- Accommodation
- Transport
- Excursions
- Nutrition
If you have never been to Italy and are only going there for the first time, then get ready: this country is capable of falling in love with itself instantly and forever. You can return here an infinite number of times, and still there will be cities, towns, villages and just lonely farms that you have not yet seen. Every Italian city can be called an open-air museum. Any Italian landscape seems to have descended from the canvases of great local artists.
Holidays in Italy give you the opportunity to walk around museums to your heart's content, update your wardrobe, take great pictures, relax on the sea, and their attention is here! - five. For the first acquaintance with Italy, most tourists choose either its capital or other famous so-called cities of art - Venice, Milan, Florence, Verona. But nothing prevents you from combining a visit to several Italian cities in one trip.
How much money to take to Italy is a topical question for any traveler planning a trip to the Apennine Peninsula. It is impossible to say exactly how much you will spend during your stay in Italy. At least because everyone's preferences are different: some are used to going to restaurants and buying everything they see and want, while others get by with street food, walk a lot and do not like organized excursions. It is clear that the first tourist will spend much more than the second. But we will tell you about the price level in Italy. In Italy, payments are made in the European currency - the euro. You can come here with dollars and then exchange them for euros.
Accommodation
There are no problems with the choice of housing in Italy. A budget tourist who prefers to stay in hostels or two-star private B&B (bed and breakfast) hotels, which in Italy are called "locandas", and a wealthy traveler who chooses hotels of a higher class, will feel comfortable here. An interesting option for living in the countryside, especially in the regions of Tuscany and Umbria, will be the so-called "agriturismo" - farm estates, where tourists are welcomed and organized for them all sorts of entertainment and master classes.
How much a traveler will spend on accommodation depends on the city where he is staying. It is known that in large cities the prices for accommodation are higher due to the incessant demand. Initially, Venice, Viareggio, Palermo and some other fashionable tourist cities are considered expensive. For reasonable money, you can find a room in hotels in Pompeii, Vicenza, Terni, etc.
There are many accommodation options in Italy:
- hostels. A room in them costs from 15 to 40 euros per night;
- rented apartments. Sometimes you come across excellent offers: for a low fee (about 100-120 euros) they offer luxurious three-room apartments in the city center in old buildings with high ceilings and valuable parquet flooring. If you are traveling in a large company, then you cannot refuse such an offer;
- 2 star hotels. A room in them costs at least 30 euros;
- 3 star hotels. The cost of living in such a hotel starts from 50 euros. In Rome, Venice and other major cities, expect 80-100 euros per day;
- 4 star hotels. Many 5 star hotels in Italy, in order to pay less taxes, position themselves as 4 star luxury hotels. The price of a room in a four-star hotel will be about 120 euros and more;
- 5 star hotels. There are some in Italy. These include hotels belonging to the world's hotel chains. One room costs about 200 euros.
Transport
Italy is a big country. Rome is located roughly in the middle of the Italian boot. Venice and Milan are in the north. The islands of Sicily and Sardinia are in the south. The popular resort of Rimini is located between Venice and Rome on the shores of the Adriatic Sea. Genoa and Turin are closer to France.
You can move between cities by the following types of transport:
- aircraft. A very convenient way to travel, allowing you to be in the right place in a few hours. Domestic flights in Italy are very popular. Tickets for these flights are inexpensive. For example, you can get from Rome to Venice for 81 euros and 1 hour 5 minutes using the transport of the air carrier "Alitalia". For 27 euros, planes belonging to the Ryanair company fly to Venice from the capital of Italy. They make a short dock in Bari. Passengers will be on the spot 4 hours after departure. From Rome to Milan you can get by plane for 67 euros and 1 hour 10 minutes;
- trains. During the construction of the railway network, the Italians faced some difficulties that nature itself provided. The fact is that the mountains of the Apennines stretch across the entire territory of the country. Railway tracks are laid through them only in some places. Therefore, using the railway is convenient if you need to get from Rimini to Venice (these cities are located on one side of the Apennines) or from Rome to Genoa (on the other side). You can travel by train and from one coast to another, but you will have to change trains. In the north of Italy, the railway network is much better developed. Traveling by train in Italy is much cheaper than traveling by plane. For a trip from Rome to Florence, a person will pay 28 euros and get there in 1 hour and 30 minutes. A train ticket from Rome to Venice costs 45 euros and more, from Rome to Palermo - at least 50 euros, from Venice to Verona - 9, 25-18 euros.
- buses. This type of transport is chosen by those who want to save money. For example, a Flixbus bus will take you from Rome to Milan for 15 euros, and from Rome to Florence for 8 euros. It is beneficial to travel by bus over short distances (you will not have time to get tired and you will not spend a lot on tickets). For example, a trip from Rome to Pompeii will cost 18 euros (8 euros to Naples and 10 euros from Naples to Pompeii). A bus ticket from Rimini to San Marino costs only 5 euros.
In any major Italian city, it is easy to find a car rental (from € 30 per day), a scooter (about € 24 per day) or a bicycle (even cheaper). It is a special pleasure not to depend on public transport when planning your trip in Italy.
Excursions
With a good guidebook and a map in electronic or paper form, you can skip organized excursions and thus save some money. But some tourists still do not deny themselves the pleasure of visiting unfamiliar cities in the company of a knowledgeable guide, who also speaks Russian. Many guides who develop their own tours of Italian cities are a bit historians, a bit psychologists, a bit philologists. They know exactly where the best cafes and shops are, and will be able to answer questions that relate to the daily life of Italians.
For excursions, you can allocate about 300-400 euros per week. These funds will be enough for the purchase of two or three excursions. A 3 hour guided trip to Pompeii purchased in Naples will cost € 200. A similar trip from Rome to Naples and Pompeii is cheaper - 110 euros. The tour from Rome to Florence will cost the same. In addition, you will have to pay for a ticket to the Uffizi Gallery, which costs 30 euros. For an excursion from Rome to the nearest small charming towns, they will ask for 45 euros per person. A trip to Tivoli with a guide costs 53 euros (this amount includes the cost of tickets to the villas d'Este and Adriana), to the cities of the Lazio region - 330 euros (tourists will be able to taste wine and olive oil). A three-hour excursion from Venice to Verona is estimated at 50 euros per group. A sightseeing tour of Venice is carried out for 50 euros from the company of tourists. A hike to the Doge's Palace, accompanied by a guide with a history education, will cost 60 euros. You can visit the Doge's Palace on your own for 20 euros - this is how much the entrance ticket costs.
In Sicily, one-day boat trips are organized, for example, to the Aeolian Islands. In 2019 they cost about 45-50 euros from each tourist.
Nutrition
To feel confident when traveling in Italy, set aside around € 50-60 per day for meals. A breakfast consisting of a cup of coffee and delicious pastries will cost around 6-10 euros. Lunch and dinner in a trattoria, pizzeria or osteria, where they offer different types of pasta, will cost 20-25 euros. Spaghetti and pizza cost about 10-12 euros per serving, ham and cheese sandwiches - 4-8 euros, a plate of seafood will cost about 14-16 euros, meat dishes start at 15 euros. First courses are priced at 5-10 euros, the cost of drinks, for example, coffee, which is wonderful everywhere in Italy, starts at 1 euro. For a bottle of water, the cafe will ask for about 3 euros. It is better to buy water in a supermarket, and then just fill the empty bottle from the drinking fountains, of which there are a lot in all cities of Italy, for free. The cost of alcoholic cocktails starts from 5 euros.
You can find out about the prices in a particular restaurant from the menu, which is taken out on the street and placed on a special counter in front of the entrance. In the afternoon it is advantageous to order set meals for 10-12 euros. In the evening, you can go to any bar for an aperitif, where free snacks will be served with a drink worth 7 euros and more.
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A person who wants to visit several cities during his trip to Italy (200 euros for travel expenses), order a couple of excursions (300-400 euros), try local delicacies in decent restaurants (about 60 euros per day) should count on 900 -1100 euros per week. You can get by with a smaller amount if you limit yourself to walking around one city, visiting museums on your own, eating at inexpensive pizzerias and trattorias. Then in Italy it is quite possible to live 7 days for 700-800 euros.
