I'm travelling to Rome - Florence - Venice the end of September through the first week of October of this year. Airfare, train tickets for travel in between the cities and accommodation are already covered; how much should an aspiring frugal traveler put aside to cover the rest of the expenses? (which will probably mainly include food and entrance fees to various attractions) If that's a bit difficult to estimate, an idea of what things typically cost in Italy would be helpful. Thanks

A VERY general budget for me would be about $100 a day, but that would include train travel.

Of course it depends what you see & do each day but I agree that $50-100USD per day per person is a reasonable expectation for walking-around, sight-seeing, eating, souveniers - money.

Newbies often stress out about this in advance. I say you can make your budget (within reason) whatever it needs to be. You can walk everywhere (save on public transportation), find free days at museums (some places), eat all your meals from the grocery store, if need be. For me if I have an especially cheap day (picnics in the park) then I can splurge on a nice sit down dinner the next day. Like that...

For food you can do it as cheaply as you want - you can easily get pizza or pasta and a drink for well under 10€. Gelato runs about 2-4€. I tend to like to eat small meals, lots of gelato and can easily exist on 20-30€ a day. Every few days I'll do a more expensive meal. Like 15 or 20€. These are the bottom, obviously you can go as high as you want but it's not at all difficult to get decent food for very little in Italy. The "foodies" are all rolling their eyes I know.

Entrance fees vary widely but you can usually find out ahead of time from web sites. Many churches are 2-5€, museums 5-10€. They do add up. Obviously you don't need to go into every place and there are lots of free churches with some great art.

If you have hotels and trains covered you do not NEED anywhere near $100, but you can certainly find a way to spend that much if you'd like.

I do not recall ever paying to enter a Catholic church in Europe. Some may have an attached treasury or cloister where a fee is charged and some may require coins to illuminate the art in side chapels, but entry to the principal worship space is free.

Some churches in Italy now have entrance fees just to get in, especially true in recent years.For example, I know in Florence there are entrance fees to Santa Maria Novella and Santa Croce, both of which I visited years ago without having to pay. In Venice, the Frari has an entrance fee, and there is even a "Choir Pass" to visit a group of churches there.

Ellenem, thanks for the update. It has been two years since my last trip to Italy, and I did not go to Florence or Venice then. I know all the churches I visited in Rome (and there were lots of them) were free.

I think a $100 a day is reasonable - lets not forget the things you will want to buy here and there. That stuff adds up. I say plan on $100, and shoot to do less.

I would plan on 75-100E per day. Entry fees can add up, as can public transport. If you like eat fairly well and enjoy some wine, that would cover it.

kayd,
Yes, I agree that I have not yet paid to just walk into a church in Rome, thus I could offer no examples.
And I agree with $100 a per day as a reasonable estimate.

In Venice, some churches will charge about 3 Euro (San Marco is free). You can buy the Chorus pass, costing about 14 Euro, which gives admission to about fifteen churches. Buy it at the first church that charges admission - the Frari, perhaps.

You should be able to estimate entrance fees based off where you plan on going.

For food breakfast was always included in our B&B. We spent about 10 euro per person for lunch (sandwich/pizza and drink), and about 20 euro for dinner at a sit down place but nothing too fancy. If you get away from the main tourists places you can save a lot on food. We also don't like gelato and carried water bottles so we saved a bit on that.

While in Italy/Germany last summer we spend on average $140 a person per day and that included everything but the plane so I would think what you are asking could easily be under $100 a day.

In Rome you can buy a RomaPass for 40euros that gives you free admission to two museums and discount on others. Since the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine Hill are considered one site, that takes you a long way.And you get free rides,on the buses. The pass is good for 3 days.

The Roma Pass costs 25 Euro, not 40 Euro.

Sorry, I miswrote. The church pass in Venice is called the "Chorus Pass."
http://www.chorusvenezia.org/

Thanks for all the replies thus far. I will try to make it a point to research entrance fees to certain attractions beforehand and then just have the $USD 50-100 range in mind when I'm travelling. Grazie!