No motorway really crosses it, and you notice

Umbria is the only region of central Italy that no motorway genuinely crosses: the A1 grazes it to the west, with the Orvieto exit, and everything else is done on free two-lane dual carriageways, comfortable but slower. It is not a problem given the distances, but it is worth knowing before trusting the times calculated on a map.

By car and motorhome

The two important roads are the E45, which climbs the Tiber valley from Orte to Perugia and on towards Cesena, and the SS75, which links Perugia to Foligno and the Valle Umbra. From the south you leave the A1 at Orvieto or at Orte; from the north at Valdichiana for Trasimeno, or take the E45 down from Cesena.

For the Trasimeno campsites you leave at the Valdichiana exit and drive twenty kilometres, or follow the Perugia to Bettolle link road, which runs along the lake. For the Terni area and the Valnerina you come in from Orte or from Terni, and then climb the Nera valley.

The old town centres are all on hilltops and nearly all of them are restricted traffic zones: the car parks are below, often with escalators or lifts that carry you up, and at Orvieto with a funicular.

By train

The Rome to Ancona line crosses the region and stops at Orte, Narni, Terni, Spoleto, Foligno and Assisi; the slow Florence to Rome line passes through Orvieto and Chiusi, which is the station for Trasimeno. The Ferrovia Centrale Umbra links Sansepolcro to Perugia and Terni through the interior. Several stations are a few kilometres from the lake campsites.

By plane

Perugia airport, at Sant'Egidio, is small but has scheduled flights and low fares on some European routes; it is half an hour from Trasimeno. Otherwise people use Rome Fiumicino, an hour and a half from Orvieto, and Florence or Pisa from the north.