Italy - holidays by car
Italy is one of the most popular destinations for foreign holidays, one of the advantages is the relatively short distance from the Czech Republic and thus the possibility to travel by car. More and more tourists - whether families or couples or individuals - are taking advantage of the convenience of their own transport, where they can plan their entire trip according to their needs and wishesstopping at any time or place of their choice, but also to spend their holidays in places where tourist buses do not leave the Czech Republic and it is difficult to get there without a car - such as the Czech Republic. the popular Tuscany or the Ligurian Riviera.
Travelling by car is quite comfortable, you are not as limited by weight and number of luggage as with transport companies, it does not disturb you are not disturbed by strangers, so you can talk or listen to the radio without any problems, and you can regulate the temperature and ventilation in the car to suit yourself.
Austria - fees and tolls, vignettes
In Austria, all motorway sections are tolled with the classic vignette as you know it.and there are other parts of the motorways that are charged extra. These are mainly Alpine tunnels, bridges, etc. In the table below we have selected the most common ones.
Austrian Vignette (Vignette)
Vignettes are produced as ten-day, two-month or annual vignettes. They can be bought at petrol stations near the border with Austria or at Austrian petrol stations and near Austrian motorways (newsagents, car clubs, etc.) In the Czech Republic, they are offered in some travel agencies. For a classic week's stay at the seaside it is enough to buy a ten-day stamp for 9,90 EUR. The validity of the stamp is marked by the seller by punching the day and month you bought the stamp and from this date it is valid for 10 days.it has been possible to pay the Austrian vignette electronically online for several years.
Please note that as a consumer in the EU, you have the option to cancel a distance contract within 14 days of its conclusion, so it is possible to set the validity of the stamp up to 18 days after purchase. If you need to order a vignette at the last minute, tick the "I am a business" box when ordering - you can then set it to be valid immediately.
|
Price list of Austrian vignettes for 2024 in EUR |
Passenger car up to 3.5t |
Single-track vehicles/motorcycles |
|
Ten-day |
11,50 |
4,60 |
|
Bi-monthly |
28,90 |
11,50 |
|
Annual |
96,40 |
38,50 |
Toll for special sections
When travelling to Italy, most tourists will be affected by tolls for the Tauern tunnels between Salzburg and Villach - the so-called A10 Tauern Katschberg and the Brenner crossing - the so-called A10 Tauern Katschberg. The A13 Brenner, which is used by tourists on the Pilsen - Munich - Innsbruck route (suitable for travel to western, central and southern Italy).
|
Toll in EUR |
A10 Tauern Katschberg |
A13 Brenner |
|
One-way passage |
13,50 |
11,00 |
|
Annual pass |
81,00 |
114,00 |
How to avoid paying tolls?
For those who want to save the fees for these passes we just add the information that it is possible to avoid them. For the A10 Tauern motorway you have to turn onto the Rennweg/Katschberg and you can bypass the toll tunnels. The route is slightly longer and slower and goes through the mountain resort of Katschberg. Similarly, the Brenner can also be circumnavigated, here you can exit at Innsbruck, continue along the old road to Italy and here take the first exit onto the motorway. It should be noted that in both cases you will lose, depending on the current traffic, some knowledge ofmore than an hour of time, the journey is longer and on worse roads in hilly terrain, which also affects the car's consumption. On the other hand, you will also discover beautiful scenery and unexpected views.
Italy's motorway tolls
In Italy, motorway sections are toll roads - a toll is levied, the amount of which varies according to the number of kilometres travelled on a given section of motorway. When you enter the motorway, you press a button at the gate to print out a ticket which you hand in at the barrier at the exit, where you pay for the whole section (you must not lose this ticket during the journey ! payment can be made in cash or by card, some gates are manned, others only by machine.
At motorway exits there are ticket offices (see picture below) where you pay the fee either at a ticket office with an attendant (sign on the far left with your hand) or a machine (middle sign) or by credit card. Consistently avoid lanes and tills marked "TELEPASS". These are reserved for Telepass payment terminal holders only, which are placed behind the front window and automatically deduct money from your bank account.
The fastest way to pay is at the "CARTE" ticket offices - you just pull up here, insert the ticket you took when you entered the motorway and then insert your payment card. There's no need to enter a PIN and you're on your way in seconds. If you need a receipt, press the "RICEVUTA" button. There are no queues at these ticket offices and check-in is very fast.
Paying at the automatic ticket machines is very similar, you insert the ticket again, the display shows the toll price and a compartment for small coins opens. Any paper notes are inserted into another compartment. If you pay more, the machine will refund the rest.
The last option is to pay at a manned ticket office - here you hand the ticket to the cashier, the amount to be paid is displayed and you give it to the cashier in cash or by card. If you need proof of payment, just ask for a "Richevoot prégo".
If you need to calculate the current price for a motorway crossing, you can use this website or click here for the most common motorway sections.
Driving on holiday - what to look out for
If you're going on holiday by car to Italy, it's obviously important to follow similar guidelines to ours, plus pay closer attention to the roadworthiness of your car before you go (repairs in Italy are quite expensive and often require too much time), don't forget to take out good insurance and avoid traffic offences - the fines in euros for speeding or bad parking can be quite high.
Parking in Italy
Parking, especially during the summer season in seaside resorts, is quite difficult, especiallyespecially on Saturdays and Sundays, the free public car parks tend to be fully booked, and often the paid ones are not free. When booking your stay, we therefore recommend that you choose accommodation with private parkingto avoid unnecessary confusion.if parking is included in the price of your accommodation, you can only use one space per room or suite in the reserved parking lot.(unless otherwise stated in the description) and any second car must be parked off-site - on the street or in one of the public car parks.
If you have a specific numbered parking space for your apartment or room, you must leaveonly here and do not give the space to someone else (unauthorised use of the space may result in the vehicle being towed).
Parking in Italy - paid car parks
For trips to the countryside or during stops along the way, you can park either in free public car parks or in places that fallthe blue zone is for a fee and the yellow zone is mainly for local supplies. When parking in the blue zone, we always recommend paying the parking fee - the Italians are in control of the parking fee paidand it is very common to find a ticket for unpaid or exceeded parking fees behind the wiper when you return to your car.
We recommend downloading the EasyPark app in advance and setting up a payment card - depending on your mobile phone location, the app will show you available parking lots in the area and you can pay for parking directly through the app. The app is very intuitive and will also alert you when your paid time is about to expire - so you can extend it in peace without having to go back to the meter or risk getting a fine for unpaid parking. The app is available for both Android and iOS devices. You can also use the app in other EU countries.
