Car transport
Car transport to Florence
1,360 kilometres to Tuscany. And a city where the whole historic centre is a ZTL, with cameras on every approach road.
Why this route
One long driving day to Tuscany
Florence lies about 1,360 kilometres away. That is one long driving day of a good fourteen hours, including the required breaks. The hotel night falls on the Italian side, before I fly home the next morning; that night and the secured parking for your car are in the price.
The route is the same as to Rome, only a good two hundred and fifty kilometres shorter: through Germany to Basel, over the Gotthard, past Milan and Bologna and then across the Apennines into Tuscany. The final stretch, the A1 from Bologna to Florence, twists and climbs through the mountains, fine driving, but not something to start in the dark. That is why this run leaves early, so the mountain section still falls in daylight.
What makes Florence particular is the ZTL. In Milan it is a zone in the centre; in Rome a patchwork. In Florence it is effectively the entire historic centre inside the viali, with cameras on every approach road. There are few European cities where you are so likely to pick up a fine without ever having noticed you crossed a boundary.
Your route
Netherlands → Florence
One direct drive from the Netherlands, your own car, one dedicated driver, from your door to the destination. Every other destination in Europe I drive just as readily.
direct route · 1 dedicated driver
Price indication — Florence
One-way
~ 1360 km · ~ 1 driving days
- Driver fee
- € 650
- Travel expenses (calculated up front, no mark-up)
- € 790
- Total (indicative)
- ± € 1.750
incl. 21% VAT · ± € 1.440 excl. VAT
Return (combi)
~ 1360 km · ~ 2 driving days
- Driver fee
- € 1.200
- Travel expenses (calculated up front, no mark-up)
- € 1.410
- Total (indicative)
- ± € 3.160
incl. 21% VAT · ± € 2.610 excl. VAT
Prices may vary slightly due to variable costs such as hotel, fuel and tolls.
Who sends a car here
Four situations where this works
Tuscany is house country. That makes a car worth more there than in a city where you only have a hotel room.
A house in Tuscany
It is the classic reason. A house near Siena, in Chianti or in the Val d'Orcia, where you are a few times a year and the nearest shop is twenty minutes away. Without a car you are stranded, and three weeks of hire quickly costs more than having your own brought out.
A stay of several weeks
Anyone staying longer wants to be able to drive without thinking about it. Having the car brought ahead and flying yourself saves two days at the wheel and puts the same car at the destination.
Trade fairs and city events
Pitti Uomo at the Fortezza da Basso brings international fashion buying to Florence twice a year, in January and June. June also has the Calcio Storico on Piazza Santa Croce, and Palazzo Strozzi shows Rothko from 14 March to 23 August 2026. In those periods hotel prices climb and arriving in the centre is slower than usual.
Collecting or returning a car
Tuscany is a region where cars sit that need to come home: a classic out of a barn, a car that spent the summer there, or a purchase from a dealer. I fly out, check it over and drive it back.
The route
Thirteen hundred and sixty kilometres, in one day
One long day, the overnight stop on the Italian side, and the zone access worked out in advance.
- 01
Arranging the ZTL and the vignette
Before departure
For Florence this is the most important step. If the delivery address is inside the ZTL, the plate has to be registered beforehand, hotels within the zone can usually do that, but only if you tell them in advance. The Swiss vignette of CHF 40 also goes on the windscreen; without it the fine is CHF 200.
- 02
The Netherlands to Basel
Day 1, ± 600 km
Through Germany on the A3 and A5 past Cologne, Frankfurt and Karlsruhe. No toll for cars, so fuel only, and usually the smoothest part of the run.
- 03
Over the Gotthard
Day 1, end
From Basel via Lucerne to the Gotthard tunnel and into Ticino. This is the middle of the day; from there the A1 carries on south.
- 04
Milan, Bologna, the Apennines
Day 2, ± 500 km
Down the A1 past Milan and Bologna, then the mountain section to Florence. Italian tolls with a ticket at the barriers. This last part is shorter but slower than it looks: the A1 through the Apennines twists and carries a lot of lorries.
- 05
Delivery and the way back
Day 2, end
I deliver to the agreed address, inside or outside the zone, with access arranged. Then I fly home from Firenze Peretola or Bologna, depending on the day and the connection. That ticket is in the price.
Practical points
Florence's ZTL covers the whole centre
ZTL stands for Zona a Traffico Limitato. In Florence it is not a few streets but virtually the entire historic centre inside the viali, with cameras on every approach road. A fine runs from € 80 to € 335 per violation, and if you pass several cameras on one trip you can get a separate fine at each. Paying within five days usually gives thirty per cent off, but the fine often arrives months later, long after you are back.
Hotels inside the zone can register the plate
If you are staying at a hotel inside the ZTL, that hotel can usually register your plate for a limited number of hours around arrival. It works, but only if it is done in advance and with the right registration. When I deliver, I pass the plate and the time to the hotel or to you, so it matches.
The Swiss vignette
The fastest route to Florence runs over the Gotthard, so through Switzerland. A motorway vignette is compulsory there: CHF 40, and without one you risk CHF 200. I arrange it in advance.
Recurring events
Pitti Uomo fills the Fortezza da Basso with international fashion buying twice a year, in January and June. June also brings the Calcio Storico on Piazza Santa Croce, with processions that close off the centre. And from 14 March to 23 August 2026 Rothko hangs at Palazzo Strozzi. In those periods hotels are dearer and the city fuller, so I plan more generously.
Tuscany sits on the same run
Siena, Chianti, Lucca, the Val d'Orcia: anything within an hour or ninety minutes of Florence is on the same run and normally costs nothing extra. Give me the actual address at booking, not the nearest city.
Compare your options
The same car from the Netherlands to Southern Europe, three ways, three price tags. With a trailer, watch which one you are comparing: riding along on a scheduled line from depot to depot is the cheapest there is, but a transporter making the run for your car alone charges per kilometre and bills the truck’s journey home as well. Between those two extremes sits a factor of five.
Trailer transport
€675 – 4,500 excl.
± 10 working days, or 2–3
- €675 – 850 if your car rides along on a scheduled line
- But then you take it to the depot yourself and collect it yourself on arrival, ten working days later
- If the transporter runs for your car alone, door to door, it goes per kilometre — open ± €0.95, enclosed ± €1.35 — and the truck’s journey home counts too. Utrecht–Marbella comes to ± €4,500
- Luggage in the car usually not allowed
Driving it yourself
± €0.25 per km + your time
± 2 – 3 days of your own
- You drive the whole route yourself
- Fuel and tolls come to roughly €0.25 per kilometre
- Plus a hotel night on the way and a flight back
- And two to three days of your own time
Monarch DriveDrive-it-Back
± €2,040 excl. for Utrecht–Marbella
± 3 days
- One dedicated driver drives your own car, door to door
- Half what a transporter charges to make that same run for your car alone
- On the day you choose, not the day the line departs
- Load the car with your own luggage
- 360° condition report + daily updates
Trailer prices, September 2026: the line prices from one large Dutch car transporter's own route pages, the door-to-door price from a Dutch specialist in exclusive car transport's own rate calculator. My figure is the indication from the calculator above for Utrecht–Marbella, one way. All amounts exclude VAT so they can be read side by side. Travel expenses are calculated up front and included in the fixed price, with no mark-up.
Frequently asked
What people ask about this route
Only with a registered plate. The ZTL covers virtually the whole historic centre and is enforced by camera. If you are staying at a hotel inside the zone, that hotel can usually register the plate. Give me the address and the registration at booking and I will arrange it.
€ 80 to € 335 per violation, and several cameras on one trip can mean several fines. Paying within five days usually gives thirty per cent off. The fine often only arrives months later.
One long driving day of a good fourteen hours. The hotel night falls on the Italian side, before I fly home; that night and the secured parking are in the price.
Yes. Anything within about ninety minutes of Florence is on the same run and normally costs nothing extra. Give me the address at booking.
Yes. No trailer is involved, so whatever fits in your car comes along. With a house in Tuscany that saves a separate shipment.
By air from Firenze Peretola or Bologna, depending on the day and the connection. That ticket is in the price.
How I safeguard your car
Clear about cover
Your own policy stays leading. Damage caused by me: I cover the excess up to €500. What I do not have is stated just as plainly.
Signed transport agreement
Every arrangement — excess, route, planning — recorded in writing beforehand.
360° condition report
Your car's condition fully documented with photos, before and on delivery.
Reply within 24 hours
A personal answer from one point of contact, not a call centre.
Elsewhere on the site
Other Italian destinations, or the rates first?
The other direction
And if your car needs to come back from Florence?
Bringing your car back from Florence costs ± € 1.540. Going out is ± € 1.750, so the return works out cheaper: the last driving day ends at my own door, with no hotel night at the far end and no flight home. I fly out and drive it back to you.
Ready to have your car transported safely?
Request your indication with no obligation. Within 24 hours you will have a personal reply.