorways. NOTE in wet weather lower speed limits of 55mph (90km/h) apply on dual carriageways and 68mph (110km/h) on motorways. Restrictions apply if vehicles are using spiked tyres.

Fuel:

Unleaded petrol (95 and 98 octane), diesel (Gasolio) and LPG is available. No leaded petrol (lead substitute additive available). Petrol in a can permitted. Credit cards accepted at most filling stations; check with your card issuer for usage in Italy & San Marino before travel.

Tolls:

Tolls are charged on the autostrade. Tickets are obtained upon entry to the expressway system and paid upon exiting. Tolls (except in Sicily) can be paid with cash or a Viacard. Motorists can purchase a €25 Viacard from toll booths, fuel stations, some banks, tourist offices, and tobacconists. Viacards are accepted on all routes except the A18 and A20. At automatic barriers, the card should be inserted into a slot on the controlling machine.

Parking:

Generally, parking is on the right side of the road. Parking in a Blue Zone or Zona Disco is for limited time periods. Parking discs for these zones may be obtained at fuel stations, tourist offices, and motor club offices. When parked in these zones from 9am to 2.30pm and 4pm-8pm Mon-Sat (except holidays) your vehicle must display a parking disc. Maximum parking time during these periods is one hour. Some cities also have Green Zones or Zona Verde where parking is prohibited from 8am to 9.30am and from 2.30pm to 4pm on weekdays.

In Florence, all vehicles are banned from the city centre from 7.30am to 6.30pm on weekdays; visitors may enter the centre in their vehicle during these times to load or unload but must then move on to park outside the centre.

In Rome a sign reading zona tutelato indicates that parking is prohibited from 7.30am to 6.30pm on weekdays; punishment for violating this ordinance may include a prison sentence.

In Venice, parking is very difficult to find. Park instead at one of the mainland car parks; you can take a bus or ferry from there to the city. The parking facility at Mestre, however, is a well-known haunt of thieves. In the Tronchetto garage, park on the left side, not on the right. These mainland facilities are linked to the island by ferry and bus services.

Safety Measures:

Warning triangle compulsory (for all vehicles with more than two wheels). It is recommended that visitors equip their vehicles with a set of replacement bulbs. Any vehicle with an overhanging load (e.g. carrying bicycle at rear) must display a fully reflectorised square panel which is red and white diagonally striped, a fine may be imposed if the sign is not displayed.

STOP PRESS: The wearing of reflectorised jacket / waistcoat compulsory if driver and / or passenger(s) exits vehicle which is immobilised on the carriageway at night or in poor visibility. Tolls are levied on the majority of motorways. In built up areas the use of the horn is prohibited except in cases of immediate danger. In the area of Val d'Aosta, vehicles must be equipped with winter tyres or snow chains from the 15th October until the 15th April.

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