Italy: tough rules for tourists! Bath towel ban, visitor limit, fees

Italy is expecting a rush of visitors this year. According to forecasts by the Demoskopika Institute, more than 442 million holidaymakers are expected, twelve percent more than in 2022. In order to curb the chaos, the government has drawn up strict rules for tourists. La Dolce Vita? In kind, but please check!

What guests have to be prepared for this summer in Italy.

Lampedusa bans foreign cars

Cars with foreign license plates are to be banned from the island of Lampedusa (south of Sicily) between the end of July and the beginning of September. Anyone who does not comply with the specification must expect high fines.

“There are about 6,700 residents and last year we had more than 200,000 visitors, so we prepared appropriate measures to manage the flows,” Filippo Mannino, mayor of Lampedusa, told Il Mattino newspaper.

Tuscany island takes entry fee

The Tuscan island of Giglio can only be visited for a fee: three euros per person in summer, two euros in winter. And: Only people who stay longer than four days and fill out a form are allowed to come to the island by car. This is to reduce the number of tourists.

Visitor limit on Sardinia’s beaches

“Our island is mostly jagged cliffs, with only a dozen beaches, so everyone flocks there and crowds them,” the mayor of the village of Baunei, in eastern Sardinia, told CNN. There is therefore a visitor limit on the particularly crowded beaches. A maximum of 700 people may visit Cala Mariolu per day, 300 people in the bays of Cala dei Gabbiani and Cala Biriala and 250 people in the bay of Goloritze.

A spontaneous visit to the beach is not possible: you have to reserve at least 72 hours in advance via the “Cuore di Sardegna” app.

Bath towels ban on Sardinia beach

La Pelosa beach on the north coast of Sardinia is also overrun with tourists. “We have limited the number of tourists to 1,500 per day, the ticket costs 3.50 euros,” the mayor of the Municipality of Stintino, Rita Vallebella, told CNN. Booked and paid for online. Admission is also charged at other beaches in the region.

Beach towels are also forbidden on the beach in Stintino. Only mats to which no grains of sand stick are allowed. “We lost so much sand because of the beach towels,” Vallebella says.