Driving on Toll roads around Italy

surapaneni

New member
Hello

We are coming to a week long trip to Italy in 1st week of May.
Planning to visit Rome, Florence and Venice.
I am renting a car in Rome airport.

I see there are TOLL roads. My questions are:
1. Coming from USA, how do we pay Tolls?
2. What is the toll amount from Rome airport to Florence, just to get an idea.
3. Do we need to bring local currency to pay tolls?

Appreciate anyone's help so that I can plan the trip.

Thanks in advance
Prasad Surapaneni
 
Paying tolls

Buongiorno,

There is a "telepass" for paying the tolls - which you maybe able to get as an extra for you rental car depending on the rental company - which just makes everything so much easier. With the pass you can just glide thru the toll booths with the yellow Telepass sign above them.

If you are not able to get a telepass with your rental car you can also pay with a credit card - they have started to take debit cards in Italy - but sometimes it is a bit of a hit or miss with the bank. However credit cards are accepted - in the right booths...please note most exits have gone automatic, but the instructions are multilingual.

When you get on the pay roads you pick up a ticket AND you need this ticket to get off the pay roads. I believe the toll between Florence and Rome is approximately 30 Euro.

Even if you don't use the local currency to pay the tolls it is always a good idea to have a bit of local currency on you - for example many of the bathroom stops on the highway have a (mandatory) tip jar to use the rest rooms (1 Euro).

Buon Viaggio,

Donna Denise
 
It is good to know that Visa/MasterCard credit cards issued in USA are accepted to pay for Toll. Thanks Donna. This information really helps us and many others viewing this thread.
 
Surapanei - make sure to inform your bank that you're traveling to Europe and ask for the PIN card.
Many credit cards now use PIN numbers instead of signatures. So you might be asked for it when using it here in Italy.
Check out this useful guide on Rick Steve's site: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money/chip-pin-cards

Also by telling your bank you're traveling, they won't mark your first purchase as a possible fraud attempt and block the card from further use! It will help avoid these types of headaches.
 
There are three ways to pay the tolls:

1. Telepass which is an automatic drive thru system which is very quick and avoids any queues. Also you can now use the Telepass to pay at a number of car parks - various airports and, for example, the car park under the main station in Florence. However, as far as I am aware no hire car company offers vehicles with this device installed. The Telepass lanes are highlighted in yellow.
2. By card which can be a credit card, certain debit cards and the Viacard prepaid card (issued by Autostrade per l'Italia). The lanes which accept cards are highlighted in blue.
3. By cash using the lanes highlighted in white (you can also pay by card in these lanes if there is an operator present).

The Telepass lane issues no ticket - you just drive thru. If you do not enter thru the Telepass lane you will be issued a ticket which you use when paying at the end of your journey. Some exits are now fully automatic meaning that even the cash lane has no operator but is machined operated. However, these exits are clearly signed and on the route you have selected your exits will, in all probability, include cash lanes with an operator.

To calculate the various routes you can take, the estimated time as well as the travel cost including tolls I recommend the viaMichelin route planner site - https://www.viamichelin.com/web/Routes The quickest route from Rome airport to Florence is via the A1 toll road and the toll comes to €18.40
 
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