It can be difficult trying to plan a trip budget and not knowing where to start, so here you will find our full trip to Italy cost breakdown. This was two weeks travel in Italy for two people in October 2018. Our travel style is modest. We like to be comfortable and have a good time but we don’t feel the need to pay for every attraction or stay in luxury hotels.
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Flights to Italy cost: aud$1,906
Melbourne to Milan return (connect in Bangkok) with Thai Airways.
Travel insurance: aud$159.60
The works cover from Travel Insurance Direct.
Cost of a trip to Italy for two: €2,497.36
Excluding Flights and travel insurance this was our total cost for our two week Italy trip for two adults.
Full cost breakdown listed below, read on to find out where all the money went.
Sim Card: €20.00
Purchased from Tim Mobile, Milan.
Italy Accommodation cost: €1,419.86
Milan 1 night: 98.40 AirBnB
Venice 1 night: 130 Hotel Filu
Rome 3 nights: 312.19 AirBnB
Corniglia 2 nights: 160.70 AirBnB
Florence 3 nights: 277.61 AirBnB
Como 1 night: 93.70 Albergo Terminus Hotel
Bellagio 2 nights: 250 Borgo Le Terraze
Milan 1 night: 97.26 AirBnB
Tips for accommodation budget: look at Airbnb and be sure to read reviews. Keep an eye on hotel deals. We love Booking.com and its loyalty program for discounts. Book early. We were outside of the main peak season which also helps keep costs down.
Italy Transport cost: €463.00
Airport to city + return: €52.00
Transport between Italian cities: €317.00
Milan to Venice: 19.80
Venice to Rome: 51.80
Rome to La Spezia: 59.80
La Spezia to Pisa: 22.00
Pisa to Florence: 17.20
Florence to Siena: 33.60
Florence to Como: 69.40
Como to Bellagio: 20.80
Bellagio to Varenna boat: 9.20
Varenna to Milan Train: 13.40
Transport within cities: €94.00
Milan: 18.00 subway
Venice: 20.00 Vaporetto to S. Giorgio Maggiore
Rome: 20.00 24-hour pass plus subway
Cinque Terre: 36.00 1 day card plus train & bus to Corniglia
Florence: 0.00 walking only.
Tips for transport budget: Buy tickets online as soon as possible, advance booking discounts apply. Look at the city transport passes and whether they will be worth it. Walk between sights. Check Klook.com for rail passes in Italy.
Food & drink cost in Italy: €538.50
Our average food and drink cost in Italy per day was: €38.46
This is an estimate, we weren’t keeping count of our gelato.
Examples of food costs in Italy
Milan McDonald’s 2x meals: €16.70
Milan airport lunch for 2: €13.00
Venice salami sandwich: €4.00
Rome sandwich: €5.50 from Baker Boss. This was delicious!
Bellagio panino / pizza slice: €5.00 from Bellavita. This place is labelled as Italian street food and it was a favourite from our trip. The staff were incredibly friendly. We had a salami panino and large pizza slices from here. We also stopped in after dinner one night and got take away tiramisu.
Pizza: €4 – €8
Bellagio carbonara: €10.00 at La Fontana.
Corniglia A Cantina da Mananan: This was our best meal in Italy. Tim had ravioli with walnut sauce and I had testaroli pasta with pesto. It was all so delicious. 2x pasta, 2x wine and cover charge: €34.00
Gelato: €1 – €3.20
Cappuccino: €2.50
White wine bottle: €5.65 from a supermarket in Florence.
Glass of wine/spritz at a restaurant: €4 – €6
Tips for food budget: avoid the ‘tourist traps’. Walk away from the main sights and visit the little local shops. Watch where the residents go, we found €1 gelato after seeing locals popping in and out.
Sightseeing in Italy cost: €56.00
Milan: €20 Duomo rooftop.
Venice: €12 San Giorgio Maggiore bell tower
Rome: €24.00 combined tickets Palatine Hill, Roman Forum & Colosseum.
Cinque Terre: €0 Hiking trail included in train card
Florence: €0 simply walked around the city
Lake Como: €0 boat ride included in transport costs.
Tips for sightseeing budget: We aren’t big on paying to enter sights, mostly because we’re too tight with our money but also because we prefer to be outside. We are quite happy to just walk around the city and view things from outside, for free. The Rome sights were definitely worth the money and we were able to save on the Milan Duomo rooftop by taking the stairs up.
Trip to Italy cost breakdown
So, that’s our full trip to Italy cost breakdown. Where does it fit within your typical travel budget? We’d love to know!
