Money Saving Tips in Rome: Touring & Eating

I took my daughter to Rome in November of 07. We had the most wonderful time.
We ate lunch at pizza places, or bought a panini. We had a nice dinner if we were still hungry. We sought out cheese shops, fruit stands and small grocery stores to purchase meats, cheese, bread and fruit.

I brought a few "staples" with us for snacks. A bag of nuts, chocolate covered raisins, energy bars. That helped us through the day. We didn't buy any bottled water, the water from the fountains in Rome is potable. We filled our Nalgene in them.

We took the Metro everywhere, and walked, walked walked. Our hotel was outside the old city, and we had to ride the Metro each morning and night to get to our starting point (Coloseum stop)

The most we spent was on the train to Orvieto, and for the guided tour (with Angel Tours) of the Vatican Museum.

It is not expensive to eat in Rome if you stay off the main Piazzas/tourist places. Walk down the side streets and find a local place. You don't have to eat 3 courses. We usually only ate the secundi (pasta) and were very full.

Oh --Gelato! Find BLUE ICE- it's a chain and the best we had in Rome. There's where you will spend some $$.
Gelato was lunch or dinner for us a couple of times. After all your walking - you can afford the calories!

The best way to save money is to buy from a SuperMarket.
Just an example: Water was .30 EUR for 1.5 L vs 2EUR for a small bottle.
Anotheridea is to try something called Tourist menu.In Rome was 8EUR (last yaer in Nov.)for pasta, dessert and a drink. I don't know how big this menu is, never tried it, but I saw signs.
To save on transportation get the day pass for 4EUR. It's unlimited transport on bus and subway. Well, unless you want to walk a lot and you don't need on e.

Look into the Roma pass online. It includes a 3 day transit pass that will allow you to ride buses and the Metro for free. It will also get you into 2 of the "approved" sites for free. However, it is only worth it if there are 2 sites that you want to see included. Since one of the sites is the Forum and Colloseum area (which most people want to see) look and see if there is another site you are planning on visiting. We were there 3 days and used the transit pass many, many times. This pass saved us about 10 euors. For eating...get out of the tourist areas and look for little places that serve inexpensive, simple meals. We stayed one stop south of the forum and found a great pizza/lasagne etc. place where we would eat for 10 euros for 2. It wasn't fancy and it worked for us since we take the food take out and eat it back at our apartment. We also used the grocery store for many food supplies. We also enjoyed some of the sandwich shops that make paninis and Foccacia sandwiches for about 4-5 euros. Have a great trip.

You can make a meal by having antipasti. Alla Rampa, recommended by RS, has a great selection at their antipasti bar. Fill a plate with your choices for 10 euro and this makes an excellent dinner.

Here are some tips. Bring a water bottle from home or buy just 1 and keep refilling. There are tons of places to fill-up your bottle and it good tasting water with no problems.

Second, find a hotel that serves a good breakfast. Then either have a light snack for lunch and then you are only really paying for 1 meal a day. Rome restaurants aren't that expensive if you get away from the touristy places.

the metro and walking is the best way to see the city. However to save on time I would maybe suggest a cab now and then. they aren't that expensive, but it is much better to walk and use public transportation.

What is the name of the "wonderfully priced hotel with free breakfast" that you have reserved? We're looking for a place for our trip (though it would need to house 4 of us).

Melissa,

As the others have mentioned, there are a variety of ways to dine inexpensively in Rome. Buying a sandwich (or whatever) and a bottle of juice or water at a grocery store (Alimentari) is one solution.

Many Hotels in Rome provide a "free" breakfast. These tend to vary a bit between properties, but will be more of a "continental" style rather than what you're probably used to at home. Of course these aren't really "free", the cost is built into the room charge.

Dinners are probably the biggest expense for most travellers. The typical Italian meal consists of three courses - Antipasti, Primi and Secondi. If you get the "full meal deal", it gets expensive really fast (especially for two people who may also order a bottle of wine). You can moderate this to some extent by sharing - both order the antipasti, one orders the primi and one orders the secondi. If you're in the habit of ordering a "starter" salad, note that there are usually only two choices for dressings - oil & vinegar or vinegar & oil! Eliminating dessert is another way to save money.

Rick's Guidebooks always have listings for a selection of restaurants in various price ranges. It's a good idea to pack it along in your Daypack so that it's available for reference.

Regarding touring, DON'T rent a Car!!! Rome is one of the worst places to drive, and it's a good idea to exercise caution even as a pedestrian. Red lights and other traffic signals are often seen as more of a "suggestion" than a law by drivers in that part of the world (it gets worse as you head south into Naples!). The Metro, Buses and Trams are more than adequate to get you around Rome. Again, details in the Guidebooks.

Be sure to wear your Money Belt and watch your valuables, especially on the Metro and of course the #64 Bus which has a bit of a "reputation".

Happy travels!

One of the best things about Rome is that there is so much to see at absolutely no cost to you. If you are reasonably healthy, you can walk nearly everywhere, or learn a few basic Metro and Bus routes that cost you a euro a ride (better deal with a pass). From there, Campo di Fiori, Piazza Navano, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, St Peters, countless other piazzas, fountains, and churches are all free. Even much of the Forum and other ancient sites can viewed (from outside the fences) for nothing. All of the ideas on food are good, the one I will add is that if your hotel has an outside sitting area or a rooftop, wine can be had from a supermarket for a few euros...making a nice late afternoon or evening break. Heck, even just sitting in my room looking out the window was nice then.

If you just want something to eat quickly, don't sit down. The slice of pizza you eat will cost double if you sit down to eat it.

The other thing we noticed in Italy was great meals and not-great meals cost the same. If we were starving and stopped at the first cafe we saw, we would get average food and service with table wine that tasted like pop. If we asked some locals for their favorite place, we would find a family run place with great food and service and great tasting table wine. In both cases the check total was virtually identical.

To add to what Brian said. Rome has Nase fountains all over. You can fill up your water bottle or, by placing a thumb or finger over the spout, get a verticle stream of water out of the hole on top. The public fountains in Rome can also be used to fill water bottles which is pretty amazing. It tastes as good as any bottled water.

I have found that eating our main meal at noon is considerably cheaper than eating at night.In addition I dont like eating my main meal at 7-10PM.

You're getting some wonderful advice here. There are plenty of great places to get a meal without breaking your budget.

Do ask the employees at the hotel, or people you meet in shops if they have any good but inexpensive places they like.

Avoid places close to the tourist sites-- they are usually more expensive and not ususally that great.

Many places charge extra to sit and eat-- not all do but check that BEFORE sitting down.

We had some amazing slices of pizza right out of the oven from a small grocery store near Santa Maria in Trastevere. Along with some fruit and ice cold water our lunch for two was under five euros. Many of the small grocery stores will make you a sandwich or will sell you meats and cheeses. Add some nice olives fruit and water or wine for a great lunch or dinner.

Do budget yourself for one or two nice sit down dinners or lunch and maybe even a five euro caffe on a piazza with a great view and savor la dolce vita