Easter 2026 promises to be one of the saltiest in recent years for the wallets of those who travel by car along the country. The high cost of fuel hits the pockets of Italian families with a total hit estimated at 1.3 billion euros. The increases in petrol and diesel prices at the pump, especially on the motorway, will bring the costs of crossings even above 300 euros for the return journey.
The estimates were made by Codacons and Assoutenti, who compared the fuel prices at the pump during the 2025 holidays with those today.
Fuel prices skyrocketing at Easter 2026, how much petrol and diesel cost
The most updated data indicate a new increase in prices at the pump just on the eve of the large departures for the Easter holidays, mainly along the North-South route. Petrol in self mode reached an average of 1.777 euros per liter, while diesel exceeded 2.13 euros per liter on the national network.
The comparison with last year highlights a decidedly different growth trajectory between the two fuels. For green fuel there is a smaller increase, around +2-3%, while for diesel the price increase is much more pronounced: up to +30% compared to Easter 2025.
In detail, according to Codacons, a liter of diesel today costs 48.7 euro cents more than at Easter last year, for an increase of 24.35 euros at full capacity. As regards petrol, the greatest expense is +2.35 euros per tank.
How much does it cost to travel by car: up to 300 euros more
The effect of the fuel price increases is especially evident on long journeys. According to the analysis of the president of Assoutenti, Gabriele Melluso, for some routes the costs reach prohibitive thresholds:
- over 300 euros for trips such as Milan-Catania or Turin-Reggio Calabria;
- up to 370 euros for even longer routes such as Turin-Palermo;
- around 240 euros for a Milan-Lecce return trip.
The comparison with the same period last year highlights increases even higher than 70-80 euros per single trip, with peaks exceeding 86 euros more on some routes.
According to data from Codacons and motorway managers, over 60 million vehicles will be in circulation during Easter week. Of these, approximately 40% are powered by diesel and 41.4% are powered by petrol. From here, considering the average of two full tanks per trip, a dizzying overall increase can be estimated: 1.28 billion euros more than Easter 2025.
The car remains competitive compared to planes and trains
Despite the price increases, the choice to travel by car turns out to be preferable in many cases to the costs that would instead be faced by traveling by plane or train. In fact, the data shows that, especially during the Easter holidays, tickets for domestic flights can even exceed 1,000 euros for a family of three.
However, the distance risks narrowing in the coming weeks, above all due to the instability of the energy markets linked to oil prices. The scenarios related to war in the Middle East, however close it may be to a negotiated conclusion, do not bode well for happy months for European consumers.
Added to all this is the progressive exhaustion of the effects of the excise duty cut, renewed by the Meloni government but without the coverage necessary for a further extension to May. With the price of diesel steadily above 2 euros per liter and constant pressure on the international markets, the risk is that the increases turn out to be structural.
