Travel alone to Italy. Journey to Italy. A “targeted” approach to planning a trip to Italy

We first visited Italy in 2010. This was not our first independent trip (there were other countries before Italy), but it became special. We traveled around almost half the country, and then - in the same year - we went to Italy again. And off we go. Italy has become a favorite destination for our independent travel. We return to this extraordinary country again and again, and each time we understand that we will definitely come again.

In fact, much of what is written on my blog is dedicated to Italy. Here is a general post on this topic, where in particular you can find stories about our trips over the past few years. Here I will focus primarily on organizational details. It seems that the experience we have accumulated can be useful to other independent tourists. Naturally, I have already talked about many points in previously published reviews, but in this article I will consider everything at once and in as much detail as possible. You understand, it’s one thing to chatter when returning from a trip, and quite another to prepare for the trip, solving all sorts of organizational issues, from developing a route to obtaining visas. Let's talk about this.

Where to go for the first time

In general, the question of where to go in Italy, in my opinion, is one of the most difficult. There are destinations for every taste. The problem of choice is more acute than in any other country in the world. Hence the danger. In an effort to see as much as possible, you can get lost at a gallop and, as a result, see and understand nothing at all, being oversaturated with impressions. However, remembering my own first experience, I can say that this is not such a bad option.

I remember that for the first time we managed to visit Venice, and Verona, and Milan, and Bologna, and Rimini, and Florence, and Pisa, and on top of that we spent several days on a beach holiday in Sardinia. And all this in just 10 days! Now I would hardly dare to undertake such an intense marathon, but then it seemed that everything was going well. As a result, we made a lot of mistakes. But we got a lot of impressions – more than enough. All this needed to be digested and comprehended. This is what we are doing now, returning to Italy again and again

What am I getting at? To the fact that, perhaps, for the first time this is what you need: to gallop all over Italy, without focusing your eyes on anything in particular, and then come home and realize that you did everything wrong, that you need to go back and redo everything again, but at a completely different pace, without haste and running around.

If we approach the issue more pragmatically, I will say this. It is better to start from northern and/or central Italy, especially if you do not have much experience in independent travel (in this case, it makes sense to read additionally). Why do I think so? Firstly, because at the top of the Italian boot there is a well-developed transport infrastructure (especially in the north), and in general life is much more orderly and predictable than in the south. Secondly, all the most important transport hubs are concentrated there. In other words, getting to the center and north of Italy is in most cases much easier and often cheaper than getting to the south. Many airlines fly here (directly from Russia or with connections), and air ticket prices are relatively low: it’s quite possible to spend €150–200 for a round-trip ticket, say, from Moscow to Milan or Rome.

Actually, Milan and Rome are the two main air hubs in Italy. Therefore, the most obvious option is to start your trip from one of these cities. For example, having arrived in Milan, you can gradually move towards Rome in order to return from there. Between Rome and Milan there is a lot of interesting things: Florence, Pisa, the Ligurian coast, including the Cinque Terre, Bologna and much, much more.

I won’t go into too much detail. Much has been written on this topic. There is a good article on how to create an independent travel route in Italy, for example, on i-italia.ru - read.

As for searching for air tickets, I have already spoken about this. Here I will just list a few of the most useful search engines in my opinion:

Using these services, you can quickly check current prices for all areas of interest. In addition to Milan and Rome, I advise you to also try Venice, Verona, Genoa, Pisa and Bologna, and perhaps Rimini. All these cities have direct flights from Moscow and some other Russian cities. Plus numerous transit flights through airports in various European cities.

If you don’t really care where to fly, as long as it’s cheaper, then Aviasales has this thing (also don’t forget about the low price calendar), and Skyscanner has this one. Momondo probably has something similar in its arsenal. With the help of these tools it is convenient to catch profitable offers (everything is lumped together there - Italy and all other countries - but you can adapt).

How to get a visa

Another important question that plagues novice travelers is directly related to visa procedures. For some reason, many people still believe that getting a Schengen visa on your own is very, very difficult. Nonsense! In reality, there is absolutely nothing complicated about this. I'll tell you in order.

1. You can obtain a tourist visa to Italy through the Italian Visa Application Center.
2. Here is his official website - italy-vms.ru.
3. There is all (all!) necessary information on how to get a visa.

The website of the Italy visa center is quite enough to prepare all the documents yourself. Seriously You don't have to read anything else at all.

As a last resort, on the same website you can find contacts of branches of the visa center. If you have any questions during the preparation of documents, you can always call the visa center and clarify everything that interests you. Personally, I always do this.

For example, one of the questions that puzzled me at one time concerned the confirmation of a hotel reservation. Usually for visa I book hotels through www.booking.com. But that time I booked a hotel through the ostrovok.ru service (the price was just super! By the way, read about how and where I look for great deals). I was wondering if a printout from Ostrovka would be suitable for obtaining a visa. With this question, I called the visa center, where they explained to me quite clearly that a printout from any booking site will do. The main thing is that the reservation contains the address and telephone number of the booked accommodation facility (hotel, or apartments, hostel, etc.), and the names of the guests, of course, too.

As for other documents, as proof of financial solvency, I always make photocopies of bank cards with a receipt from an ATM. Very comfortably. You do not need to receive any certificates or account statements.

A certificate from work is also not a problem. As an individual entrepreneur, it is enough for me to provide a photocopy of the OGRNIP certificate.

If we talk about insurance, to obtain a visa I use a policy issued in addition to the Russian Standard Miles&More credit card. However, then, for greater reliability, I, as a rule, also buy insurance from tripinsurance.ru (I explained why). This is certainly not the cheapest option, but they often have discounts (up to 30%, according to my observations), and if there are no current promotions, you can always discount 10% with the promotional code PROMO10. You need to enter it on the main page tripinsurance.ru.

The visa application form is again filled out through the website italy-vms.ru. Then you need to print it out and paste a photo. There are practically no difficulties during filling. If anything happens, you can always call the visa center. In addition, quite suitable step-by-step instructions are available on the Vinsky forum -.

What to take on a trip

Oh, it’s also not an easy task to make a list of all the essentials. Of course, you will need everyday items. But now I’m talking a little about something else. We are talking about things without which a trip to Italy is unthinkable as such. Surely, here you can come up with some kind of classification and sort everything into sections, but I will do it simpler. Here is a chaotic and chaotic, but short, short list of things without which I cannot imagine Italy.

So, you need to take with you:

good book

The book, of course, can be about anything, but it’s still better if it’s about Italy, since the choice is extensive. I like in particular:

• “Taste of Italian Happiness” and “Roads of Italian Happiness” by Elena Kostyukovich;
• Guide to Rome by Gleb Smirnov (only better in the author’s version, and not in the form as published by Afisha);
• “Especially Lombardy” and “Only Venice” by Arkady Ippolitov;
• "History of the Venetian Republic" by John Norwich.

In general, for my taste, traveling with a guidebook is mortal boredom. But it’s not at all necessary to walk the streets with your nose buried in a book. I like to watch first and then read. It doesn’t always work out this way (because you’ve already read or heard about many places and already know something), but if it does, then this is an excellent opportunity to first feel, experience the place where you find yourself, whether impressed or not, and only then secure the fleeting impression with a weighty anchor of knowledge. My chronic undereducation helps me tremendously in this, because I certainly don’t know much more than I know, and I don’t really understand either art, architecture, or other subtle matters. But it is they, these subtle matters that make up the very essence of Italy. At least it seems so to me. I do not know

By the way, about knowledge. I prefer to get them from books, and not from Wikipedia, for example, or anywhere else. Wikipedia is a great starting point for researching any topic, and for that I really appreciate it, but dig a little deeper and the surface reveals a lot of inaccuracies and inconsistencies, and sometimes outright nonsense (here is an illustration).

There are also alternatives. For example, you can take with you not a book/guide, but an audio guide. There is, in particular, izi.travel - a very worthy resource, and, notably, for the most part completely free.

But, in general, you can do just fine without a pre-prepared audio guide. Tourist buses run through many cities in Italy (for example, City Sightseeing) - transport and audio guide in one package. In terms of content, such excursions are most often not very interesting, but they allow you to get a general idea of ​​a particular city. In addition, services for booking individual excursions have long appeared (as an option,). This is perhaps the most attractive opportunity, because any individual excursion involves live communication. What could be better for an independent tourist than talking with a knowledgeable person?

Corkscrew

Spiritual food is undoubtedly important. But you shouldn’t forget about your daily bread. And where there is bread, there is wine, isn’t it? Therefore, a corkscrew in Italy is an irreplaceable thing. Moreover, Italian wines are no less subtle matter than art and architecture. Of course, if alcohol is not your thing, then you don’t need a corkscrew. In all other cases, Italian wines cannot be ignored categorically.

The most surprising thing is that not only in many hotels, but also in some apartments where we happened to stay during our travels, for some reason there was no corkscrew, and in some places we could not even find wine glasses. What is this – simple bad luck or a conspiracy? Who knows. But I long ago learned one simple truth: a corkscrew is the head of everything. Fortunately, there is an obvious logical connection here: where there is wine, there is a corkscrew. Therefore, it is not at all necessary to take this irreplaceable tool with you - you can buy it on the spot. However, I’m more accustomed to traveling with my Swiss army knife - you can open wine, if necessary, and cut bread, sausage, and cheese. By the way, here is a recipe for an easy Italian dinner for all times

Jokes aside, food in Italy is more than just food. I will say more, Italy is a country where spiritual food is organically combined with daily bread. Remember this when you go on a trip, and then you are guaranteed good memories that will stay with you forever. There is only one side effect: you will be pulled back like a magnet. You'll have to live with this. Well, do you still want to go to Italy?

That you want to drive along it endlessly. How can you avoid wasting all your money and time? At a minimum, look for tickets in the right places. Let's figure out why the railway is so popular in Italy, where they sell cheap tickets from the north of the country to the south, and how to find a fellow traveler on a scooter in Rome.

BY PLANE

Low-cost airlines and Italy are inseparable for many. Even those who have not yet managed to fly to Rome, Milan or Venice for € 20 have at least already looked at such tickets. But low-cost airlines work well precisely for flying to or flying from Italy. There are few cheap flights around the country. Yes, and there is no particular need. If we are talking about a distance of about 600 kilometers, it is easier to take a high-speed train and reach the desired city in a few hours, like from Milan to Rome in three hours, for example. And there is no need to wait at the airport or in the city.

It’s another matter if you want to go to the very south, bask in or in Puglia. Then it’s worth browsing the websites of low-cost airlines in search of cheap ones. In any case, start with some aggregator site, the same Skyscanner, but don’t forget about the airlines that may especially please you.

Ryanair

More suitable for flying to or from Italy. But there are also enough flights around the country, especially from north to south. Tickets for €15 from Rome to Palermo or from Milan to Sardinia are available even in August. Here at this link you can spend hours exploring destinations at the lowest prices. You write “from Milan anywhere and anytime” and build a route depending on where they offer to fly for € 15.

Wizzair

And another very useful aggregator site is GoEuro. It is good because it compares prices for trains, planes and buses. And in any case, if some small carrier has better prices or conditions for bus tickets than Flixbus, here you will find it.

By car

Rent a Car

It’s quite easy to get one in Italy, but you’ll have to forget the word “cheap”. The approximate cost of a car for a day with insurance is € 60-80, but you also need to take into account fuel, toll roads and parking if you don’t find free places.

A liter of gasoline will cost € 1.6, diesel fuel is cheaper, but the price of the car will be higher. There are a lot of toll roads in the country - on average, € 7 per 100 kilometers. And so, to travel from Milan to and back (145 kilometers), you need to pay more than € 20 for the journey. By the way, you can calculate how much the journey (fuel and travel) will cost on this website, so you can know for sure. If there is no rush, you can try to bypass toll roads on small and not so high-quality roads.

You must also have at least several hundred euros in your account, which will be frozen while you use the car. Also, before traveling around Italy, it is worth remembering all the parking lessons. In resort towns, during the season or on weekend evenings, there is practically nowhere to park in the center of any city. And even if there is one, it will not be easy to make the maneuver.

There are car rental offices at any Italian airport. You can book a car immediately when purchasing an air ticket on some websites or when searching for accommodation on Booking. But here are a few other sites to check out.

Majestic Rome, fashionable Milan, magnificent Florence, fabulous Mantua, inimitable Venice, legendary Pompeii... This list can be continued for a long time. Each Italian city has its own characteristics, unique location and magnificent attractions. Do you want to travel to Italy without using the services of travel agencies? Such a desire is quite feasible. From this article you will learn how to organize an independent trip to Italy.

Advantages

An independent trip to Italy has a number of advantages:

1. You choose the date and duration of the trip yourself.
2. You can plan your day your way.
3. You have unlimited time for sightseeing.
4. You can visit absolutely anywhere in the country and travel in any direction.
5. You can find the hotel or apartment that suits you.
6. You can learn about the “non-tourist” life of Italian cities.
7. You can interact a lot with the local population of all the cities you visit.
8. You rarely encounter crowds of tourists.
9. You plan the entire travel budget yourself.
10. You will feel like a real adventurer.

This is just a small part of the benefits of independent travel. Each tourist has his own list of advantages that guide him when choosing a particular type of trip.

How to get a visa?

To visit the country you will need a Schengen visa. With it, you can travel not only to Italy, but also to other neighboring countries: France, Spain, Switzerland, etc. Visas are divided into 2 main types: short-term (business, tourist, guest) and long-term (national). You need a short-term tourist visa (type C), with which you are allowed to stay in the country for 30 days.

To obtain a tourist visa you will need the following documents:

1. A questionnaire filled out in accordance with all the rules.
2. Foreign passport and photocopies of all its pages. Remember that the validity period of this document must include 3.5 months after arrival from Italy to Russia.
3. Canceled foreign passport with Schengen visas for a 3-year period.
4. Russian passport with photocopies of all pages.
5. 2 color photographs.
6. Ticket and documents for booking a hotel/guest house/other accommodation.
7. Certificate from the place of work about the tourist’s salary and position. This document must be signed by the director or chief accountant.
8. Plastic cards (not credit cards), bank account statements, traveler's checks and other documents confirming the tourist's solvency. In addition to the originals, you will need photocopies of all the listed documents.
9. The travel budget should not be less than 1,000 euros. The minimum amount for a 1-day stay in Italy is 50 euros.
10. Insurance in the amount of 30,000 euros. It operates in all European countries.

When applying for a visa, you need to take into account some nuances. For example, if you do not earn enough money (the embassy may tell you this), then you will have to provide a photocopy of the Russian passport of your relative, who will act as a travel sponsor. In addition to your passport, you will need a document confirming your relationship status and a certificate from your “sponsor’s” place of work.

If you are a pensioner, then attach a pension certificate to the list of basic documents; students need to present a certificate from the dean’s office and a student ID. Housewives without a formal income who are sponsored by their husband are required to provide a marriage certificate.

To travel with minor children, you will need the child's birth certificate, parental permission and a photocopy of the passport of the person authorizing his or her travel to Italy.

To obtain a visa, Russians submit the collected package of documents to the visa center assigned to their district.

How to get to Italy?

After the tedious collection of documents and obtaining a visa, travelers have another important question: “How to get to the country?” You can travel to Italy on your own using the following types of transport:

1. Flight. The plane is the most popular mode of transport that will quickly take you to Italy. Many airlines often hold various promotions and ticket sales, so flying to the country can be several times cheaper. Don't forget to browse information about low-cost airlines, connecting flights and charters. You can book tickets both online and at the airports themselves (if that’s more convenient for you).
2. Railway. For those tourists who are afraid to fly, there is the opportunity to travel to Italy by train. This option cannot be called budget, but for some travelers the train is the only way to get to their vacation destination. Russian Railways offers only 1 option for direct train travel to Italy: from Moscow to Nice. You can also look at information about traveling by train with several transfers; here the number of options is much greater.
3. Bus. Those who are not afraid of pain from a stiff back and lower back can try going to Italy by bus. This travel option is considered one of the most budget-friendly. If you are not afraid of difficulties, want to see different European cities and are in good health, then traveling by bus will be your first independent adventure. Departure to this country is carried out from Moscow.
4. Automobile. You can make your trip to Italy truly independent by using your own car. For a successful trip, you need to have a working car, knowledge of the traffic rules of the countries you will visit on the way to Italy, and all the necessary documents (both for passengers and for the car). You can come to the country along various routes, the most interesting and exciting trips will be:

• Through Belarus, Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria;
• Through Belarus, Poland and Germany;
• Through Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia.

Of course, you can travel all over Europe, visit every country that interests you and enjoy the wonderful views and hospitality of various European capitals and cities.

It’s very easy to organize an exciting trip to Italy on your own. Your desire, financial capabilities and the right attitude will help you make an interesting and educational trip that will be remembered forever.

Choosing housing

In Italy there are numerous hotels, country houses and guest houses, rental apartments, etc. On various sites for booking hotels and renting rental housing, you can choose an option that suits you in all respects. Keep in mind: renting apartments in big cities is more expensive than in small ones. Use only proven services. Reservations and rentals of accommodation must be made in advance.

Remember that you are coming to see the country, and not to sit in a rented apartment. The money you save on housing could be better spent on shopping, delicious local food, or entertainment.

How to travel around Italy?

If you are traveling to Italy by car, then there are no issues with moving around the country. If you do not have personal transport, we suggest you use:

• By train or train. Road connections between Italian cities are excellent, so you won’t have any problems visiting the cities on your list.
• By bus. With this transport you can travel both around the city and nearby settlements.
• Taxi. An absolutely universal transport that will take you to any destination.
• By ferry. Will take you to any island or other country bordering Italy.
• By plane. When planning to explore all of Italy in a short time, it is better to take advantage of local flights.
• Rented car. Suitable for traveling around the city and throughout the country.
• By bicycle. On a two-wheeled “comrade” it is convenient to explore the sights and interesting places of any Italian city.

When choosing transport, be guided by the prices and convenience of the chosen method of moving around Italy. For example, the constant transportation of things from and to the airport will cause a lot of inconvenience, so plan your trip carefully, if necessary, purchase plane, ferry and train tickets in advance.

What money should I take to Italy?

The currency of Italy is the euro. Accordingly, to travel to the country you need euros. You don’t need to have only cash with you; put some of the funds on your card (either in rubles or euros). When paying with a ruble plastic card, rubles will be converted into euros, and your purchase or payment for services will proceed without any difficulties.

In Italy you can use MasterCard and Visa plastic cards.

How to save money in Italy?

1. Choose inexpensive accommodation that is not located in the center of an Italian city. For example, the most expensive accommodation option would be a hotel, the cheapest would be a hostel.
2. When choosing a method of transportation, give preference to buses, trains, car rentals and the metro. Airplane flights and taxi services will cost more.
3. Buy a tourist card. With it you will save up to 70% on the cost of traveling on local transport, visiting exhibitions and attractions.
4. Some museums and exhibitions offer tourists the opportunity to visit attractions during free hours and days.
5. Take advantage of free walking tours.
6. Shop in non-tourist areas and cities.
7. The northern regions of Italy are more expensive than the southern ones. Keep this in mind.

What to visit in Italy?

Italy is an interesting, multifaceted country with a huge number of various attractions on its territory. We recommend visiting the following:

1. Pompeii. A unique place that has preserved a lot of interesting structures from the times of the ancient Pompians.
2. Rome. The Colosseum, the Spanish Steps, numerous castles, cathedrals, palaces, etc. will not leave anyone indifferent.
3. Verona. Arena di Verona, Basilica of San Zeno Maggiore, Juliet's tomb, Castelvecchio Castle, etc. should be visited by every self-respecting tourist.
4. Milan. The Duomo, La Scala, the Leonardo da Vinci Museum, numerous galleries, castles and museums of the city will enchant you with their beauty and interesting history.
5. Venice. The Grand Canal, the Doge's Palace, the Cathedral of Santa Maria della Salute, the Venetian Arsenal, museums, galleries, palaces and other attractions of this city will be remembered for a long time.
6. Florence. Palazzo Pitti, Giotto's Bell Tower, Basilica of Santa Croce, Palazzo Vecchia, etc. are a must-see for every tourist.
7. Mantua. Palazzo Ducale, Basilica of St. Andrew, Palazzo Te, rotunda of St. Lavrentiya and others will immerse you in the atmosphere of an amazing medieval city.
8. Rimini. Here you can see such masterpieces as the Tiberius Bridge, the Arch of Augustus, the Palace of the Medieval Assembly, the Malatesta Castle, etc.
9. Pisa. In this city, be sure to see the following attractions: Leaning Tower of Pisa, Duomo, Baptistery, Ospendale Nuovo di Santo Spirito, Field of Miracles, etc.
10. Beach resorts in Italy. You can enjoy the warm sea, ride a yacht and get a great tan in Costa Smeralda, Lignano, Rimini, Riviera di Lazio, Sicily, etc.

Of course, this is not the entire list of interesting Italian cities and attractions. A properly planned trip will help you explore a large number of interesting places, become a participant in exciting adventures and stock up on vivid emotions until your next vacation.
Now you know how to travel to Italy on your own. Full preparation for the trip, the presence of all the necessary documents, a good mood and a desire to explore new places will help you have a good rest and return home with a full set of interesting stories and unforgettable impressions.

Criteria for choosing a direction

We started planning our vacation long before the trip. The first plans appeared at the end of September, and already in October we bought tickets to Milan: a good promotion appeared that could not be missed.

Why Italy? Why in mid-March? It’s difficult to answer with absolute certainty now, but after the past we have formulated the following travel requirements:
— moving between cities should not take a lot of time and money;
— there should not be too many cities to have time to devote enough time to everyone;
— the cities visited should have comfortable weather for sightseeing.

After searching through the options, our choice fell on Italy (although Spain also looked very attractive). We have listed the following advantages for ourselves:
— many interesting cities located close to each other;
- beautiful nature;
- excellent cuisine;
— promotions with inexpensive tickets often appear (including from Pobeda).

True, Italy is not a cheap country; it is hot during the season and there are a lot of tourists. Therefore, we decided to go in mid-March: at this time the temperature is usually quite comfortable, there are not many tourists yet and prices have not yet skyrocketed. At least that's how it should have been. In fact, there were not so few tourists (it’s scary to think what happens during the season), and in some cities it was relatively cold (according to locals, the weather this March is abnormal).

Detailed planning

Once the direction was decided, detailed planning began. We had a problem with how to visit all the interesting cities and at the same time build an optimal route in terms of time and costs. We found good tickets for the directions Moscow - Milan and Pisa - Moscow. Naples did not fit in very well in this case (we had to make unnecessarily long and expensive bus journeys). At the same time, I didn’t want to give up visiting the city and the point was not even in Naples itself, but in the fact that there are many interesting sights near it: Vesuvius, the excavations of Pompeii, the island of Capri, and so on. We solved this problem by purchasing cheap plane tickets (cheaper than some bus tickets) from Venice to Naples.

As a result, we compiled the following route: Moscow - Athens - Milan - Venice - Naples - Rome - Florence - Pisa - Moscow (in the future I will write a detailed article about each city).
Athens appeared on the route because the flight had a transfer in this city. Moreover, there were tickets with a long connection and with a short one. We decided that it would be interesting to see the city and took the first option. Now I think that this was not the right decision: we didn’t really have time to see anything and spent an additional 40 euros on transfer from/to the airport.

To create a detailed schedule, I used good old Excel, but I tried to format the document more accurately. It turned out something like this:

The diagram shows that the longest journey was from Milan to Venice and took less than 4 hours, while there is not a single night flight (not counting the Izhevsk - Moscow - Izhevsk trains). In addition, we tried to reduce the number of late check-ins (although we couldn’t avoid them completely and almost every one of them was not without problems).

In addition, I drew a route diagram for greater clarity:

Impression

Italy is a very beautiful country with so many interesting cities that it alone is enough to travel around. There is something to see in every city, and if you go to all the museums and exhibitions, even a few vacations will not be enough. And of course, we can’t help but say about the local cuisine - it’s wonderful!

Something came as a real surprise to me, for example, dirty Naples, where there are no less homeless people than in. Which, by the way, not only sleep right on the streets, but have also set up almost open-air hotels for themselves near cathedrals and laundries from local fountains.
Some myths were debunked for me, for example, the canals in Venice don’t even stink at all, as many claim.

I was pleased with the trip. The format with one or two countries seemed interesting and convenient to me. For the future, I think we need to shorten the list of cities visited a little more, and dilute the route with more outings into nature. In addition, it’s time to start planning in advance the route for every day in cities, otherwise every morning there will be some kind of confusion and misunderstanding about what exactly we wanted to do today. According to my feelings, this trip turned out to be more comfortable than the previous one: there were no sleepless nights and very long journeys.

Of course, no trip is complete without all sorts of difficulties and problems:
— we were almost late for the plane twice (we were actually late for one of them, but we were lucky) and a couple of times for the buses;
— once we almost ended up spending the night on the street (and didn’t stay only due to a miraculous coincidence of circumstances);
— many times we found ourselves in funny situations.
But, in my opinion, it is precisely such moments that remain in the memory for a long time :) I will talk about all such non-trivial situations in the following articles.

Expected and actual costs and prices

Estimating the approximate budget of the trip at the very beginning, we received an amount of about 120 thousand rubles. In the end, as usually happens, it turned out much more.
In short, the total budget for the trip (for two people): ~157600 rubles. Next, I described in detail the prices for tickets/visas/rooms and how much was ultimately spent during the trip.

Directions:

We had two vouchers for FlixBus: for 57.8 euros (received from them after the story in) and for 10%, which they gave us just like that. Therefore, in the end, the costs for buses turned out to be: 92.2 - 57.8 - 2.8 (10% discount on 1 ticket) = 31.6 euros = ~2200

Total: 27811

Visas

Accommodation:

Spent before trip: 80135

Initially it was planned that the budget for the day would be 70 euros (as on the last trip). But after calculating all the expenses, it turned out that we spent about 77.8 euros per day. What, translated into rubles at the current exchange rate for the duration of the trip (about 71 rubles), it turns out ~ 77 500.

Some analytics

This time I recorded all expenses in detail, so that later I could classify them and understand what and how much money was spent on. Below are some diagrams.

In general, there is nothing particularly surprising in the diagram: almost half of all expenses were on food. About a quarter to pay for all kinds of transport: transfers from/to airports, travel and one-time tickets in cities, and so on.

Distribution of expenses made during the trip by city:

The diagram shows that the most expensive city was Venice (where we spent 3 days). Moreover, in 2 days in Rome we spent a little more than in 1 day in Milan. I think this is due to the fact that in Rome we hardly went to museums and excursions (due to huge queues) and spent little on transport (there was no transfer from/to the airport, 2-day passes are not very expensive).

Summary chart for all expenses:


Expectedly, travel costs come first. Interestingly, the second largest expense item is food. Next comes accommodation.

Visas are so expensive for the reason that there is no visa center in Izhevsk. The nearest visa centers are in Kazan and Perm. Well, or you can go to the Italian consulate in Moscow. But, since we already had one, we did not need to take biometrics and had the opportunity to use a visa agency, which prepared all the documents, sent them to the visa center in Kazan, and then delivered the passports back to Izhevsk. We calculated that the cost of travel to Kazan, plus lost wages for days of forced leave, turns out to be more expensive than the services of a visa agency. Well, less nerves. Unfortunately, in the end we received a visa only for a month, although there were reasons to expect at least six months.

Another interesting observation: about 110 euros were spent on transfers to/from airports, while the plane tickets themselves were about 220 euros. Those. transfer costs reach half of flight costs. This, of course, was greatly influenced by the fact that we had many relatively inexpensive flights. But still this point should be taken into account when planning.

Experiences of other travelers

In the same month, several of my friends (also from Izhevsk) traveled to Italy and I did not fail to inquire about their routes and travel expenses. If you look at their answers and at the entire article, you can understand how many different options there are to see the same country. The names are clickable, if you suddenly have questions, you can ask them directly. Thanks guys for the interesting information!

Anastasia Arsenyeva

Route:
Milan - 1 night;
Rome - 2 nights;
Venice - 1 night;
Riva del Garda - 1 night (on the day of arrival - by car around Lake Garda to all resort towns);
Lake Braies and night in the city of Lana (South Tyrol);
and again to Milan for 1 night.

Where did you book your accommodation:
Milan, Rome, Venice - booking;
Riva del Garda - airnbnb;
Lana - we lived in a friend’s apartment (we stayed because it was more convenient to travel with Bryes, and we stayed there for free).

What did you use to travel between cities?
Mostly by train: Milan-Rome-Venice on italo treno, Venice-Rovereto (with a change in Verona) on trenitalia trains. A friend met us in Rovereto and drove us around in a car. He also took him to Milan from Lana.

Amount of days: 7 full days
Where did you get your visa?: Italian Consulate in Moscow
Budget (per person): 45000

Ivan Tarasov

Route: Izhevsk - Naberezhnye Chelny - Moscow - Rome - Naples - Venice - Verona - Florence - Pisa - Rimini - Kaunas - Vilnius - Moscow - Naberezhnye Chelny - Izhevsk

Where did you book your accommodation: Airbnb

How did you travel between cities?
Izhevsk - Naberezhnye Chelny - Izhevsk - car
Naberezhnye Chelny - Moscow - Naberezhnye Chelny - plane (Pobeda)
Moscow - Rome - plane
Rome - Naples - train (.Italo)
Naples - Venice - plane (Ryanair)
Venice - Verona - train
Verona - Florence - bus (FlixBus)
Florence - Pisa - car (Blablacar)
Pisa - Rimini - trains
Rimini - Kaunas - plane
Kaunas - Vilnius - train
Vilnius - Moscow - train (Nesterovsky train)

Amount of days: from March 21 to 29
Where did you get visas? visa center in Kazan
Budget (for two): 66000 (excluding costs for the road Izhevsk - Naberezhnye Chelny - Izhevsk)

Do you want to get 2100 rubles for booking accommodation? Register on Airbnb using this link!
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Everything about a trip to Italy: how to get there, prices in Italy for food, hotels and transport, visa to Italy and traveling by car. We also calculate how much a trip to Italy costs for two for a week.

Holidays according to the tour may cost less than traveling on your own. Look at the prices and decide which is more profitable and convenient for you.

Last minute tours search on the services and - they will find the best offers among different tour operators. Want to save money? Explore our.

Exchange rate: 1 euro ≈ 73 RUB.

Traveling to Italy: how to get there?

There are always inexpensive flights from Russia to Italy, which is good news, because a significant portion of the amount set aside for the trip is usually spent on the flight. Of course, most of the airlines' inexpensive offers are in the capital - you can fly from Moscow to Florence and Venice for 10 thousand or more, and you can get from Moscow to Rome and Milan from about 9 thousand rubles (round trip). A flight from St. Petersburg to Milan and Rome will cost several hundred rubles more; a flight to Venice costs from about 11 thousand rubles. Read a detailed article about not only using traditional airlines, but also low-cost airlines.

Flights within Italy

You can fly within the country (as well as within Europe) very cheaply. The cost of one-way air tickets starts from 10-15 euros (and this price can be found for many flight destinations within Italy).

The budget airline Ryanair flies between many cities in Italy (Rome, Bari, Pisa, Milan, Genoa, Pescara, Turin, Palermo, etc.), as well as Volotea, easyJet, Blu-express, Vueling and others. The most convenient way to search for tickets for European low-cost airlines is to use the Skyscanner search engine.

Example of a cheap Ryanair domestic flight ticket:

Are you going on holiday to Rimini? Read and also everything about this resort.

Visa to travel to Italy

To travel to Italy in 2019, you need a regular visa - Schengen. The package of documents is standard. You need to submit documents in advance, since for urgency you will have to pay double the cost - 70 euros.

What documents are needed to travel to Italy:

• a foreign passport valid for at least 3 months after returning from travel;
• copy of international passport;
• internal passport;
• photo (color, taken no earlier than six months ago);
• visa application();
• copies and originals of round-trip tickets (reservation/electronic tickets to choose from);
• hotel reservation;
• medical insurance (coverage of at least 30 thousand euros);
• certificate from place of work;
• confirmation of financial guarantee (copy of passbook, checks, account statement, etc.);
• consent to the processing of personal data;
• receipt of payment of the fee.

The cost of a short-term visa type C is 35 euros, the service fee at the visa center is 1,350 rubles.

More detailed requirements for documents for a visa to travel to Italy can be found on the website.

(Photo © Hikesinatra aka creep / flickr.com / License CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Transport prices in Italy

• a trip by bus/metro in Rome - 1.5 euros, in Milan - about 1.70 euros, in Florence - 0.85 euros;
• train from the airport to the center of Rome - 8 euros (express train - 15 euros);
• 3 km taxi in Rome - approximately from 6.30 euros to 10 euros, in Milan - from 7 euros, in Florence - from 4.30 euros;
• taxi from the airport - from 100 euros;
• 24-hour pass in Milan - 5 euros.

A taxi from/to the airport (and not only) can be ordered in advance on the service.

Food prices in Italy - 2019

Italy is considered a fairly inexpensive country for holidays and travel, and here you can really eat on a budget if you follow reasonable savings. This is where a catch awaits tourists: you are unlikely to be able to resist spending on food while traveling around Italy. Just think: cheeses, wine, pizza and pasta, fresh seafood, Italian ice cream and tiramisu!

How not to spend all your money on treats? Follow this simple advice: when traveling in Italy, eat away from the tourist streets to save money. In restaurants and cafes for tourists, prices will be much higher. Do not eat in establishments at the hotel or located next to it - most likely, the price tag there will be inflated.

A budget breakfast will cost 3-7 euros per person (in addition, many hotels offer free breakfast). Lunch will cost 5-15 euros per person, and you can eat in an inexpensive restaurant in Italy for about 15 euros per person. A three-course lunch for two in a mid-price restaurant costs from 40 to 60 euros.

Pizza costs about 4-6 euros and above, pasta - 6-8 euros, tiramisu - about 4 euros. Beer in a restaurant (0.5 l) costs from 4.5 euros, imported beer (0.33 l) - from 3 euros. A cup of cappuccino - 1-2 euros. Pizza to go in small bakeries will cost about 3-4 euros.

If you are staying in an apartment or apartment on a trip to Italy and you have a kitchen, we recommend that you cook yourself at least sometimes, this way you will reduce your food costs. Check out food markets for fruits and vegetables.

Estimated prices for food in Italian stores in 2019:

• milk (1 l) - about 1.30 euros;
• a loaf of bread - about 1.20 euros;
• eggs (12 pcs) - about 2.80 euros;
• local cheese (1 kg) - about 10-13 euros;
• spaghetti - from 2.5 euros;
• chicken breasts (1 kg) - about 8.40 euros;
• apples (1 kg) - about 1.75 euros;
• oranges (1 kg) - about 1.5 euros;
• bananas - about 1.80 euros;
• tomatoes (kg) - about 1.80 euros;
• water (1.5 l) - about 0.40 euros;
• a bottle of wine - about 5 euros;
• local beer (0.5 l) - about 1.20 euros.

Prices may vary depending on the city, region and supermarket. Inexpensive supermarkets in Italy: Unes, Esselunga, Carrefour, U2, Lidl.

(Photo © Steve Webel / flickr.com / Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Hotel prices in Italy in 2019

When planning a trip to Italy, we recommend booking accommodation in advance, especially if you are traveling during high season. Firstly, this way you can save money (for example, Rumguru will find good deals for you - sometimes the remaining unbooked rooms in a three-star hotel can be rented at a ridiculous price thanks to discounts), and secondly, you will be calm - you don’t need to go around hotels with your luggage in search of free number.

Why do we recommend looking for hotels at the best price on Rumguru? The service searches for cheap offers among several booking systems, compares prices and finds the best one for each hotel. This way you won't overpay for housing.

In the center of Rome in the summer of 2019, there are hotels from 35 euros per night for two - for example, the lovely Mandarin Guest House hotel not far from the National Roman Museum. A night in a two-star hotel in the center of Rome costs from 100 euros (for example, the most inexpensive 2* hotel is Sweet Dreams).

In Florence, you can find a standard double room in a hotel from 47 euros per night (not far from the Old Town), the average cost per room is from 60 euros. In Milan, near the Central Station, a double room also costs from 47 euros per night, on average from 60 euros. But hotel rooms near the historical center of Milan are very expensive.

If you prefer to live in private apartments and houses while traveling, then it is better to look for them on the popular rental service from Airbnb.ru owners - there you can find very cozy accommodation at any price! Prices for apartments in Italy are approximately the following: in Rome and Florence - from 37 euros, there are many offers for 45-60 euros. Sometimes you can find interesting offers - for example, a cozy studio in the center of Rome, next to Villa Borghese, for 50 euros per night. We also have an article about - perhaps it will help you in choosing housing in the Eternal City.

Prices for Rome attractions

Since many tourists go primarily to Rome, where the main attractions of Italy are concentrated, we will tell you in more detail about the Eternal City.

Attractions in Rome are reasonably priced, and many of them are also free, which is a huge plus. Well, those that charge an entrance fee are definitely worth paying and seeing. Remember that some monuments and attractions cause a stir among tourists - such as the Colosseum and the Vatican Museum, so arrive well in advance to get in line. (or better yet, buy tickets online - for example, you can buy tickets to the Vatican Museum and Roman museums).

If you are in Rome in transit and you have little time left or only a couple of days, check out our guide article.

Here are the prices for some attractions in Rome:

• Colosseum - 12 euros for adults, from 18 to 25 years old - 7.5. The price includes admission to the Roman Forum and the Palatine.
• Vatican Museum - 16 euros for adults, students - 4 euros, children from 6 to 18 years old - 8 euros.
• Borghese Museum and Gallery - 11 euros for adults.
• National Gallery of Modern Art - 10 euros for adults.
• Spanish Steps - 1 euro.

(Photo © Moyan_Brenn / flickr.com / Licensed CC BY 2.0)

Traveling around Italy by car

A trip to Italy by car is wonderful! Traveling independently by car will give you many wonderful moments, but do not forget the documents for the car and their copies:

• vehicle registration certificate;
• international insurance policy (carta verde);
• rights;
• If the car is not your property, a notarized power of attorney from the owner is required. The same thing applies if the car is owned by a company - a power of attorney for management on the organization’s letterhead.

When visiting several Schengen countries, prepare your itinerary.

You can also rent a car on the Skyscanner Car Hire website - this is an international car booking service. If you plan to rent a car, then among other documents you must have with you a contract for renting this car.

How much does a trip to Italy cost in 2019?

• air travel round trip from Moscow or St. Petersburg to Rome - 150 + 150 euros (for two);
• accommodation in an inexpensive hotel near the center of Rome - 35 euros per night in a double room, that is, 245 euros for 7 days;
• food(3 times a day) - approximately 70 euros for two, that is, a total of 490 euros;
• attractions- 36 euros (let’s say you bought a Roma Pass to save on the Colosseum and the Vatican Museum - the most expensive attractions);
• insurance- from 10 euros for two.

So, how much does a trip to Italy cost? for a week for two? 300 + 245 + 490 + 36 + 10 = 1081 euro.

Of course, this is the minimum amount when living in one city - Rome. If you are planning a long independent trip to Italy, then add here transportation costs within and between Italian cities, the purchase of various souvenirs/clothing and various household expenses, accommodation in other cities, food, and so on. In addition, all people have different needs - some will want more of these delicious tiramisu :)

(Photo © sasha (fujin) / flickr.com / License CC BY 2.0)

Introductory image source: © majamarko / flickr.com / Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.