Another installment of my travel tips to help you stretch those hard earned dollars, today we are off to Italy!
Cheap flights to Italy
Milan is one of Europe’s biggest airport hubs and has a lot of charter flights to the rest of Europe and America. Compare prices with Rome, but if you aren’t too picky about your landing city, chances are it will be Milan.
European low cost company flying to Italy include Easyjet, Ryanair, Germanwings, Vueling and Wizzair. They are not featured in most flight search engines, you need to go on each site. Often it will be cheaper to fly, a Paris/Milan flight can cost 30 euros while the train costs 90 euros. You need to book 6-9 months in advance if you want those kind of prices, a few weeks before expect to pay around 100 euros.
Cheap accommodation in Italy
- Lake Como
Hotels are not a very good value in Italy. Many still charge for basic things like wifi, and unless you score an early bird deal, you will probably sleep cheaper if you rent a whole apartment (on sites like Airbnb, this is my tell a friend link and you are awesome if you register through it!). We were traveling on a motorcycle so unable to book early, which made things harder as well. Via Booking we found a few good pensions, although I recommend you do spend time checking the services provided (charges for breakfast, wifi, etc) and customer review. Even that is not a guarantee, we booked a room that had AC on the hottest night of the year, turned out the ad was inaccurate and they were unable to even provide a fan!
Camping in Italy
From my limited experience, those weren’t too good a value either. The campgrounds were jam packed, especially outside of big cities like Florence, and very expensive! We paid close to 40 euros a night in Florence to pitch our tent. Apart from the national parks, it is quite hard to just camp anywhere. And even in the parks there are strict rules to follow. The only good value we got was in Venice with a campsite outside of town that had permanent tents with beds for 20 euros a night.
Visiting Venice and Rome
Venice
Those two cities are the most popular to visit in Italy. And that is justified. BUT expect to pay high prices for almost anything and be washed in a sea of visitors from Easter to September.
Rome and Venice have half a dozen must see, that you can do in two days. Instead of visiting every little church in Rome, I would visit two or three big ones(and the Vatican) then go to another city like Florence to visit its highlights.
Same thing in Venice, two days are enough to hop on a gondola or a vaporetto, visit a couple of museums, and then be off to another spot.
If you are only going to be there for a couple of days, you can splurge on central accommodation to make your visits easy. No cars are allowed in Venice and you need to park outside, the parking is very expensive (around $30 per day) so most people take the train or bus from nearby towns. A few campings around Venice offer tents with real beds for 20 euros a night and a 5 euros transfer to Venice, that would be the best backpackers option.
Tuscany
Assisi, Tuscany
I know it is not very original but this was my favorite region on our trip last year. We started in Pisa, checked the tower, then headed to beautiful Lucca, a fortified sleepy town with some of the best food we tried in Italy, reached Florence for a few days, then South through the Chianti wine region and to the beautiful medieval town of Siena.
Tuscany is perfect for a weeklong visit, you can rent a car and visit those places that are no more than two hours drive apart. What I liked about it is there was a lot to do outside the museums and churches. After seeing so much art, I get dizzy, so I enjoyed just walking around, having lunch in a small restaurant for two hours, people watching and chatting, everything was so relaxed.
You can get to Tuscany in a few hours from Rome, by train or car. There are also lots of cheap flights to Pisa and Florence from the rest of Europe. Airbnb is a good place to find a charming B&B as your base for the week.
Cheap eats in Italy
This is no news that Italian food is absolutely gorgeous. Whatever you try, unless you are in a tourist trap, has been made with love and the freshest ingredients. Restaurant prices are quite affordable compared to France and Northern Europe, but the Italians almost always add the copperto, a cover fee of about $3 just for the privilege of sitting there. Beware because they do it in places that look like little bars too, so paying $2 or $3 on top of just a coffee or a beer makes for one very expensive drink.
Pizzerie are cheap, a pizza rarely costs more than $8, and you can wash it down with a liter of house wine for $6. Yes, wine is that cheap. And there are a very good finds under that house wine denomination.
Another good bet to eat cheaply is the menu of the day. In Italy, a menu is generally a two course deal, with pasta as a first dish and then some meat or fish. You will be full for the day. The menus come with wine and coffee for under $15.
Hotels rarely include breakfast and when they do it is not great so don’t count on that to fill your belly in the morning, however the bakeries are delicious, and you can buy a piece of bread or some cake to last until lunch. Bread is sold by the weight, the price you see is per kilo.
Another great place for delicious cheap eats is the deli. You will see amazing shops selling ham, mozzarella balls, cheese, stuffed olives, artichoke hearts, spreads, and you can get a box of crackers and a bottle of wine there too. That makes for a perfect picnic in the park. The ham is sliced paper thin, and there are as many kinds to choose from as there are cheeses. You can have that as a snack in your hotel for diner, and a menu meal for lunch.
Have you been to Italy? What is your favorite Italian food?
This post was featured on the Stacking Benjamins, thank you!
Great write-up, Pauline! Italy is one of my wife’s “must visit” countries if/when we make it to Europe. I have not been to Italy (or Europe for that matter), but definitely would like to plan a two week trip out there some day. It’s too bad hotels still charge for wifi. I have come to expect free wifi no matter where I go!
You can get free wifi at Starbucks and McD but in Italy they ask you to enter your Italian mobile number to receive the access code, that is sneaky for travelers! There are a few free hotspots but that was one of the hardest countries of 30 we visited last summer regarding wifi.
Never even heard of those airlines before but those would be some really cheap prices but I know the wifey and I wouldn’t get those prices flying from FL. Italy is one of those places I really want to take the family within the next few years. Really liking those wine prices. Charging just come in and sit down – Ill pass.
From FL there are a few cheap flights on Condor flying out of Fort Lauderdale. Cheapest I saw was about $600 but they are quite lastminute flights so it is hard to plan the rest of the holiday in advance. It can end up cheaper booking a $900 flight and saving on intra European flights and hotels booked with early bird rates.
I would love to go to Italy! I have actually checked out AirBNB prices for several places in Europe and found really nice apartments that are priced really reasonable. Great tips!
You can find really cute places on airbnb, not your usual hotel room, and cooking breakfast at home saves you about $15 a day.
Italy’s been right near the top of places I’ve wanted to visit for a long time. I’ve actually never been anywhere in Europe. I would love to do a trip with my wife and leave the kids with their grandparents. In a few years though it could be fun to take the family.
I traveled with my family when I was about 10, my grandfather used to take us all cousins and uncles for trips abroad and he would prepare little books that we had to fill like a treasure hunt around museums and attractions. It was awesome. I think starting age 7 a kid can enjoy those kinds of holidays. The jet lag is easier on them than on adults!
Excellent write-up. AirBnB was a great recommendation, by the way. I just returned from my trip (where I used your link!) and loved the stay….
Glad you had a great time! I love the concept, and after using couchsurfing for years really don’t mind staying at people’s places.
Great food, cheap wine and magnificent sites. No wonder Italy (well, and the Vatican) are on my bucket list 🙂 Awesome write-up!
Thanks Simon, it is one of my favorite countries too, I love the mix of culture and easy going lifestyle.
I love the cinque terre region! I could go there over and over and never get sick of it, and you can usually find an apartment to rent for pretty cheap. What Italian food DON’T I like?! It’s my favorite…especially pesto….basically anything with olive oil, cheese, oh I could go on an on…
You made me hungry! I am going back to pasta with the running, nothing like a good pasta dinner with cheese yum.
That is BEAUTIFUL! I would love to go to Italy some day.
Love this post! Wes and I have been really wanting to go to Italy. Hopefully soon 🙂
It looks like we will be going to Italy no later than 2016 for our “second” anniversary (short version married on 2/29/2008). Personally I would love to follow the Mille Miglia route for a tour, but I doubt I will have that much time to tour around. I do know my wife will probably make us spend a large chunk of change on wine and some lovely cheeses.
Nice write up Pauline! Italy, well S. Europe is near the top our list. I’ve been to most of W. & part of N. Europe, but nothing south. There is just too much to see and, of course, the food.
Awesome tips!!! I have always wanted to go to Italy.
thanks! hope your dream comes true.
I am saving this post for whenever I can make it to Italy! I definitely want to visit someday, and the pictures are beautiful. I studied Italian all throughout high school – not just the language, but the culture, and my teacher was from Rome. I really enjoyed it! Plus my mom is 100% Italian and has been there, so I feel like I have to go :).
it would be fantastic to take your mom and visit some third cousins!
Very nice write up. Italy is the only place I’ve ever been in Europe, and it was amazing. I’m like you in that too much art makes me dizzy! We took the train from Rome to Florence to Venice and it was super easy even for us gringos. I would love to go back and stay longer. There is so much to see.
It would be really fun with your daughter there are plenty of great family activities.
My goodness, Pauline! I really need to get out and see the world. It’s freakin’ time!!! Thank you for sharing this as Italy is high on the list of places I’d like to be!
If you have a few weeks it is worth it, with less time the jetlag eats up most of the holiday. It is a beautiful country worth visiting.
Pauline! My sister just returned from Italy! I must ask her if she did and saw these things and ask what she ate! Your pics are breath taking and your info, as always, is primo. The price and quality of the wine is of great interest to me;) Beer does not seem to be Italy’s bailiwick.
No, it is more a wine country, safe for the North close to Switzerland, you find some decent beer. And it is lighter on your with the sun than red wine. A red wine lunch is a sure siesta afterward.
No I have not been to Italy but that is the plan for next year when we head back to the UK. I want to spend time taking my wife around different countries to explore because she loves it just as much as I do. My favourite Italian food is ravioli.
I have made spinach ricotta ravioli, they were absolutely delicious. No ricotta around here so I haven’t tried again, you can make them with those chinese pasta that are ready if you don’t want to make the ravioli yourself.
Rome was one of our stops on our cruise. It was fantastic and so beautiful. The only bad part was because we were part of a cruise, we didn’t have as much time to explore as we would have liked. But we got a sample of Italy and definitely will come back. I try to watch my carb intake but when in Rome … met every expectation! Have a great weekend!
You can stay for a full week and not get bored in Rome, but the cruise sounds great to see a little bit of many places, and not having to drive is a blessing.
Interesting! Bread is sold by the weight, the price you see is per kilo. This is probably nowhere. Good that you told. Though I have never been to Italy, but my friend visited a few places including Tuscany and Venice, all she said was that she could get everything cheap. May be she didn’t dig much into the worth of what she was being offered.
With the strong euro, it is a bit more expensive than it used to, but compared to France or the UK you get really good value for your money.