How I Traveled Across Italy for 5 Days for Only $210

The title seems too good to be true, right?  Only spending $210 dollars for 5 days? NOOO WAY! Not even possible. Actually, it is.  Keep reading and I will prove it.  

In August I left America with my husband, sister, and friend to travel Italy and Switzerland for 2 weeks. I found roundtrip tickets from Salt Lake City to Venice for $350, so of course I had to go!  We arrived at the airport in Venice and soon took a bus into the city.  We had until about 3:30pm to explore before we left on a train to spend our first night in Switzerland (post coming soon about Switzerland).  

Venice

Venice was timeless.  Even from above the city looked so dreamy. I couldn’t wait to explore it. Would two days in this beautiful city be enough?  One thing I would recommend is to put down your map and just wander. What I learned and loved most about Venice is that it’s small enough you can walk almost all of it in one day. Take time for the big, popular sites, but know that the smaller canals off of the main tourist trail are perfect for wandering.

The old, pastel-colored buildings, the gondolas, and the bridges were incredible. You just can’t compare it with any other place in the world.  The only challenge for us was spending a lot of time in small pathways, pushing through so many tourists; especially because we carried our backpacks with us for the first day.  Our plan was to leave it at the luggage drop-off in the train station, but the line was crazy long.  Plus, why not save a little money, right?…Wrong. We realized that first day that it would be worth the money to drop our bags off and explore the city without carrying anything. So that’s exactly what we did our last day of the trip when we came back to Venice for the day before flying out.  Despite that, I do think that Venice is worth making a trip to! I also think that two days in Venice was enough for us! 

While in Venice, we quite literally walked the streets and alleyways the entire time while taking stops only for pizza and gelato. And, as you can see below, we had plenty of it!

So, quick recap of our 2 days in Venice:

Where:	Activity:	Cost-Euros
Day 1- Venice	Bus from airport to Venice	8
	Pizza	7
	Gelato	2
Day 2- Venice	Bus from Venice to airport	8
	Pasta	8
	Gelato (2)	3.50
	Canoli pastry	2.70
	Pizza slice	2
	Bag drop off	7
Total		48.20

Milan

After spending 3 nights in Switzerland we made our way down to the Amalfi Coast.  Oh, FYI our main source of transportation was via trains. I did a lot of research and found that not only would trains be the cheapest, but the most desirable mode of transportation. We bought a two-country Eurail select pass which we bought here.  Along the journey down to the Amalfi Coast we stopped in Milan for about 5 hours.  Milan is one of Italy’s main cities, financial center, and likewise one of the great fashion capitals of the world. Those things add up to marvelous high-end shopping and fashionable nightlife, which was fun to see, but honestly doesn’t do us much good as we are not people to shop much while traveling. We enjoyed our short time in Milan where we explored the famous DUOMO, Royal Palace of Milan, Sforza Castle, and tasted the best food out of all the trip.  I tried Italy’s famous risotto and fell in love. 

Where:	Activity:	Cost-Euros
Milan	Parmesan Risotto	7.50
	Subway to and from the train station	2.60
	Gelato	2.50
Subtotal		12.60
Grand total		60.80

Once we got back to the train station it was nighttime, which was perfect because we were boarding our night train. Honestly, going in I had heard horror stories of the overnight trains in Europe, but truly, if you’re trying to save money and travel to far places, overnight trains are the way to go.  We wouldn’t have visited the Amalfi Coast if it wasn’t for overnight trains because time is valuable and we wanted to be outside sightseeing during the day instead of on a train.  Plus, let’s talk about being cost effective. Not only do you not have to pay for a hotel, but we only had to pay $8/person to reserve a seat.  We rode the overnight trains to and from the Amalfi Coast. 

Naples

We stopped in Naples, Italy where we had about an hour break before catching our next train to Salerno where we would be staying for 2  nights.  We bought a famous sfogliatella in a pastry shop near the train station for breakfast along with bread & Biscoff spread we had bought in Switzerland. Once arrive in Salerno we walked to our airBNB  to drop our bags off and change for the day ahead.  Our airBNB was adorable with 2 big bedrooms, 3 beds, 1 full kitchen, 1 full bathroom, and 1 walk out balcony.  

The Amalfi Coast of Italy has long been recognized as the glamorous playground for the rich and famous. So when I had the idea of adding a 3 day Amalfi Coast vacay at the end of our two week Europe trip, I played around with ideas on how we could afford it. I thought it may be too far out of our league (our apartment doesn’t come with a money tree, sadly), but just like everywhere else I’ve traveled to, there’s ALWAYS a way to travel affordably.  

The first day we caught a Sita Bus from Salerno to Amalfi for $2.40 one way. The second day we rode the TraVelMar boat for $12 one way. There’s definitely pros and cons to choosing your mode of transportation while at the Amalfi coast.

Sita Bus

Pros:

• An adventure! No matter which seat you choose, you’re sure to get scared by racing around the corners and coming centimeters to hitting a car.
• Cheapest way around the Amalfi Coast.
• You can hop on and off at any village along the coast
• The “local” way.  Our experience showed that most Italians take the buses. 

Cons:

• Time-consuming.  
• Windy, crowded, and no AC.  If you hop on the bus from Salerno or Sorrento it’s probable you’ll find a seat, but after each stop the bus gets more crowded and people start filling up the aisles.  Some are standing for a half hour or more. 

TraVelMar Boat

Pros: 

• Fresh air and incredible views!  Being able to watch each coastal village come and go was a site I hope to always remember.  The different colors and shapes of the villages from afar was breathtaking.  
• Fastest public option.  The boats travel twice as fast as the bus.

Cons:

• Expensive.

Amalfi, Ravello, & Positano

It’s hard not to fall in love with these three beautiful towns.  Amalfi and Positano are tiny villages along the sea, famous for their pastel-colored buildings built into the hillside. The are BREATHTAKING.  Ravello is a town perched on the cliffs above Amalfi famous for its views and gardens. All are destinations where you go to relax, eat and take in the views. There isn’t much in the sightseeing department because well, the whole town is a landmark on it’s own. You visit to admire the beauty, and maybe take a dip in the ocean. 

Where: Amalfi Coast	Activity:	Cost-Euros
Day 1 Naples, Salerno, Amalfi, & Ravelllo	Overnight Trains (2)	16
	Sfogliatella	2
	Roundtrip Sita bus to Amalfi	4.80
	Roundtrip Sita bus to Ravello	4.80
	Seafood-Lunch	11
	Gnocchi-Dinner	7
	Gelato	1.50
Day 2 Salerno, Positano
	Croissant	1.20
	Roundtrip TraVelMar Boat to Positano	24
	Panini-Lunch	6
	Lemon Candy	1
	Canoli	3.60
	Gelato	2.50
	Pizza	7.50
Day 3 Salerno
	Nutella Croissant	1.50
	Gelato	2
	Indian Food-Lunch	9
	Piadina-Dinner	8
Subtotal		115.40
Grand total		176.20 converted to USD $210

Proof that you can travel around Italy affordably and enjoyably.  If you have any questions comment below and I’d love to offer more insights and suggestions!