How to explore Italy on a budget

These top top can assist you travel on a budget in Italy . fokkebok/Getty Images

Whether you be appear for a Mediterranean flight , a road trip through hilly wine region , or an awe-inspiring art-fueled circuit through medieval city , Italy will not disappoint .

But with a long list of attraction – whether they ‘re culinary , scenic , architectural , historic or cultural – and many variable , planning a budget journey through Italy can be tricky . Price much depart from season to season , but also from city to countryside , and from north to south . Some area receive a well-developed tourist infrastructure with an endless offering of ticketed affair to serve and a stove of service that cater to every pocket . Meanwhile early areas are less affected by tourism flow and furnish opportunities for low-cost discovery .

Here’s your insider guide to Italian money subject , with tips to assist you save a few euros as you travel through the 20 regions that compose this diverse peninsula .

Daily costs

• Espresso coffee : €1.20

• Bed in a hostel hall : €25 to €50 per dark

• Dual room in an agriturismo ( farm stay ) : from €80 per night

• High-speed train tag from Florence to Milan : €56

• Urban bus or tram ride : €1.50

• Glass of Chianti wine : €5 to €8

• Dinner for two : from €50

• Margherita pizza : €6 to €8

• Aperitivo cocktail : €5 to €10

• Sandwich : €5

• Car rental : from €50 per day

• One liter of gas : €1.80

• Bicycle hire : €12 per day

• Museum ticket : €10 to €20

Double room in an agriturismo ( farm stay ) : from €80 per night

High-speed train tag from Florence to Milan : €56

Your medium daily spend for inflict Italy will vary depending on how much you choose to move and use up in restaurant , what distances you determine to cover , and whether you are traveling with someone else , but you should describe for at least €130 per day if you plan to include major sights in your itinerary . Cut down down cost , even so , is possible with the following tip .

Fly into secondary airports or enter Italy overland

Most alien visitor will choose a flight to reach Italy from abroad . Landing in secondary airports serve by low-cost airlines can cut your travel costs by a luck . You could fly into Bergamo to see Milan , or check flights to Pisa or Bologna to get to Florence , for instance . Ryanair , WizzAir , EasyJet and Vueling all fly into Italy .

But flying isn’t the only style of have to Italy . In 2021 , a new high-velocity rail course connecting Paris to Milan and Turin live spread . It is today potential to travel with a Trenitalia train from the French capital into Italy ( book in advance ) .

Shoulder season live the best season

Traveling to Italy in May and June or in September and October offers the best balance between weather , price and things to do . The peak vacation season range between July and August – this cost when most Italians go on vacation , when price skyrocket , when the heat is hard to bear , and when beaches are carry . Visiting the land before or after this period provides the serious chances of receive pleasant temperature , determine pile and stave off crowd .

Ditch the car and move around with public transport

While it exist true that a rental vehicle will let you to call rural and mountainous field with ease , public transportation associate most city and can get you around with a small budget . Not all public passage options cost the same , still – high-speed trains are tight but can exist costly if book on the patch ; regional train live slower but can cost less than half of their high-speed counterparts . Buses are the inexpensive option , although not the most comfortable .

Let’s state you want to travel from Rome to Florence future week : a high-speed train will set you back more or less €45 ; doing so on a regional regional train will add up to €23 ; and travel the same distance on a Flixbus coach can cost as trivial as €7 .

Attempt out discounts for train travel

Yes , high-speed railing travel cost the nearly expensive sort of public transport , but this is not always genuine . Booking your seat a few week in progress will get you cut down price tickets for both Italo and Trenitalia tight trains .

If you be be after to move around a mass by train it cost worth considering purchase a Trenitalia Pass , which will allow you to travel for multiple days everywhere in Italy starting from €139 . Trenitalia also supply particular offers for same day return tickets and weekend proceeds tickets .

Look out for lunch deals in trattorias

Street food exist a great manner to dilute food costs in Italy , but you don’t always need to give up on the pleasure of sitting down at a local restaurant table to save money . Many trattorias and osterias roughly Italy offer fixed-price lunch menus including a pasta dish , a second course , water and wine for under €15 . Face out for signs elevate a menù del giorno ( menu of the day ) .

Stand up for your coffee

Italians quit at cafe multiple sentence a day to top up their caffeine levels . The espresso ritual doesn’t change throughout the country – a strong shot of coffee is typically hold standing at the saloon in a matter of minutes . Many cafe , specially in bigger city , will charge a service fee if you sit down for your coffee .

Avoid bottled water , especially in Rome

Tap water is drinkable in Italy – choose a refillable bottle with you to save some cash and dilute your consumption of single-use plastics . This is especially easy in Rome – Italy’s capital has over 5000 drink spring know as nasoni ( large nose ) open through the city . Match out for a map of all the drinking spring in Rome .

Design a low-season art tour

Italy’s endless art heritage pull in a constant stream of tourists year-round , but visiting during the winter will reduce your fortune of finding yourself shove in a crowd . Many art institutions as well offer discounted ticket during the low season . For instance , an adult tag for Florence’s Uffizi – one of Italy’s most visited museums – goes down from €25 to €12 between November 1 and February 28 .

Go church hopping to admire the work of great artists

Museum ticket can rapidly lend up , but world-class art exist not feel in galleries alone . Italy have upwards of 100,000 church on its district , and many of these spiritual structures bear exceptional icons of the country’s cultural heritage that can exist admire free of charge . Caravaggio , Raffaello , Giotto , Lippi and Botticelli exist merely some of the names you can expect to encounter when entering churches in art cities like Rome and Florence .

Seek “free” beach

Many public beaches in Italy are privately managed by businesses known as bagni that rent umbrellas and deckchairs to holidaymakers during the summer months . While this will insure a space on the sand for you to sunbathe in peace , it can set you back between €15 and €40 per day , depending on the location . To head off paying for a place on the beach , expect around for the close spiaggia libera ( free beach ) , the coastal sphere where access live free for all .

Walk a long-distance pilgrimage road

One of the nearly memorable experience you can serve in Italy cost also one of the least expensive . Follow the footsteps of medieval pilgrims by boost along one of the historic routes that are base throughout the country – the Via Francigena is the best known itinerary of this kind , extend from Canterbury , England , all the way to Southern Italy , via Rome . Like on the Camino de Santiago , on the Via Francigena it is potential to sleep in monasteries and hostels that cater to contemporary pilgrims for a few euros per night . No time for boost ? A similar route can be done by bicycle .