How to get to Roccaraso

Updated November 2026

Roccaraso sits at 1,236 metres in the Alto Sangro, in the province of L'Aquila. The easiest way to get here is by car: Rome, Naples and Pescara are two to three hours away. Here are the main routes, the public transport options and what you need if you arrive in winter.

By car

From Rome: 195 km · about 2½ hours
From Naples: 140 km · about 2½ hours
From Pescara: 110 km · about 1¾ hours
From Bari: 345 km · about 4 hours

From Rome take the A24 towards L'Aquila, then the A25 towards Pescara as far as the Pratola Peligna–Sulmona exit. From there follow the SS17 towards Castel di Sangro: it runs through Sulmona and across the Cinquemiglia plateau to Roccaraso.

From Pescara it's the same route the other way: the A25 towards Rome as far as the Pratola Peligna–Sulmona exit, then the SS17.

From Naples take the A1 towards Rome as far as the Caianello exit, then the Venafrana (SS85) towards Venafro and the main roads to Castel di Sangro. From Castel di Sangro it's about ten kilometres uphill to Roccaraso.

From Puglia drive up the A14 to the Val di Sangro exit and follow the Fondovalle Sangro road to Castel di Sangro.

Times don't include stops or traffic. On winter weekends and during the holidays the roads to Roccaraso get very busy: set off early.

In winter: tyres and chains

From 15 November to 15 April, state roads in Abruzzo require winter tyres (all-season tyres marked M+S are fine) or snow chains on board. It's an ANAS order renewed every winter, and it also applies outside those dates whenever it snows or there's ice.

The Cinquemiglia plateau, on the SS17 between Sulmona and Roccaraso, is exposed to wind and snow: in heavy snowfall, check the traffic news before you leave.

Practise fitting your chains at home, not on the side of the road.
Keep an ice scraper and antifreeze screenwash in the car.
Leave with a full tank: snow and traffic make journeys longer.

By coach

There are direct coaches to Roccaraso from Rome and Naples (FlixBus, for example), more frequent in winter, plus connections with Sulmona and Castel di Sangro. Timetables and operators change with the season: check them before you travel on the operators' websites or a travel comparison site.

By train

Roccaraso has a station on the Sulmona–Isernia line, but today only the heritage trains of the Transiberiana d'Italia run on it, on some weekends. To arrive by train, get off at Sulmona, which has trains from Rome, Pescara and L'Aquila, and continue by bus (about 40 minutes) or taxi: it's 35 km.

By plane

Pescara airport: 105 km · about 1¾ hours
Naples airport: 135 km · about 2½ hours
Rome Ciampino: 190 km · about 2½ hours
Rome Fiumicino: 220 km · about 3 hours

From the airport, renting a car is the best option: public transport means several changes, and in winter a car is also handy for reaching the slopes.

Once you're here

The village is small and easy to explore on foot. The Aremogna slopes are about 9 km away, fifteen minutes by car; Pizzalto is 7 km. All about the slopes in skiing in Roccaraso, and what weather to expect in snow and weather month by month.

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