My wife and I are booked on the Best of Italy 17 day tour.
How much spending money has others spent during the tour. How much should we budget not to compromise. I saw somewhere on Rick Steve's website to plan on $50-100 per day. Can anyone share their experience?
thank you
Hi mgrahn,
I went on the Best of Italy 17 day tour in October 2016 and had a fantastic time! You will love it! I have such fond memories.
Budget: For myself, I budgeted $100 a day for misc food, entertainment, souvenirs and sights for my free time. Some days I did not spend anything and in some of the larger cities, Venice, Florence and Rome, I did spend $100 or more, in total. Meals especially were inexpensive compared to what I would have spent at home for a nice dinner, for example. In general, I thought that food and wine were excellent and not that expensive.
I flew to Milan and spent 2 nights there and took the train to Varenna on Lake Come where the tour begins. I'm not counting the hotel, food and sightseeing costs in Milan.
Of course, there are two of you and you may have very different tastes and standards than I do.
I was around the $50 level on most days. Some days a little more depending on where we were and what was included that day as far as meals and attractions. I didn't really budget and spent what I had to or wanted to, but I didn't go crazy spending either.
But then I don't shop. I don't buy souvenirs (except in very rare cases). I am happy with some bread and cheese from a grocery for lunch. I don't drink much alcohol (any more). I eat dinner in reasonably priced restaurants that are not there to trap tourists. With all that, I never felt I was denying myself any enjoyment from the trip.
How much do you spend when you eat at a restaurant near home? Do you have wine with the meal? Do you have drinks before/after? Do you like white table cloth restaurants with snooty waiters or do you like friendly family run places where you are treated almost like part of the family? Are you willing to walk off the main street to go to the smaller less fancy restaurants to save what can be lots of money? You can use that as a basis for what you might spend on the tour.
Do you like to shop? One family on the tour when I took it bought ceramics at nearly every stop. I swear they spent $1000 a day just on that stuff.
In Italy, I would think you would need maybe an average of $50 per person per day, maybe less, to sustain yourselves during the tour days. This would include non-group meals and snacks, local transport when needed, inexpensive laundry once or twice, and one or two admissions to museums or sites during free time. This would not include: (1) really expensive meals, (2) day tours you might take during your free time, (3) any shopping, which can be zero, very little, or a lot, depending on your habits, (4) extensive use of taxis, and (5) of course, all your expenses in additional days before or after your tour days. Like others, I have my own style of travel and expenses, when on a tour or not, and while I have a sense of what I will spend, I am not limited to a fixed budget, using my credit and debit cards as needed.
Depends on your tastes and spending habits and what you choose to include.
How much do you spend on domestic trips/vacations? That should give you a guide
My husband and I just did this tour in October 2017 and averaged just under $50 per person per day for meals and sightseeing fees that weren't included in the tour. The bulk of that cost was meals. We're not "foodies", but we enjoyed a sit-down meal for pretty much all our independent lunches and dinners, usually 2 courses--like an appetizer and a primo (pasta in general, we're not big meat or seafood eaters)--with wine and either a bottle or carafe of water, occasionally 3 courses if the desserts looked good, and the occasional snack. This total also included a "wine kitty" for bottles of wine served at the group dinners, and a fund for gondola rides and such when the tour guide could get us a good deal by purchasing group tickets. The cost for that was about $60 per person for the whole tour if you had wine and participated in all the group ticketed events (mainly gondola rides--both on the canals of Venice and in the Dolomites). The most expensive extra sightseeing fees were the Doge's Palace in Venice, multi-site combo tickets in Florence and Sienna, and a train and trail pass in the Cinque Terre. We weren't extravagant, but we also never skipped something to do or eat because we felt it was too expensive and we still came in $2000 under what I had budgeted since I had gone for the high end of what was recommended, and I budgeted separately for shopping and we didn't really do much of that. This total does not include extra transportation, hotels, or sight-seeing done before the tour (also budgeted for separately), though it does include the meals on all our pre-tour days. Hope you find this helpful, and that you enjoy your tour--we had an absolutely fantastic time.
Hello,
You should be very careful with what you're spending so as not to exceed your budget. I almost failed to do that one :/ It is hard, I know. A good tip is to save money by having your largest meal at midday or by having a good breakfast and then dinner around 20:00. It is best if you eat only one restaurant meal per day. You good take some snacks from the local supermarkets to chew during the day.
I was happy that my favourite coffee cost around €1-2 (take away order). The famous scoop of gelato costs around €1-2. I found one of Naples’ world-famous pizzas at €5! Pasta dishes can cost around €7-15 while meat could reach prices like €25. If you take side dishes like veggies or salad you might pay around €5-10.
For some of Italy’s top attractions you'll need to calculate the following: Colosseum €12, Vatican Museums €16, Uffizi Gallery €14, The Last Supper €8, Climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa €18, Pompeii €11, 3-day Roma Pass €36
These were the prices when I went there. I suggest that you plan a daily budget and make your program accordingly by dividing the amount you'll spend for sight-seeing, food and transportation. It is better to get a pass (wherever it is available) that will allow you to see more, by paying less.
Remember to save some money to get presents for your loved ones at the end of your trip...
One expense you will definitely enjoy is the gondola ride in Venice. We chose to participate, and I think it was 100 Euro for two of us.
One expense you will definitely enjoy is the gondola ride in Venice. We chose to participate, and I think it was 100 Euro for two of us.
