I’ve seen a lot of travel sites that talk about their trips, but they almost never give people an idea of how much a similar trip would cost. I think transparency is important, which brings me to my new series – Trip Budget Breakdowns. First up: how much our two week Italy trip cost us.
To be completely honest/upfront, these numbers aren’t 100% accurate. Even with all my spreadsheets and credit card statements, it’s not super easy to backtrack and keep track of costs after the fact. They are in the ballpark though (give or take a couple hundred dollars). Keep in mind that this was the total cost for two people with a mixed-budget style. Thanks to inflation prices have unfortunately risen a bit since we took our trip in 2022, so I’ve added a cost estimate for 2025 at the bottom of each section. I know everyone has different thoughts on what is a “realistic budget”, so I’ve also included ideas on how to make things more budget-friendly at the end.
Interested in what exactly we did in each city? You can find all of my Italy related itinerary posts here.
Pre-Trip Estimate: $7,415 -vs- Actual Trip Cost: $7,460 (2022)
Taking the exact same trip in 2025 would likely cost closer to $9,240.
Flights
After our initial research, most flights from the Northeast were going to cost around $2,000. In an attempt to save a little money, we flew Turkish Airlines from Newark to Venice with a short layover in Istanbul. Unfortunately that decision would come back to bite us, because we ended up missing our layover flight and were stuck at the Istanbul airport overnight. Our return flight was from Rome to Newark, again with an Istanbul layover.
Budgeted: $2,000
Actually Spent: $1,555
2025 Estimate
If we were to book flights for another trip, we’d definitely choose an airline other than Turkish Airlines. A) at $2,500 round-trip they’re no longer the cheapest option and B) the shortest layover with them that I could find was 13.5 hours. Instead I’d probably fly with British Airways, who offers a flight with a 4 hour layover in London for about the same price as we paid.
2025 Estimate: $1,505
Train Travel/Ground Transportation
Even though he is around trains all the time thanks to his job, my husband was excited to travel in Italy mainly via high-speed trains or the metro. Our trip began with an Amtrak train to Newark, which for us was free! Generally going from Philly to Newark costs about $100/per person. We budgeted $100 for metro fares for the 2 weeks but only ended up using the trains and trolley in Milan, so that saved us a bit in our budget.
We were mostly able to get where we needed to go in each city by walking. However at the end of the trip, we did call a cab in Rome to take us back to the station. We were way too tired to lug our bags through the city again. Unfortunately our flight home didn’t land until 11pm, and then it took TWO HOURS to get our checked bag. Thankfully we’d reserved a rental car to drive back to Philly, because neither of us were in the mood to get on another train that late at night.
Budgeted: $700
Actually Spent: $625
2025 Estimate
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the costs in this section didn’t increase all that much! A perk of having state-funded railways I guess. I would’ve at least expected a rental car to cost more, but it also stayed about the same.
2025 Estimate: $650
Hotels
Since we were stopping in 4 different cities, we didn’t want to break the budget with expensive hotels. We figured we would only really be in the room to sleep, so we decided to stick with smaller budget hotels, bed & breakfasts, or guest houses (we even rented a room in a woman’s house in Venice!). Italy has city tourism taxes that you pay in addition to your room fee, regardless of the type of accommodation. The amount varies by city, but generally ranges from €1-7 per person/per night.
We unfortunately missed our connecting flight on our way to Venice, so we were stuck paying for a hotel in the Istanbul Airport. The free room the airline offered was in the city center, meaning we would have had to go through customs/security the next morning which we didn’t want to deal with.
Budgeted: $1,665
Actually Spent: $2,065
2025 Estimate
This is where the cost went a bit off the rails. If I were to try and book the same hotels/bed & breakfasts again, it would cost almost double! We visited when many Covid restrictions were still in place, so lowered demand meant low prices. A few of the places, like where we stayed in Florence and Rome, I likely wouldn’t book again – they were the main culprits behind the price surge. There are plenty of other hotel options nearby that are significantly cheaper and could keep you closer to how much we had spent.
2025 Estimate: $3,500
Sites/Attractions
On average, we visited one or two attractions per day throughout the entire two week trip. The most expensive was the Uffizi Gallery in Florence for €38/each, which included access to the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens as well. On the other hand, the cheapest of the paid attractions was the Vicus Caprarius in Rome for just €8/each. There are plenty of famous sites that are free, including the Rialto Bridge in Venice, Trevi Fountain in Rome, and Ponte Vecchio in Florence. We didn’t end up going to one of the museums in Rome we’d originally planned to, which kept us under budget.
Budgeted: $450
Actually Spent: $415
2025 Estimate
Quite a few of the smaller sites have kept their prices the same over the last few years, while major sites like the Duomo in Milan and the Colosseum in Rome raised their prices.
2025 Estimate: $484
Food & Drinks
Knowing things would be a bit cheaper than they are here in the States, we budgeted $150/day for food and drinks. We aren’t big ‘lets eat breakfast in the hotel’ people. So besides one morning in Milan, we exclusively ate out/away from where we were staying. Our breakfast and lunches were on the cheaper side (under $25/day). This generally consisted of quick stops for coffee, pastries, gelato, and focaccia sandwiches. Then we were able to splurge on wine tasting, cocktail bars, and fancy dinners. We tried a few Michelin guide recommended restaurants, and made a stop at a bar in Rome that is ranked as one of the best in the world!
Budgeted: $2,100
Actually Spent: Approximately $1,800
2025 Estimate
Food and drink prices are a bit trickier to estimate – mostly because menus and tastes change over the years. For simplicity’s sake, I figured the most reasonable estimate would come from inputting my costs into an inflation calculator.
2025 Estimate: $2,000-ish
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Miscellaneous Costs
Since they’re mostly paid for in cash, these things are the toughest to keep track of. Think things like small tips, airport/train station snacks, souvenirs, etc. The original plan was to limit miscellaneous spending to only the cash we brought. That unfortunately went out the window once we realized we hadn’t packed enough clothes, and then when I was *convinced* to buy a dress I never would have spent so much money on at home.
Budgeted: $500
Actually Spent: Approximately $1,000
2025 Estimate
Like with my food and drink estimate, I input my costs into an inflation calculator here as well.
2025 Estimate: $1,100-ish
Italy Trip Budget Saving Ideas
Coming up with your travel budget for a trip to Italy can be overwhelming. Seeing how much other people spent is possibly even more so. Here are some ideas for easy ways you can tweak my budget to save some money:
- Avoid shopping or eating in super touristy areas when possible. The prices are inflated because of their convenience, and because as a tourist you don’t know any better!
- Speaking of food: there are so many amazing options that are cheaper than where we decided to go for our dinners. We averaged about $75-100 per dinner, but you can find plenty of places in the $40-50 range (or less) as well. Rick Steve’s Europe has great advice about eating in Italy on a budget, here.
- Do your research beforehand and find out if there are any bundles for museums/attractions or public transportation. Depending on how long you’ll be in one place, it may be cheaper to buy a weekly metro pass rather than buying tickets as you need them. The Roma Pass for example gives you access to the entire metro system, plus one or two attractions (depending on which pass you choose) and reduced ticket prices to any additional sites you want to see.
- If you’re comfortable with navigating public transportation in a foreign city, book a hotel a bit further out from the city center. You’ll save money while also exploring areas that many other tourists likely would not.
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