bob

Trying to figure out how much spending money would a family of three need to bring with them to italy for 10 days? This includes Breakfest/Lunch/Diner/transportation(Taxis), and small gift items. <BR>Any helpful sugesstions?

dimi

Hi there - my first impression was to tell you - ALOT!!! But it all depends on how you live. If you like fancy restaurants or pizzas, leather goods or t-shirts. However, breakfast should be included with your hotel thereby only leaving you with lunch and dinner to pay for. Personally, I never found Italy expensive. That is, of course, if you're one to stay out of places like Prada and Dolce & Gabbana. Otherwise, go with your pockets full and enjoy! Dimi

WASA THE SWEDE

Between 20 and 20 000 us $ per day. <BR>Totally depending on what you want. <BR> <BR>Wasa

Joyce

Don't worry about it. Leave the money at home (most of it) and just be sure to bring your Visa for everything you can possibly charge and your ATM card for cash needs as needed. It's a good idea to bring two different account Visa cards, one to be carried by each spouse, just in case one gets ripped off, as is very easy to happen, especially in Italy. As has been stated hundreds of times on this forum, you get the best possible rate of exchange (commercial used by banks) by using ATMs and credit cards.

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

Hello Bob---I love that name!! <BR>Joyce is right on---all you need is the the ATM card <BR>and a credit card. Make sure your PIN is 4 digit and <BR>numeric. They are everywhere and the best way to get <BR>cash. However, if your question is about budget, then go to www.initaly.com---click on " Travelling <BR>to Italy" and find my article on budget planning. <BR>Charge everything you can---best exchange conversion <BR>Good luck--you will enjoy.

kam

Right now the dollar is very strong against the lira. Absolutely great advice from Joyce and Bob----take very little cash, although we always have some. But, do plan out your budget so you know about what you can afford to charge on those cards. Hotels should be reserved ahead with firm rates so you know about the major part of the trip and rental car should be reserved and prepaid so no surprises--lately there's been a lot of criticism of Hertz on these posts--check it out. We try to take trains as much as we can because a rail pass can be bought here in the US and gas is so expensive in Italy (also not always available--stations close for lunch and on Sundays) Nobody can really tell you what you should expect to spend---spend as much as you can afford but be warned of the post vacation remorse!! Have a great trip! <BR>

Michele

I agree with the others. We just came back after spending 2 weeks in Italy and used our ATM card to get cash. Other than that we just charged everything on our Mastercard which we always pay off completely when the bill comes in (no interest rate). I will say that a friend who traveled with us was never able to use her ATM card even though she followed advice received in here and had a 4-digit pin number. We were able to loan her the cash, so with that in mind I would advise taking travelers checques.

Joyce

Perhaps Michelle's friend was wanting to withdraw money from her savings account rather than her checking account when her ATM card wouldn't work. This is the only case where I've heard the ATM card won't work. Unlike here in the States where they give you the choice of withdrawing from your checking or savings, in Europe it is automatically from your checking. This happened to my cousin the first time he tried to use his ATM. It had never dawned on me to alert him that he needed to know it would come out of his checking account.