Whats the best and cheapest way to tour Italy?

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ulysses

Travel by train. Don't buy a rail pass, as they tend to be a rip-off since they're often not valid on the train you want, or require an extra reservation fee. Buy your train ticket out of a town at the time you arrive in that town (a day or three in advance) so you don't have to worry about it being sold out. Get a reserved seat only for trains expected to fill up, or if you have a deadline to meet (like when you're flying home).
Small towns tend to be a lot cheaper than big cities, both for food and for lodging. Check out Rick Steves' Europe travel guides. I can't recommend those books enough, I think he's great (no I don't work for them, I just like them). In the larger cities, you can usually buy a pass that's good at all of the major museums, which saves you money and more importantly it saves you having to wait in line at each site. Otherwise, arrive early in the morning so you can get in ahead of the crowds and get out while the day is young. Be vigilant and protect yourself against pickpockets and thieves, but otherwise don't be afraid to use public transportation (busses, subways, trains). It's a lot cheaper, and in some ways safer, than taxis. I think it's best to travel in a group of at least 2, no more than 4. 3 or 4 travellers in a group can share a hotel room or a taxi ride and it can be as economical as a individual train tickets or individual hostel stays.

alex

don't visit too many town at once...focus on two or three,so that you have to pay less for transportation. NEVER EVER buy food, maps, and souvenirs near important monuments or in the historical centers because they charge you double! sleep in hostels and eat at bars (which are not like american bars =))

foxymosh

Google Earth

Ronnie5

By Bicycle...

peace_frog_11

create a couchsurfing account!!! you will meet some great (safe) people that will host you and point you in the right direction as far as cheap fun and food goes. noone knows better than the locals! i have done this myself (couchsurfing) 14 times now all over the world and haven't regretted it once.

k.patro40

back pac, train..eurorail pass, hostels...there are many travel books out there to travel in Italy on a budget

mareeclara

Accommodation, transport and food will be your main costs.
To save on accommodation go to hostels and share a room. some towns will be more in general than others. try websites like:
www.hostels.com
www.hostelworld.com
www.hostelbookers.com
to check out which towns will be costly eg I found venice and florence pricey.....i will also point out that the cheapest places are often further out fro mthe centre or out of town and the time and cost of tranport have to be taken into account too.
Trains are not too bad costwise compared to other places i went to, you get charged for distance, so the further you travel the more it costs...try these trenitalia is the national train service use the .it one fro the official one.
otherwise buses will be slower, maybe cheaper in parts and for more remote places.
figure out a sort of route that you want to take....i did verona, venice, siena (well montepucliano) rome, florence and bologna in 13 days so that will give you some idea as to time....i did day tours from some places like from rome to pompeii, florence to pisa and lucca etc
Food is up to you....look around as you can get some bargins around. I stayed in hotels for the most part and had breakfast as part of the price so i had good breakfasts which did me well into the day....again its up to you what you want to spend....i paid up to 20 euros for an evening meal, but you can get cheaper i'm sure.

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