Here's How Much I Spent on a Five Day Trip to Rome
When I booked my flight to Rome, I didn’t really expect for it to be one of the most expensive trips I’d take. What I spent for a night of accommodations in central Rome can easily be two nights elsewhere. But my time in Rome was one of best trips I’ve ever taken. Here’s a complete breakdown of what I spent in Rome so that you may have a sense of how much it may cost to visit this city.
Pre-trip Expenses
Airfare: $605.21 Round Trip | Economy Seating
IAD (Washington, D.C.) 🛫 FCO (Rome, Italy)
Layover in CDG (Paris, France)
Travel period:
Third week of May. My airfare was booked in late March, two months before travel via Air France.
This price came as Google Flight alert, about $200 lower than it was for weeks and it was not a fare I could purchase online. With the number Google Flights provided, I called Air France, and booked my ticket on the phone with an agent. (I may have sweated buckets for a few minutes before getting the official confirmation email from Air France for my flight. It was not a scam!)
Accommodations: $244.97 via Airbnb | Central
<25 minute walking distance from all major sights
Studio Airbnb fare split with one other person.
My Airbnb was a block away from Piazza Navona, and a 3 minute walk to the Pantheon, 10 minutes to the Trevi Fountain, 15 minute walk to Spanish Steps, and 25 minutes to the Colosseum and the Vatican. At ~$61 per person, per night, I considered this a splurge. But the convenience of the location was well worth it.
Total Pre-trip Expenses: $850.18
Day 1
Taxi (Airport to Airbnb): $29.48 (Split from €50)
Note: Ubers aren’t actually legal in Italy so you have to take the taxi or public transportation. I landed in Rome 11pm at night so we decided against public transportation and opted for a taxi instead.
We were both too exhausted to eat after landing, so we crashed immediately after getting to the Airbnb.
Total Day 1 Expenses: $29.48
Day 2 (Rome Highlights)
Walk from Airbnb to Colosseum: $0
Bottled Water: $0.59 (€0.50)
My friend started off her day with coffee and croissants. I’m not really breakfast person so instead hopped into a convenience store to get a bottle of water. (Note: drinkable water is free in Rome!)
Tickets for Colosseum: $17.33 (€14)
Colosseum tickets also include an entry to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. All three attractions are breathtaking and definitely worth a visit.
Lunch at Abruzzi: $15.66 (Split from €26.5)
Found this gem on the walk back from the Colosseum and was lured in by its homey storefront and fresh handmade pasta menu. The total price indicated here (before the split) was for have two pastas and two sodas.
Pantheon: $0
Spanish Steps: $0
Gelato: $3 (€2.50)
We hid inside a gelato shop when the rain came pouring down near the Spanish Steps. When in Italy… gotta have gelato.
Souvenirs: $17.18 (€15)
Typical travel souvenirs such as keychains, magnets, and mini statues are all about €1 to €2 euros each here… not a bad deal when you have friends who collect magnets or keychains back home!
Trevi Fountain: $0
Dinner at La Scaletta: $13.01 (Split from €22)
So we planned to visit beautiful Trastevere for dinner and found a place online that had good reviews. On our way to the restaurant, we didn’t really look at Google Maps closely (fail…) and didn’t read the name of the restaurant closely (fail x2) so we ended up seating at a restaurant with a similar name 30 seconds away from where we wanted to go. 🤦♀️
The food was okay. We got a pasta dish that was good, a meat dish that was subpar and two drinks.
Gelato: $3 (€2.50)
We still had room for dessert after dinner! Cue gelato run #2.
Night Photography Run: $0
Total Day 2: $69.88
day 3 (Vatican City)
Prelude: We didn’t actually book our Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel tickets online in advance because we weren’t sure if we we going to have enough time for it. This morning, we decided that we were gonna go for it, and because all the online slots were booked, we opted to go early and purchase tickets in person.
I really wanted a guided tour of the Vatican and Museums so that I can actually understand what I’m looking at. Tickets without a guided tour are €21 online. I don’t know anything about art or the Roman Catholic Church, and needed someone to help explain things.
When we arrived at 7:02am, lines were already wrapped around the block for what seemed like miles. We were about to give up and call it a day when a tour company came up to us and offered a guided tour that includes skip the line tickets. We decided that it was this or nothing, so we accepted.
Vatican Guided Tour: $41.38 (€35)
Would we had done this if we knew we were going to visit the Vatican in advance? No.
Would we do it again? No.
Do we actually regret this? Not really.
Choosing to purchase Vatican tickets from a 3rd party tour operator is one of the most expensive travel decisions I’ve made. But it was the best play given our situation. The “skip the line” wait ended up actually being an hour wait, but the tour guide was informative and we learned a lot from listening to her explain the air pieces and Catholic history.
Lunch at Arlu: $21.28 (Split from €35)
Arlu was a small but crowded restaurant near the Vatican that we knew we had to try. It was a bit on the pricier side, but the food was delicious. We got a pasta dish, saltimbocca (rolled up ham) and two drinks.
Gelato: $3 (€2.50)
Our strategy for the rain is really to duck inside the first gelato shop we see. Did we research to find the best gelato spots in the city? No. Did we have good gelato regardless? Absolutely.
Afternoon Wandering: $0
After a morning at the Vatican, we decided not to go inside Castel Sant'Angelo. Instead, we just got lost around the streets of Rome and wandered until dinner.
Dinner at Da Tonino: $15.96 (Split from €27)
Da Tonino was a cozy place near our Airbnb that we heard had great authentic food. That’s exactly what we think we got. When we arrived shortly after opening there was a line out the door so we waited 20 minutes to be seated. We had prosciutto, pasta, bocconcini ai funghi e piselli (veal with peas and mushrooms) and two drinks.
Of all the restaurants we visited, this was probably one of the local options. The price was great, and I’d definitely come back next time I visit Rome.
Total Day 2: $81.62
day 4 (Day Trip to Procida)
You can find the complete details of my day trip to Procida here. I would have preferred to spend more time in Naples in Procida rather than day tripping there, but we had limited time in Italy. Because Procida felt like a separate adventure, I do not consider my Procida expenses to be part of my Rome budget. These expenses are separately calculated.
Bus ticket (Roma Termini to Airbnb): $1.77 (€1.50)
We walked from our Airbnb to the Rome Train Station in the morning but decided to take the bus back. Before visiting Rome, you must know that they don’t actually sell bus tickets on the bus, so you need to buy it in advance before getting on. My friend and I got completely lost at the train station looking a place to buy a bus ticket.
Dinner at Jazz Cafe: $10.61 (Split from €18)
After a long day, we decided to eat at a place that was 30 seconds away from our Airbnb. The owner of Jazz Cafe had seen us pass by for a couple of days and had encouraged us to try out his restaurant. We’ve always waved him off and said ‘next time.’ When we went to have dinner here, he recognized us and exclaimed “you came back!” while seating us down. Props to this man and his amazing memory.
We got a pizza, a pasta dish, and two drinks. It was much better food than we expected, and well worth the money we paid. The staff at this establishment was one of the friendliest people I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with in Rome. When we were about to head out, the owner stopped us and offered free Prosecco and good company. If he ever reads his, I just want to tell him his kindness was one of my favorite and most memorable parts of Rome. Thank you, good sir for being so nice to us.
Total Day 4 (Rome Only): $12.38
day 5 (Last morning)
Our train ride to Florence was in the early afternoon so we really only had the morning left to see any last things in Rome. We decided to spend our time wandering around Parione and visiting Campo de' Fiori.
Souvenirs: $17.70 (€15)
I feel in love with this beautiful scarf at Campo de' Fiori and knew that it was the perfect souvenir gift to bring back for my mother. It was probably a bit overpriced, I’ve never seen a design like that and couldn’t leave without it. She loved it!
Bottled Water: $0.59 (€0.50)
Because hydration is everything.
Lunch at Bread-in: $4.96 (Split from €8.50)
We decided that our last meal in Rome should be paninis as we haven’t had them yet. We heard great things about Bread-in and were so glad to have tried it. We shared two paninis here.
Taxi (Airbnb to Roma Termini): $6.99 (Split from €12)
Rather than lugging our luggage on the bus to the train station, we decided to splurge on a taxi. No regrets.