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Rush Hour Traffic - Driving from Montepulciano to Rome

We'll be driving a rental car from Montepulciano to Rome. We'll be returning the rental car at a drop off near the Vatican.

We plan to leave Montepulciano around 10 am on a Wednesday in May. Depending on the answer to the rush hour question we may stop off in Civita Di Bagnoregio before heading into Rome.

Our schedule is flexible as to what time of day we get into Rome and drop off the rental car.

Ideally, I'd like to not have to drive in Rome during rush hour.

I am wondering if Rome has rush hour traffic ? And if so, what time is their rush hour?

I'd appreciate any info you can give me to help me plan our drive into Rome. Thanks so much!

Posted by
15199 posts

I don’t think there are cities in the industrialized world without rush hour traffic.
The evening commute traffic gets bad after 5pm. However you are driving into the city, therefore the worst traffic will be getting out of the city. If you take the Via Flaminia into town, it should be ok getting in, and actually there are rental offices where you can drop off the car on Via Flaminia.
You should stop in Civita along the way, and maybe even drive from Montepulciano to Civita using the old Via Cassia (SS2), probably more scenic than the freeway. Either way you’ll get there before noon.
Then make your way to Rome at around 3, and you’ll get there to Rome before 5, in less than 2 hours. Actually I would still consider using the SS2 instead of the freeway. Not much longer, maybe 10 min extra.
But as I said, other than a few pockets of traffic here and there inside the city, you are going against the commuter traffic, so not a big deal.

Posted by
9 posts

Thank you so much for your prompt and thorough reply!