dimihdz

hello,
how much SPENDING MONEY should I take for 2 weeks in ITALY

for food ( not fancy) gifts, transportation

( Hotel is paid for, flight is paid for, museums are paid for) just purchased the Florence Card

will be in ROME, FLORENCE, VENICE ..

( 1,000 a week? 1,500 a week?)

nytraveler

Is this just for one person?

Assume you need to include both trains between cities as well as transport (vaporetto, taxi, bus, etc) within cities.
his you can just google to get info. Advance purchase train tickets can often be a substantial discount.

As for meals - do you want a snack meal on the run or to sit down and have a meal? Are dinners in a basic trattoria or in a michelin starred restaurant? You also need to allocate money for drinks and gelatos.

As for gifts - this can be $5 each or $100 each.

So - much of this is optional - depending on your personal decisions.

nytraveler

For perspective we allow $25/$30 each for a casual sit down lunch and about $100 for both us for dinner - except for one special meal is rah city - for which we allow $300 or $350 for the couple, including wine.

really so much of this is up to you.

But a lot of shopping can easily destroy that budget.

Fra_Diavolo

"how much SPENDING MONEY should I take for 2 weeks in ITALY "

None. Take an ATM card and withdraw as needed. Use credit cards for purchases and most meals. You'll get the best exchange rate. (This is assuming your cc balance is zero.)

For two people I would budget about $2,000 for two weeks. But have more available in case you need it.

BigRuss

FIRST: you shouldn't take a gawdang penny with you. Take an ATM card and withdraw as needed. You are NOT going to be exchanging dollars or other cash (we don't know where you live, but US, Canada, Australia and NZ all covered by "dollars") for Euros because (1) it's stupid to take that kind of cabbage with you, (2) you're not going to waste time exchanging it, (3) your exchange rates at money swappers and banks will suck compared to the ATM.

SECOND: You can go a lot less expensive than $60 for lunch and $100 for dinner. Especially with the euro on the dip. Venice is a 20% premium on equivalent prices elsewhere in Italy.

That said, this depends on you and your habits. Merely asking about numbers is like fishing with the wrong tackle - won't catch what you seek. Tell more about what your habits are for meals and general sightseeing and you can get better answers on the costs.

suze

I travel fairly simple in style. I always allow $100/day for myself, and just figure out how to make that work.

I get local currency both in advance from my bank at home and then using my debit card at ATM bank machines after arrival.

bvlenci

NYtraveler spends about twice what my husband and I spend on meals when traveling in these cities. This is why it's so hard to advise other people on their budget.

clarkgriswold

Plan on whatever you'd take to New York City for dining gifts and transportation.

nytraveler

No gifts is a real nest of snakes.

Do you want a nice gift to take to 1 or 2 people. Or do you want little somethings to take to 8 or 10 people? (I work with someone who brings back little somethings for everyone she works with - so $3/$4 each for 15 or 20 people.

Or if you want to bring your mom or girlfriend or ? a designer handbag that can cost thousands of $.

You really need to think about this and provide more info to get a sensible answer.

As for sightseeing - you can google the cost of any sight easily.

Dukey1

So, just how many MEALS a day do you actually eat? And WHERE do you like to eat them? There are simply TOO MANY variables to accurately answer this sort of ambiguous question other than to say that you should use your credit card whenever possible and get cash using an ATM card. And remember, there could be a charge for your use of that ATM card since not everybody has some arrangement which means they pay nothing to use one. If that is YOUR situation then get lots of cash out each time.

vincenzo32951

Nine posts that amount to "Damned if we know." Because no one can really say.

How 'bout this: Budget for $1000/wk (about $150/day). Keep track of how much you spend. If you go under, buy yourself a gift for that amount on the last day. If you go over, join the club.

Peter_S_Aus

Our last trip. Excluding accommodation, but adding some rail fares. We spent 115 euro a day for two people.

nanabee

I'd take a few euros for an emergency, but everywhere you go and every purchase you make (whether for a 4 euro cup of coffee, taxi, hotel, restaurant, busses, etc) you can and should pay with credit card. Your exchange rate your bank will charge you will be competitive and generally very good. We have currently been traveling in Norway and Sweden and have only used CC and have not once gotten the local currency.