A lot of people travel to Italy , stay in expensive hotels and very often visit 1 to 2 locations at the time, while spending thousands. Don't get me wrong ,sure it's great to live like a king once in a while ! But, if you happen to have a travel bug and a tight budget at the same time, I might be able to help you with that.
As I travelled for a friends wedding I happen to spend the first 3 days in Assisi and Perugia, beautiful old towns located on the hill slopes, its a must see for its incredible views from inside and outside ( horrendously underrated in my opinion). Apart from that during that 3 days we also travelled to the Lake Trasimeno Regional Park for a quiet, nature filled afternoon. After that we travelled up north to visit Florence famous for its Renaissance art and architecture, after Florence we decided to visit Bologna as it was recommended to us for its famous Bolognese. After Bologna we decided to hit the road and travel down south where we visited Rome and Vatican City, followed by Naples, Mount Vesuvius and famous for its tragic history Pompeii. On the way from Rome to Naples we decided to take the longer root through the coast in hope for some amazing sights, we weren't regretful about it as we managed to discover Sperlonga beautiful coastal town and a dream like, golden sand, private beach right next to it, that we managed to sneak into and take couple of snaps. Overall during our journey we had plenty of adventures and some great food, but more about it in the future posts.
So.. back to the question..
I saved up a lot on a place to sleep and shower. ( most of the time we were sleeping in the car, we were also able to easily find a FREE place to shower on the local petrol stations )
BE AWARE: the showers on the toll roads are always FREE of charge , no exceptions. There are people unfortunately in Italy (cleaners) that are going to try take the advantage of the fact you are a tourist and will make you pay. So never give them money! If they keep harassing you call the manager and they will deal with the situation for you.
BE AWARE: toll roads in Italy can be quite tricky for a new comers, first of all almost everything is in Italian and not many people speak English well so you have to be prepared that you won't always know what to do or where to go. What you should avoid by all means is Telepass unless there is no other way to enter/ get out. If you cross the Telepass, because there was no other option its not a problem, the Telepass is most likely not active and still in the process of construction. While on the toll road in Italy always remember to choose pay by cash or card option to avoid any unexpected fines coming to your house months later. Also check for ZTL zones ( restricted driving zones in Italy ) while travelling to Rome, Florence , Napoli, Milan , Pisa etc.
when we were really exhausted and in need of the bed we slept in a trailer park, worked out cheaper than a room in a hotel and gave us a lot of privacy and comfort for much cheaper price.
BE AWARE: look for a trailer parks around the area you are exploring, if that area happens to be a big city look for it in the suburbs , the further it is the lower the price.
when you eat out look at the price but also quality of the food. Ask locals which restaurants they recommend, don't eat in a central areas filled with tourist. You want to blend in, not be charged double the price for a crappy food. The real ,good Italian food is actually hard to find with the amount of restaurants there. So make sure to go to the most Italian restaurant possible, where people barely speak English and all the customers are Italian - there you will find some great food for a reasonable price.
BE AWARE: restaurants in the main square serve you really bad quality food( most of the time) , small portions and charge you massive service charge at the end. Don't be fooled unless you got the place recommended by the local.
renting a car earlier can save you up a lot of money and cars in Italy go as quick as hot buns so make sure to book it in advance before coming to Italy, that will save you up some cash. Apart from that make sure to always pay a little bit extra for insurance. You want to be on a safe side while travelling a lot, get yourself insurance in case of scratches or dents. Also don't forget to rent something economic, if you are planning a long journeys you will use a lot of fuel, prepare yourself don't spend extra on fuel while you can spend it on something more exiting.
BE AWARE: get yourself an insurance on the car, its really important if you don't want to pay huge amount of money for imaginary scratches . Also make sure to take pictures of the car beforehand.
Plan your journey carefully, choose the quickest and the cheapest roots. Avoid traffic, sometimes its better to pay for the road rather than waste your precious time in traffic.
BE AWARE: sometimes longer roots might be more interesting and you might be able to discover impeccable sites. Choose coastal roads rather than central ones if possible.
That's about it in this post, there will be more posts coming soon about Italy and places mentioned.. I promise to be always truthful with my recommendations and opinions even with the bad ones.
But for now... Have A Great Day wherever you are in the world and of course #happytravels
Great tips, really like your blog, keep me posted :)