🇮🇹 Same-country drive · Italy
Driving from Pisa to La Spezia
Essential tips for your drive from Pisa to La Spezia via the A12, covering toll roads, speed limits, and the transition into the Ligurian coast.
- Drive time
- 1h
- Distance
- 84 km
- Same day?
- Yes, half day
- under 4 h
- Fuel cost
- ≈ €11
- petrol · diesel ≈ €10
- Tolls
- ≈ €6
- 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.
Avoids motorways
+50m- Distance:
- 76 km (−8 km)
- Duration:
- 1h 51m
Via: SS1 · SP21
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.
What the drive is like
Drafted from the route's computed data on May 16, 2026 and reviewed against the route summary card. Read our methodology.
Exit Pisa via the A12 toward Genoa, where the landscape quickly transitions from the flat Tuscan coastal plains into the tighter, more dramatic geography of the Ligurian border. You will find the transition to the A12 motorway straightforward, though be prepared for distance-based toll booths that require you to pull a ticket upon entry and pay before exiting. This stretch of road is generally well-maintained, but the proximity to the coast means tunnels appear with higher frequency as you approach La Spezia, necessitating sharp adjustments to your headlights and speed. Italian motorway rules apply throughout, with a maximum speed limit of 130 km/h under clear conditions, dropping to 110 km/h when it rains. Given that this route hugs the coast, sea-mist and sudden downpours are common during spring and autumn; keep a close eye on variable speed limit signs near the entrances of the major tunnels. Traffic density increases noticeably as you near the port of La Spezia, particularly during the morning and evening rush hours when local commuters merge into the long-distance flow. Since you remain within Italy, there is no need for a vignette, but ensure you have a card or cash ready for the toll booths, as the automated lanes can be unforgiving if you lack a Telepass device. Fuel is often more expensive on the motorway rest stops compared to the smaller service stations located on the outskirts of Pisa or La Spezia, so plan your refueling accordingly before you commit to the autostrada for the full hour.
Route highlights
- The transition into the tunnel-dense mountain sections of the Ligurian coast
- The A12 motorway infrastructure
- Coastal scenery near the border of Tuscany and Liguria
Trip plan
How to think about the drive: one day, split, or overnight.
Short hop
Under two hours behind the wheel. Grab a coffee, set the playlist, done before lunch.
- Distance:
- 84 km
- Duration:
- 1h (free-flow, no traffic)
Key moves
Things to know before you set off — borders, sides of the road, tolls.
Tolls on motorways in IT
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 knowPisa
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.
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.
-
A12 Autostrada Azzurra70 km
-
A15 A157 km
Route character
How much of the drive is motorway vs. secondary vs. rural.
Motorway drive — fast, predictable, uneventful.
- Motorway
- 93%
- Secondary
- 0%
- Other / rural
- 7%
Drive difficulty
At-a-glance feel: how demanding is this drive for one driver?
Overall
Easy
Straightforward drive. One driver, one day, little to worry about beyond fuel and a toilet stop.
- No major complicating factors — motorway-heavy, single country, comfortable length.
Fuel & tolls
Rough cost expectation for a typical EU passenger car. Treat as an estimate — pump prices change weekly.
Petrol (RON 95)
≈ €11
6.3 L × €1.79 / L · 7.5 L/100 km
Diesel
≈ €10
5.1 L × €2.05 / L · 6 L/100 km
Electric (DC fast)
≈ €10
15 kWh × €0.65 / kWh · 17.5 kWh/100 km
Public DC fast charging — slower AC charging at home or hotels typically costs about half.
Motorway tolls & vignettes
≈ €6
- IT — €0.08/km on the motorway network (≈ 84 km in-country ≈ €6)
Prices last refreshed 2026-05-04.
Weather by month
Average daytime high / overnight low and typical monthly rainfall, over the past five years.
🇮🇹 Pisa
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
12°
4°
|
14°
5°
|
17°
7°
|
19°
8°
|
22°
12°
|
28°
17°
|
31°
20°
|
32°
20°
|
26°
16°
|
22°
13°
|
16°
7°
|
12°
4°
|
| 123mm | 112mm | 154mm | 107mm | 164mm | 80mm | 35mm | 100mm | 141mm | 244mm | 158mm | 99mm |
hot mild cold
🇮🇹 La Spezia
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
12°
6°
|
13°
5°
|
15°
7°
|
17°
9°
|
21°
13°
|
26°
17°
|
28°
20°
|
29°
20°
|
24°
16°
|
21°
13°
|
16°
8°
|
13°
5°
|
| 164mm | 151mm | 164mm | 100mm | 143mm | 61mm | 43mm | 121mm | 161mm | 327mm | 143mm | 106mm |
hot mild cold
Next 5 days at La Spezia
Live forecast — refreshes every few hours.
-
Sat 16
☀️
18° / 10°
1.2mm
-
Sun 17
☀️
18° / 9°
—
-
Mon 18
⛅
17° / 9°
68.1mm
-
Tue 19
⛅
16° / 13°
6.1mm
-
Wed 20
☀️
19° / 12°
—
Forecast: MET Norway
Directions
Turn-by-turn summary of the main manoeuvres, generated by OSRM.
Show all 14 manoeuvres
- Via Amerigo Vespucci 0.1 km
- Via Pasquale Pardi
- Via Pasquale Pardi
- —
- Strada di Grande Comunicazione Firenze-Pisa-Livorno (Fi-Pi-Li) 0.8 km
- (A12) 3 km
- — 0.3 km
- Autostrada Azzurra (A12) 45 km
- A12 dir. Genova - Massa/Carrara (A12) 6 km
- A12 dir.Genova - Carrara/Sarzana (A12) 16 km
- A15 dir. La Spezia - Aulla/Barriera La Spezia (A15) 0.9 km
- (A15) 0.2 km
- A15 (A15) 7 km
- Viale Diaz
Cycling from Pisa to La Spezia
Touring-pace bicycle route generated by BRouter, with elevation gain and matched against the EuroVelo cycle network.
- Distance
- 80 km
- vs 84 km driving
- Riding time
- 3h 49m
- Touring pace; experienced riders cut this 20–30%.
- Total climb
- ↑ 72 m
Routed on the BRouter trekking profile — balanced for paved leisure tourers; gravel and fast-bike profiles produce different lines.
This route doesn't follow any EuroVelo network sections — expect mixed local cycle paths and quiet roads.
Show route on map
By coach from Pisa to La Spezia
Indicative duration of the fastest direct long-distance coach found in the FlixBus and BlaBlaCar Bus EU schedules.
- Travel time
- 50m
- Direct
- Operator
- FlixBus-eu
- Departures / day
- ~1
- Approximate based on the published schedule.
Show coach corridor on map
Schedules sourced from the FlixBus and BlaBlaCar Bus GTFS feeds via transport.data.gouv.fr. Times are indicative; verify on the operator's site before booking.
Booking link coming soon.
Frequently asked
Are there any vignettes required for this route?
No, Italy uses a distance-based toll system for its motorways rather than a vignette sticker.
What is the speed limit on the A12 between Pisa and La Spezia?
The maximum speed limit is 130 km/h on dry motorways, reducing to 110 km/h during rain.
Is it better to fuel up before or during the trip?
Fuel prices are generally lower at stations off the motorway, so it is best to fill your tank before you leave the outskirts of Pisa.
How this page is built
Compiled by COD Solutions Oy from open European data — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for the route geometry, BRouter for the bicycle route, 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.