All prices are based upon October mid-season, not the winter low season and not the high season of summer!

• 2 beds in a 6 person dorm at The Colors Hotel & Hostel – 54 euro = $74.52
• gorgonzola cheese, 2 types of bread, artichoke hearts and a bunch of bananas – 7.50 euro = $10.35
• Metro – from Termini to the Vatican City Area – 2 euro = $2.76
• 2 Americanos @ Piquadroemme wine bar (includes tip) - 1.40 euro = $1.93
• entrance to Sistene Chapel (both at student rate) – 16 euro = $22.08
• Medium gelato near Trevi Fountain – 2.50 euro = $3.45

(two adults) Total – 83.40 euro = $115.09

The total is for Justin and I, two grown adults.  If you are traveling alone you can cut the cost in half.

Solo Total – 41.70 euros = $57.55

Save more money on lodging in a larger dorm.  We stayed in a 6 person dorm, but it is easy to find 8-12 person dorm rooms for even cheaper nightly rates.  We chose to see the Sistene Chapel and presented student cards to save money.  In some European countries if you are less than 30 years old you may be approved for a Student ID card.  However, even if you don’t wish to pay for museums, Rome has hundreds of FREE things to see and do, including the Vatican.  Which means experiencing Rome for $50 a day is easy to do.

How to travel Rome for $25 a day?

1. Self catering – nothing beats the communal meal, prepared in hostel kitchens with other travelers you meet – split the cost of the meal.  Rome is full of delicious red wine too!  Split a few bottles with some of your new friends, and sample a variety of reds.
2. Sleeping in a multi person bunk room.  The more people in your room, the cheaper your bed will cost.  Remember, you didn’t travel to Rome to stay inside, you want to explore and see it all!  The bed is just the place to rest in between your adventure.  We even wrote an article on selecting the best hostel for you in Rome.
3. The coffee is amazing.  Look for the small independently operated cafes that are actually wine bars.  They will have the best atmosphere but watch out for the prices.
4. Don’t spend money in the expensive zones – I really wanted to eat gelato while looking at the Trevi fountain lit up at night.  But I could have found less expensive gelato in Rome.
5. Use the Metro to your advantage.  A single ride is one euro, or purchase a one day pass for 4 euros.  They are valid for a full 24 hour period.  Plan where you want to go in Rome carefully, you can enjoy the Trevi fountain in the evening, and wake up the next day and still have 16 hours remaining on your pass to get you to the Colosseum and back.  At the same time, walking can be amazing depending on the weather.
6. Depending on the season, it can be hard to find a cheap place to sleep in the heart of the city.  Don’t end up having to sleep on the outskirts of Rome.  Pay for your bed in the morning, not only do you guarantee that you will have a place to sleep, but you also have a place to leave your backpack while you explore the city.

It’s amazing to know that Rome can be experienced with very little money.  Super cheap if you dare!

Rome has over 100 hostels and budget accommodations. With so many options it becomes difficult to select the right place to stay. In fact, many hostels in Rome require a minimum stay of at least 2 nights. The typical backpacker approach of, “I’ll stay one night, if I don’t like it, I can find another hostel,” doesn’t work with Rome.

Rome is an old, ancient city, in which every square foot is priceless. Keep in mind that most hostels and budget accommodations will be in old buildings and space is in short supply. Rome hostels tend to be small.

Selecting your Rome Hostel:

• How far is the hostel from a metro station? What is in walking distance?
• Are the bathrooms unisex? Will I have a hot shower?
• How big is the kitchen? How many individuals share that same kitchen?
• What are the amenities? Is there a place to hang wet clothes to dry?
• What type of security is offered?  24-hour front desk?  Lockers?

These are great questions to ask before committing yourself to a hostel. In fact, our first mistake occurred after booking a hostel in Rome. Justin and I later found out that they did not have security lockers, or lock the rooms. This was a huge concern.

However, after arriving, checking in, seeing our beds, and chatting in Italenglish, we discovered that an individual sits at the 24-hour front desk monitoring who comes and goes. In fact, after staying out past 10pm (which we did), we needed to hit an entry button on the front door. Then they would verify that the two of us were currently checked in, before pressing the automatic release on the door. Our hostel in Rome was so secure, that we couldn’t believe we had so many previous concerns.

We loved the Color’s Hotel & Hostel in Rome; they even had a rooftop terrace. This offered a great place to relax with a cup of coffee in the morning as we enjoyed the beauty of Rome. The terrace also doubled as a place to hang our laundry to dry. Fortunately, the covering provided keeps Roman Pigeon poop from meeting your fresh and clean threads.  It proved to be a great hostel in Rome.

The Color’s Hotel & Hostel was the perfect location and accommodation for us. We selected our hostel and got lucky. This is a big part of finding a hostel in Rome. Some locations are amazing, while others lead to nights you don’t want to remember. Reading online reviews can be helpful. Try hostels, hostelbookers, hostelworld and hostelz. The reviews can be less accurate than we wish they were.  At the same time, these websites provide information on location and nightly rates.  Sometimes it costs extra money to book through one of these sites.  See if the hostel has their own website.  The hostel booking websites are a good place to start.

Other than that, travel is about risk! Know what you want to do in Rome and then decide where you want to stay, and book it! If you are really adventurous, find a hostel when you arrive. However, in the high season (Mid-May to early September) you might want to book ahead so you don’t sleep outside a Gelato shop near Trevi fountain.

On a slightly related topic, Ryan Air allows each passenger one carry on bag. This bag can weigh no more than 10 kilos (I think this is comparable to about 20 pounds.) If you want to check a bag, it must weigh no more than 15 kilos and they will charge you 15 euro for your trouble. What the web site does not tell you is that you can carry a purse (or murse if you are a man) on board as well. Also, you can stow the extra weight from your carry on bag about your person as they do not mind if you look like a luggage piñata. All in all, I stuffed around 8 kilos worth of stuff inside my coat and pant pockets. This actually made me start thinking about ditching some of the useless crap that is in my bag.

So hats off to the security workers at the Treviso Airport for keeping people safe. I just wish I had my cork screw.

After our long day of hiking Cinque Terre, I decided I wanted to savor some sweet Bailey’s. However, I really wanted ice to go with it, oh and the bottle of Bailey’s was in the car parked at the top of the mountain. Whatever! I had hiked enough that day, and if I needed to hike to the top of Riomaggiore and back to find a few treasured cubes of ice than it would be well worth the trip.

It was a beautiful evening, we could see the waves meeting the cove outside our apartment windows. I reassured the guys that I could go alone in search of ice and retrieving our Bailey’s. So, off I went, no makeup, natural and physically exhausted.  Little did I know, the rose I found earlier that day was foreshadowing my romantic evening to come.

Within 5 minutes I returned from a swift walk to a nearby restaurant. I did the most direct thing I could think off. I walked into the kitchen and asked the friendly staff in Italian for some ice. The owner of the restaurant magically showed up. A sweet, older Italian man named Caesar. He introduced himself to me, kissed me on each check (a typical Italian greetin), and seemed interested in me. I kindly thanked him for the ice, “Ciao grazie!” and made my exit.

The guys were amazed by how quickly I returned with the ice. I tossed it in our mini fridge/freezer and left immediately to hike to the car.

As I walked up the tiny cobble stone street, I had to walk through the restaurant once more. No, really, that was the only way to leave from Nuccia’s apartment. Their was Caesar again, grabbing my hand and asking me if I was from California. I kindly informed him I was from Michigan, and said some other cute things in Italian to make my escape. I had to rescue the Bailey’s from our Ford Fiesta.

After about a 20 minute hike up and down to the car I was once again (now holding a bottle of Bailey’s in a grocery bag), facing the inevitable and walk right through Caesar’s restaurant.

He saw me, grabbed me by the hand again with a hawk like move and seated me at a table across from a good looking 20-something Italian man. Caesar introduced me to his grandson who had thick dark hair and soft glowing eyes. What did I get myself into? In my best Italian I touched my wedding ring on my hand and described how much I loved my husband. I even quoted an Italian aria, “mi pizzichi, mi stuzzichi, mi pungichi, mi mastichi”, yes I said, “He pinches me, he squeezes me, he tortures me, he stimulates me.”

At this point Caesar and his good looking grandson were getting the point. However, Caesar began to pour me wine. But I exclaimed that I must return to my husband so he can love me tonight. I graciously thanked him and said my farewells, and quickly returned to Cup and Justin.

After telling them of my adventures, they decided I could have obtained dual citizenship, EU passport included in the package deal, as their would have been a Riomaggiore marriage proposal that evening if I would have stuck around any longer.

Google Maps

Hiking the Cinque Terre trail can be difficult – not because the trail is overly strenuous (although it does entail walking up and down a small mountain on rocky paths) but because it is so beautiful. The entire path offers breath taking views of the Mediterranean, vineyards, olive groves, and/or Italian cliff cities. The problem is that it can be difficult to look at the view and walk the path at the same time. I found it difficult to find a happy medium between watching where I placed my feet, the only way to avoid falling off a cliff, and enjoying the picturesque, views that were all around me. When I say happy medium, this is hiker code for “I stopped a lot to look around and take pictures”. This had the added benefit of giving me and opportunity to stop and catch my breath without looking like I was out of breath. I mean, it is a bit embarrassing to be passed on a mountain trail by an 80 year old Italian man who is breathing regularly while hiking up 500 stairs. I needed some type of excuse…right?

It took Natalie, Cup, and I about 5 hours to hike from Riomaggiore to Monterosso. If you go to Italy, this experience is well worth both your time and money (even if you are limited on both). The only downside is that many other travelers and tourist apparently feel the same way so the Cinque Terre area at times feels more like hiking with a tour group than a silent walk in the woods. Either way, it is a worthwhile endeavor.

Kiki, a good family friend of Cup’s family, owns amazing apartments on the Mediterranean. We were able to stay at Villa Accetta and enjoy all of the beauty of the Mediterranean view

While in Gaeta, Cup was able to share his childhood with us through various memories. It was amazing to see Gaeta through his eyes. Walking around the house he grew up in, the soccer field he played on, the terraced land with olive trees, the school he met other kids at, the mountain we hiked, the lighthouse, the place his dad got in a car accident, his families favorite restaurant, his first job, and other memories continually flowed from his mind and heart as we explored.

The last time Cup was in Gaeta, he couldn’t drive (well, his dad let him shift sometimes) and now Cup was driving us all around, as though we were test driving our car on the mountain roads. It was beautiful, I experienced some nausea but I blame the roads and the altitude, not Cup’s driving.

Thank you Jacob (Cup) Kobernik for sharing Gaeta with Justin and I. Swimming in the Med, cooking great food together and drinking wine on the balcony. It cound not have been more perfect.

Feel free to contact Kiki, and stay at Villa Accetta. However, unfortunately, Cup doesn’t come with the package deal.

Gaeta

Gaeta is a mid size town about 1.5 hours north of Napels. Natalie, Cup, and I spent three days here going through a walk from Cup’s past as explored one of his childhood homes. A highlight of our time in Gaeta, was climbing to the top of Monte Orlando. This relatively easy path provides a breath taking view of Gaeta and the surrounding harbor. In addition, this walk also provided an excellent insight into Italian culture as we met many people, both young and old,

Pompeii

From Gaeta, we drove to Pompeii using the Italian back roads. This gave me a chance to perfect my speed racing ability. Allow me to explain. I think that all Italians believe that they are Speed Racer. They drive in both lanes, pass 3 trucks in a row while going up hill and approaching a blind curve, and generally drive the way I would like to if the American police would allow it. This makes for some very fun driving, but also for a number of frightening experiences. All in all, I had a good time.

Pompeii, is the place to go if you are interested in Roman architecture. Apparently a volcano erupted around A.D. 79 and covered the town in volcanic ash. Although I am not hip to the specifics, this helped to preserve the town, the art, and the local architecture. Needless to say, this was a good time and well worth the trip.

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore is the southern most town in the Cinque Terre area. Basically, there are 5 towns built along a series of cliffs and connected by a long path (mostly going either up or down) that wines through vineyards, olive groves, and farms. The view is breath taking and the hike is well worth the 5 hours and bucket loads of sweat it takes to complete. The pizza I ate in the last town, before hopping a short train back to Riomaggiore really sealed the deal for me.

This post is seriously lacking in details but Natalie and I are just figuring out the travel writing gig. Stay tuned for more details.

Natalie and I, along with 12 of Natalie’s family members took a train from Rome to Perugia where we picked up 3 rental cars. I was appointed to drive the lead car on account of the fact that I had a TomTom GPS unit with European maps. Driving in Italy, especially in the cities, is not for the timid or the weak of heart. I had been watching Roman drivers for 3 days and I was a little nervous about being responsible for the lives of the 5 other people in my car. Putting my nervousness aside however, I took my lead from the other drivers, and shot out of the train station and into traffic, smoothly cutting off a bus and about 15 other cars in the process. This successful, although dangerous maneuver, was difficult to follow for the two cars behind me. Clearly, this was my fault. I waited for the other two cars in our party for several minutes, but when they did not show up, the passengers in my car voted and I sped off towards Passignano sul Trasimeno.

Before I started off on this Speed Racer type adventure, I programed our intended destination (the castle where Natalie’s brother Phil is getting married) into my GPS unit. With the chaos of adapting to a stick (it is very smooth but the release on the clutch is quite a bit higher than what I am accustom), adjusting to the death inviting maneuvers that are common place on the Italian roadways, and trying, unsuccessfully, to not lose the two cars that needed to follow me, I failed to notice that the GPS unit was taking us to Bagnoli del Trigno (located 2.5 hours south east of Rome).

After happily speeding along the Italian expressway for 10-15 miles, I noticed that the 30 minute drive I was intending to take, was estimated to take almost 3 hours. To make a gross understatement, this was problematic. With 4 people stuffed into a 3 person back seat (Natalie was practically sitting on her grandmother) and with my mother-in-law (also in the back) being more or less in charge of the entire wedding venture, I needed to get the car to Passignano sul Trasimeno quickly. I rapidly re-programed the GPS unit and turned the car around. GPS units often build a level of blind faith in the system. This is well deserved. However, the human factor (read: my distraction) can impose a formidable obstacle to success.

Several wrong turns and and a bumpy off roading excursion later, we eventually arrived at the castle. Our unfortunate detour allowed the two cars that I should have lead to the castle to arrive before us. Alls well that ends well.

Travel more efficiently. Use your GPS Unit properly!