This is probably the question we get asked most often before someone’s first trip to Abruzzo. It comes in various forms: “Do I need a car?”, “Can I manage without one?” “Is it worth hiring a driver?”.

It’s a genuinely good question, because the answer depends on where you’re going, what you want to do, and how much you enjoy the particular pleasure of navigating a hairpin turn at altitude in a diesel manual with a queue forming behind you. Having spent years taking people around Abruzzo in both capacities — as a guide with a driver, and as someone who’s watched self-driving tourists lose thirty minutes looking for parking in Sulmona’s medieval centre — here is my honest assessment.

Why Abruzzo Is More Complicated to Drive Than You Think

Abruzzo looks manageable on a map. The distances between places are not enormous. What the map doesn’t show is the vertical dimension.

The region sits between the Adriatic coast and the highest peaks of the central Apennines. Getting from the coast to the mountain villages involves climbing. A lot. The road from Chieti to Guardiagrele climbs 500 metres in a short distance. The approach to Pietracamela from the valley below involves nineteen kilometres of road that is, in places, single-lane. The route to Santo Stefano di Sessanio from L’Aquila involves switchbacks that require comfort with mountain driving or a very good sat-nav and a willingness to trust it.

None of this is impassable. Italians do it every day. But for a visitor who last drove a mountain road three years ago on a different holiday, the cognitive load is real — and it eats into your ability to actually absorb the landscape you’ve come to see.

There’s also the parking. Abruzzo’s medieval borghi were not designed with 21st-century vehicles in mind. Scanno has a large car park outside the walls because it had to build one. Castrovalva requires you to leave your car at the bottom and walk up. Several of the smaller villages have streets that are technically drivable but feel like a philosophical challenge.

The Case for Renting a Car

With all of that said, a rental car gives you something hard to put a price on: genuine freedom. Abruzzo rewards spontaneous detours. The unmarked road that leads to a viewpoint you weren’t expecting. The village you spotted from the mountain pass and decided to enter. The agriturismo sign at a farm gate turns out to be the best meal of the trip.

If you’re a confident driver, comfortable with mountain roads, happy to navigate with Google Maps, and planning to cover significant ground over several days, renting a car is probably the right choice. It’s also the only realistic option for reaching some of the more remote areas, the Trigno valley, the eastern Majella foothills, and the high plateau around Campo Imperatore, where public transport simply doesn’t go.

What you’ll need: An international driving permit if you’re from outside the EU. Comprehensive insurance — the roads are not dangerous, but they are narrow, and a scrape is more likely than an accident. A data plan that works in the mountains (coverage in the valleys is variable). Check our e-SIM plan with Holafly; you get 5% discount.

If you need a car rental, contact us! We can check for you what the best options are.

Local tip: Petrol stations should all have payment by card, but please bear in mind that some stations close during lunch and late at night. We always recommend filling up in more densely populated areas before going up the mountains and always bring some cash, just in case.

The Guided Tour Option

There’s a third path that many of our visitors end up preferring: a combination approach. They rent a car for parts of the trip where they want freedom, and book guided day experiences with us for the elements that benefit most from local knowledge — the village with no signs in English, the saffron harvest that requires an introduction to the farming family, the wine cellar that doesn’t have a website.

A guided experience isn’t the same as a bus tour. It’s a small group or private arrangement where the value is what you’re shown and who introduces you to it, not just being transported from A to B.

Local tip: Some of Abruzzo’s best places have no public face at all. No sign, no Google listing, no way to find them independently. That’s the honest advantage of working with someone who lives here.

What We Actually Recommend

For a first visit of 5–7 days, focused on borghi and experiences rather than covering maximum ground: hire a driver for key days, use local transport where available, walk where you can. Abruzzo’s best moments happen on foot.

For a longer trip (10+ days) with a mixed itinerary of mountains, coast, and cities: rent a car, but book at least one or two guided experiences with a local operator who can get you access that the road signs don’t offer.

For travellers who don’t drive, are anxious about mountain roads, or are travelling as a couple wanting to share the experience without one person doing all the work, a private driver is the way to go without hesitation.

The point, ultimately, is to spend your time in Abruzzo noticing Abruzzo. Whatever transport arrangement makes that most possible is the right one.

We can help you plan this. Whether you need airport pickup, a full-day driver for the borghi, or a guided experience that handles all the logistics, get in touch and we’ll put something together that makes sense for your trip.

Ready to Visit?

The borghi in this list are not impossible to reach; they're just rarely known. Once you know them, the question is no longer whether to go but when, and how to make the most of the time you have there.

That's where we come in. Tell us what you're looking for: a specific village, a season, a style of travel, a type of experience, and we'll build something around it. No generic packages. No wasted days.

Our Frequently Asked Questions