Budgeting for Italy
 

So I've booked our plane tickets, train tickets for long-distance rail and lodging for my wife and I.

I was wondering if you guys could help me with estimating costs for:

1. Regional trains (i.e. Florence to Pisa, Sorrento to Almafi Coast, etc.)
2. Taxis (We'll likely be doing a lot of walking, but in general, what kind of expectation should I have in terms of using a taxi and getting to places when touring around)
3. Food (We'll likely eat a lot of gelato, have good dinners and light/medium lunches)
4. Tourist attraction fees (Vatican City touring fees, museums, etc.)
5. Other expenses that I may have

We'll likely be seeing the sites, going to museums, walking around and just exploring Italy, enjoying some night life (bars mostly, unless there's other stuff you recommend). We're going to the following places:

Rome 4 nights (All the big highlights: Coliseum, Vatican, etc.)
Florence 4 nights (Pisa and wherever else, TBD)
Sorrento 4 nights (Almafi Coast for one day, Pompeii for one day, Naples/Sorrento for 1-2 days)
Venice 3 nights (TBD, any recommendations, cost estimates?)

Prices for all train tickets can be found on the official Italian rail site. For regional trains, use a date in the next 7 days to get ticket prices.
http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en

Taxi fares are difficult to predict without knowing the two points you are trying to connect. I find them cheaper than in NYC for the same distances, if that helps.

I think 75-80 euro a day per person for meals, attractions, and local transport is a moderate estimate. One could go higher, one could go lower.

1. check trenitalia.com

2. taxis...impossible to know. Are you planning just within the cities or for daytrips?

3. 'good food' means different things to different people. Good to me means not expensive. Good to other means quite expensive. Only you can decide how much you want to spend.

4. You can find all these prices online and in guidebooks

5. other expenses??? laundry, souvenirs, local transportation, rental car???

Sorry but there are no trains on the AC. The regional train goes as far as Naples and then you must change to a local tain to Sorrento which takes about an hour. After that your choices are SITA bus on the coast road (mobbed in high season - as in standing room only or waiting for the next bus), ferries from Sorrento to Amalfi or Positano (but only a few a day) or taxi (big $).

Alternatively you can take the regional train to Salerno (south of the AC) and then take a ferry or bus from there up the coast.

Sorrento is not really a place to see anything but just a convenient place to stay since it has such good transit connections (train, bus, ferries and hydrofoils) to Pompeii, Naples, Capri and towns down the coast to the AC.

>>>1. Regional trains (i.e. Florence to Pisa, Sorrento to Almafi Coast, etc.)<<<

Pisa/Florence is 8.10€ one way. There are no trains on the Amalfi coast. It's buses or ferries. There is a commuter rail line (Circumvesuviana) between Naples and Sorrento and it would be about 4€ one way.

>>>enjoying some night life (bars mostly<<<

In much of Europe, night life starts quite late.

As for the costs of visiting sites, price will depend on whether you want entry only or tours (or simply renting the audio guide) and whether you are booking with the site or a reseller. The Vatican's own entry fee or tour is much cheaper than booking with other tour companies. Ditto for the Colosseum. Some people prefer the private companies.