Italy is by far one of the more well-traveled destinations, especially by Americans. It’s a far from being the budget country it once was in the 90s and is now quite expensive when you’re traveling in central and northern Italy during high season. But as usual, there’s always a way to travel on a budget!
We’ll particularly be looking at central Italy since that’s one of the most visited tourist locations (and where I went as well). Prices are most expensive in Rome while the nearby tourist hotspots like Bologna, Florence and Pisa are slightly more affordable. This budget will assume a visit of ten days, since central Italy is not one of those ideal spots for prolonged backpacking trips.
| Category | Expected Cost per Day |
| Alcohol | $1.50 |
| Entertainment | $10.00 |
| Food | $19.00 |
| Living | $1.00 |
| Lodging | $28.00 |
| Travel | $9.00 |
| Grand Total | $68.50 |
Table 1. Expected cost per day
Alcohol
When in Rome, do as the Romans do… and drink wine. You don’t like wine? Well neither do I! I quickly decided that I actually like wine when I found out that for a whole €1 ($1.22), you can get a serviceable bottle. Triple that cost and you got yourself a decent bottle every few nights.
Well this $1.50 a day isn’t assuming you’re going to be drinking a bottle of wine a day, but also makes some room in case you decide to pair your wine with a meal when you dine out. In a local restaurant, a half-liter of house wine (which is always good since no decent Italian restaurant would be caught dead serving swill) should cost you around €5 ($6.10).
As far as beer goes, the typical lagers won’t cost you too much either, with typical lagers in a grocery store going for roughly 1.50 € ($1.83) a bottle. It’s still affordable but it’s nowhere near as cost effective as the wine. So for the sake of your budget and to enjoy the local customs, drop the beer bottle and pick up a wine glass.
Stick with the grocery stores as these outdoor markets are pretty expensive
Entertainment
Italians are particularly prideful when it comes to their heritage and history. This pride is particularly beneficial for the tourist as they strive to make all their iconic landmarks affordable for all. For how expensive most of Italy is, it’s always refreshing to find out that a visit to the Colosseum and Palantine Hill goes for a joint ticket that costs €12 ($14).
This falls true for most of central Italy’s historical sights. Whether you want to see the statue of David, or enter the Brunelleschi Dome, tickets usually run around €10 ($12.20) and often includes entries to other landmarks. For the sheer historical value of the things you get to see, it’s a great deal. These cities like Florence and Rome are jam packed with an absurd number of must see sights so these entry fees will add up.
It’s still worth it because for €8 ($9.36), you can see David’s penis! Sure there’s the rest of David and other art pieces in the Accadamia as well but come on, we’re all there to see a dick that large.
Food
Why is the food budget set so high? You’ll need a willpower of steel to avoid sampling all those mouthwatering Italian dishes. And unlike a cocaine addict, it’s definitely worth giving in to your urges and moving that belt size up a notch. Food is such a quintessential part of Italian culture that you’ll definitely have a lesser experience if you try to squander here.
I may have been munching on these prosciutto sandwiches on the steps of the Vatican Museum.
You can certainly find cheaper options like simple pasta for €5 ($6.10) or a few slices of pizza for €6 ($7.35), but you’ll have to visit a decent restaurant to sample the quality Italian dishes. To do this, its best that you follow the Italians to the local joints. The prices here are lower, and if there’s a decent sized crowd, that itself is its own certificate of authenticity. At these restaurants, expect a quality Italian (Neapolitan) pizza to go for €8 – €10 ($9.80 – $12.25) or a nice pasta from €9 – €13 ($11 – $15.90).
A particular food I absolutely must mention and insist you try is gelato. Forget everything you think you know about gelato and prepared to have your world view shaken. There’s something about true Italian gelato that is rarely replicated properly outside of Italy. Prices are pretty consistent everywhere, with a couple scoops going from €2 – €3($2.45 – $3.70). If you can find a top quality joint, expect to go there daily since it’s that good.
This budget doesn’t mean you get to eat out every meal. You still have to self-cater and cook a fair amount. The best part about Italy, is that their grocery stores sell all the ingredients needed to easily cook in an Italian style. Unlike back at home, these ingredients are ridiculously fresh and cheap. You might not be able to match the restaurants, but you can still keep that Italian vibe going in your hostel.
For example, fresh tomato sauce is available in many stores as well as quality pastas and ravioli. Buy some lettuce and some Italian grapes as a side. Boil some water, heat up the sauce and boom, you have a meal better than most restaurants back at home.
Italian’s love their dry cured ham (like the famous prosciutto), and just about every single grocery store has a massive selection of high quality meats. Buy a half pound of your chosen meat, some arugula lettuce, freshly baked Panini bread (amazingly available in every grocery store) and some quality olive or white truffle oil. Throw them together and you just replicated most store’s basic prosciutto sandwich for a fraction of the cost. Throw that into your daypack and you got yourself lunch without having to pay exorbitant downtown Rome pricing.
When you buy the cured ham, they carefully layer it on wax paper. They take their meats seriously.
Living
Expect the usual, small costs like the occasional souvenir or perhaps some more toothpaste. Hand wash your clothes, as laundry in most accommodations is pretty expensive. If you’re one to purchase souvenirs, I’d budget a little more since the extensive tourism has created some very nifty trinkets to take home.
Lodging
Lodging is going to be expensive wherever you go, even in the smaller cities. Expect decent hostels to run from €25 – €30 ($30.55 – $36.68) in most cities. The advantage for larger cities like Rome, is that you’re able to stay in city outskirts and save on lodging. This can bring your costs down to €20 – €25 ($24.45 – $30.55) a night.
While those savings might seem small, I found it very worth it. Rome is so big that you’ll be taking the metro or buses around even if you stay in downtown proper. With the extensive metro line, the tickets are a flat rate, so whether you hop on for a mile or five, it’s going to be the same price. This means that it won’t cost you extra to commute into town.
The next major benefit is that you’re close to the local amenities and therefore local pricing. The grocery stores, restaurants, cafes and whatever else you’ll need will be much more affordable than if you stayed in downtown Rome.
Travel
The metro rides that I previously mentioned cost €1.50 ($1.83) or €1.75 ($2.14), depending on the length of the ride. It’s pretty affordable to get around by public transportation as the buses are the same price. The expensive transportation cost is when you travel between cities. Trains cost roughly €21 ($25.67) for a three hour trip. Buses can be roughly €5 ($6.10) cheaper if you book in advance. Either way, city hopping in Italy will not be cheap.
Older but still nice Trenitalia
My Costs
I’m just on the expensive part of my journey by visiting high cost of living countries (and I’m far from done). I have no regrets as I’ve spent a significant portion of my childhood with my head tucked in a Roman history tome. Seeing the grandeur of Italy in person is a bucket list item that had to be ticked off. My wallet may disagree.
| Category | Cost per Day |
| Alcohol | $2.62 |
| Entertainment | $9.77 |
| Food | $17.29 |
| Living | $0.23 |
| Lodging | $25.98 |
| Travel | $15.34 |
| Grand Total | $71.22 |
Table 2. Actual cost per day over ten days
I ended up spending a more than the budget I recommended. It was due to my insistence on drinking beer before succumbing to the wine bottle. This stint of expensive countries has put me over my target budget of $50 a day but I still have a long way to go to bring the average back down.
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Table 3. Running total after 77 days.
Until next time.