This Is Italy
Of course you prefer to go on holiday to your favorite holiday country Italy as often and for as long as possible. With these few practical tips you will save on your holiday to Italy, without having to compromise on holiday fun. You can apply these tips in every region, even in the more expensive high season.
Car, train or plane?
First, you'll need to choose a specific mode of transportation. A road trip to Italy is usually the most affordable if you're traveling with the whole family. You can take as much luggage as you like and don't need to rent a car on the spot. Make sure you have affordable car insurance in advance, take out roadside assistance with European coverage for roadside assistance, and plan a good route that includes: toll roads avoid as much as possible.
The train is a good option if you prefer to travel in a sustainable way. You can save a lot on costs by booking your tickets well in advance. Also within Italy you can often travel with a nice discount with the good offers of the Italian Railways, Trenitalia.
It can also pay off to only check your location to see what the lowest prices are. Perhaps this will also bring you to places that are completely new to you because you decide together with your partner to book the cheapest ticket of that moment and see where it takes you.
Finally, a flight can also be cheap, especially outside the high season and when you are flexible with the dates. You quickly arrive at your destination, which is why many people choose to fly. If you also want to be flexible on the spot, you have to take extra costs for car rental into account.
Alternative Cities and Regions
You pay more for the popular destinations. The overnight stays are more expensive, the drinks and meals cost more and visiting sights can also be quite expensive. During your holiday you can also be surprised by the less common cities and regions.
For example, go on a city trip to Bologna instead of Rome, swap Cinque Terre for Bari and enjoy the beaches in Puglia instead of busy and touristy Tuscany.
For example, more and more Italians are going in the direction themselves Salento for a beach holiday because of the lower prices, the wonderful weather, the crystal clear waters and the soft sandy beaches.
Also know which beaches you absolutely want to avoid: these are the most expensive beaches in Italy.
Camping in nature
A large part of your holiday budget is spent on overnight stays. An excellent way to save on this is to pack the tent and go camping.
Forget the super luxurious and busy 5-star campsites and look at the possibilities to camping on a private property. Because you are in a garden, vineyard or other private property with the locals, 'garden sharing' is ideal for experiencing the real Italy.
There are also places where it is allowed to camp completely free in the wild. For example, in some places in the Alps it is tolerated if you set up your tent for a night in a place above 2.000 meters. In the Alpi Marittime National Park, in the northwestern mountain region piedmont, this is allowed from sunset to sunrise.
Find out whether you are allowed to camp in nature reserves. For many nature reserves, the fines are actually higher than elsewhere in the wild.
Book a hotel last minute
Camping is not for everyone and certainly not in a low-budget way. If you prefer to stay in a hotel or bed and breakfast, this can be cheap, but you have to be able to take a bit of risk.
Only book your hotel stays a day in advance on websites such as Booking.com or Airbnb. Accommodations would rather rent out their rooms with a hefty discount than leave them empty.
The risk is that all accommodations in your area are already fully booked or almost fully booked, especially in high season. As a result, room prices may drop less quickly or increase. By always booking your overnight stays via the same platform, you can often also save points with which you reach a certain status. For example, Booking.com has the Genius loyalty program with which you can save for a discount, free upgrades and/or a free breakfast.
Cheaper with the 'banco' price
Now that you've saved on travel costs and lodging, there's only one category you'll likely spend a lot of money on during your trip to Italy: food and drink.
You can save on this fairly easily. First of all, there are two prices in Italian bars. By eating and drinking standing at the bar you pay the 'banco' price. This is considerably lower than the 'tavolo' price, the price to drink your coffee at a table.
In the evening you save by choosing a apericena. This is a kind of combination deal in which you not only get an aperitif for a low amount, around 7 euros, but also enjoy tasty buffet snacks.
Not sure where to go? Look up a number of nice restaurants and bars on the internet in advance – then you can immediately check the price list – or follow the locals.
We hope that these tips will be of great benefit to you and that you will have an unforgettable journey!
Comments