🇮🇹 Same-country drive · Italy
Driving from Genoa to Bari
Navigate the cross-country drive from the Ligurian coast to the Adriatic shores of Puglia, traversing the A7, A21, A1, and A14 motorways.
- Drive time
- 9h 47m
- Distance
- 965 km
- Same day?
- Long day
- under 12 h
- Fuel cost
- ≈ €129
- petrol · diesel ≈ €117
- Tolls
- ≈ €73
- per-km
- EV charging
- Unknown
- not yet surveyed
On this page
Route map
Route options
Other paths OSRM found between the two cities — handy when traffic, tolls, or scenery matter more than raw speed.
Shortest
+1h 1m- Distance:
- 938 km (−27 km)
- Duration:
- 10h 48m
Via: A12 · SS1 · A1 · A16
How else can you make this trip?
Driving is the focus of this guide; here's how cycling, coach, and (soon) train and plane stack up for the same pair.
9h 47m
965 km · €129 fuel
See details ↓
Not realistic
965 km is far beyond a typical multi-day cycle tour. Try a shorter pair like a day or weekend stage.
No direct service
Our coach data (FlixBus + BlaBlaCar) doesn't list a direct service for this pair. National operators (e.g., National Express in the UK, Eurolines feeders) may still cover it — check their site directly.
2h 22m
from €40
See details ↓
9h 35m
TRENITALIA
See details ↓
What the drive is like
Drafted from the route's computed data on April 25, 2026 and reviewed against the route summary card. Read our methodology.
You leave Genoa by climbing the steep A7 motorway, which cuts through the rugged Apennine mountains via a dizzying succession of tunnels and viaducts before smoothing out onto the Po Valley plains. Once you merge onto the A21 near Piacenza, you are essentially crossing the industrial heart of Northern Italy. This stretch is dense with heavy goods traffic, so keep your distance and watch for the sudden, dense fog banks that can settle over the valley floor, even in the milder shoulder seasons.
The transit south connects via the A1, the main artery of the Italian peninsula, as you head toward the junction at Bologna where you pick up the A14. This transition signals a shift in the landscape; the scenery opens up as you track the Adriatic coastline toward Bari. Be aware that the A14 is susceptible to strong crosswinds coming off the sea, particularly near the exposed sections along the Marche and Abruzzo regions. Stick to the posted limits, as speed enforcement via the Safety Tutor system is active on significant segments of this route.
Fuel stops are frequent, but note that the motorway service stations—the Autogrill network—often carry higher prices than those in the towns just off the exits. Tolls are collected based on the distance traveled; grab a ticket when you enter the motorway system and pay when you exit. If you are arriving in Bari during peak hours, prepare for a transition from the efficient, high-speed motorway to the bustling, often chaotic urban traffic of a major southern Italian port city.
Route highlights
- The tunnel-heavy ascent of the A7 through the Ligurian Apennines
- The scenic Adriatic coastline stretch along the A14
- The historic port transition into Bari
- Navigating the Safety Tutor average-speed camera zones
Trip plan
How to think about the drive: one day, split, or overnight.
Overnight recommended
Too long for a single-driver day. Plan on 1 overnight stop(s) to do this trip right.
A natural overnight stop near the halfway point: San Benedetto del Tronto (it).
- Distance:
- 965 km
- Duration:
- 9h 47m (free-flow, no traffic)
Where to stop
Places along the route that make natural breaks for coffee, lunch, or a night.
-
San Nicolò a Trebbia 🇮🇹 it
≈138 km≈ 0.8 km detour from the main route
-
Bazzano 🇮🇹 it
≈276 km≈ 5.4 km detour from the main route
-
Riccione 🇮🇹 it
≈414 km≈ 5.6 km detour from the main route
-
Porto Sant'Elpidio 🇮🇹 it
≈552 km≈ 1.9 km detour from the main route
-
Ortona 🇮🇹 it
≈690 km≈ 4.8 km detour from the main route
-
Foggia 🇮🇹 it
≈827 km≈ 12.6 km detour from the main route
Key moves
Things to know before you set off — borders, sides of the road, tolls.
Cross-border drive · IT → IT
You'll leave one country and enter another on this trip. Keep your ID close, even inside Schengen, and check current border-control status before you go.
Tolls on motorways in IT / HR
Budget for motorway tolls — France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal charge per-km, Croatia and Greece by section. Contactless cards work almost everywhere; have one loaded.
Must-know before you go
The things a driver from another country wouldn't think to ask about — fines, stickers, payment cards, opening hours.
City access & emission zones
ZTL cameras read your plate from any country
Must knowItalian historic centres (Florence, Rome, Milan, Bologna, Pisa, Siena, Verona, Naples, Turin, Palermo and dozens more) are ringed by automatic Zona Traffico Limitato cameras. Driving in without a permit triggers €80–120 per crossing, and the fine reaches your home address up to a year later via cross-border collection. Treat any city centre as off-limits unless you've confirmed your hotel offers a permit, and ask the hotel to register your plate the day you arrive.
Italian historic-centre ZTL — confirm your hotel registers your plate
Must knowGenoa
This city's old town is encircled by automatic ZTL cameras. Crossing without a permit triggers €80–120 per pass. Ask your hotel the day you arrive: "Can you register my plate for ZTL access?" Some only register the entry, not parking — clarify both. Cameras read plates from any country and Italian fines reach foreign addresses up to a year later.
Tolls, vignettes & road payment
Telepass saves you the toll-booth queue
UsefulItalian autostrade work like France: ticket on entry, pay on exit. Contactless cards work at most modern lanes (look for "Carte" — avoid yellow "Telepass" lanes without the device). For long routes, a Telepass EU transponder works in IT/FR/ES/PT and pays for itself across two days; at minimum, keep your insurance card and registration in the door pocket — booth attendants occasionally ask.
What your car must carry
Hi-vis vest mandatory before stepping out
Must knowItalian law requires you to wear a reflective vest before exiting the vehicle on a motorway shoulder, day or night. One warning triangle in the boot is also required. Both items are typically €15 at any Autogrill or fuel station — don't arrive without them.
Driving rules & habits
Plan your stops, not just your finish time
UsefulOSRM gives you free-flow drive time. Realistic add: 10% on motorway-heavy routes, 25% if you're crossing two cities. Eat at off-peak hours (11:30 lunch, 18:00 dinner) — service-area queues at noon kill 20 minutes. EU fatigue research is consistent: 15-minute break every 2 hours, full 45-minute break before 6 hours. The drive between hours 7 and 9 is where avoidable accidents cluster.
Fuel stations
"Servito" pumps cost about €0.20/L more
UsefulItalian fuel stations split between fai-da-te (self-service) and servito (attended). The same station typically offers both, with attended pumps charging a 10–15% premium. Off-hours, attended turns into self-service automatically. If a pump is out of paper or won't take your card, try the next station — Italian banking sometimes refuses foreign chip cards on first attempt.
Contactless cards work at virtually every motorway pump
TipMajor brand stations (Shell, Total, BP, Repsol, Cepsa, OMV, Eni, Esso) take Visa and Mastercard contactless without an issue. American Express and Diners are spotty south of the Alps. A €100 pre-authorisation hold is normal — it releases within 5 days. Carry €50 cash for the rare independent station.
Off-motorway stations close at lunch and on Sundays
TipOutside motorways, expect 12:30–15:30 closures and most of Sunday off. Motorway service areas (autogrill) run 24/7. If you're cutting through a small town in the early afternoon, fuel before noon or push to the next motorway entrance.
Money & connectivity
EU roaming covers calls, texts and data at no extra cost
TipYour home EU SIM works at home rates across every EU member, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The "fair use" cap on data only applies if you're abroad more than four months. For a 2-week road trip, just use your phone normally — but switch off "data roaming" if you're leaving the EU into UK / CH for any segment.
Emergency & breakdown
112 works everywhere in the EU and continental neighbours
TipSingle number for police, ambulance, fire — works from any phone, any network, any country. On motorways, the orange SOS pillars every 2km connect direct to the regional traffic control centre and pinpoint your location. Use them over your phone if you can — it speeds the response.
Rules, fees, and thresholds change. Always verify against the official source the day before you drive — this page is a checklist, not a legal reference.
Main roads
The highways this route spends the most kilometres on.
-
A14 Autostrada Adriatica677 km
-
A1 Autostrada del Sole130 km
-
A21 Autostrada dei Vini76 km
-
A7 A7 dir. Milano - Genova Ovest/Genova Bolzaneto64 km
Route character
How much of the drive is motorway vs. secondary vs. rural.
Motorway drive — fast, predictable, uneventful.
- Motorway
- 98%
- Secondary
- 0%
- Other / rural
- 2%
Drive difficulty
At-a-glance feel: how demanding is this drive for one driver?
Overall
Challenging
Long day with at least one complicating factor. Split into two days or share the driving.
- Long drive: 9h 47m behind the wheel at free-flow speeds.
Fuel & tolls
Rough cost expectation for a typical EU passenger car. Treat as an estimate — pump prices change weekly.
Petrol (RON 95)
≈ €129
72.4 L × €1.78 / L · 7.5 L/100 km
Diesel
≈ €117
57.9 L × €2.02 / L · 6 L/100 km
Electric (DC fast)
≈ €105
169 kWh × €0.62 / kWh · 17.5 kWh/100 km
Public DC fast charging — slower AC charging at home or hotels typically costs about half.
Motorway tolls & vignettes
≈ €73
- IT — €0.08/km on the motorway network (≈ 813 km in-country ≈ €61)
- HR — €0.08/km on the motorway network (≈ 152 km in-country ≈ €12)
Prices last refreshed 2026-05-04.
Weather by month
Average daytime high / overnight low and typical monthly rainfall, over the past five years.
🇮🇹 Genoa
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
12°
6°
|
13°
7°
|
15°
8°
|
18°
10°
|
21°
14°
|
26°
19°
|
28°
21°
|
30°
21°
|
25°
17°
|
21°
14°
|
15°
9°
|
12°
7°
|
| 162mm | 146mm | 197mm | 109mm | 122mm | 83mm | 55mm | 69mm | 160mm | 257mm | 119mm | 116mm |
hot mild cold
🇮🇹 Bari
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
15°
8°
|
15°
7°
|
18°
9°
|
20°
11°
|
24°
15°
|
30°
20°
|
33°
23°
|
32°
22°
|
28°
20°
|
24°
16°
|
19°
11°
|
15°
8°
|
| 89mm | 37mm | 75mm | 54mm | 73mm | 41mm | 16mm | 37mm | 29mm | 50mm | 74mm | 61mm |
hot mild cold
Next 5 days at Bari
Live forecast — refreshes every few hours.
-
Tue 12
☀️
21° / 18°
—
-
Wed 13
🌧️
19° / 14°
64.5mm
-
Thu 14
🌧️
19° / 13°
31.3mm
-
Fri 15
☀️
23° / 14°
1.2mm
-
Sat 16
☀️
24° / 17°
0.4mm
Forecast: MET Norway
Directions
Turn-by-turn summary of the main manoeuvres, generated by OSRM.
Show all 23 manoeuvres
- Via Fiume
- Strada Aldo Moro
- Sopraelevata dir. Ponente - Strada Aldo Moro 4 km
- Elicoidale 0.1 km
- A7 dir. Milano - Genova Ovest/Genova Bolzaneto (A7) 6 km
- A7 dir. Milano - Genova Bolzaneto/Busalla (A7) 13 km
- A7 dir. Milano - Busalla/Ronco Scrivia (A7) 4 km
- A7 dir. Milano - Ronco Scrivia/Isola del Cantone (A7) 4 km
- Autostrada dei Giovi - Serravalle (A7) 36 km
- Autostrada dei Vini (A21) 76 km
- — 0.8 km
- Raccordo di Piacenza (R49) 0.3 km
- Raccordo di Piacenza (R49) 0.3 km
- Autostrada del Sole (A1) 130 km
- Autostrada Adriatica (A14) 673 km
- Raccordo A14-Tangenziale di Bari (A14) 0.2 km
- Raccordo A14-Tangenziale di Bari (A14) 4 km
- — 0.5 km
- Tangenziale di Bari (SS16) 1 km
- Viale Domenico Cotugno
- Viale Orazio Flacco
- Viale Antonio Salandra
- Via Sparano da Bari
By plane from Genoa to Bari
Indicative travel time on a non-stop flight, based on great-circle distance, average commercial cruise speed (850 km/h), and a 90-minute allowance for taxi, security, and boarding.
- Total time
- 2h 22m
- Door-to-door from :from airport.
- In the air
- 52 min
- At ~850 km/h cruise speed.
- On the ground
- 90 min
- Taxi + security + boarding (typical short-haul).
- Route
- GOA → BRI
- 743 km great-circle.
Indicative fare: from €40 — fares vary by season, day of week, and how far ahead you book. Always check the airline or a meta-search before planning around this number.
Show flight path on map
Estimate-only. We don't pull live schedules or fares for flights — see the methodology page for how this number is computed.
Air travel emits roughly 5–10× the CO₂ per passenger-km of rail for the same distance.
By train from Genoa to Bari
Fastest cross-border rail itinerary from the public Transitous planner. Times reflect a typical Monday-morning departure on the next available service-day.
- Fastest journey
- 9h 35m
- 2 changes
- Lead operator
- TRENITALIA
- Alternatives
- 5
- Itineraries returned by the planner.
Trains on the fastest itinerary
- IC 631
- FR 8811
Includes a high-speed rail leg (TGV, ICE, AVE, Frecciarossa-class).
Show route on map
Routing via the public Transitous OTP planner (community-run MOTIS instance). Cached 24 hours; verify on the operator's site before booking.
Frequently asked
Do I need a vignette for driving on Italian motorways?
No, Italy does not use a vignette system. Instead, you pay distance-based tolls at the barriers when exiting the motorway.
What is the speed limit on Italian motorways?
The standard speed limit on Italian motorways (autostrade) is 130 km/h, which is reduced to 110 km/h during rain or other adverse weather conditions.
Is it easy to find fuel along the A14?
Yes, there are numerous service stations located directly on the motorway. However, fuel is generally cheaper if you exit the motorway and fill up at a petrol station in a local town.
How this page is built
Compiled by COD Solutions Oy from open European data — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for the route geometry, Open-Meteo for monthly climate normals, and Google Gemini drafts the narrative and FAQ from the computed route data. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.