Help with budget

$50.00

It really depends on you. It's hard to help other people with a budget and even harder to stick to it!! Anyway, have fun and enjoy!!

I don't have a general number to give you.

For transportation, if I were going where you're going, the only transportation costs I would have would be the train trips between the cities. Within the cities you can walk everywhere you want to go (exception being, in Rome, somewhere like Ostia Antica).

For admissions, look up the places you're planning or considering going to, and add up the admissions fees.

I'm guessing your hotels will provide breakfast. If not, a cappuccino and cornetto (like a croissant) standing up at a bar will be about 3 Euros. On our recent trip to Italy, we noticed quite a few restaurants in Rome that offers a meal, lunch or dinner, for 8 or 10 Euros. As I recall, that included one drink, and maybe one antipasto and one pasta. Or maybe one pasta and one secondo (main course). Anyway, I did remark to my husband that our kids could do that kind of thing when they travel to Italy when they're older, so it must have been a complete meal.

But include money in the budget for sitting at a cafe and people-watching - about 2-4 Euros, depending on drink and location. And gelato. For a medium cup or cone (three Italian-sized scoops), it will be 2.5 - 3 Euros.

We always spend more on food, because we love Italian food!

Thanks Lexma.

I did add up the train costs and it would be about $153 1st class or $106 2nd class.

The hotels all include breakfast, so that leaves lunch and dinner. And gelato which based on how much I like it could possibly be it's own category, even in January.

I think I'm going to try to go through Rick's book again tonight and try to figure an estimate for admissions and the like.

Since you're on a budget, you'll find that 2nd class train tickets are perfectly acceptable.

Figure your costs, add 50% and then some back up "just in case". Go with a fully loaded ATM card. I'd much rather come home to some cash left over in the account rather than run out in Italy. Great place but definately not cheap but don't do it on the cheap either. Enjoy yourself and make it a memorable experience.

I agree with Gage. I would budget $50-$60 per day, but take enough with me for $100 a day, just to be safe. And a cc card.

Kathleen,

I'd suggest allowing at least US$75-100 per day. You'll probably find that you spend less than that for the most part, but there may be a day or two that you spend more than that. If you're careful, you should be able to get by with an average of US$75-80 per day.

Keep in mind that US$75 will only be about €50 (depending on the exchange rate at the time). It would be a good idea to have a credit card for "unexpected" expenses and at least two ATM cards.

Cheers!

I do have a cc, and 2 debit cards.

I was planning to budget $100 a day, and that way if I end up spending only $50 I can have a bit more to spend on shopping, or gelato.

Not enough info. Are you including the airline flight amortized across the length of the stay?

transportion, food, admissions

The budget was for these 3 items only, as the airfare is already paid for and I know how much the hotels are.

"I was planning to budget $100 a day, and that way if I end up spending only $50 I can have a bit more to spend on shopping, or gelato."

Yep, that sounds good to me. I see you're getting the Roma Pass, which means you won't have to worry about most transportation costs in Rome unless you're there more than 3 days. We never used public transportation in Florence--simply walked everywhere.

Unless you do a lot of shopping or eat expensive meals, I think you will be hard-pressed to even spend $100 a day, but it's always better to overestimate.

Hi Kathleen:

Thank you for posting this question. In June, I too am making my first solo trip to Italy (I've been there before but never alone).

After reading the great suggestions from these kind and experienced travelers, I think $100 a day is the magic amount for me. However, I am "splurging" on a private tour guide, Federica, who comes HIGHLY recommend from a friend. It is my desire to garner as much knowledge about the history, art and culture as possible, so for me, it is surely worth it. I also agree that since I'll be taking my meals alone, they will not be too elaborate...probably breakfast at the hotel and gelato in the afternoon will do fine. Oh! Pizza of course.

Also, in Sienna, I am taking a cooking class. That cost is 50 Euro, but I get to eat the food! My friend suggested this too and I passed that info on to some other friends who were just in Italy and actually participated in the lesson...Said it was amazing and a great social event...AND the food was YUMO. YIKES, I wonder if I have to finally learn the metric system? hmmm....

Raising a toast to all travelers and particularly, the solo women! Salute!

Take care,
Jan

Maybe 50 euros would have made it but with the bad dollar exchange it goes much faster. We cut back on our dining and love to walk. While you don't want to miss anything we found that sometimes we could enjoy the exteriors and didn't always need to go inside with pricey admissions. I think $100 would be a good safe budget and hopefully you'll bring some home.