Europe, Italy, Travel, Travel Tips

2018 Umbria & Tuscany Italy: Budget Reflection

2018 Umbria & Tuscany Italy: Budget Reflection

Italy has my heart & soul! I first fell in love with beautiful Italia during a 6-week study abroad in Florence & my husband and I can’t seem to stay away. This trip was not a must-see-all-of-Italy (see my parents 2019 summer itinerary if that’s more what you need), we were interesting in slowing down and enjoying our time together. I would like to point out (& brag) that I got the price BELOW $3,000 for 10 days in Italy for two people, flights included. I was actually under budget too! I will probably never kill trip & budget planning like I did on this one below.

While planning this trip, I did monthly blog posts on my progress so if you’re interested to see how I put together the trip just click through the links below:

JMF

EVENT TIMES/ ADDRESS ESTIMATED COST USD ESTIMATED COST EURO ACTUAL COST USD ACTUAL COST EURO
Wednesday, December 26
South Florida to Stockholm Airport
Flight MIA – ARN $1,500.00 €1,290.00 $1,380.02 €1,186.82
Snacks: Bongos (at the airport) $15.00 €12.90 $35.00 €39.77
Miscellaneous $10.00 €8.60 $0.00 €0.00
SUBTOTAL $1,525.00 €1,311.50 $1,415.02 €1,226.59
Thursday, December 27
Stockholm Airport to Rome to Assisi
Flight ARN to FCO $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Car Rental at Rome Airport car for 9 days $581.40 €500.00 $345.50 €305.59
Drive from Rome to Assisi ~2.5 hrs/cost of tolls $0.00 €0.00 $5.11 €4.50
Walk around Assisi (UNESCO) Miscellaneous cost for randomly walking around $25.00 €21.50 $0.00 €0.00
Dinner: Ristorante di Santa Francesco $0.00 €0.00 $96.59 €85.00
Monasterio Santa Colette check in 5-9pm/4 nights $500.00 €430.00 $360.47 €310.00
Snacks $15.00 €12.90 $0.00 €0.00
Miscellaneous $10.00 €8.60 $0.00 €0.00
Siena M&IE $90.00 €77.40 $0.00 €0.00
SUBTOTAL $1,221.40 €1,050.40 $807.67 €705.09
Friday, December 28
Assisi
Breakfast included in monastery stay $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva $0.00 €0.00 $0.57 €0.50
Rocca Maggiore Nov – Feb 10:00am-4:30pm $13.95 €12.00 $13.64 €12.00
San Rufino Cathedral & Crypt only Jess went into crypt/discount with Assisi Card $0.00 €0.00 $3.98 €3.50
Lunch: Bar Sensi $0.00 €0.00 $12.50 €11.00
Foro Romano (Roman Forum) FREE with Assisi Card $0.00 €10.00 $0.00 €0.00
Basilica of Santa Chiara $0.00 €0.00 $1.14 €1.00
Convent of San Damiano $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Christmas Show at the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi FREE, I donated money $0.00 €0.00 $3.07 €2.70
Dinner: Nonna Nini $0.00 €0.00 $63.86 €56.20
Snacks 2 slices pizza/pastries $15.00 €12.90 $7.05 €6.20
Miscellaneous wax “F” letter seal & Canticle of the Creatures print $10.00 €8.60 $28.41 €25.00
Siena M&IE $90.00 €77.40 $0.00 €0.00
SUBTOTAL $128.95 €98.90 $134.20 €118.10
Saturday, December 29
Day trip to Orvieto
Breakfast included in monastery stay $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Drive to Orvieto ~1.5 hrs $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Funicular up to city & return $0.00 €0.00 $5.91 €5.20
Well of St. Patrick $0.00 €0.00 $9.66 €8.50
Lunch: Il Negozzieto $0.00 €0.00 $12.50 €11.00
Duomo/Cathedral $0.00 €0.00 $10.23 €9.00
Orvieto Underground Tour DID NOT DO because we missed the time window :((( $13.95 €12.00 $0.00 €0.00
Drive to Assisi ~1.5 hrs/gas $ $0.00 €0.00 $22.73 €20.00
Santa Maria degli Angeli $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Dinner: Trattoria degli Umbri $0.00 €0.00 $38.64 €34.00
Snacks: Barrique $15.00 €12.90 $8.75 €7.70
Miscellaneous Olive oil jar $10.00 €8.60 $31.82 €28.00
Siena M&IE $90.00 €77.40 $0.00 €0.00
SUBTOTAL $128.95 €98.90 $140.23 €123.40
Sunday, December 30
Assisi
Breakfast included in monastery stay $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Mass & visit to Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi Upper Church 8:30am-6:00pm; Lower Church & Tomb 6:00am-6:30pm $5.00 €4.30 $5.68 €5.00
Hiking up to Eremo delle Carceri 5km $5.00 €4.30 $0.00 €0.00
Lunch: Gli Eremi $0.00 €0.00 $36.36 €32.00
Dinner $0.00 €0.00 $23.30 €20.50
Snacks $15.00 €12.90 $19.66 €17.30
Miscellaneous Franciscan “tau” cross $10.00 €8.60 $5.68 €5.00
Siena M&IE $90.00 €77.40 $0.00 €0.00
SUBTOTAL $125.00 €98.90 $90.68 €79.80
Monday, December 31
Assisi to Pienza to Siena
Breakfast included in monastery stay $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Check out of Monastery $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Drive to Pienza ~1.5 hrs $8.00 €6.88 $0.00 €0.00
Walk around Pienza (UNESCO) Cathedral & Crypt, Piazza Pio II, & Palazzo Piccolomini $5.00 €4.30 $5.34 €4.70
Lunch $0.00 €0.00 $51.14 €45.00
Drive to Siena through the Val d’Orcia (UNESCO) ~1.25 hrs/stop at Church of Vitaleta near San Quirico d’Orcia $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Grocery Shopping right outside Siena Historic Center $0.00 €0.00 $42.31 €37.23
Dinner: Lentils, Tomato Salad, Cheese & Salami cooked in AirBnb $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
New Year’s Eve Festivities at Il Campo $10.00 €8.60 $0.00 €0.00
Siena AirBnb accommodations 5 nights $500.00 €430.00 $522.44 €459.75
Snacks $15.00 €12.90 $0.00 €0.00
Miscellaneous Rosary for a friend’s baby $10.00 €8.60 $11.36 €10.00
Siena M&IE $90.00 €77.40 $0.00 €0.00
SUBTOTAL $638.00 €548.68 $632.59 €556.68
Tuesday, January 1
Siena
Breakfast in apartment $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Mass in Siena Cathedral Mass times: 8:00am, 9:00am, 11:00am, 12:15pm, 6:00pm $2.00 €1.72 $4.55 €4.00
Opa Si Pass Cathedral, Crypt, Museum & Panoramic View, Baptistry $20.93 €18.00 $29.55 €26.00
Lunch Coffee & pasta $0.00 €0.00 $10.23 €9.00
Walk around Siena (UNESCO) $5.00 €4.30 $0.00 €0.00
Dinner: Pasta Carbonara Cooked in Airbnb $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Snacks: Pizzicheria de Miccoli $15.00 €12.90 $5.68 €5.00
Miscellaneous $10.00 €8.60 $0.00 €0.00
Siena M&IE $90.00 €77.40 $0.00 €0.00
SUBTOTAL $142.93 €98.90 $50.00 €44.00
Wednesday, January 2
Day Trip to San Gimignano
Breakfast Ate in the apartment $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Drive to San Gimignano ~1 hr $8.00 €6.88 $0.00 €0.00
San Gimignano (UNESCO) Porta San Giovanni, Piazza della Cisterna, Piazza del Duomo, medieval towers $10.00 €8.60 $2.84 €2.50
Lunch: Boboli $0.00 €0.00 $50.45 €44.40
Vernaccio di San Gimignano Wine Experience $0.00 €0.00 $18.18 €16.00
Parking in San Gimignano $0.00 €0.00 $11.93 €10.50
Drive to Siena ~1hr $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
San Francesco Church $5.00 €4.30 $0.28 €0.25
Santa Maria Della Scalla Combo ticket with Civic Museum $0.00 €0.00 $14.77 €13.00
Dinner Leftovers in AirBnb $0.00 €0.00 $5.95 €5.24
Snacks Coffees $15.00 €12.90 $2.50 €2.20
Miscellaneous Olive oil for my mother-in-law & flu medicine (Will was getting sick) $10.00 €8.60 $22.10 €19.45
Siena M&IE $90.00 €77.40 $0.00 €0.00
SUBTOTAL $138.00 €118.68 $129.02 €113.54
Thursday, January 3
Siena
Breakfast Ate in the apartment $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
San Damiano (to see the head of St. Catherine of Siena) opens at 8:30 am $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €1.50
St Catherine Sanctuary $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Palazzo & Civic Museum, Torre, & Il Campo 10:00am-4:00pm $46.51 €40.00 $10.23 €9.00
Lunch $0.00 €0.00 $26.14 €23.00
Walk around Siena & finish whatever we did not do Oratory of San Bernardino & Fortezza Medici $10.00 €8.60 $0.00 €0.00
Dinner Ate in Airbnb $0.00 €0.00 $6.68 €5.88
Snacks: pastries & coffee & mulled wine $15.00 €12.90 $16.02 €14.10
Miscellaneous I bought gloves because my hands were freezing & there was an outdoor market $10.00 €8.60 $5.68 €5.00
Siena M&IE $90.00 €77.40 $0.00 €0.00
SUBTOTAL $171.51 €98.90 $64.75 €58.48
Friday, January 4
Siena to Rome
Breakfast $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Abandoned Church of San Galgano $0.00 €0.00 $7.95 €7.00
Drive to Tarquina ~2 hrs/tolls $8.00 €6.88 $0.91 €0.80
Etruscan Tombs of Tarquinia (UNESCO) 8:30am-dusk $18.60 €16.00 $0.00 €0.00
Lunch Ate leftovers in the car $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Drive to Rome ~40 mins $0.00 €0.00 $62.69 €55.17
Etruscan Tombs of Cerveteri (UNESCO) 8:30-dusk; DID NOT DO because Tarquina was enough $18.60 €16.00 $0.00 €0.00
Drop off rental car at airport & check into hostel by train station ~1hr drive to airport + ~30 min train into Roma Termini $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Train Ticket from airport to Roma Termini €32.56 €28.00 $31.82 €28.00
Dinner $0.00 €0.00 $32.95 €29.00
Santa Maria Maggiore $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Palladini Hostel 1 night $50.00 €43.00 $37.80 €41.51
Snacks Coffees & a trapizzino $15.00 €12.90 $25.00 €22.00
Miscellaneous $10.00 €8.60 $0.00 €0.00
Rome M&IE $90.00 €77.40 $0.00 €0.00
SUBTOTAL $152.77 €98.90 $199.13 €183.48
Saturday, January 5
Rome to Copenhagen
Breakfast $0.00 €0.00 $5.91 €5.20
St. John Lateran Cathedral $0.00 €0.00 $0.80 €0.70
Santa Sabina Church (APAH) 7:00am-12:30pm $2.00 €1.72 $0.57 €0.50
Il Gesu Church (APAH) $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Lunch $0.00 €0.00 $10.23 €9.00
Train from Roma Termini to airport ~30 min (must arrive by 3pm) €32.56 €28.00 $31.82 €28.00
Flight: FCO to CPH $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Dinner $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Clarion Hotel, Copenhagen Airport 2 min walk from Terminal 3 $200.00 €172.00 $190.11 €163.49
Snacks $15.00 €12.90 $11.35 €9.99
Miscellaneous $10.00 €8.60 $0.00 €0.00
Rome M&IE $70.00 €60.20 $0.00 €0.00
SUBTOTAL $329.56 €81.70 $250.78 €216.88
Sunday, January 6
Copenhagen to South Florida to Central Florida
Breakfast included in hotel stay $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Walk to airport to be there at 7:30am $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Flight: CPH to MIA $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Drive to Orlando ~3 hrs $0.00 €0.00 $0.00 €0.00
Snacks $15.00 €12.90 $0.00 €0.00
Miscellaneous $10.00 €8.60 $0.00 €0.00
SUBTOTAL $25.00 €21.50 $0.00 €0.00
GRAND TOTAL $3,616.74 €3,005.18 $2,842.94 €2,479.00

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