mv_rd

We plan on being in Tuscany for one week and Rome for 5 days the last week of May. With all the posts about the weak dollar, I'm worried that we won't have enough money to enjoy our trip. Do I have a valid concern or am I being paranoid?

Will we have enough money with $2K to cover food and gas (we have the car only for one week). The hotels, car, and airfare are taken care of but I'm worried that we won't be able to enjoy our trip if we won't even have enough to eat. We don't plan on doing any shopping or lavish dining so the $2K is just for food and gas.

We are on a budget so we can't take anymore than that amount. (One of our cars unexpectedly broke down and there went $600 of our budget )

I've considered cutting our trip short, not going at all, or re-booking a trip within the US.

I would appreciate your suggestions and advice.

Mariana

kimerley

Divide the $2K by 12 days and stick to it. Around $175 a day.
My son and I lived on fresh bread, ham, cheese and tomato when our budget was stretched last July in Italy. Italy is expensive now the lire has departed but visit supermarkets to buy your water, wine and you will save. Buy a knife, wine glasses and you can eat anywhere....
If your accommodation includes breakfast eat up big and skip lunch.
good luck and don't let the budget spoil your trip.

rex

Presumably you mean two people? You shouldn't burn through more than $200 on gas. So $1800/12 days means $150/day or about 50-60 euro per person per day. You'll be able to eat in "nice" places 40% of the time, leaving you to balance (which you would want to do anyway) the other 60% between "average" places and "cheap" places - - i.e., creative ways to economize (picnic lunches, maybe the rarefast food or re-arranging meal times so that you only eat one "principal" meal for the day, plus fruit or gelati or other snacks).

And I'm assuming that you will never run up a bar tab greater than the cost of a meal - - not that there's anything wrong with that - - you just have to eke out the funds for any such splurging somewhere else, if you do.

Best wishes,

Rex

mv_rd

I forgot to add that the $2K will also cover museum/tours.

rex

You're still going to be able to do it, but obviously by "tours", if you mean something like ScalaReale - - well, then you may have to scale back the "nice" places some.

It sounds like this whole trip is easily pushing $5000-8000 dollars (but not sure what you meant by "hotels, car, and airfare are taken care of" - - is the "coverage" of those expenses a gift?) - - my point in bringing all this up is... if you were my newlywed daughter and her husband - - and an unexpected expense of $600 is cramping a trip to Europe, then maybe the trip, overall is a bigger dent in your savings/assets than would be prudent.

You do have some savings, right? (it's an okay answer to say yes, but we consider them not to be touched).

mv_rd

We paid for the airfare and car rental. We have the money for the hotels since they won't let us pay in advance. We want to stay within the $5K we budgeted (air from LAX $1400, car $320, and hotels ($1200) total $3K). We are paying for this ourselves and although I like to consider ourselves newlyweds , we will be married 3 yrs in Feb and this is our anniversary trip.

We do have savings, but we don't want to dip into that since part of it will pay for school. I go to school full time, my husband is in the military, & we live in very expensive Southern CA. Our trip to Jamaica was cancelled this year because my husband was sent to school at the last minute We figured we take that money and save it for a bigger trip next year.

My husband has never been to Europe or traveled much for that matter but I have. I just fear getting there-but not having enough money to enjoy ourselves. Maybe I'm just being too paranoid

isabel

It most certainly can be done. But you have to ask yourself one question - what type of traveler are you? Will you only enjoy your trip if you can have "nice" sit down meals at least once, sometimes twice a day? Lots of people do feel that way and there is nothing wrong with that. But Italy is the land of pizza and gelato, great fresh produce, wonderful bread, etc. and May is picnic weather. Most hotels in Italy include breakfast so you are only talking lunch and dinner. Prices for sit down meals in Italy can get pricy what with charges for bread, "cover charge", etc. but I ate for €20-25 a day (per person) easily last summer. But fortunately for me I like pizza, gelato and picnics - even for dinner much of the time. A surprising amount was spent on entrance fees as most churches charge €2-5 per person (more for the major ones). Definitly worth it but it adds up. With your budget I personally would have a fabulous time and wouldn't even consider not going. But only you know if you'll be disappointed if you can't eat in "style" every day.

mv_rd

Thanks for the suggestions. We don't have to eat in style. I get excited just thinking about the pizza, bread, and gelato that I can eat while we are there-and I can certainly live off gelato. Either way, we're not big eaters and I'm sure we will be fine. I just needed to be reassured that the drop of the dollar wouldn't ruin our vacation. I can go to sleep now knowing that in May, I will still be going to Italy. Until then, I'll just refrain reading posts on fodors about the weak dollar .
~mv

I also realized it's only 11 days not 12 quot;>.

ira

Dear mv,

I agree with Rex. Fuel can't be mre than $200.

$1800/11 = $163 or 120E/day

Bkfst = 6E
Lunch = 25 E
Dinner = 65E

I think you have enough money.

Enjoy your trip.

Budman

As for fuel costs, rent a diesel car. We got great gas mileage, and diesel is about $1.00 a gallon cheaper than regular gas.

rex

Paranoid? Don't think so...

(Now that guy who wrote that song...

"He knows if you've been sleeping,
He knows if you're awake..."

now <i><b>that's</b></i> a diffeent matter! ...

I think you are concerned, prudent and forward thinking. And you can afford to have some fabulous &quot;dining experiences&quot; - - and eat splendidly (it's Italy, for god's sake!) all the rest of the time.

Buon appetito!

clevelandbrown

Since you have paid the airfare, its probably too late to cancel without a severe penalty, but for next time try to take advantage of your husband's military status. With a little flexibility, military families can fly government aircraft at almost no cost, and the services have a lot of nice places to stay at very low cost. Ask at every museum about a military discount. Talk to someone at a base travel office about the possibilities.

I am speculating that your $2000 will be about 1500 euro, but we all know that can change. An economy you might consider would be to cancel the car and exhorbitant fuel prices and use public transportation. Busses go virtually everywhere; renting bicycles is common for local touring.

Even with a car, I think you will be able to bring home some money. It is very common in Italian hotels that a breakfast is included in the rate. Also, tipping American style is not expected; most people leave no tip, or at most, the coins they got with their change. Lunches are very reasonable and I would be surprised if you spent more than 10 or 12 euro for the two of you. That leaves you plenty for a decent dinner, as long as you avoid the tourist traps.

Enjoy your trip.

Patrick

I'm figuring this comes out to something like $135 a day.

This summer we spent a week in Rome, averaging $178 a day, not including our apartment. We ate very well and drank good wines. WE also did some day trips out and the price includes our museums, train tickets, etc.

Surprisingly our average for our week in Tuscany was pretty much the same. But again we ate very well. And I suspect that our various bus and train tickets averaged about what your gas expense would be.

The idea of getting a diesel car is good, so long as it doesn't cost much more to rent one. It takes quite a bit of driving to make up the difference you save in fuels if the car costs more to begin with.

YOu seem to indicate you can exist on less fine dining than I'm used to, so you can probably do it. Just don't get carried away with that idea of living on gelato. Two nice gelatos a day for two people each time can be about $25. That's a lot of your budget and as much as a decent meal can be. And don't get carried away buying souveniers.

ira

&gt;Two nice gelatos a day for two people each time can be about $25. &lt;

Gracious. We ate the 2E size (2 scoops).

Patrick

You restrained yourself well, ira. My partner can't avoid getting a larger one whish is now often 4.50 or even 5 euro. Times 4 that is about $25 a day.
Don't forget the poster said &quot;live off gelato&quot; not merely &quot;sample gelato&quot;.

tcreath

We just got back from Rome and suffered a little shock when we figured out how much we spent once we got back! However, I think your trip can be done as long as you are conscious about how much money you are spending for food. Because of the weakened dollar, food seemed to hurt our budget the most. To keep costs down, we usually just split an appetizer and each got a pasta dish for dinner. That, along with wine, water and bread and gelato for dessert (of course! We usually had the 2 euro size cup as well) was enough. We managed to eat in some great restaurants in Rome for under 50 euro for 2 with tip. As for lunch, we usually just ate pizza, a panini, or pasta at a small cafe, which also helped keep the cost down. With cautious effort, I think you should be fine. You don't always need to spend a lot of money to get a great meal, especially in Italy. You'll have a great trip.

mv_rd

Thanks everyone. I wasn't serious about living off the gelato. We don't buy souvenirs either. Once I get home I frame my photos and give those away.
In any case, it seems like $$ will be coming our way. My husband will be reenlisting and if he makes rate by June, he will get a $10K signing bonus.
Hopefully we will find out if he makes rate before we go. Then we won't have this worry about money.

Poshspice

I think you'll be fine. I brought more but that was because I went crazy shopping. I think the Euro is +7% vs. when we went in early Sept. But I still think you'll find plenty (good) food to eat with $2k. Plus gas.

Sue_xx_yy

I just noticed you budgeted $1200 for 12 nights hotel accomodation, including Rome for 5 nights in May (high season). Apparently you have found hotels that will fit this budget since you state &quot;the hotels won't let us pay in advance&quot; [so you are simply setting the money required aside.]

Since you are clearly thrifty and resourceful enough to find hotels in Rome and Tuscany that fits your needs for an average of &euro; 80 or fewer per night, my guess is you will know how to economize on the other things. Just do a list of the attractions you wish to see (especially in Rome) since on a tight budget you will need to be aware of entrance fees, which add up. Suggest you get a good guidebook with self-guided tours (eg Rick Steves' Rome) to save on tour costs.

britomart

Why not stay in hostels? A lot of them have a few double rooms that can be reserved for about 50 euro a night. The Beehive in Rome is an excellent choice.