Local public transport
Most local public transport companies in the country will operate a reduced timetable (also known as orari festivi) over the holidays.
But the quality and frequency of services during the Christmas break tend to vary significantly depending on where you are in the country.
Parts of the country that are usually served by the occasional bus may see stripped-to-the-bone services over the Christmas holidays.
More urban areas, by contrast, tend to operate a mostly normal schedule over the holidays, including on key dates such as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
You can expect daytime services in most major cities to run on a relatively standard timetable, and some ‘minimum services’ (servizi minimi) will run until late at night.
In Rome, all public transport lines will stop at 9pm on Christmas Eve. Night services will begin at 11.30pm and run on an ordinary weekday schedule.
On Christmas day, all buses, trams and metros in Rome will be in service from 8.30am to 1pm and then again from 4.30pm to 9pm.
There will be extended hours on the Rome metro for New Year's Eve, with the last metro ride leaving from terminals at 2.30am on January 1st. Special night bus services will be offered until 8am.
This year, Rome's public transport provider Atac is offering a €10 'Christmas pass' that grants users unlimited bus, tram and metro rides, plus free parking in Atac-operated car parks, on 17 selected days across the holiday season. More details are available here.
The city will also provide three free bus lines in the centre during the holidays.
Milan's metro lines will follow the Saturday schedule on Christmas Eve and will run from 7am to 7.30pm on Christmas Day. The Milan metro will be open extended hours on New Year's Eve, until approximately 2am. You can find more information (in Italian) here.
No air transport strikes
In a piece of good news, transport strikes are very unlikely between December 18th and January 7th – particularly in the air travel sector.
Italy has certain dates on which strikes affecting air transport are completely banned, known as periodi di franchigia (exemption periods). The main ones are over the Christmas period and during the busy summer travel season in August.
While the ban doesn't apply to strikes affecting other forms of transport, unions see such action as far less effective if it doesn't impact the airline sector; so you're also unlikely to have your train (or bus or metro) journey disrupted by a walkout.
READ ALSO: Will strikes hit travel in Italy over Christmas?
This doesn't mean that there won’t be any risk of disruption for passengers flying to or from Italy in the coming days.
Christmas is the busiest time of year for air travel, as tens of thousands of passengers are set to crowd airports across the country. Long queues at check-in desks and baggage collections should be expected, and flight delays can't be ruled out.
And there are concerns that "mounting issues" with the EES passport control system could cause travel delays at airports in Italy and elsewhere in Europe.
Pricey rail travel
Regional and local trains around the country tend to run on reduced timetables over the holidays, especially on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which is why passengers are advised to check train companies' holiday schedules well in advance.
These can usually be found on the operator’s website or social media channels.
Interregional and long-distance trains generally run on relatively standard timetables during the holidays. Even on Christmas Day, you'll find dozens of high-speed services connecting major Italian cities around the country.
But tickets won’t come cheap, especially if your travel plans include going from the north to the south of the country.
Those looking to get to Sicily for the holidays can do so with a newly launched line: the Sicilia Express.
Following its success in Christmas 2024, the service is once again available this year. The train leaves from Turin’s Porta Nuova station and calls at Novara, Milan, Parma, Modena, Bologna, Florence, Rome and Salerno before arriving in Palermo and Syracuse. More information can be found here.
Traffic jams
Italy’s motorways (or autostrade) often become congested during national public holidays, including Christmas.
The two days before Christmas Eve (that’s Monday, December 22nd, and Tuesday, December 23rd) are typically the worst dates to travel on Italian roads, with traffic jams likely to build up from around mid-morning and only break up in the late afternoon.
The major motorways connecting the north of the country to the south, including the A1 Milan-Naples, A14 Bologna-Taranto and A24 Rome-Teramo, are the most likely to experience heavy traffic, as people return to their hometowns.
State roads connecting major cities to popular holiday hotspots in the Alps and Apennines may also see congestion.
To keep up to date with the latest developments on the road, you can check this live map from motorway company Autostrade per l’Italia showing road closures and traffic jams as well as the locations of the nearest petrol stations and service areas.
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