Italy 3 weeks: Independent trip planning

Budgeting for independent travel can be tricky.
Here are the estimated costs for 14 days in Italy for non-backpacker type travel (no dorms).
Flights: $1800- $2800
Rail: $300- $520
Accommodation: $700- $1900
Food/ Activities: $1000- $2000

Minimum budgets: $3800- $7220 ($2000- $4420 excluding flights) for non-backpacker type travel. This excludes any gifts and clothes you buy along the way.




Flights

• From Brisbane, Australia. Prices range $1500- $3000 searching for flights within the next few months
• Skyscanner , Lastminute 
• Flight Journey times for May/June 2014: 
• 48 hours (Singapore stop over in singapore), return at the moment costs $2260
• 49 hours (Virgin stop over in Singapore), return at the moment costs $2280
• 50 hours (Emirates, stop over in Dubai), return at the moment costs $2750
• 54 hours (Qantas, stop over in Melbourne and Dubai), return at the moment costs $2800
• 54 hours (Virgin, Qatar, Etihad), return at the moment costs $2700
• 68 hours (Finnair, stop over in Helsinki), return at the moment costs $1927
• 69 hours (Korean Air, stop over in Seoul), return at the moment costs $1877
• 74 hours (China Southern, 2 stops), return at the moment costs $1776

• Flight prices date sensitive. So make sure you head to lastminute or webjet where you can add a day either way on the search. 

Rail

Rail passes can be used to budget for your trip, but many bloggers and websites don't advise it's the cheapest way to travel in Italy. about.com ricksteves.com

• Rail passes, how many days will you travel out of 2months? 
• 3 days, 2 adults travelling together, 2 class ($225) to 10 days, 2 adults travelling together 1st class ($502)+ $20 for insurance and delivery railplus.com.au
• But a quick search revealed prices are pretty cheap to book individually Rick Stevens guesstimates vs italiarail.com/ (1-2 months in advance)
• Rome to Pisa $60 vs $27- $41 
• Pisa to Florence $15 vs $12- $17
• Florence to Milan $85 vs $27-41 
• Milan to Lugano $25
• Lugano back to Milan $25
• Milan to Verona $25 vs $27
• Verona to Venice $30 vs $27-$33
• Venice to Assisi $90  vs $68
• Assisi to Naples $80 vs $27
• Naples to Rome $55 vs $27-$41
• $490 , $292
• Budget extra money for seat reservations

Compare Train Ticket Costs: Map shows point-to-point, one-way, 2nd-class rail fares in $US. Add up fares for your itinerary to see whether a rail pass will save you money. For 1st class fares, add 50%. Source: www.trenitalia.com. From ricksteves.com

Accommodation

Ranges: Airbnb ($700- $1000/ person), Hostel ($800), 3 star ($1100), 4 star ($1900) all near train stations

• Rome, (4 nights)
• Approximately $80-140/ night
• Private hostels ensuite: $130/night
• Yes hotel: $117/ night
• UNA Hotel Roma: $290/ night
• Florence (2 nights)
• Approximately $80-140/ night
• Private hostels ensuite: $90/ night
• Hotel Globus: $193/ night
• Hotel Laurus al Duomo: $300/ night
• Italian lakes (2 nights)
• Approximately $80- 120/ night
• Private hostels ensuite: $90/ night
• Hotel Excelsior Splendide: $182/ night
• Palace Hotel: $227/ night
• Venice (2 nights)
• Approximately $110- 200/ night
• Private hostels ensuite: $130/night
• Hotel Arlecchino: $221/night
• Starhotels Splendid Venice: $450/ night
• Assisi (2 nights)
• Approximately $100/night
• Private hostels ensuite: $90/ night
• Parco dei Cavalieri: $90/ night
• Best Western Valle di Assisi: $145/ night
• Naples (2 nights)
• Approximately $80- $100/ night
• Private hostels ensuite: $80/ night
• Una hotel Napoli: $132/ night
• Palazzo Caracciolo Napoli- Mgallery: $159/night

Compared to organized tours, how does it compare?

Pros

• You can stay closer to the city
• Can have more flexibility and freedom
• Feel free to get lost and find yourself
• Can control more of your own budget

Cons

• You have to make sure you don't miss trains, work out connections
• Booking and organising takes time and effort
• More effort to make friends
• Hard to save money compared to tours unless you book in advance, prepare
• Unless you travel with someone else, you can't split accommodation costs
• Testing relationships if you just travel with one other person

Have you traveled independently to Italy before? Do you have any tips?

Post contains Flickr Images.