Travel Tips

How much does a trip to Italy cost? Costs and money-saving tips

Wondering how much a trip to Italy costs? You can spend anywhere from $1,200 to $4,000 based on when you travel and what activities you do.

Did you know you can move unlimitedly within Rome for as little as $1.61 using the metro, buses, and trams for 100 minutes? Or that a shot of espresso costs just $1 in most local cafes?

Tips like these can turn a trip to Italy from a dream into your reality. Below, we answer the question “How much does a trip to Italy cost?” to show you how to live la dolce vita within your budget.

We cover all you need to know, from flights and accommodation to how to get mobile internet in Italy with an unlimited data eSIM.

In this article

How much is a trip to Italy in total?

A trip to Italy cost for 1 can cost anywhere from $1,300 to $4,000 for a week, based on where you’re staying, where you eat, and the activities you do during your trip.

If you’re traveling with someone else, a trip to Italy cost for 2 is almost double, meaning you’ll need anywhere from $2,000 to $7,000 for a one-week trip.

Lastly, how much a trip to Italy is for a family of 4 ranges from $1,300 to $4,000 for adults and around half for children, especially if they are under 4, as there are often special discounts. This means you’ll end up spending around $3,900 to $12,000.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what you have to consider on your trip to help you consider if is Italy expensive or not.

Activity	Price per person for one week in Italy
Flights	$485 to 700 off-season to over $1,800 in the high-season
Accommodation	From $245 in hostels/shared rooms to $1,200 in condos/apartments
Transportation	Starting at $1.61 and up to $100 USD for train trips
Tours and activities	$20 to $500 based on your itinerary
Food and drinks	$120 to $400 plus $50 to $100 for alcoholic beverages
Total costs	$1,300 during the off-season with basic accommodation to over $4,000 during the high season with a high travel budget

How much does a trip to Italy cost: The breakdown

Italy is a diverse country with something for everyone. This means you can easily shape your trip’s cost to fit your budget.

Whether visiting big cities like Milan and Venice or traveling off-the-beaten-track in Tuscany, here’s everything you need to consider when calculating the cost of your trip.

Flights

Like other major European countries, flights to Italy vary in pricing based on seasonality. In the summer months, a round-trip from LA to Rome can cost up to $1,800.

But if you wait until October to April, pricing will highly decrease, as you’ll find a return ticket for around $500-700 from LA to Rome.

This also applies to other major airports in the USA, like Denver or JFK, where off-season flights can cost around $485 to $580.

Plane with the sunrise in the horizon traveling to Italy — Make sure to book your flight to Italy in advance. Source: Pexels

It’s worth also considering any internal flights you plan to take, as these can add around $140 to $200 to your overall transport costs.

Note: You must have a round-trip ticket as an entry requirement to stay in Italy for up to 90 days.

Accommodation

Whether touring the iconic landmarks of Rome or sampling the best prosecco in Veneto, making the most of your trip to Italy is tiring work. Thankfully, there will always be plenty of accommodation options where you can unwind for the evening.

Each region will have different pricing. An Airbnb in Rome, for example, costs $49 to $100 per night. Florence is more expensive, ranging from $69 to over $120 per night.

Airbnb map in Rome with rooms and apartments — Airbnb rooms and apartments on Rome. Source: Airbnb

There are cheaper alternatives in major cities. A shared room in a hostel usually costs around $35 to $45. Hostels are also great places to stay if you want to share with other travelers and learn more about their culture.

Overall, you’ll need to add around $245 for shared rooms/basic accommodations to anywhere from $1,000 to $1,200 for a hotel room/apartment/condo for a week in Italy while solo traveling.

If you prefer luxury, there are beautiful hotels around Italy where you can relax, explore, and enjoy unique landscapes, like the COMO Alpina Dolomites, Hilton Lake Como, or the Grand Hotel Tremezzo, with prices ranging from $250 to $1,000+ per night.

Travel tip to Italy: Staying in the countryside? Trying an agriturismo is a great option. These villas offer an escape from the city while you explore local life, often at a cut-throat price.

Transportation

Most big Italian cities are extremely walkable. So pack your comfiest shoes and order your cappuccino to go!

However, once you run out of energy, public transportation, such as buses and tram networks, becomes the cheapest and easiest way to move around cities.

For example, in Rome, you can get a one-way ticket to use the metro, buses, trams, and urban trains with unlimited transfers for as little as $1.61 for 100 minutes after the ticket validation.

Other options for unlimited access to public transport exist, like the Weekly Pass, which costs $25.89 for Rome and $42.25 for Florence.

What about other transportation methods in Italy? Here’s a quick breakdown:

Taxis

Taxi fares range from €3 (~$3.28 USD) until 10:00 PM to €6.50 (~$7.10) at night for a 2-3 kilometer ride.

Airport trips tend to cost €20 to €50 (~$21.84 to $54.60) depending on the city.

Uber is uncommon in Italy, so consider taxis your best ally if you need to move around.

Train

With Italo or Trenitalia, you’ll get access to three types of trains, which you can book online before your trip.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the available options:

Regional: Short or local trips, ranging from $2 to $20.
Inter-city: Longer journeys on slower trains. Anywhere from $20 to $100.
Frecciarossa: High-speed train across the country. Anywhere from $20 to $100.

Rental cars

Renting cars is the best way to move around smaller towns and visit the countryside.

Renting a car ranges from $30 to $50 per day, depending on your chosen vehicle. Sometimes, you might find deals from $5 to $12 per day on smaller cars that have inner-city driving limits.

When renting a car, getting insurance is advisable, but it can cause the price to skyrocket, so it’s better to rely on buses and other transportation methods where possible.

Bikes

Are you up for a two-wheel adventure around Naples or Milan? Renting a bike can cost €15 to €30 per day (~$16.38 to $32.79) for standard and some e-bikes.

In bigger cities, companies like RideMovi have electric bikes, with pricing starting at around $3 for a 30-minute ride.

Tours and activities

Part of the beauty of Italy is simply taking a passeggiata – a post-meal stroll while admiring the sights. However, you’ll no doubt want to take a look inside the stunning landmarks and museums at some point. You’ll need to add some budget for these, especially if you prefer private tours, which cost up to $500.

Pricing will be based on the activity for group tours and activities. For example, to visit the Colosseum, with a ticket including the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, you’ll need around $61 to $69 for a private tour to learn more about Roman history, while ticket-only costs €18 (~$19.52). A gondola ride in Venice, meanwhile, can cost around €80 (~ $86.67).

Rome Colosseum seen from across the street with tourists walking by — Rome Colosseum seen from across the street. Source. Pexels

Want to know more about the Renaissance and the Medici story? Some group tours in Florence can cost as little as $4 for a two to three-hour experience. Or you may want to spend a day in Tuscany, visiting Siena, San Gimignano, or Pisa on a guided tour, with an average cost of $100+ per person.

Museum tickets are a must in your budget. To visit the Uffizi Gallery, you’ll need around €19 to €47 (~$20.76 to $51.34 USD). Other museums, like the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum or the Vatican Museum, cost €15 to €25 (~$16.39 to $27.31 USD).

Really, how much you spend on tours and activities in Italy is up to you. However, it makes sense to budget anywhere between $20 and $500 for a week.

Food and drinks

Food and drink in Italy is the best way to dive into the local culture and cuisine. Often, it’s cheap and cheerful, where you can spend time with your loved ones or indulge yourself with your favorite food. However, Italy’s luxurious restaurants await you if you’re feeling fancy.

Let’s give a quick breakdown of how much you can spend on food and drinks:

Breakfast: A shot of espresso is around €1 to €2 (~$1.09 to $2.18 USD), and pastries cost an average of €1.50 to €2 (~$1.64 to $2.18 USD). If you pay more than this, you’re overpaying.
Pizza and sandwiches: Depending on where you eat and what you order, these cost around €5 to €15 (~$5.45 to $16.36 USD).
Sit-down meals: These are split into primo (first-course pasta) and secondo (second-course meat or fish). For the primo, pricing is often around €10 (~$10.90 USD), and the secondo costs around €20 (~$21.80 USD)
Drinks: A beer or glass of wine costs €4 to €7 ($4.36 to $7.63 USD), while a cocktail costs over €8 (~$8.72 USD).
Luxury restaurants: These can cost $50 per meal, but renowned restaurants like La Pergola can increase the price to over $100.

This is the average price for most meals in Italy without tips. Locals don’t expect tips, but there’s a small fee (coperto) added to your table, ranging from €1 to €3 (~$1.09 to $3.72 USD) per person.

women eating bruschetta and drinking vino in an italian ristorante — Bruschetta and vino, as a pre-dinner aperitivo in in Italy. Source: Pexels

Also, note that tourist hotspots are always more expensive, meaning the normal price can increase from 10% to 20% or sometimes even double in main squares like St. Mark’s in Venice.

So, you’ll need around $120 to $150 per week for basic meals without luxury restaurants. Adding luxury restaurants can increase this budget to over $400. Plus, remember to set aside around $50 to $100 for a night out!

Miscellaneous

Need to buy a bottle of water at a tabaccheria? Taking some wine from Chianti back home? Or perhaps, you’re buying some souvenirs at the museums you visit?

Either way, you’ll need some extra money for these added expenses. Based on what you plan to buy, we could say this is an “open budget,” but adding anywhere from $100 to $500 should do.

The best part about adding an “open budget” to your calculation is that, if you use it, you’ll surely have lots of gifts to take back home, and if you don’t, there will be leftover funds to book your next trip.

How to save money on a trip to Italy

There are ways to experience Italy to the full without having to break the bank. Here are several top tips to save money without having to give up your dream vacation:

Order your coffee “al banco” in tourist areas: You won’t have to pay the hefty coperto fee this way.
Order the Margherita pizza: Usually the cheapest pizza on the menu, it is also one of the tastiest options as it brings out full flavors of high-quality ingredients.
Check for return train deals: Companies like Italo offer discounts on return train journeys made in a day or over the weekend.
Avoid apps like Uber: Apps like Uber are uncommon in Italy, and fares are usually 20% higher than those of local taxis.
Try budget-friendly transportation: Traveling by plane in Italy is somewhat cheap, but trains are more budget-friendly. You’ll even find some stops on the way to take pictures, especially if you’re traveling through the Alps or Dolomites in northern Italy.
Book everything early: Two to three months before your trip is enough to find accommodation and flight deals without worrying about how much the prices fluctuate.
Try to visit Italy in the off-season: From February to mid-April and from October to late November, you’ll find cheaper flights from most airports in the USA.
Avoid data roaming fees in Italy: use an eSIM to move around using Google Maps and buy your entry, bus, and train tickets with ease.

Reduce the cost of your trip to Italy with a Holafly eSIM

Traveling to Italy is often a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Knowing how to budget your travels and save money where possible can make the difference between seizing that unforgettable moment or not.

That’s where the Holafly eSIM for Italy shines. You can get unlimited data plans starting at $6.90, including 500 MB data sharing per day, 5G connectivity with Vodafone and WINDTRE, and 24/7 customer support. And, if you plan to stay longer, the eSIM can cost as little as $1.55 per day.

But what about digital nomads or heavy data users? If you want to post every video and picture and call back home to show the beautiful Tuscany, Holafly Connect is a standout option.

This is a monthly subscription that costs $64.90 and offers the following benefits:

Unlimited data sharing
Unlimited data
24/7 customer support in different languages
Up to 5G connectivity
Unlimited monthly renewal

So, prepare your luggage, book your flight and accommodation, and head to Italy with Holafly to avoid extra data roaming expenses.

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Julio Osuna

English Content Writer

I first started my content creation journey as a freelancer in 2019, before connecting with Holafly in 2021. At Holafly, my travel and tech interests come together in one place as I craft high-quality articles about the eSIM and related markets. My content aims to help travelers stay connected, wherever they are.

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