🇦🇹 Cross-border drive · Austria → Italy 🇮🇹
Driving from Vienna to Rome
Drive from Vienna to Rome via Austria and Italy. Navigate the A2, A13, A14, and A4 motorways, crossing the Alps.
- Drive time
- 11h 40m
- Distance
- 1,121 km
- Same day?
- Long day
- under 12 h
- Fuel cost
- ≈ €157
- petrol · diesel ≈ €132
- Tolls
- ≈ €80
- mixed
- 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.
Alternative
+1h 13m- Distance:
- 1,199 km (+79 km)
- Duration:
- 12h 53m
Via: A1var · A4 · A10 · A23
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.
11h 40m
1.121 km · €157 fuel
See details ↓
Not realistic
1.121 km is far beyond a typical multi-day cycle tour. Try a shorter pair like a day or weekend stage.
16h 30m
FlixBus-eu
See details ↓
2h 23m
from €40
See details ↓
17h 17m
OEBB Personenverkehr AG Kundenservice · TRENITALIA
See details ↓
What the drive is like
Drafted from the route's computed data on April 24, 2026 and reviewed against the route summary card. Read our methodology.
Your drive south from Vienna begins on the A2 Süd Autobahn, heading towards the Italian border. Before long, you'll pick up the A13 Brenner Autobahn, a crucial artery that will take you over the dramatic Brenner Pass, the gateway to Italy. This is where the landscape transforms, with soaring peaks and deep valleys. Be prepared for a change in road conditions and potentially cooler temperatures, especially outside of summer. The Brenner Pass itself is a toll road, and you'll receive a separate ticket for this section.
Upon crossing into Italy, the A13 becomes the Autostrada A22. You'll continue south, passing cities like Bolzano and Verona. This is also where you'll encounter Italy's extensive toll system, the Autostrade. Unlike Austria's vignette, you'll take a ticket at entry points and pay based on distance traveled at exit points or designated toll booths. Keep an eye on fuel prices; they can vary significantly between Austria and Italy, often being higher in Italy. Speed limits will also shift, so familiarize yourself with the Italian limits for cars on autostrade.
Continuing your journey, the A22 will eventually merge with the A4 near Verona. You'll then follow the A4 eastward for a stretch before peeling off onto the A1 Autostrada, the main north-south artery of Italy. This is a long haul, taking you through the heart of the country, past cities like Bologna and Florence. The A1 is a busy motorway, so expect varied traffic conditions. Be aware of potential 'ZTL' (Zona a Traffico Limitato) restrictions if you plan on entering city centers, as these are strictly enforced and can lead to hefty fines if violated without a permit.
The final leg into Rome involves navigating the orbital motorways around the city. The A1 will eventually lead you towards the Grande Raccordo Anulare (GRA), the GRA, which encircles Rome. From here, you'll follow signage for your specific destination within the Eternal City, a transition from high-speed motorway driving to the often-congested, yet historic, urban environment.
Route highlights
- A13 Brenner Autobahn over the Alps
- Autostrada A22 through the Italian Dolomites
- Verona's Roman Arena
- Autostrada A1, Italy's historic north-south route
- Navigating Rome's Grande Raccordo Anulare (GRA)
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: Gemona (it).
- Distance:
- 1,121 km
- Duration:
- 11h 40m (free-flow, no traffic)
Where to stop
Places along the route that make natural breaks for coffee, lunch, or a night.
-
Fürstenfeld 🇦🇹 at
≈140 km≈ 14.4 km detour from the main route
-
Wolfsberg 🇦🇹 at
≈280 km≈ 18.3 km detour from the main route
-
Tarcento 🇮🇹 it
≈420 km≈ 23.1 km detour from the main route
-
Noventa di Piave 🇮🇹 it
≈560 km≈ 3.8 km detour from the main route
-
Ferrara 🇮🇹 it
≈700 km≈ 6.2 km detour from the main route
-
Scandicci 🇮🇹 it
≈840 km≈ 3.1 km detour from the main route
-
Orvieto 🇮🇹 it
≈981 km≈ 20.3 km detour from the main route
Key moves
Things to know before you set off — borders, sides of the road, tolls.
Multi-country chain · AT → SI → IT
You'll cross 3 countries on this drive — each with its own toll system, fuel pricing, and motorway rules. Skim the must-know section below before you set off, and have your registration plus insurance card in the door pocket for any roadside check.
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.
Vignette required in AT / SI
Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Bulgaria, and Romania require a sticker or e-vignette for motorway use. Buy at the border — missing one is a heavy on-the-spot fine.
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.
Centro Storico ZTL is permit-only, day and night
Must knowRome
Rome's historic centre ZTL operates Mon–Fri 06:30–19:00, Sat 14:00–19:00, plus Fri/Sat night party hours. Cameras at every entrance, no booth. Hotels inside the ZTL register your plate for the duration of your stay — but only if you ask, the day you arrive, with the registration document. Trastevere and Testaccio have their own night ZTLs.
Tolls, vignettes & road payment
Digital vignette before crossing the border
Must knowAustrian motorways need a vignette — €10.10 for 10 days, €30.40 for 2 months, or €103.80 annual. The digital version (linked to your plate) is bought online at asfinag.at and activates from a chosen date — if you buy on the Austrian side of the border, it's only valid 18 days later under consumer-protection rules. Buy ahead.
You'll hit three different toll systems on this trip
Must knowThis route crosses countries with mismatched toll mechanics — France's ticket-and-pay, vignette stickers, electronic-only stretches. There's no single transponder that works everywhere, but a Telepass EU device covers FR/IT/ES/PT and a Bip&Go covers the same plus a few more. For a one-off trip, contactless cards plus a Swiss vignette and Austrian e-vignette is the simplest mix.
Brenner, Tauern and Karawanken tunnels are extra
UsefulEight Austrian routes charge separate tolls on top of the vignette: Brenner (A13, ~€11.50), Pyhrn (A9, ~€6.50), Tauern (A10, ~€14), Karawanken (A11, ~€8.50) and others. Pay at the booth — no vignette discount. If you're heading south to Italy via the A13, budget for it.
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.
Bicycles on the right — turn right with extreme care
TipVienna
Vienna built out a Copenhagen-style bike network from 2020–2024. Most major streets now have a separated bike lane on the right. Right-turning cars must yield to a bike going straight in the bike lane — the rule that catches most foreigners. Look over your right shoulder before turning.
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.
-
A2 Süd Autobahn369 km
-
A1var Variante di Valico307 km
-
A4 Autostrada Serenissima124 km
-
A23 Autostrada Alpe-Adria119 km
-
A13 Autostrada Bologna-Padova116 km
-
A1 Autostrada del Sole48 km
-
A14 Autostrada Adriatica11 km
-
B17 Triester Straße4 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
Demanding
Tough drive — multiple complicating factors compound fatigue. Strongly recommend splitting across days.
- Long drive: 11h 40m behind the wheel at free-flow speeds.
- Cross-border: AT → IT. Keep documents accessible and check border rules.
Fuel & tolls
Rough cost expectation for a typical EU passenger car. Treat as an estimate — pump prices change weekly.
Petrol (RON 95)
≈ €157
84 L × €1.87 / L · 7.5 L/100 km
Diesel
≈ €132
67.2 L × €1.96 / L · 6 L/100 km
Electric (DC fast)
≈ €119
196 kWh × €0.61 / kWh · 17.5 kWh/100 km
Public DC fast charging — slower AC charging at home or hotels typically costs about half.
Motorway tolls & vignettes
≈ €80
- AT — Vignette (motorway sticker / e-vignette) — €10.10 for 10 days Annual vignette is €103.80 if you drive often
- SI — Vignette (motorway sticker / e-vignette) — €16.00 for 7 days Annual vignette is €117.50 if you drive often
- IT — €0.08/km on the motorway network (≈ 713 km in-country ≈ €53)
Prices last refreshed 2026-05-11.
Weather by month
Average daytime high / overnight low and typical monthly rainfall, over the past five years.
🇦🇹 Vienna
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
5°
-1°
|
8°
1°
|
13°
4°
|
16°
7°
|
20°
10°
|
26°
16°
|
28°
18°
|
28°
17°
|
23°
13°
|
17°
9°
|
9°
3°
|
5°
1°
|
| 37mm | 28mm | 49mm | 76mm | 74mm | 62mm | 62mm | 47mm | 130mm | 53mm | 50mm | 46mm |
hot mild cold
🇮🇹 Rome
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
14°
6°
|
15°
5°
|
17°
8°
|
20°
9°
|
23°
13°
|
31°
19°
|
34°
22°
|
33°
22°
|
28°
18°
|
24°
14°
|
17°
9°
|
14°
6°
|
| 72mm | 73mm | 120mm | 63mm | 115mm | 48mm | 21mm | 57mm | 106mm | 106mm | 98mm | 62mm |
hot mild cold
Next 5 days at Rome
Live forecast — refreshes every few hours.
-
Fri 22
☀️
29° / 18°
—
-
Sat 23
☀️
30° / 15°
—
-
Sun 24
☀️
31° / 16°
—
-
Mon 25
☀️
31° / 16°
—
-
Tue 26
☀️
32° / 21°
—
Forecast: MET Norway
Directions
Turn-by-turn summary of the main manoeuvres, generated by OSRM.
Show all 34 manoeuvres
- Jasomirgottstraße
- Schwarzenbergplatz 0.2 km
- Triester Straße (B17) 4 km
- Süd Autobahn (A2) 55 km
- Süd Autobahn (A2) 314 km
- Autostrada Alpe-Adria (A23) 32 km
- Galleria Clap Forât (A23) 8 km
- Autostrada Alpe-Adria (A23) 9 km
- Galleria Moggio Udinese (A23) 12 km
- Autostrada Alpe-Adria (A23) 57 km
- Autostrada Alpe-Adria (A23) 1.0 km
- Autostrada Serenissima (A4) 124 km
- Autostrada Bologna-Padova (A13) 116 km
- — 0.5 km
- Autostrada Adriatica (A14) 5 km
- Ramo Casalecchio (A14) 6 km
- — 0.7 km
- Autostrada del Sole (A1) 25 km
- Variante di Valico (A1var) 32 km
- Autostrada del Sole (A1var) 275 km
- Diramazione Roma Nord (A1) 23 km
- — 1 km
- Grande Raccordo Anulare 0.2 km
- — 0.3 km
- — 0.6 km
- Via del Casale Redicicoli 0.2 km
- Via Elsa de' Giorgi
- Via delle Vigne Nuove 0.1 km
- Via delle Vigne Nuove
- Circonvallazione della Stazione Tiburtina 3 km
- Largo Settimio Passamonti 0.2 km
- —
- —
- Via Luigi Luzzatti
By coach from Vienna to Rome
Indicative duration of the fastest direct long-distance coach found in the FlixBus and BlaBlaCar Bus EU schedules.
- Travel time
- 16h 30m
- 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.
By plane from Vienna to Rome
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 23m
- Door-to-door from :from airport.
- In the air
- 54 min
- At ~850 km/h cruise speed.
- On the ground
- 90 min
- Taxi + security + boarding (typical short-haul).
- Route
- VIE → FCO
- 765 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 Vienna to Rome
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
- 17h 17m
- 6 changes
- Lead operator
- OEBB Personenverkehr AG Kundenservice
- + 1 more
- Alternatives
- 5
- Itineraries returned by the planner.
Trains on the fastest itinerary
- CJX 2935
- RJX 135
- FR 9762
All operators across alternatives
- OEBB Personenverkehr AG Kundenservice
- TRENITALIA
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
What kind of toll system does Italy use?
Italy uses a distance-based toll system on its Autostrade. You'll take a ticket upon entering the motorway and pay when you exit or at designated toll points.
Are there any special driving requirements for the Brenner Pass?
The Brenner Pass (A13/A22) is a tolled section. Ensure you have your payment method ready. In winter months, snow chains or winter tires may be mandatory depending on conditions.
How do speed limits differ between Austria and Italy?
While both countries have varied speed limits, typical motorway limits are 130 km/h in Austria (with some sections at 100 km/h or higher) and generally 130 km/h in Italy, reducible to 110 km/h in bad weather or specific zones.
What are ZTLs in Italy?
ZTLs (Zona a Traffico Limitato) are restricted traffic zones in Italian city centers. Access is limited to authorized vehicles, and violations result in significant fines. Research ZTLs for your specific destination in Rome.
Is it worth stopping along the way?
Absolutely. The route passes through charming towns and cities like Verona, Bologna, and Florence, offering opportunities for cultural exploration and excellent food.
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, EU Weekly Oil Bulletin for cross-border fuel-price bands, and Google Gemini drafts the narrative and FAQ from the computed route data. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.