Hi,
We are traveling to Italy for a quick trip and plan on renting a car. I've never rented in Europe before and have some basic questions about getting fuel. 1) Do service stations allow you to put fuel in the car yourself, or does an attendant take care of it for you? 2) Are fuel stations easy to find like they are in the U.S.? 3) Is there anything different about getting fuel compared to the U.S. that I should know? (tips, fees, credit card acceptance etc.)?
Thanks in advance!!
1 - They are usually attended except on Sundays and holidays. When they are attended on Sundays and holidays, be prepared to pay an exact amount in cash anyway because the attendant won't have access to change.
2 - Not too hard to find. Some are strange, as is you pull up to the curb beside a pump that is practically in the street. Small towns are tough on Sundays and holidays but usually you can self-serve.
3 - Use cash; then there's never a problem. If you do not have a chip & PIN card (and most of us do not), you won't be able to use a CC in most pumps. No tip required. When you rent a car, be sure to ask where the closest gas station is to the airport or rental location so you conform to their expectations of refill and watch the guy filling the car, checking the level afterwards, before you drive away. We had an unfortunate experience in Sicilia when the guy failed to completely fill the tank. We were short a few litres when we drove away from the station and in addition to having to pay Hertz an exorbitant amount of €€ for the missing fuel, they also levied a €29 "fine" for not completely refueling.
There's plenty of fuel available but most stations are pretty small and have limited hours. If you are willing to pay even more than the already very expensive prices and buy it at service stations on the autostrada the hours are much more flexible.
Most small places the attendant pumps for you. I've never heard of tipping for that. Do you do that where you are from?
Some pumps at bigger places and out-of-hours are card only pump it yourself. Most US swipe only cards won't work in that situation but they will during the hours the station is attended and you can take your card inside and swipe it. It is usually easier to pay cash.
It is easy to find fuel if you have a decent Garmin or Tom Tom GPS.
Fuel is around €1.70 per litre, more for unleaded, a tiny bit less for diesel. That works out at around US$8.80 per US gallon.
Be very careful about pumping yourself - in Europe a black nozzle means diesel which often comes in at least 2 grades, unleaded will probably be in a green hose and nozzle. in at least 2 grades.
Each driver in Italy will need a mandatory IDP along with their home DL, and watch out for the dreaded ZTLs. Have plenty of money for the tolls, and stick to the speed limit even if the locals don't. They know where the hidden cameras are. Make sure you take the mandatory insurance coverage. If you drive into Switzerland of Austria you must have the mandatory vignettes.
And remember that in Italy diesel fuel is called gasolio.
Thanks everyone, very valuable input!
In my entire life, including close to 40 years filling my cars or motorcycles in Italy (and as recently as a few months ago) I have never heard of an attendant telling me I needed to pay with the exact change. I nearly always paid cash and the chance that I paid with the exact change every time is zero point zero.
Just make sure your credit card has a high limit. When I was in Italy last year, regular unleaded was the equivalent of $9.51 per U.S. gallon.
I just charged my gasoline on my regular Capital One card. Their gas stations are self serve--just like in the U.S. If a U.S. regular credit card doesn't work, they can always hand punch in the numbers.
My Fiesta rental car was a 1.2 liter getting about 50 mpg. And it was worth every cent of the fuel.
Well Roberto, as a current resident I can tell you that on a Sunday in Rome, they demand you put in exactly €10, €20, €30 etc. No change made. But then making or not making change is sort of a national sport.
The machine makes no change. But on regular hours attendants give you change.
With Roberto on that. The machine will not give you change so make sure if you want 25 euro worth you don't put in a 20&10 bill or you'll be SOL on your 5 euro. I never had an attendant tell me exact change either.
Pieno means fill 'er up.
There will be gas station strikes at times. Not often but happens and it's usually known in advance so you should be able to find out at your hotel. Can't remember one lasting more than a few hours though.
If there's an attendant let them fill it even if they're slow. I had a couple of attendants get pissy with me for doing it on my own cause I got tired of waiting.
You should be able to find an attended station on the autostrada at anytime. It may depend on what region you are in but never had a problem any day/night/odd hours on A4/A14/A13 finding one.
We rented a car in Siena to drive to Perugia and Lago Trasimeno this summer (about 2 hours or so away). On the way back we remembered to fill the car up. This was around 6 pm on a Saturday. We could not find an open gas station! Siena is a relatively large city. So plan your gas station stop on the autostrada.
Thanks again everyone!
The opening hours of gas stations are regulated by the regional governments, therefore may vary somewhat from region to region.
In the region of Tuscany, this matter is regulated by Tuscany's Regional Law no. 28 of 7 Feb. 2005.
Art. 84 provides that gasoline stations with attendants can choose to operate their service at their will between 6am and 9pm provided that service is guaranteed between 8am and 12pm and between 4pm and 7pm.The minimum opening hours is 52 hours a week.
Stations with attendants will generally be closed on Sundays, Holidays and on Saturdays afternoons, unless the station chooses to close an afternoon other than Saturday. The city governments will guarantee the opening of at least 20% of stations on these closing periods. If a station is open on Sunday or Holiday, that station will observe a closing day on the first business day following the closing day.
During the above minimum opening hours the presence of attendants is mandatory.
Facilities with self service mechanisms will be always open. The above opening regulations refer to opening hours with the mandatory presence of attendants.
Note that the above rules have exceptions. For example gas stations along 4 lane divided freeways may operate with attendants 24/7 without observing any holidays.
If you see a sign next to the pump saying "Servito" (or "Con Servito"), that means they pump it for you. On the autostrada you won't have a problem finding open stations, I believe they are required to stay open 24/7 but Laurel or Roberto can probably confirm or deny this. If you happen to stop at a rest area on the autostrada with an autogrill I recommend the panini, they are warm and delicious - I used to look forward to long road trips just so I could enjoy a capri or bufalino!
