How to fuel a car

Pump it yourself, walk in and pay however you want.

In southern Italy/Sicily a couple of years ago we actually drove into a station with an attendant who operated the pump. We didn't see any indication there were self-serve pumps as well as attendant pumps. I don't believe we paid more for our gas there then if we had pumped it ourselves, but we hadn't gone out of our way looking for a non-self-serve station, and this was probably a rare occurance. Our chip and signature card was no problem when we walked inside to the payment desk, but it only worked sometimes at unattended pumps where you insert your card at the pump. If you need gas after-hours, your chip & pin card could give you better results.

Cash always seems to be welcome . . . just don't try to use a sack full of 2-Euro-cent coins ;-)

Our experience in Italy last spring is that they have both. We were driving a diesel which is messier to use so we always opted for the attendant. You can always use cash.

Before you leave the rental office, be sure that you know how to open the gas cap and know the gears, (especially reverse!). It can be very embarrassing if you don't!!

Another thing, know for sure what kind of fuel you need - and how to say it in Italian.

The only place chip and pin would matter is at automated gas stations with no attendant and no cashier. I'm sure they have some gas stations like that in Italy but I can't recall ever having trouble finding a "normal" gas station where I could use a mag strip credit card or cash.

The only real difference between getting fuel in the US and getting fuel in Europe is that there is more variety of circumstances there. Here, almost every station looks and functions in a nearly identical way. About the only difference is how extensive is the selection of stuff you can buy inside. There they have many stations that look and function exactly the same way. But they also have stations that can function without an attendant, as well as stations that - being shoehorned into a tight space - have maybe two pumps, no shop, and someone pumping the gas for you. Most stations we have come across have been self-serve, but occasionally they are not. Personally, I would prefer to use a credit card to pay (I have one that does not charge foreign transaction fees) and use my precious cash for purchases that really are easier with cash.

So, there really is nothing to worry about with one caveat; don't let your tank get below the 1/4 mark because you never know how far away that next petrol station is going to be or what quirks it might have.