Riding in Italy: tolls, ZTLs and the rules on the road

Carry your licence, the registration document and your insurance certificate. EU licences are valid as they are; UK photocard licences don't need an International Driving Permit. UK-registered bikes need no green card, according to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau, and need a UK identifier on the rear. Keep the papers where you can reach them.

Most Italian motorways (autostrade) are toll roads. You take a ticket at the entry and pay at the exit by distance. There's no vignette.

Italy is one of the few countries where motorcycles pay the same toll as cars: both are class A, which covers two-axle vehicles up to 1.3 m high. Riders' groups have lobbied for a lower bike rate for years. For a long run down the peninsula the tolls add up, so use the calculator on Autostrade per l’Italia to price the trip, or plan the scenic legs on the free state roads (strade statali), which is where the good riding is anyway.

• At the exit, use the lanes marked for cards or cash. The Telepass lanes are only for vehicles with a toll device.
• Keep the entry ticket somewhere dry and easy to reach; you need it to pay at the exit.

Italy bars small-capacity motorcycles from autostrade and tolled roads. The old threshold was 150 cc; the 2024 reform of the road code lowers it to 120 cc for adult riders with a full licence, or an A1 or A2 licence held for at least two years. If you're touring on a 125 or similar, check the current rule with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport or the motorway operator before you plan any motorway legs.

An approved helmet is compulsory for rider and passenger. Ride in proper protective kit: summer heat in the south tempts riders into T-shirts, and Italian road surfaces can be patchy and polished in the towns.

Road	Dry	Rain
Autostrada	130 km/h	110 km/h
Main roads outside towns (dual carriageways)	110 km/h	90 km/h
Other roads outside towns	90 km/h	90 km/h
Built-up areas	50 km/h (30 in some zones)	50 km/h

Many autostrade use the Tutor system, which measures your average speed between two gantries. Slowing for one camera doesn't help. Fines for foreign riders arrive by post.

Italian riders filter in city traffic every day, but before you copy them, check the current Italian rules on the Your Europe road rules page for Italy. Never filter at speed between moving lanes on the autostrada, and never across solid lines.

Most historic centres, from small hill towns to Florence and Rome, are ZTL (zona a traffico limitato): limited traffic zones watched by cameras at every entry. Without a permit, which visitors generally can't get, riding past the sign means a fine that arrives by post weeks later. If your hotel is inside a ZTL, ask before you arrive whether it can register your plate. Otherwise park outside the zone and walk in.

The high passes are closed in winter and open from late spring to autumn, with dates set by snow. Check the current status with the province's road information before you ride.

In the Dolomites, the four Sella passes (Sella, Gardena, Pordoi and Campolongo) close to motor traffic for most of the day on the Sellaronda Bike Day cycling events, held on set days in early summer and in September. Other cycling events, such as the Maratona dles Dolomites, close passes in the same area. Outside those days you can ride the passes freely. Check the event dates before you plan your Sellaronda.

On top of the ZTLs, some cities restrict older vehicles in their centres. If you are riding an older bike into a big city, check the city's own site first. The simplest answer on a tour is to park outside the centre.

Many Italian fuel stations offer two prices: servito, where an attendant fills up for you, and the cheaper fai da te self-service. Out of hours most stations switch to self-service machines that take cards or notes. Motorway stations are dearer than those in towns.

The Alps and Dolomites are a summer job, from June to September. The lakes, Tuscany and the south are good in spring and autumn, and too hot for many riders in August.

Most UK riders cross France or Germany and enter Italy over the Alps: through Switzerland (vignette needed), over the Brenner from Austria (vignette plus section toll), or along the Route des Grandes Alpes from France. Allow two to three days from Calais to the Dolomites.

• The Dolomites, the Stelvio and the Gavia, with biker hotels in the Dolomites.
• Northern Italy: the lakes and the passes to Switzerland.
• Tyrol, just over the Brenner, for a two-country loop.