Fodors helped make our 2005 France/UK trip spectacular. Here's to Italy!

My wife and I are trying to determine the costs of a two week road trip around Italy in September of this year. We're not adventurous enough to go without a plan and we don't want to get in over our heads.

We don't have an itinerary yet, so we're very open to going wherever. We want to see some big cities like Rome and Florence, but also want to explore Italy at large.

One of the first questions we have is about the overall cost. Car rental, petrol and tolls seem easy to figure out. Same with museum tickets and such; we'll figure out what we want to see and what it costs.

But the primary expenses are where we are clueless. Lodging and food.

We don't want to stay in hostels (we're almost 50!) and we can't afford too expensive. We have never been there and don't know what options are. Small hotels? Bed and Breakfasts? One night rentals on craigslist? How much will we expect to pay for lodging?

Then there is food. We're light breakfast eaters, so lunch and dinner will be our focus. How do Italians eat lunch and dinner? Cafe? Restaurant? Winery? And how can we taste the bounty of Italy for a reasonable cost? And what is a reasonable cost in Italy?

Are we missing anything else that needs to go into the budget?

If you have been to Italy recently and/or are a frequent traveler there, we would appreciate any insight.

I think there are a LOT of variables for you to consider to include itinerary, type of vehicle, etc.

One thing you might consider doing is using the viamichelin.com site to plot out a route when you finally decide on one...I believe you are rewarded with the possible costs of fuel, etc., when you do so.

I would also endeavor to ensure that renting a car is the best option vs. use of public transport such as rail. I am a big rail fan BUT having a car can provide a much greater degree of flexibility ASSUMING you need it.
You seem set on having a car...hey, fine.

As to food and lodging...how much do you eat? how many times a day? What type of food? Wine included? Expensive or cheap? and then, of course, WHERE...as in more expensive if you eat it in VENICE vs. in some smaller restaurant out in the countryside.

Good luck

The first order of business is to decide where you want to go. It's really impossible to estimate the cost without knowing where you'll be.

As implied by Dukey, if you're going to be spending your time in cities, a car will really not be a cost-efficient nor pleasant experience. On the other hand, if you want to spend your time in the countryside and smaller places, a car will be ideal. But the cost of driving depends on whether you have in mind exploring a specific area, such as Tuscany, or driving from one end of the country to the other.

I would recommend you fly into Milan, rent car and explore lakes region for 4-5 days, then drop the car and Train on to Rome. Get to Florence by train. Depart home from Rome.

Lodging- Hotels in Rome have the (deserved!) reputation of being expensive and horrendous quality. If staying in Rome for more than 3 days an apartment is the way to go. I recommend vrbo.com (you rent directly from owners). In Florence stay at Hotel Universo, in Rome get to the Trastevere neighborhood for the best food.

We'll do a mix of countryside and cities. Not literally one end to the other, but we're open to suggestions.

Food and Lodging:

We are not heavy eaters. Lunches don't need to be large and we like fresh food and a glass of wine (or two): we don't eat fast food here and avoid chains. Our primary meal is dinner with wine, generally antipasti and primi piatti. No way can we do antipasti, primi piatti, secondi piatti and dolci. We share too.

Hi HG,

Sounds like a good idea.

I would start in Venice (3 nights), pick up car and head for Tuscany (5 nights), drive down to Amalfi or Salerno (3 nights), drop car in either Sorrento (and visit Naples) or near Rome for 2 nights before flying home.

We have found B&Bs for as low as 65E dbl, and small hotels for as little as 100E. Add 50% and you won't be disappointed.

Hotel and food expenses will be driven largely by "large city vs. countryside". When we were planning our first 10 day trip, we broke our daily budget out between city vs. country.

For Rome/Florence/Venice, I'd say at least 200 to 250 euros/night for hotel. If you're not doing "fine" dining, you can estimate 60-80 euros per person per day. You'll have admission fees...allow another 30 or 40 euros/day. Keep transportation cost in mind too (cab, vaporetto, train). As was mentioned before, consider apartments, too, though I think that's harder for first timers.

In the countryside (Tuscany) you can save by staying at an agriturismo. Maybe budget around 130-150 euros/night. If you avoid the wonderful restaurants every night, you can save on food here, too. A few pizza nights could probably bring you down to 40 euro/day per person.

Try breaking your budget out like that. Then go looking for hotels that fit. Hope that helps.

Howell- Sept is not far away-- I think you need to start drafting out an itinerary. You mind sharing a first draft?

Venere.com is often used for lower-cost accomodations. Also, the catholic church runs accomodations all over Italy (consider these the middle ground between hostels and two star hotels). For a plug number, use Euro100 per night for a room (you might want to spend more, but it can be done).

Lunch euro10 per person. Dinner, no frills, no upgrades euro20 per person. Gelato euro 2 per. Soda euro 4 per unless you get it at a market.

Rental cars in Italy run from about US$70 to $US100 per day. Automatics are usually more $. In Italy rental car insurance is compulsory. So the rates get high quickly. From my experience a 4 day rental and 7 day rental cost almost the same total $ (total $, not cost per day, its almost like 3 days free). You could have a rental car for days 4 thru 11 of your trip and do without a car at the big cities. Big cities would be at the beginning of the trip and the end of trip.

One more thing my husband (howellgroup) forgot to mention... We're flying w/ frequent flyer points. Getting flights these days is a real challenge when doing so. The only flights we found have us flying into Florence and departing from Rome.

Big Red - are you saying that for $150, we're going to be looking at something between a hostel & a 2 star? Doesn't sound very appealing. Maybe we SHOULD just book a cruise, instead. I was hoping for maybe a small, very clean, quaint, modest inn or hotel or b&b in the country (spending more, of course, in the city).

Thoughts from anyone else?

Zenqi, we just returned from a two week trip to Italy last week. We booked apartments everywhere we went and the most we paid for a night was 120/euros, that was for a two bedroom in Rome. We were right on the edge of high vs. low season.

We stayed in an Agritourismo in Tuscany right outside of Montepulciano and only paid 90 euros/night. It was a small apartment with two bedrooms/one bath, a double room and a single room. (my sister was traveling with my husband and I on this part of the trip) Very quaint, beautiful place.

As far as food goes, we never spent anywhere near 60-80/person per day. We ate well but reasonably. I guess it really depends on your desires for the trip.

Thanks, Wug! How did you find the apartments?

We were in NItaly in the Spring for 3 weeks -- we spent a low of 70 euros for an apt in Verona to a high of 175 euros in Asolo. Average cost was about 110 euro per night staying in small B&B's and agriturismos. All the places were charming and delightful places to stay. We could easily eat delicious dinners for 50-60 euros (or less) for the 2 of us including wine and dessert. Our rental car which we got thru Auto Europe was a manual and about $450 for 2 weeks .

Italy Travel Budget for 2009

Independent travel to Europe continues to be popular with American tourists, and it seems that Italy has become everyone's favorite destination. This phenomenon is certainly not difficult to understand for those of us who have learned to savor BELLA ITALIA. Call it supply and demand, but we had seen a cost escalation of perhaps 18% in 2007/2008. That has changed in 2009. Both airfares and hotel costs have declined in recent months based on the lower demand for travel to Europe from the USA. This budget reflects the first drop in total costs since I have been doing this budget, and the only decline I can recall in the past 25 years that we have been traveling to Europe. It may only be temporary.

During the past ten years I have been fortunate to have planned more than 240 personalized itineraries for independent travelers to southern Europe, most of them to Italy. Understandably, one of the first questions I get from a prospective client is about the projected costs. My quick answer is the obvious one, “ that depends on you and your preferred travel style". As we delve deeper it becomes clear that the style choices of would-be- independents can vary widely from youthful backpackers to luxury five star jet-setters. We will ignore these extremes for now and concentrate on the more mainstream middle ranges that we will label as 2, 3, and 4 star budgets.

Here are some assumptions for our typical itinerary [ based on a recent client trip] :
• This is a 14-day [13 nights] itinerary to Italy for a two people during the shoulder months of April, May, Sept. and Oct. These are the best months for travel to Italy.
• Arrival into Venice and departure from Milan, or vice versa, with tourist class tickets [open jaw]. Airfares have decreased significantly since last year—about time !
• The 2-star budget assumes all rail or bus travel. The rental cars options include insurance and mileage, and are for a six day rental period. Car choices are compact/manual [3 star] and mid-size/auto [4 star]. Prices are from Autoeurope.
• All prices assume an exchange rate of one euro= $1.35. I would add 10% to the accommodation prices if you plan to spend all of your time in the major art cities.
• This budget was calculated based on a typical itinerary to include the four destinations of Venice, Florence, rural Tuscany, and Lake Como—13 total nights.

Now that we have our parameters set let's go ahead and plan our budget. Remember, this is for planning purposes only and is really controlled by you. You may decide to blow the budget on Murano glass, Florentine leather, or Bellagio silk—not hard to do.


TRAVEL EXPENSE ITEM 2 STAR 3 STAR 4 STAR
AIRFARE - 2 PEOPLE 1560 1560 1560

RAIL/BUS/TAXI 240 60 90
CAR RENTAL N/A 468 730
* PETROL N/A 140 180
* TOLLS N/A 50 50
TOTAL TRANSPORT $1800 $2278 $2610
HOTELS & INNS - 13 NITES 1900 2800 4000
FOOD & DRINK 1200 1500 2100
TOURISM COSTS 400 400 600
GELATO & CAPPUCCINO 200 200 300
MISC. EXTRAS 150 150 200
DAILY LIVING TOTALS $3850 $5050 $7200

TOTAL TRIP COSTS: $5650 $7328 $9810


Let me emphasize that these cost projections are merely estimates and will vary widely based on seasonal variations and desired destinations. The fact is that some couples may enjoy a great two-week adventure in Italy and spend less than $ 4000, while others may let a commercial tour company make the decisions for them and end up spending $ 15,000.

As a typical 3-star traveler, I have seen my average trip costs increase from about $5,000 to more than $8,000 over the past years—and now a modest decline of about 10% in 2009. We will be going back to Italy in September for three weeks to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary in Venice, Lake Como, and the Dolomites. It will be our 15th trip to Italy.

Is it worth it? You bet it is! Independent travel in Europe is not for everyone but it is my passion.

My 'Between a hostel and a two star' comment was based on our stay at a Catholic accomodation off of Piazza Navona in Rome. A very clean place, a great 4 person room in a fantastic location, breakfast included. It worked great for us and I have recommended it several times. Lots of Fodorites recommend convent stays and monastery stays for value lodging.

Two stars can be fine. We have had fine stays in one stars. Just don't expect an elevator and a phone in the room.

'For a plug number, use Euro100 per night' - you might be able to take 30% off of this, but it will take major work/research. (I doubt that euro70 will work in a major city and it sure won't include car parking.)

So US$200 per day is your starting budget for food and lodging.

For our trip to Italy in early September, our lodging prices are ranging 160-200 Euros, city and country. That's for 3-star places for 3 people (its us & our daughter); what that generally means is for that price we get a triple-sized room, or a large double and they add a cot. All of them are in very convenient locations.

You could easily stay in a double room at these places for less than we're paying. They're all clean, comfortable, and have character, & are all small, family-run types of places. All provide the usual Italian breakfast.

Venice: Casa Santa Maria Formosa (in Castello), 199E/night
Rome: Residenza Canali ai Coronari (near Piazza Navonna), 210E/night, but 190E/night if we pay cash
Florence: Casa dei Tintori (in Santa Croce), a B&B, 160E/night
Bologna: 179E/night (Bologna tends to be expensive, there were better places further away, but we liked the looks of this place)
Urbino, in Le Marche: Albergo Italia, 145E/night (this room includes a balcony).
Macerata, in Le Marche: Le Case, 165/night (this is a splurge place; I think it's a 4-star, and has a pool, spa, etc.).

I think they're all pretty nice; the Residenza in Rome is probably the most modest, but we've stayed there before, and love the owners and the location.

I can't provide much guidance on the food - this is where we tend to spend our money. Not necessarily going to expensive places all the time, though probably more than most, and always have good wine.