When to Go
November to Easter is Low Season (roughly), meaning that’s when you’ll find the lowest priced airfares and accommodations. This excludes Christmas week and Carnevale (around mid-February), in Venice.
Planning
- Consider a Tour Package. There are loads to choose from that offer low prices for airfare and hotels. Check out the offerings from the Italian Travel Promotional Council (www.goitpc.com), a group of experienced tour operators that collaborates with the Italian Government Tourist Board.
Airfare
- Frequent Flyer Miles: Great if you have them! Most of the time these have to be arranged far in advance, though you can get lucky last minute. It’s often helpful to call the airline and speak to someone there who can let you know different ways of using them—such as flying in and out of different cities, alternate dates, and routes.
- Flexibility is key to finding bargains: Flying mid-week will save money, and you may consider flying into London, Paris, Amsterdam, or Frankfurt and then switching to a low cost European carrier, using www.whichbudget.com to search for the best deal.
- Good websites to search for fares: www.johnnyjet.com, www.kayak.com, www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.1800flyeurope.com
- Sign up for airfare alerts: You can put in your route (For example JFK-ROME) and you’ll be notified when prices drop. Favorite websites: www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.kayak.com
- Follow airlines on Twitter: For up-to-the-minute notices on sales.
- Use a travel agent: It may seem old fashioned, and you will be charged a fee (about $25, average), but these pros are up on fare fluctuations and have access to inventories that can save you money.
Airport Transfers
Save on taxis to and from the airport, with these suitcase friendly options:
- Rome: Hop on the train, Leonardo Express (www.trenitalia.it, 14 euros), or a bus (www.terravision.eu or www.sitabusshuttle.com, about 4 euros). Though the bus is cheaper, it takes a little longer, and much longer if there’s traffic. All run direct service between the airport to Rome’s central train station, Termini, and you can take a cab from there. Alternatively, a taxi costs a flat rate of 48 euros plus 1 euro per bag.
- Florence: Take the Vola in Bus (6 euros) from the airport to Santa Maria Novella train station. Taxis charge 20 euros/flat rate and 1 euro per bag.
- Venice: My favorite budget way is the Alilaguna (www.alilaguna.it, 15 euros), a fast ferry that has a few different lines that can take you close to your destination. For a little more, there is Venice Link (www.venicelink.com, 21 to 25 euros), a shared ferry, that offers discounts if you buy online. A private ferry costs about 100 euros. There is also a cheap bus (6 euros) that takes you from the airport to the train station—but then you miss out on the fun way of arriving in Venice via the water. Bus info: www.atvo.it, www.actv.it.
Transportation
- Discounts on train travel are available if you plan ahead. Just like airfares, tickets between the major cities (Rome-Florence-Venice), usually get more expensive closer to departure. A great new train service, Italo Treno (www.italotreno.it), runs between the major cities, and offers comfortable seating, free Wi-Fi, a cinema car, and food by Eataly. Or there’s the standard, TrenItalia (www.trenitalia.it). Both websites offer special fares. For regional travel (for example, from Florence to Prato), TrenItalia is your only option and prices are low.
Accommodations
- Best Hotel Discount Websites: www.venere.com, www.booking.com, or the individual hotel website for promotional deals.
- Hotel Alternatives: You can get good prices if you consider staying in an apartment (many are available for three-day minimum stays), or a B&B. Many of the B&Bs have private bathrooms and there is great variation in size and style. There are also convent or monastery stays—just be aware that some have curfews. And finally hostels, many of which have changed over the years, offering rooms with private bathrooms, suites for families, as well as the traditional dorm-style accommodations.
- For apartments and B&Bs for all cities: www.AirBnB.com, www.bbitalia.it, www.bed-and-breakfast-in-italy.com
- Convent or monastery stays: www.monasterystays.com
- Hostels: www.hostelitaly.com
I’ve had wonderful experiences with these places:
Eating
You can eat well in Italy without spending a bundle. Do some restaurant research—check out the Online Resources suggestions here and suggestions in Golden Days. Avoid the obvious tourist spots near the major sights, and you’ll be on the delicious track. Often one major sit-down meal a day will be satisfying, with lunch being the best choice for fancier eateries. House wine is generally good, and as far as tipping, ten percent is fine.
- Budget options to consider for the evening are pizzerias or wine bars, where you can fill up on delicious small plates of local specialties. With so many university students, Florence has many Tavola Calda (cafeteria-style places). Both Florence and Rome have a new tradition of Aperitivi, or ’Appy Hours, where an antipasti buffet is spread out between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. in a restaurant or bar, so for the price of a drink you can enjoy such goodies as focaccia, cheeses, and salumi.
- Italian picnics are divine. Buy cheeses, breads, olives, sweets, and wine at the local market, then enjoy lunch in a park or in the evening back in your hotel room, watching hilarious Italian TV.
Sightseeing
Rome, Florence, and Venice are open-air museums, where fountains, canals, and beautiful piazzas can all be enjoyed for free. Plus there are so many masterpieces of architecture and art inside the churches that don’t cost a thing. For example in Rome there’s the Pantheon and Saint Peter’s Basilica with Michelangelo’s Pieta, in Florence, The Duomo, and in Venice, San Marco.
Each city also offers combined ticket deals for sights and public transportation. Check out their websites and see if this will save you money, according to the time you have and your interests. You will also find info here regarding Free Museum days.
Souvenirs
Though it’s worth it to spend money on the high quality artisan treasures each city offers, you can also pick up mementos that are not that expensive. It may sound corny, but I love having a towel from a Rome market with a Piazza Navona fountain on it in my Los Angeles kitchen, to bring back memories of my time there, and it’s fun to bring something like that to friends back home as a hostess gift, wrapped around the neck of a wine bottle. Food is also always a good choice—from vacuum-packed cheeses, to chocolates, spices, or specialty sweets. The children in my life always appreciate Italian soccer shirts.
- In Rome: Aprons, kitchen gadgets, spices, and scarves from the markets, Vatican City mementos (such as rosary beads), soaps from the farmacia
- Florence: Scarves from the markets, artisan stationery, small leather items such as lipstick holders or eyeglass cases, soaps or scented candles from the farmacia
- Venice: Murano glass wine stoppers, mini Carnevale masks, artisan stationery