punkygeorge

Is it possible to see Italy, these cities/areas in particular: Rome, Florence, Venice, Cinque Terre, Capri, Milan for $15,000 or less. This must include airfare. Travel time to be June 2015 for about 2 weeks.

Dukey1

OK, Punky, enough with the mystery stuff. Let's start by telling us where you are traveling to and from. I mean, it can be considerably cheaper to fly to Italy from London on EasyJet than it is to fly there from Los Angeles.

KTtravel

Are these four adults or a family with two children sharing a room?
How do you plan to travel between cities - public transportation or by renting a car? Transportation costs can add quite a bit to the bill.
Six cities in two weeks is not realistic as you lose half a day just traveling between places. I would recommend trimming your list to three or four places. Which places are your priorities?

KTtravel

This question should be posted on the Europe forum as more people who travel to Italy will likely see it there.

clarkgriswold

'Cept those people won't be able to help much, either.

nytraveler

Agree you either need to ask the editors to move this to the europe board or repost there.

And if you repost please provide more information per the questions above. Particularly - are these teens, school kids, toddlers - or 4 adults so you want 2 rooms and baths rather than a family room with a single bath.

flpab

I would be able to do it with airfare from the eastern USA even if airfare was 1500 rt each. I would drop Capri and Milan. Flying into Florence and out of Rome. You can be in Venice in two hours on the high speed train or Cinque Terre in two to three hours. Base yourself in Florence in an apartment for a week and do day trips. I would stay in Cinque Terre at least one night and then head off to Rome. Look at the www.the-beehive.com/ You can do two rooms with shared bath there, it is very nice. Go to the market, do picnics, splurge on museum tickets and gelato.

wtm003

It's been six years but my family of four did Vienna, Venice, Cinque Terre & Florence for much less than that. I know Vienna seems odd but my airfare was significantly lower than flying into Italy. We flew out of Florence so we didn't need to back track. It took a lot of research to find a decent fare but we had a great trip.

flpab

Flying in and out of different cities is a big tip, Pisa is even an option. You can do public transportation easy and I loved taking the bus to Sienna for a day trip. I can give you the link for the place we stayed at in Florence. Very nice but 96 steps so not sure of the ages of your group if they would have a problem but very central and not expensive.

nanabee

yes it is possible to travel to italy with four people on $15,000 in june. but you'll have to get your tickets soon, june is 8 days away.

martym

OP indicated June next year.

vincenzo32951

OK, forget going to six places. It's just not practical. Four, maybe. Three, ideally.

Airfare: $1400/person = $5600

Accommodations: One reason to do three places is that you'll have an easier time finding apartments for longer stays, and it appears an apartment is the way to go for you. Depending on your tastes, you can spend $200-$300/nt for an apartment that sleeps four. So let's say $3500.

Food. Another reason to stay in an apartment. You can prepare some quick, cheap meals, and save money. I don't know if you're the type to go to restaurants or have a picnic. Or if two in your party are teenage boys who eat everything in sight. But let's say $50/person/day. That's $2800.

Transportation. Again, fewer places mean lower transportation costs. And are you satisfied with 2nd-class trains or a private driver. There's a big range of costs. But a wild guess is $1500.

Miscellaneous. $100/day = $1400.

Add 10% just because a trip always costs at least 10% more than you think

What's that? About $15,000? Adjust accordingly. BTW, inevitably someone here will say my numbers are all wrong. No problem. Let them do your budget. I'm not possessive.

punkygeorge

Flying from San Francisco to Rome. Unless someone has a better suggestion.

nytraveler

Flying open jaw (into your first city and out of your last) will not cost any more and will avoid wasting the time and money to return to your starting city. You search under "multi-destination" on the web sites. So in and out of Rome is NOT a good idea.

And please repost on the europe forum - you are missing a lot of advice from experienced travelers since the US forum is not very active.

flpab

fly into Florence or Pisa and out of Rome. Pisa is a short distance from Cinque Terre on the train. Stay in La Spezia and you can find cheaper hotels, take the train to the five villages and then spend one more night and hit the train next morning to Florence, get an apartment there and do a couple of day trips from your base. Then go to Rome and fly out from there.

Tabernash2

Check airfare and plan your itinerary around that. Rome can be expensive. Definitely fly open-jaw, to avoid backtracking.

Uranus

Which part of the US is this Italy in, lower US or upper US?

Cindywho

Of course you can do that. You just have to budget accordingly. I liked Vincenzo's calculations. Tie down airfares first and try to fly in and out of different cities and look for the lowest options.

Then build your transportation around that. Plan out and price the transportation. Then find lodging that fits into the budget.

Apts are better because you can usually save money on food, do laundry, and have common space to live in.

Good luck

Cindywho

We did it last year - two parents two adult daughters. Rome, cinque Terre, southern France and Paris in 16 days and under $15,000- not much but we did it.

If two of you are children and don't drink alcohol or if you don't drink alcohol then you can more easily do it.

flpab

Cindywho, we found some of the best wine in grocery stores for under five euro. We had a terrace and loved having wine and olives, cheese and these flat crackers out there in the evening. I think airfare is the biggest expense these days since they are flying from SF.