Spreadsheeting: How Much I Spent in Italy

For a country that I’d originally planned to spend a week in, I got somewhat “lost” in the amazingness that is Italy on this trip. It’s the country I spent the longest time in – over three weeks! And every single day was amazing! (Yes, even the days I was laid up with a bad back!)

In all, in 22 days in Italy, I spent $2702.82.

How did that work out?

Airfare: $0
For the first time I was in Italy, I took the ferry from Dubrovnik to Bari, and the second time I took the train in from France. So no airfare there!

Visa: $0.00
Italy has a free visa on arrival for US citizens.

Accommodations: $1,154.73
This was only one night in a hostel (when Holly and I got a private room), and the rest were in hotels, inns, or AirBnBs… where I was alone! By the time I was in Italy, I’d had it with sharing a hostel room with strangers. So if I’d been super-budget conscious in Italy, I could have brought this down by being more willing to find hostels.

Activities: $148.20
Luckily, most churches are free (and what I like seeing!). So this included tickets for the Vatican Museum, the Vatican Necropolis Tour, the Siena Duomo, and a Naples Pass. I feel like I got a lot of activities for my money overall in Italy!

Transportation: $483.07
This included a whole lot of ferries, trains, and public transit! And just a few cabs (when my mom and Holly were with me).

I used the high-speed trains for going from Bari to Naples; France to Milan; Milan to Venice; Venice to Florence; Florence to Rome. I was lucky when I was with my mom and Holly because we traveled on weekends and I was able to find a few deal from TrenItalia that offered 2 for 1 tickets!

Food: $634.04
I refuse to reveal how much of this was spent on gelato. But it’s a scary amount! I fell HARD for Italian gelato, and Italian food in general. I ate really well during my time in Italy! When I was in Lake Como, I cooked a lot and saved a ton of money, but otherwise was out sampling all the amazing restaurants in Italy!

Souvenirs: $19.20
Carrying a backpack as luggage is a winning strategy for keeping the souvenir costs down – I was adverse to buying any because I knew I’d have to carry them! But I did buy a very special rosary from St Peter’s in the Vatican.

Miscellaneous: $6.00
I stored a bag at the train station in Pisa. And I feel victorious! Not ONCE did I pay to use a restroom in Italy. #strategy

Ultimately, it came out to an average of about $122.86 per day. Originally, I was hoping to keep Italy under $120/day, so I feel pretty good about this one. I don’t think this was a terrible overage considering how much I got to do!