Traveling doesn’t have to break the bank
There are many different avenues of travel and what I like to call, travel personalities.
Are you the type of traveler who is admit about wining and dining in luxury? Do you always need to stay in five star hotels? Do you always take a taxi/Uber everywhere when you travel? You know, the type of traveler who blows their whole travel load on one big extravagant trip once a year or even maybe once every couple of years. Well, then this piece probably isn’t for you unless you are looking to change the way you look at traveling.
I’m talking to my fellow travelers who are in it for the quantity over comfortability. The ones who aren’t afraid to get down, dirty and a bit uncomfortable all in the name of exploring, learning and growing.
It doesn’t matter any which you slice it, there will always be cons and pros to cutting costs when it comes to traveling. Let’s get to the brass tax…
The question you have to ask yourself is, what are you willing to compromise based on how much money you are saving?
Recently, Max and I took a quick and spur of the moment trip to Rome. Anything spur of the moment for us is going to be accompanied by a budget of sorts. Hell, what am I talking about, ANYTHING is accompanied by a budget if Max is involved.
If you have ever met Max, you know his life revolves around excel spreadsheets, budgets and organization. If you’ve ever met me, you know I couldn’t be any more opposite of Max’s Inherent need to always have order and organization. When we travel, we met in the middle.
Before jet-setting off to Italy I had this crazy idea to ask our friends and family to be a part of formulating our bucket list! This idea came to me at around 3am a couple nights before our departure, as of course any good idea must present itself at the witching hour.
Via social media, I put our travel plans in the hands of family and friends. I asked anyone who had ever thought about, dreamt about or read anything about Rome to tell us what they would do in this beautiful city!
We were not disappointed with the many responses!
How to save Money while visiting Rome on a Budget
Bucket List Item #1 – Do a Ghost Tour of the Crypts and Catacombs
Guided walking tours of the Crypts and Catacombs range anywhere from $57.20-$71.75 per person.
Luckily, after a little research we found a nearby crypt – The Capuchin Museum and Crypt – that offered self guided tours. Not only was the price a fraction of the guided tours, but there was an entire museum before you even set foot into the crypts.
The museum gave a brief historical background to the origins of this particular crypt along with may artifacts that brought this dark and intriguing history to life.
You had two options and two different prices.
You pay an entrance fee of 8.50€ to just have a walk through or for an additional 1.50€ you can have access to the automated self guided tour.
In our case we paid one entrance fee and one self guided entrance fee. This wasn’t really an activity that Max was super interested in. So, he left his education of the crypt to me. I did the self guided tour and then just gave him a brief synopsis when we were finished!
Self guided walking tours of the Crypts and Catacombs: 18.50€ ($18.74)
Savings: 95.90€-125€ ($97.14-126.62)
Bucket List Item #2 – Take a Pasta Making Class
Unfortunately, all the pasta making classes were completely booked during the time we would be in Rome. However, we still wanted a special Italian culinary experience.
While searching around on Airbnb experiences, we came across a small local restaurant that was offering a tour of Italy through food and wine tasting!
This charming culinary experience took place at Crash Roma.
The experience started off with an aperitif of a common Italian snack called, taralli and an aperol spritz.
After the initial snack and drink we quickly got a very interesting history of Italian food, wines and Proseccos.
Then, it was time for the good stuff!
We were showered with deliciously tasting wines along with 4 courses of food such as fresh and aged cheeses from Tuscany, Basilicata, Campania and Lombardy.
Other tastings items included:
- Bruschetta with fresh tomatoes, onions, basil, sun dried tomatoes and Pecorino cheese
- Gnocchi with a Parmesan and Pecorino pepper cheese sauce
- Fresh cheeses, meats and homemade jam board
Every step of this magical culinary experience was accompanied by some of the most deliciously tasting wines and Proseccos. To our excitement the wines and Proseccos were available for purchase at the end of your experience and at very affordable prices!
A four course meal at a nice restaurant with drinks, wines and prosecco in Rome would run you roughly $60-$70 per person.
This exquisite experience was priced at only $36 per person!
Italian culinary experience: $72
Savings: $48-$68
Bucket List Item #3 – Visit the Colosseum
How did we visit the Colosseum for free? Well, simply put we were very ill prepared travelers.
Our trip to Rome was a very last minute decision, and I mean VERY last minute. So last minute, in fact, that we were flipping coins two days prior to leaving which determined where we would jet set off to.
The day we arrived at the Colosseum we quickly realized that without having booked a ticket ahead of time, there was absolutely no chance of gaining access to the largest standing amphitheater in the world.
We settled for walking around this giant piece of ancient Roman architecture and taking our obligatory Instagram pictures.
If you are interested in just getting a glimpse of this massive structure from the outside, it’s totally free!
To gain access to the inside where many moons ago Roman gladiators bravely fought to their death, well that will cost you between $24.85-$102.95 depending on the type of tour you are interested in.
Colosseum: FREE
Savings: $24.85-$102.95
Bucket List Item #4 – Trevi Fountain
Visiting the Trevi Fountain is free! A downfall of many free activities, especially one that’s so popular is it’s extremely overcrowded.
We initially went during the day and we were unable to even get close to the fountain to even sneak a quick picture.
We roamed (no pun intended) around for a few hours to see if the crows would die down if we went later at night. We took a second attempt at the fountain around midnight and it was still extremely crowded. We pushed our way to the front of the fountain to sneak a quick picture and toss a coin.
Legend states that tossing one coin into the fountain means you will return to Rome. Tossing two coins means you will return to the city and fall in love and three coins means you will marry that person.
Bucket List Item #5 – The Vatican
The majority of us know that the Vatican is located in the Vatican City. But, did you know that the Vatican City is a country? Vatican City is the smallest country in the world. They even have their own passport!
Due to the Vatican City being its own country they also have their own postal service and stamps. A Vatican City stamp can’t be used in Italy and vice versa because they are separate countries!
It is free to visit the Vatican and as a cheap souvenir I highly recommend making your way to the Vatican post office to send yourself a post card with the highly sought after Vatican stamp. You will find a post office nestled directly next to the Vatican near where the Swiss Soldiers stand guard.
It’s worth noting that when visiting the Vatican all humans must cover their shoulders and knees. Even if you aren’t religious, when dressing to visit the Vatican, you should be respectful. It’s also a requirement to be allowed in.
There are many other places to explore near the Vatican such as the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel however these do require entrance fees.
Admission into the Vatican: FREE
Total cost for post card and stamp: €2.90 ($2.94)
Bucket list Item #6 Spanish Steps
The widest and longest staircase in Europe, which consists of 135 stairs, lead from the Piazza di Spagna square to the Trinita dei Monti.
The Spanish Steps are 100% free however, I highly recommend ensuring there are no events surrounding these iconic stairs at the time of your visit.
Unfortunately, when we went there was some sort of high end fashion show happening so they had the entire area barricaded off.
Transportation in Rome
The base fare for a taxi in Rome range anywhere from 3€ to 6.50€ depending on the day of the week, time of day and if its high or low season. From there you could pay between 1.10€ and 1.60€ per km and for standing and waiting times a charge of 27€ per hours is added.
Rome has one of the most expensive taxis fares in all of Europe. If you are traveling on a budget, you will want to avoid the taxis in Rome.
A budget option is to take the local public transportation, more specifically metro and buses. You can purchase tickets at most major bus stations or at the entrance of the metro. Make sure you have bills of 5€ or smaller for the ticket machines.
Bus and metro tickets can also be purchased at Tabaccaio shops. You can find these shops by looking for the big T hanging outside the door. Sometime they can also be purchased at the small convenience shops near the entrance of the metro. The total cost of a single use ticket is 1.50€ ($1.53) for a maximum of 100 minutes of riding.
Pro Tip: When using the metro, your ticket is only valid for a single use trip. Once you exit the metro station your ticket becomes invalid. When using your ticket for the bus, your are permitted to change busses as needed up to 100 minutes. Don’t forget to validate your ticket upon entering the bus. If you plan on using the metro or busses more frequently, consider buying one of the following extended passes:
- 24 hours – 7€ ($7.16)
- 48 hours – 12.50€ ($12.78)
- 72 hours – 18€ ($18.40)
- 7 days – 24€ ($24.54)
Pro Tip: A travel tip I wish I would have been more familiar with before arriving in Rome would be the Roma Pass. There are multiple different types of Roma Passes to choose from, it just depends on what you are interested in doing with your time in Rome. These passes will allow you entry into many of the highly sought after sightseeing activities in Rome.
Check out this review on the Roma Pass. You will find some tips to help you decide if it’s the right choice for you.
