Those who have been to Italy

I went once when I was 19 yrs. old. Back then, my mother found an awesome deal $250 RT flights and I don't remember how much she paid for the hotel, but we had an amazing time. Since that was 16 yrs ago and so much has changed, how much is it overall (airfare, hotel, food, etc) to stay for two weeks?

Where would you recommend staying? What town? Hotel? Thanks.

Re: Those who have been to Italy

We went a few years ago. For DH and I it was about $6000 - $7000. This included airfare, hotel, car service to and from hotel, eurorail

Rome, Florence and Venice

10 days

Re: Those who have been to Italy

I'm not much of a help since my family has a house there, so we don't pay for hotels.
I think Erica's estimate is pretty accurate for now.
$1000-ish pp for airfare is pretty much the norm unless you find a great sale.

Re: Those who have been to Italy

It honestly depends on a ton of factors.

How many cities? Rail and flights add to the price signifigantly.

How many star hotels? 3, 4 etc.

Breakfast is usually included but if you are not on a tour you will have to pay for lunch and dinner.

The Euro is stronger then the dollar so a 40 dollar lunch is really like 60 dollars.

DH and I just went for 14 nights...Venice, Florence (day trip to Siena, Rome (3 nights each, private transfers and train), flew to Sicily transfer to Taormina 4 nights = almost 9k. including all flights, hotels (3-4 stars), trains, private transfers, breakfast etc.

Add 2-4 k more for meals, shopping, day yours, entrance fees to museums etc.

FM me if you would like add'l info

ETA: As other posters have pointed out, it depends on when you travel. We went in the summer, bc this is when I am off and we wanted to do 2 weeks. During the summer everything is jacked up. If you can go during off season you can do much better

Message edited 8/17/2010 10:36:33 PM.

Re: Those who have been to Italy

I never pay more than $600 rt.

we stay in small towns. in less $$ hotels when we are not in Milan and we don't spend more than $5k TOTAL.

I've been to italy many times and I don't use travel agents or tours. ever. if you are a DIY type you can save tons of money (and go shopping while you are there )

if you go in the fall or in the late winter, early spring you generally get the best rates.

many Best Western hotels offer great value for your hotel dollar.

where to go depends on what you are looking for!

Re: Those who have been to Italy

You also get cheaper airfare if you fly during the off season. In February & March it's about $500 pp RT.

Re: Those who have been to Italy

i think our flights last august were about $1800 RT combined.

we probably spent close to $10K between flight, hotels, euro rail, tours, food and spending money. thats also with the conversion fees.

we went to rome, florence and venice for 8 days

Re: Those who have been to Italy

Re: Those who have been to Italy

We are planning a trip for next month. I estimate it will cost 3500 in total.

We are flying into Venice and out of rome, flights are 750 each.

We are staying in B and Bs and guesthouses instead of chain hotels- this is incredibly cheaper. For example, 68 Euros a night for a B&B one block from the grand canal in venice. A B and B once block from the Gallerie Accademia in Florence, 85 dollars a night.

Rome is a bit more expensive, and we are staying near the spanish steps for 110 euro a night. There are inss near the Vatican for much cheaper, but its not the most centrally located area.

Trains between the cities are 200 dollars total.

This leaves us just over 1000 dollars for food, activites etc. We're not much for shopping or souveniers, so that cuts down on our budget a lot. I'll probably spend under a hundred dollars on souveniers. We went to Germany last year and spent 30 dollars on souvenirs.

So its can be done cheaper, it just require some extra research and work.