Who has returned recently from Rome? Am I in for a real shock over the price of everything? Give it to me gently, I am leaving for Rome for 3 weeks this Saturday.
Tom

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Well, I live here now, surviving on a USD pension, so I could be shocked on a daily basis...but my sister and husband just went home to USA after spending two weeks here. They were in nice hotels for about 125E a night in Rome, Florence and Sorrento. Bought 18K gold earrings here in the village for 40E, a gold locket on Ponte Vecchio for 450E. Most meals cost them about 30E a person. Now if there were one/one equivalency between the currencies, it would be quite reasonable! I just convert my dollars into Euros at the beginning of the month and then think Euros. That way I'm only shocked once! Enjoy!

Thanks for the comment, it helps. What you described is within my realm of reasonable.

Since I have to pay for the remainder of my apartment when I get there, is it best for me to change my money at the airport when I arrive?
Tom

Airport was not a great exchange rate at all. ATM cards are good (but limit the amount). Check the exchange rates at your local international banks before you come, or once you're in Italy, try the banks (though they'll take a commission of 2 or 3 points over the official exchange rate).

Is your average pizza still 4-6 euro (4 being a margherita)?

Yes, Rar, but there's the fornarina for even less, although oil and rosemary don't really cover the major food groups.

Be sure you use the ATM at the Rome airport and don't go to the money-changer booth and you'll be ok.

Thanks to all of you for your emails...
The issue is that I have to pay the full amount of my rent when I arrive. My question is, how should I convert my dollars when I arrive on a Sunday morning? I cannot get that much out of the ATM (USD 300 limit)and banks will not be open till monday. One person suggested that I contact the rental agency to see if they would allow me to pay the next day. That is a very good idea and I am going to try it.
Does anyone know the difference in exchange rates between airport exchange stores and the banks?

I don't know how much your rent will be but here's what we did. We have 2 ATM cards for our account (one for me, one for hubby). You are right about the $300 limit. We hit the machine at the airport for $300 each card (about 250 euro). We then hit another ATM machine down in centro for the second round which got us to 1000 euro and we made the payment. MAKE SURE your bank a) knows your going to Europe and b) doesn't have you at a $300 PER DAY limit. The transaction limit at all Italian ATMs we tried was $300.

I am sure you aren't the first american they have rented to. Some landlords will allow you to pay 1/2 and the balance the following day. Other people just take the torque and get euro here from someplace like american express. By the way it is actually cheaper to get 1000 euro from american express here in the states than it is to exchange money at FCO versus centro.

Offer to pay through paypal - which uses central bank exchange rates. Or see if you can do an interbank transfer (this was expensive you'd probably do as well just hitting the cambio at FCO).

1 week ago the exchange rate at the cambio at FCO was $130 for Euro 100. That same morning the exchange rate in centro was $127 for Euro 100. If you are changing $1000 that's $30 surcharge for changing at the airport. The ATM rate was $124 and some cents for 100 euro.

And to answer your first question second - We found Rome to be more expensive this time. Some of it may have been due to resources. We had more money to spend so we spent it.

We paid $127 euro our last night for a small but acceptable room near on Via Chiavari (near Campo Fiori). That was among the cheapest hotels we could find. We had booked apartments for the majority of our stay and were planning on one last night in Rome in a hotel as we were traveling our last week.

Food was all over the map. We had 2 great lunches at Gattapardo for 8 euro each including wine and dolce. We had a phenomenal meal at Il Vecchio (IMHO one of the premier restaurants in Rome) in the ghetto for 128 euro for 3. On average we were in the 50-60 euro range for 2 for dinner.

What was missing were the cheap, cheap meals. 2 rolls from the forno add cheese and proscutto from the stands in the campo and 2 pieces of fruit were 7 euro. Add in either a bottle of water or 2 cans of coke and you were at 8-9 euro. 18 months ago this wouldn't have run 5 euro.

Cheap souvenirs have doubled or more. No more the 3 euro beaded change purses? now they are 5 to 10 euro. The names done in chinese characters are 5 euro. The imitation silk scarves are 12 to 15.

Museum admissions seem to have gone up too. 8-9 euro was the average. The jumbo ticket has become a very good buy.

Here's the good news. If you are buying authentic goods - like 18K gold, good leather work, real silk, pashmati, etc. the prices are extremely competitive with US.

Interestingly enough I just had this same e mail exchange with an old italophile friend of mine who also tries to spend a month in Italy every year or so. I said that I felt that although lower cost restaurants were more expensive that the mid and upper range restaurants were actually a much better value for your money than US restaurants.

For example in Saturnia we had Bisstecca Fiorentina - 1.07 kilogram which is 2 pounds 3? ounces. We had a fabulous antipasta of mixed cheeses bruschetta with several different toppings including a wonderful liver pate and a black olive and dark chocolate tapenade. Hubby had rissotto with white asparagus (large portion which we split) and of course we split the 2 pound steak. Throw in a fabulous bottle of wine and the restaurant gave us complimentary lemoncello and a couple of biscotti and coffee. Total cost was 119 euro. This was our most expensive meal in Italy (per person). Oh as an aside? No way could we finish 2 pounds of prime beef. We apologized, said we knew we were barbarians but could they please wrap the leftover steak? They not only wrapped it they put it into 2 pieces of lovely italian bread dressed with olive oil with a hint of garlic - made a great lunch the following day.

In January we had a celebration meal at Ruth Chris Steakhouse here in the USA. Suffice it to say we didn't get 1/2 the food, the side dishes and appetizers weren't 1/2 as imaginative and the price? was close to double.

You'll face some sticker shock but it won't be anything like the $3 gas I came back to!!

My husband and I never spent more than 60 euro for a meal, and were often in the 35-40 euro range if we didn't eat several courses. The forno (bakery) near our apartment on Via Chiavari had the best pizza we are while there, and it was 5 euro for both of us! Yes, we had to take it home to eat it - or we could have stood outside - but there's just one example of how two people can have lunch for 10 euro including beverages.

If you're willing to take the food out and eat it at "home" or in a piazza, you can eat very cheaply. If you go to a place like Orso 80 and get their antipasto for dinner (a full meal in itself!), you can eat for less than 35 euro.

Let us know where you're staying and we can point out the best places at the best prices!

We also had to pay our rental agency (RealRome)in full upon arrival. Both times we brought the needed amount of euros with us from the U.S. instead of messing with the ATM machines and worrying whether or not we would be able to get the amount we needed.

We ordered Euros from Bank of America on-line and picked them up at a branch near us. Probably not the best rate, but it was convenient and worry free and definitely worth the extra cost.

The rate my Florida Bank of America quoted me for 1000 euro was outrageous - $1320 when the exchange rate was 1.23! They suggested I buy the euro at JFK. So I called my brother, who lives in NYC, and he got me 1000 euro for $1275. Yes, still more than the official exchange rate, but a small price to pay for peace of mind.

When my husband and I went to the ATM at FCO, we each had no problem whatsoever withdrawing 500 euro each (2 ATM cards for 2 accounts) at a 1.22 rate. So we had our rent and money for the next few days.

Molto grazie.
Thank you for the info. We will be staying in an apt. on Vicolo di Giglio in the Campo di Fiori region. Everybody we have talked to has said that it is a great place. Any suggestions on restaurants, clubs, entertainment, etc., please let us know your favorites.
Tom

You must try our favorite little place, right off the Campo, which is listed as one of the 10 most romantic restaurants in Rome - but also has a great atmosphere and a wonderful owner and waiter!

Arnaldo al Satiri is about 100 yards south of Vittorio Emanuele (THE main street) on Via dei Chiavari. If you walk down Via dei Chiavari from Vittorio Emanuele (there is an Insalata Ricca on the corner), you will pass Piazza der Pallaro and then the tiny Piazza dei Satiri. You will see an Internet Point store right in front of you, and Arnaldo's is next to that. It is also easy to find from the other end of Via Chiavari, from Via Giubbonari just off the Campo.

We had two and three course meals for 50-60 euro, including a bottle of the house wine. They also make great Sangria! Very little English is spoken but they are very nice and will help you. Wow, now I'm SO hungry!

Loie likes to take Euros with us for the beginning of the trip. Her main consideration is that, on arrival, what with taxis, trains, luggage, bleary overnight jet plane blues, document juggling and all the arrival poohbah, we don't need "where's the ATM what if it's out of order" stress as well. It's a small consideration, yes, but each little possible problem avoided is a potential help. Just a thought.

Also note that most banks are now charging a "currency conversion fee" for use of ATMs abroad. When you add this little fee to the standard ATM charge, the small charge our bank levies for handing us 500 or 750 bucks worth of "starter cash Euros" is neglible.

My husband and I travel a great deal, for pleasure, and in order to do so we travel cheap and worry about every penny - I've never eaten a 60 Euro meal. In Florence for the month of may, I'll prepare meals (even picnics for day trips) at my apartment. I'm allowing myself a blowout in Modena - maybe go for the big steak pranzo, and three or four really nice meals out, outside the city center, in the burbs, where very nice meals can be had at 30-35 Euro.

The low price of wine during dinner makes up for a lot. Tipping is also generally less than in the states.

Thank you...I am getting great responses from SlowTrav members...Every bit of info really helps.
Do you use public transportation? How do you find it? I'll be living in a part of Rome that is not near a Metro station and will have to use buses. Hope I can find a map with bus routes on it...
Tom

Be glad that your accommodation is not near the Metro! I would much, much rather take the busses than use the Metro.

One of the major bus "hubs" in Rome is right near where you will be. It is at Largo di Torre Argentina, and busses from there go almost everywhere you would want to go. Going to the Vatican from there on the 64 bus, do exercise caution; it's rather well known as the "pickpocket special."

For busses going in the other direction - towards Piazza Venezia, Forum, Colosseum - you have to walk down to Via delle Botteghe Oscure.

You can insist on getting a bus and metro map from one of the Rome tourist offices (they don't like to give them out...), or you can buy one called, I think, "Metro/Bus" at most newsstands.

Molto Grazie...very helpful info.
Tom

If you will be in Rome for more than 4 or 5 days, you might like the 7-day 16-Euro unlimited bus/metro/tram pass, the biglietto settimanale. From the Argentina bus hub, you can also hop the tram to Trastevere. I enjoyed using the excellent buses (love the monitors listing the next several stops, with numbers of intersecting bus routes and attractions nearby) and trams; metro was OK but not nearly as nice as the system I'm used to in DC.

If you're there three weeks, it might be worth your while to buy a monthly pass for 30 Euro; it's less than 3 x 16 Euro. It would be the May pass, valid starting May 1.

Or maybe you would find it cheapest to buy single fares at 1 Euro. From the Campo de Fiori area, I walk almost everywhere. Of course, if I go out to a church on the Via Nomentana, I take the bus both ways for 2 Euro total, but I don't go out there every day.

The pass - any pass - does give you the advantage of being able to hop on a bus for two stops if your feet are starting to give out...

yes, the low price of wine makes up for the rest of the bill, jabez, but also the wine itself makes the bill not so noticeable! who could hardly care about the price of the meal after you have feasted on the best food and wine on earth? i say to find somewhere else to scrimp and then splurge on the cuisine! we used am.express to exchange dollars to euros before we left the states and that way we didn't have to worry about finding a machine right away(especially as we had a taxi-driver waiting for us at the doors!). hope you have a very good time!!

Remember, if you buy a pass, or some other sort of multiple fare deal, you can always pass on the unused portion to an ST friend at a GTG.

M

Thanks again...can I assume that you get the bus passes at the tobacco shops as well as phone cards? Besdies the pass, do busses take tokens or cash?
Tom