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Trip report - budget (revised)

I am just back from 15 wonderful (cold, rainy, amazing) days in Italy, and almost recuperated from the bad cold that plagued most of my trip. It worked out well for me that the days were short, as I had little strength left by day's end once my cold came on. I travelled solo, flew into Milan, trained to Verona, Venice, Ravenna, Florence, then Rome, whence home. 15 full days. Here's what I spent, not including airfare:

239E (12%) on local transportation, mainly trains

319E (16%) on food, come restaurant meals, mainly snacks and groceries

215E (11%) on entrance fees and audio guides

1078E (53%) on hotels

179E (8%) the rest: mainly souvenirs, a few sundries

Total 2,029E which comes to an average of 135E per day.

I looked for budget-priced accomodations, but all were ensuite (private bath), all were clean and central and I would not hesitate to recommend them all. I didn't eat out a lot. Lunch was usually "street food" and about half the dinners were in my room.

Posted by
12314 posts

Thanks Chani,

Sorry you were sick for your trip.

This is a pretty good guide for budget minded travelers.

If you are traveling in the summer, the biggest difference will be hotels - which would probably be double.

If you did mostly restaurants, your food budget would need to be at least 50% higher.

Traveling as a couple or family can reduce the per-person costs some (primarily food and hotels).

Add airfare and you have a pretty good estimate for a two-week trip.

Posted by
15788 posts

I somehow didn't get all the hotel costs in the first draft. I have corrected this. It now looks more realistic. I was wondering how I got off so cheaply :-)

4 nights in Venice were at top prices (90E/night), since it was Carnevale.

Posted by
2092 posts

Chani~~I'd really like to have your hotel list, please!

Posted by
354 posts

Thanks for sharing this, Chani. A very useful guide for travellers ...

Posted by
15788 posts

Darcy,

Hotel Milano in Verona www.hotelmilano-vr.it

They were in the process of renovating, but I was out during the hours they were working, so it didn't affect me. I stayed in the renovated part, very nice, though the light switches were so high-tech, someone had to come up to show me. I am so 20th-century, sigh. The best breakfast.

La Calcina in Venice www.lacalcina.com
A great location, right on the lagoon, a 5-minute walk to the Accademia vaporetto stop on the Grand Canal. No elevator, but they did carry my suitcase up and down, very willingly. Very good breakfast. The dining room and lobby (a nice place for coffee and grappa in the evening) overlook the lagoon.

Galletti Abbiosi in Ravenna www.galletti.ra.it
An experience, just to be in the historic building. Very comfortable, convenient location. Avoid the blond woman at reception, she gave me bad information at least twice.

Archi Rossi in Florence
This is a youth hostel, but a private double room in the annexe is like any other hotel, it's less than a 5 minute walk from the train station, and 10 minutes to the Accademia or the Duomo. The staff are all super-friendly and super-helpful.

Hotel Italia in Rome
2-stars, just. I had a single room which was adequate. The double rooms are much nicer. The staff were all friendly and helpful. The location was very good for me (and the price too), in a small street off via Nazionale, about 5 minutes from the Repubblica metro station.

Posted by
9110 posts

Aha! I kept staring at the original list and wondered if you'd resorted to sleeping under bridges.