Published on: 10 April 2014 | Last updated: 25 March 2018
Cards and cash machines (ATMs)
Italy has a huge number of banks and even small villages will often have an ATM (Bancomat), but if you are going somewhere remote it’s probably a good idea to have enough cash to last three or four days.
Credit and debit cards are widely accepted, but Italians don’t use cards as much as people in some other European countries. That may be because of the card companies charges — certainly it’s common to have a minimum limit for using a card. I mainly pay by cash for things like campsites, drinks, and meals and food.
Costs
My budget for travelling in Italy is 60 euros a day — mainly camping, but normally eating out and staying in the occasional hotel. If there’s more than one of you, or you cook for yourselves then you could live for less than that.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| coffee (espresso) | 1€ |
| latte macchiato | €1.50 |
| brioche (croissant) | €1 |
| beer (small) | 2€ |
| gelato | 1.5 — 2€ |
| campsite | 15€ for 1 person |
| hostel | 20€ |
| hotel | 50€ per room/night |
| picnic lunch from a deli | 5€ |
| lunch in a bar or restaurant — menu fisso | 12€ |
| dinner (2 courses with quarter litre of house wine) | 25€ |
| dinner (pizza and a medium-sized beer) | 15€ |
Notes
- these prices are simply a guide
- hotel prices quoted here are for decent-quality hotels. You could pay a lot more depending on your tastes and budget
- hotels and campsites generally vary with the time of year and location. Campsite prices can vary from 10€ to over 20, an economical B&B or hotel room from 40€ to €70
- campsites generally charge about 7 or 8 euros for the pitch and the same amount per person so if you are a couple the costs comes to say 11€ per person per night (prices vary depending on area and time of year)
- hotels generally charge for the room — although generally there is a bit of a reduction for single room or a double room let for one person
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