THIS PAGE IS CONSTANTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION BECAUSE WE KEEP GETTING EMAILS ASKING FOR ADVICE AND GETTING FEEDBACK ON THE VALIDITY OF THAT ADVICE. IF YOU'VE FOUND SOME WAYS TO SAVE, CLICK ON CONTACT US ABOVE SO THAT WE CAN HELP OTHERS. THANKS
BUDGET TRAVEL
Although this website was established in 2002 as a source for luxury travel - that is, for people who could afford expensive hotels and restaurants or, like us, had saved up for that first-time or once-in-a-lifetime (or once whenever we could) trip, we have included some reasonable accommodations, especially in Itinerary #1 (http://www.coopmead.com/Itineraries.htm).
Over the years we've received a number of emails asking for more budget recommendations, and a member of our family gave us his insights into rail travel in that wonderful country. In addition, we've been pouring over guidebooks and websites designed exclusively for the serious budget-minded traveler.
And Russ is very familiar with trying to take a couple or a family to Europe with limited resources; his first trip, with two teenagers in 1970, was based on Europe on $10 a Day - and lasted for a month. A subsequent trip of three weeks in 1978 was based on Europe on $50 a Day; so he is well aware of the joys, necessities, and pitfalls of a restricted budget. That doesn't mean you can't have a great time. In many ways, staying in budget hotels gets you closer to the great cities and towns, and the wonderful Italians, than basking on a terrace in Positano.
What we've
outlined here is how to find the bargains, and how to figure out how much it will
cost. We aren't recommending specific hotels or restaurants, except where we have
actually stayed or eaten.
There are hundreds of bargain lodgings and
dining places in this great country. Most of the books we recommend
on the Books & Links page have suggestions of economical lodging and dining.
But we think the best option is the series done by Rick Steves. His books, Rick Steves' Italy, Rick Steves' Rome, Rick Steves' Venice, and Rick Steves' Florence and Tuscany, are terrific for all aspects of your budget travel and have the further grace of a website where readers who have used the books enter their corrections, questions, and answers. This is a great plus - we wish everyone did that. (We do by incorporating whatever you tell us into this site, with acknowledgements as desired.) Because they are so effective, they're used by lots of people; so planning far ahead is essential if you want to take advantage of them.
To order them, or any others recommended here, go to Books and Links above and click on the appropriate graphic - or visit your local bookstore or library.
We know you may
have additional questions. Don't hesitate to contact us using the Contact
Us! link above.
Good luck.
Kaye and Russ Cooper-Mead
STEP ONE - HOW MUCH CAN YOU SPEND?
There are three stages of payment for your trip.
First is paying for your tickets and any secured reservations.
Second is the actual cash you'll spend in Italy.
Third is the amount you put on credit cards that you'll have to pay when you
return.
The longer in advance you plan your trip and secure air, lodging and other
reservations, the longer you'll have to pay for it (and the less you'll spend,
since you can save as much as 65% on airfares if you plan at least six months
ahead.
Considering the above, give yourself a ballpark figure. You'll come back
to it later, after you've planned your ideal trip and used our Budget Form to estimate what that ideal, but economical, trip would cost. If the two
numbers are far apart, then you can adjust the various steps to what you can
afford.
BEFORE
YOU GO TO STEP TWO, READ OUR PAGE "PLANNING AHEAD." It's a
little long and contains some things you don't have to know right now, but it
will give you the background you need before you decide whether you'll be
traveling within Italy by car, train, or plane. (Click
here)
STEP TWO - WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO?
If you've clipped from magazines
and newspapers or looked through guides or talked for a long time about going to
Italy or have wandered through this site, you may already know that you want to
go to certain cities. Or you may have one region - it's usually Tuscany -
in mind. Make a list, if necessary, of want-to-see's in order of
priority, then look at a map to see how far apart they are. You may have
an atlas on hand or a map you've been pouring over anyway. If not, you'll
need one, preferably a Michelin one from the local bookstore.
But first, look at a map online to get started.
(You'll be going to books and online and back to this page a number of times
before you're finished. Don't get depressed. The more time you spend
planning, the less you'll spend in hard-earned cash and the more fun you'll
have.)
Click
here for a map.
[Thanks to
www.worldatlas.com, a very
useful site.]
Print it out. Decide roughly what you'd like to do, then decide
whether flying to Milan or to Rome makes the best sense. How do you
decide? If you're seeing the north of Italy, whether by car or train,
you'll fly to Milan; if you want to see a number of cities or some of two
regions, you'll fly into Rome.
Before you can figure out the cost, however, you have to decide on your timing.
STEP THREE - WHEN CAN YOU GO?
As we've indicated elsewhere,
when you go is more important than how, because Italy is not the same place (for
traveling) year-round. If you're flexible, read our page The Seasons
(click
here) before you decide, keeping in mind that the busiest times require the
greatest advance planning and are the most expensive - mid-June to
mid-September, with July hot and August hotter and more crowded because that's
when the French, Germans, and Italians are virtually all on vacation. Russ
spent August in Paris one summer - there were very few Parisians on hand, and
they were all upset that they weren't on vacation. Ditto the coast of
Italy, which one native of Positano described as "Hell - with diesel
fumes."
But you may not have any choice, either because you're taking children who have
school (See Children - click
here) or because you take your vacation when the
boss doesn't want to.
So pick the time you want to go, based on the above, and the length of time
you'll have.
STEP FOUR - PRINT OUT YOUR BUDGET FORM
CLICK
HERE
TO PRINT OUT YOUR BUDGET FORM - MAKE
SEVERAL COPIES. ALTHOUGH THE PROCESS WILL SEEM TEDIOUS, IT WILL GIVE YOU
CONFIDENCE IN HOW MUCH IT WILL COST AND WILL GIVE YOU A GREAT
START ON ACTUAL PLANNING, RESERVATIONS, AND SO ON.
STEP FIVE - WHAT AIRLINE? HOW MUCH?
There
are a number of ways to find out the best fares. As we've stated too
often, the key in getting the best air travel rates is getting your ticket well
ahead of time. We've saved as much as two-thirds by getting tickets 9
months in advance.
With that in mind, our figures below are for travel in mid-June. You'll
save 20% or more if you can go before mid-June or after Labor Day.
We consulted expedia.com, (Yahoo and Travelocity lately put an extra step in
finding air fares -- no wonder Yahoo is tanking) and individual airline
websites before choosing the lowest fares below. Of course, we don't know
where you're coming from, so we've used Los Angeles and Cleveland as our primary
departure cities. AND we have used only connections which would get
you
into Rome or Milan in the morning or mid-day.
Most foreign airlines or those with
connections in Europe get you into Italy in the late afternoon, wasting a
day. So we have listed only airlines which fly directly from an American
or Canadian city to Milan or Rome and get you there in 16 hours or less, with
one stop.
The following prices for roundtrip coach travel were determined 03/13/08 for travel
06/12/08, returning two weeks later. [DUE TO RISING OIL PRICES AND
DECLINING DOLLAR, PRICES FOR THE ROUTES BELOW ARE ROUGHLY $500 MORE THAN THEY
WERE JUST 10 MONTHS AGO - IF YOU CAN, PLAN 9 MONTHS AHEAD.]
Flying May 15 OR September 15 will cost you about $200 less round trip.
May isn't high season yet, and September is 9 months away.
[WARNING: At
this writing (March 08) Alitalia was going broke and attempting to be taken
over by another airline. We recommend you do not book any international flights on
Alitalia until the outcome of its current financial crisis.]
Los Angeles to Milan:
US Air, through Philadelphia - $1,134, ditto Delta through
Atlanta. Similarly priced
flights on other
airlines get you in in the late
afternoon.
Los Angeles to Rome:
Delta, through Atlanta - $1,350
US Air, through Philadelphia -
$1,500
Cleveland to Milan:
Air Canada
through Toronto for $$1407.
Delta through Atlanta for $1,470.
Cleveland to Rome:
US Air through Philadelphia for $1,163
Delta through Atlanta for $1,258
Other cities to Rome:
Jacksonville
- Delta through Atlanta for $1,525 - this flight is more expensive than others,
but it
takes up to 7
hours less than other airlines (who fly through Newark and Philadelphia
- and that's a lot of jet lag.
Phoenix
- US Air through Philadelphia for $1,435. American and Delta will fly your
for a little
less, but
you'll make two stops -- and Heathrow connections are really bad.
Seattle
- US Air, Delta, and Continental connect through various cities for $1,574.
FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS FIRST PASS THROUGH YOUR BUDGET, USE $1,400 PER PERSON
AS THE COST OF THE ROUNDTRIP AIRFARE FROM YOUR HOME CITY TO ITALY.
STEP SIX - HOW WILL YOU GET FROM PLACE TO PLACE?
RULES OF THUMB FOR TRAVEL WITHIN ITALY:
If you want to see the countryside, small villages, and the like, you have two
options:
-
Rent a car
- Take a tour
A Fiat Panda or similar 2 or 4 door compact car will, according to Hertz (not
the cheapest) cost you $650 per week for unlimited mileage AND including collision
damage waiver and other required fees and taxes. Given that rates change
and there will be additional charges (it's Italy), figure $600 a week for your
rental car. If you drive our recommended maximum of 500 miles per week,
getting 25 miles to the $7 gallon, you'll spend about $150 for gas and oil.
Figure $75 for autostrada fees, parking, and the unexpected. Parking at a
hotel can cost as much as 20 euros a day; but some hotels along the coast and
lakes do not charge. Until you can be sure, put in $100 for each week you
will spend in Rome, Naples, Florence, or Milan. If driving to Venice,
you'll park in a big lot on the mainland (the cheapest is secure parking across
from the Mestre, railway station; figure $15 per night.
So renting a car will cost you $1,000 a week, or $250 more than it would have
cost 10 months ago -- thank the oil companies and military spending for that.
A tour will cost you much less, so at this point, you make your first big
decision:
GOING ON A TOUR (AND THERE ARE DOZENS AND DOZENS) THAT GOES WHERE YOU WANT TO GO
WILL COST LESS THAN DOING ALL THE PLANNING YOURSELF. IF YOU'RE NOT ONE WHO
PLANS AHEAD VERY WELL, IF YOU'RE REALLY NERVOUS ABOUT THIS FIRST TRIP, IF YOU
LOVE CRUISES AND SO KNOW YOU'LL LOVE BEING IN A MODERATE SIZED BUS WITH 20 TO 30
OTHER PEOPLE FOR THE TEN DAYS TO TWO WEEKS, THEN CONSULT A TRAVEL AGENT (NOT THE
INTERNET) FOR TOURS, PRICES, AND RESERVATIONS. YOU WON'T HAVE TO MAKE ANY
RESERVATIONS, AND YOU'LL KNOW IN ADVANCE HOW MUCH IT WILL COST.
IN OTHER WORDS, FREEDOM TO CHOOSE HAS A PRICE.
BUT IF YOU WANT TO PLAN YOUR OWN WAY AND GET TO KNOW ITALIANS AND THEIR COUNTRY
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL, THEN CONTINUE WITH THIS PLANNING PAGE.
Of course, you can do both. You can plan your ideal trip, tote up the
cost, then go looking for a tour that meets your goals.
If you want to see just some
major cities, then you have two other options (of course, you can do as we have
done and do one week driving through, say, Tuscany, and one week in Rome and
Venice. ):
- Air
- Railway
Airfare is more expensive than train, as you might expect, but not as wide a
difference as we thought when we first started researching. The problem is
that not all major cities are directly connected. For instance, if you
want to get to Florence by air from Venice, you have to fly through Rome.
If you want to get to Venice from Milan, you have to fly through Rome or Naples
(and there are only 2 seats left for most flights next September!) So, to
get around by air to specific cities, you may have to crisscross the country or,
more logically, do some of your traveling by train.
In order to get a general budget, however, here are some rough prices to put on
your sheet. We've included not only rail and airfares but also the least
expensive bus or rail ways to get from the airports to the cities.
Railway fares (second class) on
Thursday, March 13, 2008 for travel on Tuesday, June
10:
The website is www.raileurope.com.
In many instances, fares are not made available for more than 3 months ahead,
but the prices below should prevail for May and June, since there is not really
a high season on rail fares. Most prices are up 30% from 10 months ago.
Some of the fares are estimated based on earlier schedules; the variation will
not be more than a few dollars. Times will vary greatly depending on when
you leave -- morning is best.
Milan to Florence: $51 (2 hrs,42 mins)
Milan to Venice: $55 (2 hrs, 23 mins)
Milan to Rome: $101 (4 hrs, 30 mins
Venice to Florence: $55 (2 hrs, 51 mins)
Florence to Rome: $65 (1 hr, 47 mins)
Rome to Naples: $50 (1 hrs, 35 mins)
Airfares on Sunday, May 20 for travel on Tuesday, July 10:
ALERT: Except where
noted below, all these fares are on Alitalia, which seems to have shouldered
aside some of the other carriers in its zeal to stay in business. For most
of these routes, the train is the best bet.
Milan to Florence: $135 (1 hr)
Milan to Venice: $1904 (1 hr) Air One flies this route; take
it.
Milan to Rome: $119 (1 hr, 15 mins)
Venice to Florence: (Rent a car or take a train. If you fly, you have to fly down to Rome and back
up!)
Venice to Rome: $148 (1 hr) Lufthansa or Air One.
Florence to Rome: $138 (1 hr)
Rome to Naples: $134 (50 mins)
In order to fly, you have to get from the city to the airport (unlike railways,
whose terminals are within bus, cab or walking distance). Below are the
costs of getting from the city to the airport, or airport to city.
(Remember, you'll have to do both, so double the cost for each city you're
flying into and out of.)
Bus
Rail
Cab (est.)
Milan Linate (domestic
airport):
$ 3.00 No
service $ 17.50
Florence:
$ 5.00 $
5.00
$ 15.00
(Note: Int'l flights arrive at Galileo Galilei Airport 80 km. west of the
city)
Boat
Water Taxi
Venice:
$1.50- $ 4.00 No service $
30.00 $
14.00 $130.00
Rome:
$ 11.00 $
15.00
$ 50.00
Naples:
$ 2.00
Taxis in Naples are unreliable; if you want one from the airport, be sure it
is an official,
licensed one at an official taxi stand. It is better to take the
bus. And before you travel to
Naples, be sure to read up on it - it's not for the fainthearted.
If you are headed for the Amalfi Coast, Positano Limousine (see Places to Stay -
Positano) will get you at the airport or train station for about $150.
This was long-winded, but at least now you can figure out how much it will cost
to get from one city to the other.
STEP SEVEN - WHERE WILL YOU STAY?
You
know how many days you'll be in each city. Finding the right hotel will
take some time, but it won't be too confusing, since there are lots of
choices. One of our linked sites, www.hotelsabroad.com,
which links to this website for all its English-speaking customers traveling to Italy, has selected
inexpensive hotels throughout the central and northern part of Italy, including
one we've stayed in and enjoyed (at under $100 a night) in Domodossola in the
north. Another site,
www.booking.com,
has the full range of prices;
for the major cities it will be more useful to you, since it can find you rooms
for under $150 to $3,000 (if Aunt May left you a bundle between Step Six and
this one).
Keep in mind that a two star hotel is just fine for the budget traveler, and
booking.com also gives you ratings from a great many people who have stayed in
each hotel. Hotelsabroad.com has checked them out for you - hence the
smaller number of recommendations.
A great advantage of the tedious work of the Budget Form is that here is a place
where you can cut back if your total budget is beyond your means. You can
start out with a list of three stars and then, if you have to reduce,
you can look for others in lower categories, but which have received good
recommendations.
In Rome, for instance, there's www.the-beehive.com/english.html,
which leads you to the The Beehive, a very small hotel not far from the railway
station in Rome run by two Americans, with very nice doubles in high season at
$120 a night (in Rome!). And they obviously speak good English there.
Bear in mind that this and other wonderful bargains are booked well in advance;
the farther ahead of time you make your plans, the less you will spend.
STEP EIGHT - WHERE WILL YOU EAT?
Good
food in most parts of the country, especially outside Rome and Venice, is
regional food, and local restaurants will be pretty dependable, with menus and
prices posted out front. Food on the autostrada is remarkably good,
even outstanding, especially compared to the American Interstate or British M's,
but stay away from restaurants on smaller roads that have trucks parked around
them - for the same reason you avoid truck stops elsewhere - lots for the price
- lots of calories, lots of fat.
If you're using guidebooks, you'll have picked out places within your budget
ahead of time. If not, avoid the hotel plans which include supper - you're
taking a chance. That's not true of the hotels we recommend in our
Itinerary #1 - they were all outstanding, but you're better off - and will have
more fun - if you wander into the town or down the street and take your chances.
A reminder, once you're out of the hotel, not at an expensive restaurant, and
off the beaten path, you may find that no one in the place speaks English.
That's why you've bought your menu guide and your small dictionary. But,
hey, you should be pretty familiar with the Italian words for things from all
the Italian places you've eaten in here in the States, or in Canada or wherever
you hail from.
The smaller offbeat places will be as reasonable as the Sizzlers and Marie
Callendars in the US. You'll also find MacDonald's, KFC, and those other
American corporate feeding troughs. Please - please - you're in Italy -
eat in Italy. (Exception made for those traveling with children who
may need to yield occasionally, but at least it's Italy - kids like pizza and
spaghetti - imagine if you were traveling in France or Germany or England.
The little ones might get downright mutinous.)
STEP NINE - WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE?
Okay, now you know your basic costs. In this section of your budget you'll
put in money for buses and cabs and tours within and near the cities you'll be
visiting, as well as museum admission fees, admission 'donations' and the
like. This is a modest category, but it will help you plan your individual
days each place you go, and remind you that there are must-see-if-you-can
places like the museums in Florence or the ruins of Pompeii if you're in Rome,
that require advance reservations.
You'll need to do some researching on the Internet, again. Here are a
couple of links to help. One site (there are several) for making
reservations for the Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia Gallery (statue of David)
is
http://www.goporta.com/tickets/Uffizi_ticket.htm
or Google "museums florence." Figure $25 per person per museum,
which includes the service fee charged by the sites.
If you're planning on Rome, there are day tours to Pompeii and the Bay of
Naples, both beautiful, educational, and inspirational sights, that are quite
reasonable. One is www.guestinitaly.com/tours/tour15.htm.
Figure $175 per person, including a quick bite to eat at the crowded but
interesting (people-watching) cafeteria and a tip for the driver and guide.
Rome by night is stunning. Google "tours Rome" for
details. Figure $50 per person, plus a coin to throw into the Trevi
Fountain (to ensure your return to Rome).
You get the idea. Once you've got your cities, method of travel, and
hotels figured out, you can start to have fun with the guidebooks to get an idea
of what you might like to see, but, for the purposes of this initial budget, put
in $50 per day for sightseeing, if you figure you'll take buses to sites like
the Vatican and Coliseum and will find your own way around, $75 - $100 if you
think you'll do Pompeii and will take cabs in Florence and a water taxi or
gondola in Venice.
STEP TEN - CAN YOU DO IT IN YOUR BUDGET?
Now
you put everything into the budget and you've totaled it all up and added 10%
for unknowns and emergencies.
IF IT'S WAY MORE THAN YOU'D HOPED, HERE ARE SOME SUGGESTIONS:
o Shorten your visit.
As obvious as it sounds, this may not be a bad idea anyway. Two weeks is a
long time to
worry about costs and schedules and check-in/check-out and a foreign language.
We've found
that 9 days is a lot cheaper and more enjoyable than two weeks/14 days.
Airfare from here to Italy is a
lot, but it's a small part of your eventual cost - better to
come back another time, when you've got a feel for what you
enjoyed and want to see more of.
o Reduce the number of cities.
This
option doesn't have to mean shortening your visit, but
you'll save on inter-city transportation and can bargain with your hotels (which after all,
you
haven't booked yet) for a better rate for a longer stay. And you'll have more chances
to find less expensive
restaurants, to figure out bus schedules instead of tours, and to
discover the lower or no cost museums and sites.
o Change your travel method. If you
were flying between cities, use trains instead - they're
in the middle of town,
so they don't require buses or cabs to get to and from the airports.
If you were
using trains or planes and planning to visit four or more cities, check out the
websites on 10 day or two week car
rentals - if there are four of you, it could be cheaper
than train fares or airfares plus cabs/buses.
o Go earlier or later. We've stressed
elsewhere that we never go in July or August because it's
the least enjoyable time to be in Italy - it's hot and humid; Europeans are on their long
vacations
and competing for places, seats in restaurants, umbrellas on beaches; hotel
rates are at their highest;
restaurants have few bargain specials; shops are crowded and
staffed by people who can't take their vacations when
everyone else does. High
season runs from June 1 or thereabouts to October 1 in most hotels. Kaye's
favorite time
is early May - the chance of rain is more than offset by the flowers, fresh produce, and
seafood
from cooler waters than in the summer. Russ prefers late September/early
October - the chill evenings are
offset by the chance to wear nice sweaters and jackets,
the white truffles, the langoustini, and, again, the
cooler waters for seafood.
o Put it off a year if your ability to save
up more money will outpace a 15% rise in costs,
the combination of inflation and a falling dollar. It's better to go without worrying
constantly
about money - you're on vacation - and it's far better to be sure you can pay
those credit card bills.
SADLY, HOWEVER, IT DOESN'T LOOK AS IF THE DOLLAR IS GOING
TO IMPROVE VERY SOON. IF YOU'VE NEVER BEEN BEFORE, MAYBE YOU TAKE A DEEP
BREATH AND DECIDE TO GO ANYWAY. IF THE KIDS AREN'T LITTLE ONES, THEY
SHOULD SEE ITALY AND WAIT FOR THAT IPHONE.
If
we can give you more details, or answer questions, contact us. Click
here.
And PLEASE - let us know if this helped and let us know how your trip
went!
Copyright 2008,
Kaye and Russ Cooper-Mead
Last updated 03/13/08