How Much I Spent for One Month in Italy

A trip to Italy is at the top of many bucket lists, and for good reason: between the food, the history, the culture, and the world-famous sights, Italy is a dream. But just how much does it cost to visit Italy?

I had the same question before my recent trip to Italy, where I spent one month exploring from Rome to Venice and many places in between. So, during my trip, I tracked every dollar I spent on transportation and food and lodging and absolutely everything else. Now I’m spilling the beans and telling you exactly how much it cost me to visit Italy for one wonderful month.

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase or a booking through one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting In Old Cities in this way!

The Cost of One Month in Italy

My one-month trip to Italy took place in August and September 2023. If you’re reading this in some future year, you can estimate the cost of my trip in present values using an inflation calculator (like this one, if you’re in the U.S.).

All amounts are in USD.

Transportation

First, I flew to Italy for the actual price of — yes — $1.00.

How did I spend so little on my flight? Airline miles! Booking flights with miles is so delightful: you’ll sometimes have to pay some taxes and fees in cash (these costs may range from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars, depending on the countries and airports you fly through), but you can generally eliminate one of your largest expenses.

In this case, I flew economy from London to Rome on British Airways, which cost me 12,750 Avios points and $1.00 in taxes and fees.

To get around within Italy, I took both trains and buses. I spent $218.59 on trains between cities (including one day trip to San Marino), and $57.15 on buses (some of these were buses to get around within cities, and others were buses to transfer between cities).

On two occasions, I bought passes for unlimited transport (one pass for 2 days of transport in and around Venice, and another pass for 1 day of transport in Cinque Terre). In total, these passes cost $57.38.

Finally, I spent $10.78 on one taxi ride.

My total transportation costs: $344.90.

Accommodations

My month in Italy was a busy one, taking me from Rome up to Venice, with many stops in between.

I started in Rome, where I stayed for six nights at Relais Palazzo Taverna. It cost me $403.34, plus $22.65 in city tax. I liked this hotel a lot — there was no air conditioning (not unusual for Rome), but my room stayed fairly cool on those insanely hot August days (I often retreated back to my room rather than sightseeing in the afternoon!). It wasn’t large, but it was clean. And it was wonderfully located just a few feet off one of the most picturesque streets in Rome, Via dei Coronari.

At the end of my time in Rome, a friend flew over to join me for a little while. We took the train to Siena, where we spent one night at Tetti di Siena. It was nice! Our room was sizable, we could walk everywhere, and the breakfast was fine. My share of our room cost me $57.29.

Next, we headed to San Gimignano, where we stayed for three nights at a wonderful Airbnb just outside of the city walls. It was lovely and perfectly located, and cost me $151.99 (including city tax).

From San Gimignano, we moved on to Florence, where we spent five nights at Affittacamere Z&I, a nice little B&B. The rooms were snug, but nice (recently updated), and the owner did move us to a bigger room when the first one we were offered turned out to be way too small for two people. This place is conveniently located near the bus station and train station, though it’s a bit farther away from the main sights. My share of our room cost $263.75.

Next, we spent two nights at Pisa Central Station Guestrooms, which I chose primarily for its close proximity to the train station. The main sights were a bit farther away, but we didn’t mind taking a bus or walking. This was a very basic guesthouse, but it served our needs just fine. Our stay in Pisa cost me $85.03 plus $29.60 in city tax.

For our last stay before my friend flew home, we went to Riomaggiore — one of the five main towns in the famous Cinque Terre. We stayed at this Airbnb, which was only okay — except for the view from its terrace, which was spectacular. I spent three nights there, which cost me $462.80 (ouch!).

Now traveling solo again, I headed to Bologna, where I spent three nights at the wonderful Casa Isolani for $285.77. I loved this place — it was located very near several major sights, and my room was beautiful (and air conditioned — so helpful in August!). This was one of the best places I stayed in all of Italy!

For my final stop in Italy, I spent eight (!) nights at Hotel Dalla Mora in Venice. Venice is a notoriously expensive city, but I kept this expense somewhere under the stratosphere, spending $651.20 for my week+ in Venice. Hotel Dalla Mora was located within walking distance of the train station (hugely helpful on both arrival and departure), and had a terrace overlooking a canal (charming!). Breakfast was also included.

My total accommodation costs: $2,413.42.

Food & Drink

Oof — I spent $1,427.79 on food and drinks! That includes all my meals (which I mostly ate at sit-down restaurants), snacks, coffee, alcohol (soooo much wine), and water (yes, you have to buy water in many European restaurants).

In retrospect, this was really excessive, and I could have easily reduced this amount with a little effort.

That said, I was traveling with a friend for nearly two weeks, and when I’m traveling with a companion, I do like to linger over a nice meal (more than when I’m alone!). We spent many wonderful meals with a bottle of wine and sometimes even multiple courses. We splurged! And hey — it’s Italy. It was all so good! (Except for that one bottle of wine that had gone off, but that’s a story for another day…) In short, I really didn’t try very hard to keep my food spending any lower.

Activities

I spent $606.31 on activities, which included entrance fees for museums, towers, and churches, a hiking permit in Cinque Terre, and one pesto-making class.

That’s a lot of money! But I essentially did everything I wanted to do (and had time to do), and didn’t hesitate to shell out for an entrance fee if something I wanted to see charged one. And while I spent plenty of afternoons relaxing out of the heat, I spent lots of time sightseeing. Had I traveled a bit slower and kept myself less busy, my spending on activities could have been quite a bit lower.

Other

I spent $86.75 on replacing toiletries (a huge chunk of that was an expensive bottle of foundation) and $46.81 on laundry (did I mention that Venice is expensive?).

Grand Total

In total, I spent $5,025.11, or $162.10 per day.

Whether that sounds like a lot or a little to you will of course depend on your own perceptions of how much travel should cost. To me, it sounds like a lot (given that I didn’t pay cash for my flight), but it reflects a trip where, other my accommodations, I rarely put much effort into saving money.

If you want to visit Italy for a month but spend less than I did, it would not be hard to do so. You could spend hundreds less than I did just by visiting fewer museums, eating at sit-down restaurants only for dinner, and choosing less expensive accommodation.

pin this post