Do You Actually Need a Car in Abruzzo?

The Short Answer

Yes. If you are planning to live anywhere outside central Pescara, a car is not a lifestyle choice. It is basic infrastructure, equivalent to having a water supply or a working front door.

Abruzzo is a sparsely populated, mountainous region where public transport exists to serve school runs and commuter schedules, not to provide comprehensive mobility. The nearest supermarket might be a 20-minute drive. Your doctor could be in the next town. The farmacia closes at 1pm and the next one is 15km away. Without a car, you are dependent on neighbours, expensive taxis, or staying home.

There are narrow exceptions. If you are prepared to live in central Pescara and accept that you will not easily explore the region that drew you here, you could manage. For everyone else, plan for car ownership from the start.

Public Transport Reality

Trains

The main rail line runs along the Adriatic coast, connecting Pescara north to Giulianova, Roseto, and Pineto (and onward to Ancona and Bologna) and south to Francavilla, Ortona, and Vasto (continuing to Termoli and beyond). This is useful if you live on the coast and want to move along it.

There is also an inland line from Pescara through Chieti and Sulmona to L'Aquila, continuing to Rome. It exists, but it is slow: the Pescara to Sulmona stretch can take over an hour for 60km, with infrequent departures. It serves a handful of commuters and is not a practical daily transport option for most people. If you are inland and not on this specific corridor, trains are irrelevant to your life.

Buses

ARPA (Autolinee Regionali Pubbliche Abruzzesi) is the main regional bus operator, supplemented by smaller companies like Di Fonzo and Prontobus on specific routes. Schedules are designed around local workers and students: departures early morning to get people into town, returns around lunchtime and late afternoon. Midday and evening services are minimal. Sunday services outside larger towns are essentially nonexistent.

For some villages, the bus comes once or twice a day. For others, it does not come at all. Missing a bus does not mean a short wait. It can mean waiting four hours or finding another way entirely. Timetable information is available online but not always accurate, and schedules can change without obvious notice. Long-distance coaches connect Pescara to Rome (around 2 hours via the A25) and to the airports, which is useful for travel but not for daily life.

Within Towns

Pescara has a local bus network (run by TUA, the regional transport authority) with reasonable frequency during working hours, including a line to the airport. Chieti has some local services. Smaller towns do not. If you can walk to what you need from the centre, fine. If not, you need your own transport.

Where You Could Live Without a Car

In theory, a small number of locations allow car-free living. In practice, almost everyone who tries it buys a car within the first year.

Central Pescara is the only realistic option. Shops, restaurants, the train station, local buses, a hospital, and the airport are all accessible on foot or by local transport. You could handle daily life. What you cannot do is visit friends in hilltop villages, explore the mountains, get to the beach towns south of Francavilla, or take advantage of the landscape that makes Abruzzo distinctive. You would be living in an Italian coastal city, which is fine, but it is not the Abruzzo experience most people are imagining.

Larger town centres like Chieti, Lanciano, Sulmona, or Vasto are walkable for daily essentials. A bakery, pharmacy, bar, and small supermarket will be within reach. But anything beyond that radius requires transport: the larger supermarket, a hospital appointment, visiting the coast, reaching a train station that is not your local one. The limitations compound quickly.

If you are considering a village, hilltown, or rural property of any kind, a car is not optional. It is the thing that makes the rest of your life possible: shopping, medical appointments, socialising, emergencies, and simply leaving the house when you want to.

Driving Considerations

Mountain Roads

Inland Abruzzo means mountain driving: hairpin bends, steep gradients, narrow roads where two cars barely fit, and blind corners where local drivers will be moving faster than you expect. In summer, it is scenic and manageable if you are reasonably confident behind the wheel. In winter, add ice, snow, fog, and reduced visibility. Some roads become impassable during heavy snowfall. If you are moving inland, you need to be honest about whether you are comfortable driving in these conditions, or willing to learn.

Winter Equipment

On roads displaying the winter equipment sign, winter tyres or snow chains are legally required from 15 November to 15 April, regardless of whether it is actually snowing. In Abruzzo's mountain areas, you will see these signs on most routes above a few hundred metres. Tyres must carry at minimum an M+S marking, though the Alpine symbol (3PMSF) is recommended. If you do not have winter tyres fitted, you must carry chains and be prepared to fit them. Fines for non-compliance range from around €40 to €335, and driving without appropriate equipment in winter conditions can invalidate your insurance.

Licence Requirements

EU/EEA licence holders: Your licence is valid in Italy without restriction. No exchange required, though you can voluntarily exchange it. If your licence expires, you renew through the Italian system.

UK licence holders (post-Brexit): A bilateral agreement signed in 2023 allows exchange of a UK licence for an Italian one without taking tests. You can drive on your UK licence for up to one year after establishing residency, after which you must exchange it. Important: you must have been resident in Italy for less than six years at the time of your exchange application. Do not leave it until the last minute. The process goes through the ACI (Automobile Club d'Italia) or the Motorizzazione Civile and involves a medical assessment.

US, Australian, and most other non-EU licence holders: No reciprocal agreement exists. You can drive on your foreign licence with an International Driving Permit for up to 12 months after establishing residency. After that, you must obtain an Italian licence by taking the full Italian driving test: a theory exam of 30 multiple-choice questions in Italian (maximum 3 errors), six mandatory driving lessons, and a practical test. This is a significant undertaking and worth factoring into your planning timeline. A small number of countries (Switzerland, South Korea) have separate reciprocal agreements allowing exchange without testing.

Car Ownership Costs

Running a car in Italy is not dramatically different from elsewhere in Western Europe, but fuel is among the most expensive on the continent due to excise duties, and insurance costs vary enormously depending on your driving history. The following figures assume a small to medium car (e.g. Fiat Panda, Dacia Sandero, or similar) with moderate annual use of around 10,000 to 15,000km.

Insurance deserves special attention. Italy uses a bonus-malus system with 18 classes. New drivers or foreigners without an Italian claims history start in a higher (more expensive) class. Abruzzo is a lower-risk region than, say, Naples or Catania, which helps. But if you are arriving from outside Italy with no local driving record, expect to pay towards the upper end of that range initially. Costs decrease over time as you build a no-claims history. Installing a telematic black box can reduce premiums by 15 to 30 percent.

Bollo is an annual ownership tax calculated by engine power (in kW), fuel type, and emissions class. It is due even if the car is not being driven. You pay at the ACI, post office, tabaccheria, or online. Keep the receipt in the car.

Fuel prices as of early 2026 sit around €1.65 per litre for petrol and €1.67 for diesel at self-service pumps. Full-service (servito) pumps charge €0.10 to €0.20 more per litre. Rural areas may have limited stations, and some close for pausa (lunch break) or overnight, so keep the tank topped up rather than running on empty.

Buying a Car in Italy

New vs Used

New car prices in Italy are broadly comparable to the rest of Western Europe. Fiat, Dacia, and other economy brands are popular choices. Used cars hold their value more than in the UK, so a five-year-old vehicle costs more relative to its original price than you might expect. The upside is that Italians maintain their cars well (the revisione system helps), so a well-documented used car is generally a reliable purchase.

Where to Buy

For new cars, visit a concessionaria (dealership). They handle all paperwork including registration and typically offer financing. For used cars, the main platforms are Subito.it and AutoScout24.it, along with local dealerships and private sellers. Private sales are cheaper but carry more risk: verify that the car has no outstanding debts (check with the PRA, the public vehicle register) and that all documentation is correct before handing over money.

What You Need to Buy

To register a car in your name, you need a codice fiscale and Italian residency. The ownership transfer (passaggio di proprieta) involves paperwork at the PRA, typically handled through an ACI office or an agenzia pratiche auto (a document-processing agency). Dealerships manage this for you. For private sales, budget around €300 to €500 for transfer fees, stamps, and IPT (provincial registration tax) on top of the purchase price.

Importing Your Own Car

Possible but bureaucratically heavy. The car must be re-registered with Italian plates, pass a revisione, meet Italian and EU technical standards (headlight alignment, speedometer, emissions), and you will need to cancel your home registration. If you plan to keep a foreign-plated car in Italy for longer than six months, it must be registered here by law. The process typically takes weeks and involves the Motorizzazione Civile.

For most people, it is simpler to sell the car before moving and buy in Italy. If you are driving down with belongings and need a car immediately, budget for the re-registration process and expect it to take longer than you think.

Alternatives

Scooters and Motorcycles

Cheaper to buy, cheaper to run, easier to park. Many Italians use a scooter as a second vehicle for errands and short trips. But they are not practical for mountain winters, carrying groceries, transporting passengers, or anything that requires a boot. As a supplement to a car, fine. As your only transport in Abruzzo, not realistic for most of the year.

E-bikes

Useful for local trips in flatter coastal areas or within town centres. Not viable for the distances and gradients that define most of Abruzzo. If you live in Pescara and rarely leave, an e-bike could supplement walking. Anywhere else, it is a leisure item, not transport.

Taxis

Taxi services exist in Pescara and the larger towns, but availability outside urban areas is limited and costs add up fast. A taxi from Pescara airport to a hilltown 40km inland could cost €60 or more. As an occasional backup, taxis work. As a substitute for a car, the maths does not hold unless you rarely leave the house.

Car Sharing and Rental

Car-sharing services like those found in Milan, Rome, or Florence do not exist in Abruzzo. Car rental is available in Pescara (airport and city) for occasional use, but the cost of regular weekly rentals will quickly exceed the cost of owning. If you need a car most weeks, own one.