Afford vacation to italy?

Question

my family of 5 really wants to go to italy. we are sending one through college so we cannot afford an extra expensive vacation. we usually spend 3000-5000. how can i find really cheap flights but id like a nice hotel upper-middle class

Answer 1

How many of your kids are students?  I studied abroad for the year in Italy, I paid $600 round trip for my plane ticket from Boston to Rome.  (studentuniverse.com)

My family came to visit me and they paid around 800 each for their plane tickets and used bookingbuddy.com.  It saves a lot!

Answer 2

Sorry, you can't.  That budget for a family of five will only (and this is only if you are really lucky) cover your plane tickets.  I have been looking at flights almost daily as I really want my family to come visit me here in Italy.   The very best I am finding right now is around $1400 per ticket.  That is out of various East coast airports (DC, Atlanta, NYC, etc) and involves a lot of long layovers and funky connections.  For a more normal flight of 1 or 2 connections but layovers only amounting to a few hours they are closer to $1600-$1700.  And trust me, I have looked and looked and looked.

A "nice hotel upper-middle class" will run you at a minimum 100 Euro a night- and that is in a very small town.  A nice upper-middle class hotel in a city like Rome will cost you 200-500 Euro a night.  You would be better off looking for just a hotel- any hotel as long as the price is right.  I looked for a friend for hotels in Rome and there simply were no options for under 100 Euro a night.  None.  However, you could look into staying in a hostel or one of the inns that groups of nuns run- though those involve dorm like rooms with shared bathrooms.   Also take into account that the dollar is very weak right now, so that 100 Euro a night hotel room will cost you around $160 USD.  



Finally, food, sightseeing, etc.  Luckily there is so much to see in Italy that is free.  I toured around Rome and Florence and other cities and never spent much money at all.  If you want to go inside the Vatican and things like that then you have to pay.  For food, I would count on at least 20 Euro per person per day- and that is serious budget eating.  To experience Italy and it's food the way you should you would want to count on more than that per day.

I hate to provide disappointing news, but from the numbers you have given it is simply not affordable.  (This of course might not be true if you are from say, England where the pound is strong, and your flights will be much less using Ryanair- I'm guessing you are from the US though due to your use of "vacation" vs. "holiday" and "college" vs. "university").  However, good for you for having your priorities straight and paying for your child to go to college.  That educations will take them further than a week long vacation.  And maybe someday they will be a doctor or have some other great job and will take you and your family to Italy as a thank you!

Answer 3

If you are going to Rome check out the Hotel Forum . Flights to Rome vary USAir has good packages you could look into that would give you both flight and hotel rates that are reasonable. IF you choose to book separately depending on where you are flying from would make a difference in price.

Answer 4

When do you want to go ? Where in Italy do you want to go? The exchange rate is very low for the dollar  http://www.xe.com

The current exchange rate for the euro is .633333 to the euro  Ex. 1000 euros will cost you $1578. 36

Where are you flying from?

Check out this link for flights...Flights are very expensive this time of year.

http://www.farechase.yahoo.com/

If I can be of any further help, let me know