Franklin

We travelled to Spain last year and are thinking of Italy this year. Spain was terrific and not all that expensive.We were wondering whether anyone could tell us what the cost difference is likely to be.

Sherry

Something that will add to the cost of the car in Italy as opposed to Spain is the mandatory theft protection. It can add a hefty fee to the cost of the Italian car rental. Also, the airport tax in Italy is much higher. AT least it was when we traveled. The last time I rented in Spain, the airport tax was a flat fee, whereas there was a % of the cost of the rental charged in Italy. This tax applies at airport locations. There has been volumns written on this Forum concerning car rentals. Try a search because everyone has a different oponion. Good luck.

Mariarosa

Hi Franklin! I visited Madrid, Granada, Venice, Florence, Rome in '94 and spent 2 weeks in Spain in 2000 and two weeks in Italy in 2001. All my visits were in low season (March), and I am a budget traveler who needs private facilities and good (but not necessarily gourmet) food.<BR><BR>I found Spain to be a little bit cheaper than Italy, especially when comparing lodging in big cities. Spain has many 2-star hostels in the bigger cities which are just adequate, but which give you a place to sleep with a private bathroom in the city centers. In low season, we paid $40-60 for a double room in places like Sevilla, Cordoba, Madrid and Granada. I wasn't able to find anything in that price range with private bathroom in the center for Venice nor Florence.<BR><BR>Spain also offers better value in many of their Paradores. For our splurge stays (we always have a couple of those), it was hard to beat the $120 per night, including a buffet breakfast, in historical, 4-star properties with beautiful rooms.<BR><BR>Food is about the same. You can find great pasta in Italy for $5-10 and you can find great tapas in Spain for cheap too. Wine is great and inexpensive in both places.<BR><BR>Overall though, the difference in cost is not huge. There's a lot of reccomendations in this forum on cheaper places to stay if you do a search.

Franklin

Thanks for the reply. Actually, I should have said that I'm look to spend at a moderate level and not the cheapest. The big item is hotels. In Spain we consistently booked absolutely beautiful places around $100, give or take $15. <BR><BR>

Gigi

Hi, Franklin<BR>I have been to both places and found that you can find nicer hotels for your money in Spain than in Italy. I spent about three weeks in each country and found food and lodging to be more expensive in Italy than in Spain. If pressed to give you a number, I'd say it was at least 25% higher in Italy for comparable lodging and food. <BR>I am returning to Italy in a couple of months and believe that prices in Italy are going to be fairly attractive for this spring. There is a lot of competition for travelers at the moment based on the availability that I am seeing. <BR>This is based on my experiences, of course. I am sure you will get conflicting opinions.<BR>Have a great trip!

Wayne

Franklin--<BR>On an apples-to-apples basis, Spain is lower cost for any traveler. The 25% difference already quoted is about right--perhaps only 20% in many cases. You simply have to decide whether that amount of difference in the overall cost is worth possibly taking a trip to a location that could be your second choice. Good luck.

Graziella

Hi, We go often two both countries,I believe that regarding big cities Spain is a little cheaper than Italy but smaller less touristic places are more or less the same.<BR>i.e. the best hotel in Massa Maritima, a charming town in Toscana, was in 1999 aprox. 70 dollars with breakfast,....there is an excellent book<BR>called Hello Italy by Margo .Classe that recommends<BR>Italian hotels (ncluding in big cities)<BR>for 45 to 90 euros a night.<BR>In summary they are both fantastic destinations that money wise go neck to neck.