How to keep costs down when visiting Italy with kids: 9 essential Italy budget tips for families

Italy budget tips for families: how to keep costs down when traveling Italy with kids without renouncing comfort and fun!

Keeping costs low on a family trip to Italy, especially if coming from overseas, can seem an impossible task.

As you start researching the best places to visit and the best things to do in Italy with kids, infinite ideas, experiences, classes and destinations start competing for your attention and chances are you very quickly start feeling an urgency to see all and do all.

This urgency starts as excitement but tends to quickly crash against the often extremely high cost of tours and classes.

Some expenses, such as flights and accommodation, may be difficult to manage unless you are already savvy about using points or home exchange.

However, there are many things you can do to lower the cost of your experience once here in Italy, things that won’t require compromising on the quality of your vacation.

So please, if you feel Italy is entirely out of budget, don’t despair yet!

We travel around Italy as a family all the time and we have tried several different approaches.

Sometimes, we have gone heavy with tours and structured time; other times, we have opted for very low-budget options; and sometimes, we have done a bit of both, picking one more pricey activity and staying low-budget with others.

We have enjoyed all of these trips!

As much as we loved many of the activities we tried, we never felt skipping those meant compromising on our vacation quality and I am sure it can be the same for you!

Today, I want to share some thoughts that I hope help you feel reassured about keeping the budget in check while exploring Italy with kids and give some ideas on how to visit attractions on a budget.

Book attractions directly from the official websites (and skip the line)

The cheapest way to get tickets for attractions is to book from the official site of the attractions themselves.

By booking directly, you avoid all third-party fees and add-ons, as the transaction is just between you and the attraction and you still get to skip the line.

You do not need special ‘skip the line’ tickets to avoid lines in Italy.

‘Skip the line’ tickets and tours are very much a thing of the past.

Before online ticketing, tour operators were able to get hold of tickets before the client and, therefore, offered a ‘skip the line at the ticket office’ service, at an extra cost.

Now, there is no need to go via a tour operator to get the exact same service: you can do it yourself by buying from the web.

‘Skip the line’ only means you buy ahead instead of having to go to the ticket office, so please do not pay over the odds for that option!

All big attractions now have timed tickets, so you book a slot and go right in at the designated time.

Only get a tour if you want a guide, if the tickets are otherwise sold out or the operator is able to offer additional access than what you can get yourself.

Need to know: ticket checks and security lines cannot be skipped but move fast. So don’t be discouraged if you see you have people ahead of you: usually, it is just a bottleneck for the necessary checks.

You can find official sites to book directly and avoid middlemen/tour fees here >> https://mamalovesitaly.com/italy-trip-planning-resources/

Avail of kids’ rates for attractions and trains

Many attractions and most trains offer kids’ rates, and these are sometimes of excellent value.

The Colosseum, for instance, is free for kids up to age 18; the Uffizi is the same; the Vatican is free for kids up to age 6.

Trains also have special prices for kids and families, sometimes to the extent of having kids up to age 14 traveling for free.

All you need to do to avail of this rate is to input your children as ‘child’ when booking: the system will show all the offers available for your trip.

Need to know: High-speed trains tend to cost significantly less if booked early rather than closer to the time of travel. Tickets tend to come out 6 to 3 months ahead: get them as soon as you have your exact dates so you can secure the best price. Even the cheapest fare gets you a nice and safe carriage: no need to go to higher fares for a pleasant journey.

Read here >>> how to travel Italy by train with kids to learn about providers and options for kids.

When looking into booking anything, always look for the small print about free entry and reduced rates for kids; they can save you an absolute fortune!

Don’t book tours for everything: make the most of free / inexpensive resources instead

Some places are much easier with a kids’ tour (the Vatican Museums; Pompeii; the Uffizi), but most attractions in Italy are very easy to explore on your own.

Depending on the place and your level of interest, you can get an audioguide, read about it before going (SO much free info online, even just on this website!), and sometimes even just take it in the beauty.

City centers, for instance, are very easy to enjoy even just by strolling, with all the churches, historical streets, buildings, shops etc.

The fact that beauty and history are all around you is one of the most distinctive things about Italy. So, there is nothing more Italian than just letting yourself get lost in it.

Unless you have a specific interest that calls for a local expert, Italy is safe and easy to enjoy on your own, even with kids.

Some ideas on how this may work and free resources are:

Give little kids the scavenger hunts: we have some on this website and on MamaLovesRome (my website about Rome, my hometown) that are free to download. For instance:

• Rome scavenger hunt for kids (with printables)
• Florence scavenger hunt for kids (with printables)
• Venice scavenger hunt for kids (with printables)
• Venice mini guide for kids (for parents to read out)
• Roman Forum scavenger hunt (with printables)
• Facts about the Colosseum for kids

I also have additional scavenger hunts and fact cards on Etsy. See our Mama Loves To Print Shop here

Good to know: I have created two inexpensive but comprehensive e-guides with information about tons of attractions and scavenger hunts for kids, to keep on your phone. They cost a handful of Euro and are great (if I say so myself!) to visit Rome and Florence with kids without tours! Find them here >>> Rome with kids – travel guide for parents and Florence with kids: guide for parents

Give kids printables so they can make their own best gelato and food charts

If food tours are not in budget, I find really fun to get the kids to make their own.

I have made some simple yet fun printable charts for my kids, that they can use to record and give scores to their favorite gelato places and foods tried.

You can download them for free at the following link:

Best gelato chart printable – Best pizza chart printable (use in Rome and Naples, where pizza is from!) – best food chart printable

Use free museum resources

It is possible to save on museum tours for kids using the many free or inexpensive resources already available on the web and in the museums themselves.

Some museums have maps and audioguide for kids, some even special family tours and all big ones have websites to get information about their main masterpieces, which are gerat to learn about them but also to plan an efficient visit with little dwell time.

I like to study beforehand the main works to see in big museums and let the kids guide us to find the main pieces around the gallery.

I often do this but looking at the most famous artwork on the web or I get the kids to the museum shop before we go in to get postcards they can use as scavenger hunt keys

If you’re worried about your kids not enjoying a museum outing, have a look here at our tips on how to handle museum with kids

Don’t worry about booking ‘experiences’ to experience Italy

Experiences and classes can be a fabulous way to spend your time in Italy but you don’t need them to authentically live country.

Authentic Italy is found strolling around towns, peeking into random churches, going to the local shop, kicking a ball in the park with local kids.

These are the things that make you experience the actual country.

Structured activities and experience can fun, educational, entertaining, valuable but they are not a must and you will not be missing out on real Italy if you don’t do them.

Do them if they are fun for you but not because you think without them you cannot have a fun and enriching stay.

For instance, and this are just the first examples that come to mind, in Pienza pretty much all cheese shops offer cheese samples (Pienza is famous for pecorino di Pienza, a type of cheese).

In Montalcino and all wine towns, you can have a lovely wine-tasting session in several wine bars / restaurants and in the town branches of local wineries, without having to pay for a driver or a tour.

If you want to see how a craft comes to life, peek into shops to see the artisans at work.

In Orvieto you can see pottery artisans at work; in most localities you can now find embroidery shops with artisans working near the door to showcase their work; in the vast majority of pizza places you can see the pizza being made and put in the live flame oven.

In Rome, some places like Fortunata have people making pasta in the window (yes, it is for tourists but kids enjoy it!)

It is not the same as doing it yourself but it is how it is really done and how most locals experience it too.

Top tip: if you decide to pick one activity, especially if only investing in one or two, make sure you pick a local one so you have the best return on your investment. For instance, learn pizza in Rome or Naples, have a farm to-table experience in Tuscany, learn gelato in Florence and carbonara in Rome. Itlay is hyper-local in terms of skills and dishes so make sure you pick your experience in the place that does it best. Find my recommendations here >>> best activities for families in Italy.

Careful with the cost of private car transfers

Car transfers, especially between cities/ out of town destinations, cost an absolute fortune in Italy.

Car service is not a local means of transport: it is priced for wealthy overseas tourism and prices out most people.

When booking accommodation and picking locations, always consider transport before committing as private car can easily add hundreds.

Do no pick an isolated place because it is inexpensive unless you also know you can get there within budget.

Trains work well for many places, flights can work well if crossing the whole length of the country and car rental is a good option for rural places.

If you are not sure where you may need a car, read here >>> How to get around Italy

Consider ferries instead of boat tours

Ferries are a perfectly valid and very fun way to see the coast.

They are cheap, safe, offer great views, and while you cannot jump off into the water from them, like you would do from a private boat, you can always get in the water once you’re at your destination.

Ferries are my family’s go to and while we enjoy more upscale boat tours too, we never felt we had a subpar experience because of the ferry – it’s all about the water and the views anyway, the vessel once it is safe, really doesn’t matter that much.

Embrace local grocery shops

Grocery shops have plenty of excellent and well priced food option to cook and take out and the cost a fraction of ‘gourmet sandwich shops’ of tiktok fame.

Don’t be afraid to just walk in and try them, the quality will positively surprise you. Head to the deli counter and ask them to make you a sandwich or try their lasagne, pasta bake, fresh pesto… most supermarkets and shops have lovely options!

Read here >>> all about grocery shopping in Italy

Tip the Italian way (not the US one)

Visitors from the US are used to leaving generous tips at home and, therefore, tend to think the same is expected in Italy, but this is not the case.

There are some situations in Italy when we do tip: for instance, if I am happy at a restaurant, I do leave a small gratuity as an extra thank you, usually in the form of a few euro.

However, we do not tip 10% of the service cost, let alone 20 or 30.

Staff wages are included in the cost of the service, may it be a restaurant server, a tour guide a driver etc.

When you see the cost of a tour, that is the final cost: you do not need to factor in any additional percentage as a tip.

Tipping the local way is not rude and it has two huge upsides: it helps to keep wages up and also helps to fight tax evasion, one of the biggest problems in the country (imagine the immensity of these hidden transactions if you add them all up, with the level of tourism we have!).

It also helps you pay less so it is a win for everyone!

You can read here >> all about tipping in Italy

Know of extra charges when sitting at cafes

Cafes and restaurants in famous locations such as main piazzas apply extra charges for sitting at their tables, even if you carry your order there yourself.

The extra charge can be significant – there is a reason why we locals have mastered the art of coffee standing up!

The extra charge doesn’t always apply, especially outside of busy centers: make sure you ask each time before taking your seat or what starts like an innocent break from walking may turn into an expensive past

Order wisely

Meals do not need to cost a fortune in Italy and some budget tips about how to order can be helpful to pay less and still have a lovely meal.

First of all, it is important to know that you don’t have to order several courses

It is normal to have a main only if you are so inclined, especially at lunch when it is very common for people even just to have a salad or a light bite.

Don’t feel obliged to order more than you want: long, multi-course meals are not a must and not even that common with locals anymore. So, no worries about that!

Kids’ portions are often priced just like adult ones. If you have small kids who may only have a couple of bites, consider ordering for yourself and share. Restaurants don’t normally have an issue with this, in the case of little kids especially.

For the adults, you can keep the cost of wine down by ordering ‘vino della casa’ (house wine).

House wine usually costs a fraction of a bottle while still being rather good. So, if you want a glass of wine to go with your meal rather than a specific label, it is an easy way to lower costs.

Restaurants serve bottled or filtered water and this comes with a charge. If you don’t finish your water, use it to replenish your reusable bottles (and use drinking fountains any other time).

Off-menu daily specials are often the best order at a restaurant as it means they got in especially fresh ingredients that day.

However, ask how much it is before committing and, ideally, ask for it in writing, for instance, on a board, so you know how much it is.

Especially if the fresh ingredient is fish, the price can be very high – always check first!

Bonus budget tip for Italy: see less!

I know the advice to see less in Italy may seem an odd one, and you may think I really do not get what you are looking for in a once-in-a-lifetime family trip to Italy. But bear with me as I think this is maybe the best tip of all.

To experience Italy, you do not need to see all the small towns, visit all the landmarks, see all the museums.

For instance, in Tuscany, pick two or three towns to visit and spend a bit of time in each, have a meal, and take it in.

Unless you go for a specific landmark, then the feel of the different towns is often similar enough that you don’t need to see ten of them, potentially paying hundreds of euro for drivers to bring you there.

A couple of well-chosen ones may well be enough and allow for a more relaxed, cheaper, overall better experience.
Find here >> the most beautiful small towns in Tuscany

The same with the Amalfi Coast or Cinque Terre: you don’t need to see them all to enjoy them.

See here >> the best towns on the Amalfi Coast
See here >> the best towns to see in Cinque Terre

This is even more true if you are hoping to experience a vast region: Sardinia, Puglia, and Sicily, for instance, are huge, and you won’t get much from a quick and expensive flight there that only allows for a couple of days at your destination.

You won’t see Sicily in a day, so unless you have a specific reason to go or the time to experience it, skip it or the opposite: give it time. In addition to having a better experience, you will save hundreds in transport around the country.

Museums are the same.

I often hear the question ‘Is this museum a must? Because we are not interested much in it at all’.

If you are not interested and you know this because you have researched the attraction and is not for you: skip it! This is your holiday and if you don’t think a place is for you, don’t go!

I hope you found these budget tips for Italy and the resources provided useful. Safe travels!

Italy Budget tips for families: pin this!