Driving in Italy from the UK (Verona and Lake Garda) Any tips?!

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I’m absolutely bricking it for some reason! Anyone ease my fears? Surely can’t be worse than driving in London!

Bump as would love to do this one day.

@Morewineplease10 well if no one else comes back I will definitely come and let you know! 😆

Are you driving an Italian car? Or a UK car? I've done a lot of driving in Europe although not that particular area. If you're renting, I'd recommend an automatic and good parking sensors will help.

Follow the flow of the traffic and don't stress, your make some wrong turns and maybe get beeped at but it really doesn't matter, take your time and enjoy it

We've done it a few times as our friends live in Bergamo. The thing is on that motorway between Milan and Venice. Italians drive like maniacs. They basically drive at high speed right on your bumper and they are usually also on their phones or whatever else. We've driven many places through Europe but that stretch is the hairiest.

I've always driven on mainland Europe with a rental car. Having lived in the US for a number of years, I can switch very easily, but always have the "right" car, and that is a factor.

I think you'll have no problem, but just accept you'll meet some rude and angry (male!) drivers. I know it's going to happen and shrug it off.

I personally dislike driving in Italy mostly due to parking issues. Several times I've been unclear on whether I should be able to park in a location or not. As a result I've got parking tickets (and the "locals" in the same area have not!). For Milan and Florence we parked out the outskirts and used public transport to/from the City centre.

Sorry but we found the driving in Italy quite stressful! Google maps not always clear at junctions so you really need to focus. Motorways were relatively easy but the narrow roads in villages were really stressful. Thankfully it was worth it for the scenery etc. And yes, parking was tricky.

Lake Garda is gorgeous to drive around but some of the roads can be a bit small/windy/cliff edged, and Italian drivers are lunatics.

I'd say drive slowly and ignore any beeping/shouting, and pull over for people to overtake you. It's not like Naples or anything, but can be a bit lawless.

Where on LG are you staying and how big is your car? We've stayed in Limone, Riva, and Malcesine, and you'll definitely find some tiny little weird cobbled roads that you have to navigate carefully. Take a not too big car if possible!

We were there a few weeks ago. I agree the stretch of motorway out of Milan is trying. I kept out of the outside lane unless absolutely necessary as cars come out of nowhere at 150km+ and end up on your bumper. The inside lanes have arrows at each junction making you think you need to move out of the lane, you don't. The lane keeps going.

Other than that stretch we found the driving pretty straightforward, but we drove from France in a French car.

Another point to note, there are lots of tolls. You can use contactless payment cards or cash.

Check any low emission zones on your route.

We drove a saloon car to Milan, Lake Como. You can get a thing that adjusts your wing mirrors to help you drive abroad

If you have Instagram give “impolife” a follow as she’s literally doing this now with her family, she’s been posting a lot of stories about it all and it’s been really interesting. They’re on their way back now.

Recently driven from venice to lake garda. On the motorway you need to be quick when joining and slow down when leaving as exit turns can be tight. We found motorways ok, around the lake take your time. No-one seems to follow the speed limits but we did. Re parking most have an app, once downloaded it is easy to use.

Sorry spelt it wrong - here -

https://instagram.com/inpolife?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Drove in Sciliy and yes the Italian drivers like to sit an inch from your back bumper. This doesn’t mean you are going too slow, they all do it. It is (to me) terrifying but you get used to it.

Yes they are extremely liberal beepers! Also overnight taking feels like they are touching the car as they pass then move immediately in front of you.

Op I'd also love to do this, please report back

Luckily I’ve secured an automatic and it’s an Italian car so on the correct side if that makes sense! The car I’ve got is a Volkswagen T-Cross or similar, so not the smallest I don’t think! Our Airbnb at least has parking so that’s a positive. Thanks for all the tips. I’ll make sure to have one had on the steering wheel and one ready to beep 😝

I ve driven many times to Italy, starting in Calais, i always go through France, Germany via Karlsruhe, Austria, into N.Italy via Brenan pass from Innsbruck.

Once crossed through from France direct to Italy, Mont Blanc tunnel but the whole drive in Italy was a nightmare of traffic congestion and delays.

Never found Italian drivers to be any worse than any other, only think i found the German motorways, the speeds can be insane, cars appear miles away, pull out to over take and the Audi/Merc/BMW is on you!

Its a great drive, you'll love it.

@DrasticAction @Morewineplease10 just wanted to come back and update you! We arrived yesterday and honestly I haven’t really struggled at all with the driving yet! It’s been great, today we hopped from town to town in the car along the lake and it was just so gorgeous. Definitely worth doing if you can!