{"id":173,"date":"2021-06-12T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-12T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/max-haase.com\/?p=173"},"modified":"2026-04-09T19:07:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T19:07:17","slug":"italien-campervan-toskana-amalfikueste-roadtrip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/max-haase.com\/en\/italy-campervan-tuscany-amalfi-coast-road-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"Italy by campervan \u2013 Tuscany, Amalfi Coast & Dolce Vita\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the Campervan tour through Italy<\/strong> \u2013 from Tuscany via the Amalfi Coast to Calabria. Italy was the second leg of our journey. Van Life Europe Road Trips<\/a> and delighted us with a mix of world-class food, dramatic coastlines, and a chaotically charming lifestyle. In this Italy Road Trip Travelogue<\/strong> I share the best stops, campsites and honest tips for van life in Italy.<\/p>\n

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Tuscany by campervan \u2013 cypress trees, vineyards & medieval villages<\/h2>\n

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The Tuscany<\/strong> It's the epitome of Italian romance \u2013 and with a van, you'll experience it more intensely than any hotel tourist. The rolling landscape with its iconic cypress avenues, vineyards, and olive groves is a dream from a drone. Our highlights: San Gimignano<\/strong> (the \u201eManhattan of the Middle Ages\u201c with its family towers), Siena<\/strong> (Piazza del Campo!) and the Chianti wine region, where you can taste wines directly at the winemaker's.<\/p>\n

Parking tip:<\/strong> In Tuscany, there are many "agriturismos" that offer camping \u2013 farms with pitches, often with a pool and wine tasting. \u20ac15-25 per night; it doesn't get much more authentic than that.<\/p>\n

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Amalfi Coast & Cinque Terre \u2013 Italy's most dramatic coastlines<\/h2>\n

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The Amalfi Coast<\/strong> The Amalfi Coast is one of the most beautiful coastal roads in the world \u2013 and one of the most challenging to drive in a van. The narrow SS163 winds its way between cliffs and sea, with oncoming buses that barely fit through the tunnels. Honest recommendation:<\/strong> If your van is wider than 2 meters, park it in Salerno and take the bus. The coast is worth the hassle \u2013 but not with a wide vehicle.<\/p>\n

Positano, Amalfi and Ravello<\/strong> They are breathtakingly beautiful, but also extremely touristy and expensive (espresso: \u20ac5, parking: \u20ac30\/hour). My tip: The lesser-known ones Cilento Coast<\/strong> South of the Amalfi Coast, similarly spectacular scenery is offered at a fraction of the price and with fewer tourists.<\/p>\n

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Practical tips for campers in Italy<\/h2>\n

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ZTL zones:<\/strong> Many Italian city centers have restricted traffic zones (Zona a Traffico Limitato). Driving into one of these zones results in an automatic fine (80-100 \u20ac) triggered by a camera. Google Maps doesn't always warn you! Tip:<\/strong> The Park4Night app shows safe parking spaces outside the ZTL (Limited Traffic Zone).<\/p>\n

Cost:<\/strong> Italy is more affordable than its reputation suggests (except for Amalfi and Cinque Terre). Pizza: \u20ac6-10, campsites: \u20ac20-35\/night, diesel: ~\u20ac1.70\/L. Highway tolls: ~\u20ac10\/100km.<\/p>\n

Free standing:<\/strong> In southern Italy (Puglia, Calabria, Sicily) the rules are much more relaxed than in the north. On the Amalfi and Cinque Terre coasts: forget it, they're strictly controlled.<\/p>\n

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FAQ \u2013 Campervan road trip through Italy<\/h2>\n

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Is it possible to travel to the Amalfi Coast with a campervan?<\/strong>
\nTechnically yes, but not recommended for vehicles over 2m wide. The SS163 is extremely narrow. Better to park in Salerno and take the SITA bus.<\/p>\n

Where are the best campsites in Italy?<\/strong>
\nTuscany: Agriturismos. Coast: official "Aree di Sosta" (motorhome parking areas). Southern Italy: more freedom, use Park4Night.<\/p>\n

What does van life cost per day in Italy?<\/strong>
\nRealistically, \u20ac50-80 for 2 people (camping + food + diesel). Significantly cheaper than hotel trips.<\/p>\n

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After Italy, the journey continued to Southern France<\/a>. Back to Van Life Europe Overview<\/a>. | Request Collaboration<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n

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Our first summer destination on this trip - and also the country with the smallest and narrowest streets. \ud83d\ude02 With our 7-meter Sprinter, we had a hard time in some cities\/villages and actually got our first scratches on the car. \ud83d\ude44<\/p>\n

As we crossed the border, we were curious if we would face a control due to Corona, as it was described in the media everywhere - but there was no one there. \ud83d\ude02 So we also entered Italy without any problems. However, in everyday life, you could still very well perceive Corona, as some Italians even wear an FFP2 mask alone in the forest. Of course, they don't give up wearing it even when cycling or jogging, no matter how steep the hill is. \ud83d\ude06\u00a0<\/p>\n

What did we do first in Italy? Of course, eat pizza! \ud83e\udd70 Then we left the beautiful Lago Maggiore and Lago di Como behind and drove to the charming city of Verona, where we first familiarized ourselves with Italian aperitif culture. \ud83d\ude05\ud83e\udd42<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Deserted: Venice<\/h3>\n

With grey skies and our umbrella, we took the train to Venice - cars are completely prohibited here, except for residents. Then we took the famous water taxi to the Rialto Bridge - one of the main landmarks of Venice. We were lucky with the weather, and the rain only briefly set in as we ate our pizza for lunch - together with my family, who were also visiting Venice at the same time.<\/p>\n

Right after lunch, the rain stopped, and we visited the Piazza San Marco, which was completely deserted thanks to the weather and Corona - Venice has certainly not seen this few people in decades. \ud83d\ude01<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The best pizza of our trip: Milan<\/h3>\n

Since we didn't really like our parking spot in Milan, right in the middle of a large parking lot, we only stayed for one night in Milan. Nevertheless, we visited the entire city center, ate the best pizza of our trip, and ended the evening at the endlessly long bar promenade with a cocktail. Milan is really one of the most beautiful cities in Italy - especially in terms of all the possible activities!<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Along the Mediterranean coast <\/h3>\n

The next morning, we set off early, right in the middle of rush hour, heading towards southern Italy. Specifically, we went to Genoa, with a brief overnight stop in the village of Crocefieschi, where we did a beautiful via ferrata and had to seek refuge in the refuge from the approaching thunderstorm. \ud83d\ude33\ud83d\ude2c In Genoa, we stayed on a mountain with a fantastic view over the entire city. From there, we continued towards France, with stops in numerous small, charming fishing villages.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The last villages before the border<\/h3>\n

Halfway to the French border, we tested the outdoor suitability of our Sprinter again, on the way to the Degli Artisti via ferrata. With a length of 7 meters, the potholes and bumps on the small forest path were quite a challenge, but we made it to our overnight spot without touching the ground - would we have made it up with \"normal street tires\"? \ud83e\udd14<\/p>\n

But as soon as we arrived, we set off again for the via ferrata, which was about a 30-minute walk away. Halfway up, we suddenly could only see 10 meters ahead of us because we were in the middle of the clouds. The highlight was the 50-meter-long suspension bridge, which we couldn't even see halfway across. After a 90-minute descent over scree, we were finally back at the camper and could put our feet up.<\/p>\n

Our last stop in Italy was the beautiful city of Imperia, which has an impressive harbor and a beautiful campsite right by the sea. We set off on the e-scooter to explore the city center and had delicious all-you-can-eat sushi for lunch. \ud83d\ude0dIn the evening, we watched the dreamy sunset over the harbor.\"<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Italy by campervan: Traveling through Italy in a campervan \u2013 from Tuscany via the Amalfi Coast to Calabria. Italy was the second leg of our\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_analytify_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,7,14],"tags":[11,13,15,10],"class_list":["post-173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europa","category-travel","category-vanlife","tag-camper","tag-europe","tag-italy","tag-travel","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"builder_content":"

Unsere erste sommerliche Station auf dieser Reise - und auch das Land mit den kleinsten & engsten Stra\u00dfen. \ud83d\ude02 Mit unserem 7 m Sprinter hatten wir hier in einigen St\u00e4dten\/D\u00f6rfern ganz sch\u00f6n zu k\u00e4mpfen und haben uns tats\u00e4chlich auch die ersten Schrammen ins Auto gesetzt. \ud83d\ude44<\/p>

Als wir \u00fcber die Grenze fuhren, waren wir gespannt, ob uns aufgrund von Corona eine Kontrolle erwartet, wie es in den Medien \u00fcberall beschrieben wurde - aber es war niemand dort. \ud83d\ude02 Wir sind also auch nach Italien problemlos eingereist. Im Alltag konnte man Corona aber dann noch sehr gut wahrnehmen, da die Italiener teilweise sogar alleine im Wald eine FFP2-Maske tragen. Nat\u00fcrlich wird hier auch beim Fahrradfahren oder beim Joggen nicht darauf verzichtet, egal wie steil der Berg auch ist. \ud83d\ude06\u00a0<\/p>

Was machten wir wohl als Erstes in Italien? Nat\u00fcrlich eine Pizza essen! \ud83e\udd70 Anschlie\u00dfend lie\u00dfen wir den sch\u00f6nen Lago Maggiore und den Lago di Como hinter uns und fuhren bis in die beschauliche Stadt Verona, wo wir uns erst einmal mit der italienischen Aperitif-Kultur vertraut machten. \ud83d\ude05\ud83e\udd42<\/p>\n[gallery ids=\"214,216,199,198,213,215\"]\n

Menschenleer: Venedig<\/h3>

Bei grauem Himmel und mit unserem Regenschirm bewaffnet machten wir uns mit der S-Bahn auf nach Venedig - Autos sind hier n\u00e4mlich komplett verboten, au\u00dfer f\u00fcr Anwohner. Anschlie\u00dfend nahmen wir das ber\u00fchmte Wassertaxi bis zur Rialtobr\u00fccke - eines der Hauptwahrzeichen Venedigs. Wir hatten mit dem Wetter tats\u00e4chlich Gl\u00fcck und der Regen setzte nur kurz ein, als wir unsere Pizza zum Mittag a\u00dfen - gemeinsam mit meiner Familie, die zum selben Zeitpunkt auch Venedig besuchte.<\/p>

P\u00fcnktlich nach dem Mittagessen stoppte dann auch der Regen und wir schauten uns den Markusplatz an - der Dank des Wetters und Corona komplett Menschenleer war - so wenig Menschen hat Venedig bestimmt seit Jahrzehnten nicht mehr gesehen. \ud83d\ude01<\/p>\n[gallery ids=\"209,207,206,203,202,204\"]\n

Die beste Pizza unserer Reise: Mailand<\/h3>

Da uns unser Stellplatz in Mailand, mitten auf einem gro\u00dfen Stadtparkplatz, nicht wirklich zusagte, blieben wir nur f\u00fcr eine Nacht in Mailand. Trotzdem schauten wir uns die gesamte Innenstadt an, a\u00dfen die beste Pizza unserer Reise und lie\u00dfen den Abend an der endlos langen Barpromenade mit einem Cocktail ausklingen. Mailand ist f\u00fcr mich wirklich eine der sch\u00f6nsten St\u00e4dte in Italien - vor allem was die ganzen m\u00f6glichen Aktivit\u00e4ten betrifft!<\/p>\n[gallery ids=\"197,196,195,194,193,192\"]\n

Entlang der Mittelmeerk\u00fcste <\/h3>

Am n\u00e4chsten Morgen ging es in aller Fr\u00fch, und mitten im stressigen Berufsverkehr, auf in den S\u00fcden Italiens. Genauer gesagt ging es nach Genua, mit einem kurzen n\u00e4chtlichen Zwischenstopp im Dorf Crocefieschi, wo wir einen sch\u00f6nen Klettersteig begingen und im Refugio Schutz suchen mussten, vorm ann\u00e4hernden Gewitter. \ud83d\ude33\ud83d\ude2c In Genua \u00fcbernachteten wir mitten auf dem Berg, mit traumhaftem Blick \u00fcber die gesamte Stadt. Von dort aus ging es f\u00fcr uns immer weiter Richtung Frankreich, mit Zwischenstopps in zahlreichen kleinen, beschaulichen Fischerd\u00f6rfern.<\/p>\n[gallery ids=\"191,187,190,189,188,185,183,181,179\"]\n

Die letzten D\u00f6rfer vor der Grenze<\/h3>

Auf halber Strecke zur franz\u00f6sischen Grenze testeten wir noch einmal die Outdoor Tauglichkeit unseres Sprinters, auf dem Weg zum Klettersteig Degli Artisti. Bei 7 m L\u00e4nge machten uns die Schlagl\u00f6cher und Bodendellen des kleinen Waldweges ziemlich zu schaffen, jedoch schafften wir es bis zu unserem Nachtplatz, ohne aufzusetzen - ob wir hier mit \"normalen Stra\u00dfenreifen\" auch hochgekommen w\u00e4ren? \ud83e\udd14<\/p>

Kaum angekommen ging es f\u00fcr uns jedoch schon wieder los zum Klettersteig, der etwa 30min Fu\u00dfmarsch entfernt war. Auf halber H\u00f6he konnten wir dann pl\u00f6tzlich nur noch 10 m weit schauen, weil wir mitten in den Wolken waren. Das Highlight war dann die 50 m lange H\u00e4ngebr\u00fccke, bei der wir nicht mal bis zur H\u00e4lfte schauen konnten. Nach 90min Abstieg zur\u00fcck \u00fcber Ger\u00f6ll waren wir dann endlich wieder am Camper angekommen und konnten die Beine hochlegen.<\/p>

Unser letzter Stopp in Italien war dann die sch\u00f6ne Stadt Imperia, die einen beeindruckenden Hafen zu bieten hat - und einen wundersch\u00f6nen Stellplatz direkt am Meer. Mit dem E-Scooter machten wir uns los, um die Innenstadt zu erkunden und a\u00dfen zum Mittag leckeres All-You-Can-Eat Sushi. \ud83d\ude0dZum Abend schauten wir uns dann noch den traumhaften Sonnenuntergang \u00fcber dem Hafen an.<\/p>\n[gallery ids=\"178,176,174\"]","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/max-haase.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/max-haase.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/max-haase.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/max-haase.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/max-haase.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/max-haase.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5683,"href":"https:\/\/max-haase.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173\/revisions\/5683"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/max-haase.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/max-haase.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/max-haase.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/max-haase.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}