How To See 17 Italian Cities In 11 Days

I actually did this you guys.

Roma

Vatican

Napoli

Pompeii

Castallamarre

Amalfi

Positano

Sorrento

Firenze

Pisa

Corniglia

Vernazza

Riomaggiore

Bologna

Venezia

Milano

Bergamo

Lake Como

A lot of people have been asking, "how are you funding all these trips in Europe?" Well, the first step is to just move to Europe, everything gets infinitely cheaper when you don't have to take a trans-Atlantic flight each time you want to visit a country. That also applies to Asian countries. Flying out of Europe is just way cheaper. Once you make it to Europe, though, traveling is quite cheap.

Oh, and it's always better/cheaper to plan everything yourself rather than paying for a tour or someone else to plan it for you. Yeah, you'll make a ton of mistakes and mess things up, but thats the process of learning how to be a better traveler. I’ve made a handful of stupid decisions but I will only make that mistake once.

If you don't have the luxury of dropping everything and moving to a foreign country like some people, the first step is to find a city to fly into that is hella cheap. Any city. Just pick something. Use a site like skyscanner.com or Google Flights to find something. Then figure everything else out from there.

If you want to explore one country in depth, like I did with Italy, a great plan is to buy an Interail / Eurorail pass. It gives you the ability to get on any suburban train, allows for cheap seat reservations for long-long-haul bullet trains, and even gives you discounts for other things like ferries and accommodation.

I bought myself an Interail / Eurorail pass for “five days unlimited travel in one month” for this trip, that cost me 130 euro. It was well worth it because we were able to hop on and hop off anywhere we wanted to, and not worry about paying hefty prices for trains around the holidays. Some trains required reservations, though, so there is some planning and a few reservation fees required ahead of time. Usually the fast moving bullet trains require seat reservations, but it never costs more than 10 euro per seat.

Something you also should know about me, I am not a huge museum person, and I don’t feel the need to pay to get into a church or castle. The architecture on the outside is really pretty enough for me. Growing up Catholic, I also don’t feel that churches should cost anyone anything. If you want to see the inside of a holy place, and it has admission fees… don’t go. That’s the stupidest thing I have ever heard of. Not going into museums and tourist attractions is what saves me the most money while traveling. Also, never pay for tours. 9/10 times there are free walking tours provided by the city or hostels in the area. Tours can run you anywhere from 10 euro to 60 euro. What a rip-off.

Now, if you’re someone who enjoys art, and really wants to see the inside of a museum or whatever, go for it. If that is what will bring you the most joy while traveling, don’t let money stop you. Just be smart about it.

My backpacking itinerary:

Day 1: Fly from Geneva, Switzerland, to Roma, Italy early in the morning. Spend the day in Roma, visiting all the major sights. Spend the night in a B&B, shared with three + friends, close to the Vatican. Walk everywhere. The public transport takes just as long as it would to walk. It's better to see the city by walking anyways. You find the cutest shops and cafes that way. Can't see that from an underground metro. Eat a lot of pizza and pasta, Roman style. Share a bottle of wine in the park with friends. Get scared of all the rats running around.

Transport: Free

Accommodation: 15 euro

Sightseeing: Free

Food: 10 euro

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Day 2: Enjoy the free breakfast in the B&B. Spend another day in Roma, seeing whatever is left to see. Walk in the park, get some gelato, go see the produce and artisan markets. Take a nap by the Roman Forum, be offered umbrellas, selfie sticks, bracelets... and cocaine???? On my day 2, it was Easter for the Italians, so we went to get a full Italian spread to celebrate the holiday. That was quite expensive, but it was 1000000% worth the experience. EVERYONE needs to experience a true Italian lunch/dinner. Oh, and remember to try to pray before your meal if it's a holiday, and drink espresso afterwards to complete your meal. Then, shots of limoncello. Sorry, it tastes like lemon honey cough drops, but… when in Roma… Afterwards, take a bullet train to Napoli, stay in Hostel Mancini, have great conversations with great people (shoutout to Jake from Hostel Mancini), and see Napoli by night. Watch out for pickpockets.

A prayer for you if you're not very religious (some of us aren't):

Rubba dub dub, thank you God for this grub, please protect us on our trip, yee haw, hey lord. Amen.

Transport: 10 euro

Accommodation: 18 euro

Sightseeing: Free

Food: 40 euro

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Day 3: Spend the morning exploring Napoli, seeing the streets, and sampling food at the outdoor markets. Go see the castle and the marina. Go back to the hostel to pick up the bags that the hostel held, and hop on a train to Pompeii. Avoid the scams to take a bus to Pompeii and get a "free map." Walk the ten minutes instead, enjoying gelato and city square along the way. Buy tickets to enter Pompeii, reminding the cashiers that you are a student and / or under 27, receiving a cheap entry ticket in return (2 euro). See gorgeous Pompeii on foot, reading plaques, and googling any questions. Eat dinner at Pizzeria Alleria for the best fried calzone you will ever have. Catch the train to a nearby city and stay in a hostel or B&B with a view of Mt. Vesuvius. We stayed in Castellamarre and had a gorgeous mountaintop Air BNB for two nights. We were living in luxury for a view days there.

We made a mistake though, and didn't realize that all the suburban trains in the area stopped running early in the evening, so we had to take a myTaxi all the way to the Air BNB. That cost us a lot, but split between four people wasn't too bad. We probably should have checked train times earlier... oops. Lesson learned, check train times ahead of time!

Transport: Free 15 euro

Accommodation: 40 euro

Sightseeing: 2 euro

Food: 20 euro

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Day 4: Spend the day relaxing, like on family vacation, in the Air BNB. Go explore the towns below on foot, and see the beaches. Enjoy the view and the hikes nearby. The mountains all have amazing hiking, but some trails are unmarked, so be careful and ALWAYS come prepared. When I say prepared, I mean water, first aid, survival guide, food, etc. Use the AllTrails app to find nearby hiking that suits your preferences. Go to the grocery store and buy food for an evening cookout! Have a bomb ass BBQ and drink beer while the sun sets.

Transport: Free

Accommodation: 40 euro

Sightseeing: Free

Food: 15 euro

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Day 5: Wake up early, make breakfast and coffee, watch the sunrise. Walk down to the town to rent mopeds or a car to explore the Amalfi Coast in style. Drive through the mountains and down the coast to see Amalfi, Positano, Sorrento, and everything in between. Find a beach hidden between the cliffs and go swimming. Have dinner on the ocean, and explore one of the cities by night. Make sure you are parked in the right places, or else you will get a ticket. Stay in a hostel in Amalfi (cheaper than Positano).

Another mistake we made: putting too much diesel in our car... like 80 euros worth. Diesel takes a lot longer to burn and we were not going to drive far enough to burn it all. And even though Italians drive crazy, there are still rules on the road, including parking laws. We parked alongside a cliff when we went swimming, thinking we would be fine, but we got a 40 euro parking ticket. Yikes. But split between the six people who were riding in this car... it was still well worth it all. Having the liberty of driving a car along the coast is crazy lucky.

Always expect the unexpected. And always expect city taxes when checking into hostels.

Transport: 30 euro

Accommodation: 20 euro

Sightseeing: Free

Food: 15 euro

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Day 6: Wake up early, watch the sunrise while driving, drop off the car, hop on a train to Firenze. Explore Firenze on foot, check into a cool hostel away from city center for cheaper beds. Have a chill day, and find a random wine bar in the park somewhere. Eat a dinner of cheese and bread. Enjoy the water and the sun. We stayed in Hostel Gallo D'Oro, they had free breakfast and free snacks all day... BOMB.

Transport: 10 euro

Accommodation: 15 euro

Sightseeing: Free

Food: 10 euro

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Day 7: Wake up early (again). Catch a train to Pisa, go see what all the fuss is about, take cute pictures, and have a lunch of bread, mozzarella, and tomato. Leave Pisa for Cinque Terre after lunch, hit at least three of the five cities by sunset. Do part of the famous Cinque Terre hike to see the most amazing views of the cliffs. My two favorite cities were Riomaggiore and Vernazza. So if you're limited on time, do those two. The trains between the cities are packed, but they leave every 20 minutes or so. It takes about 5 minutes to travel between each city. Be prepared to climb a lot of stairs. Some of the cities offer busses, but you'll have to wait a long time, and be smushed against other people... not pleasant. Enjoy the sights and colors, eat faranitas on a bench overlooking the ocean. Take a late train back to Firenze and pass out in the hostel.

Transport: Free

Accommodation: 15 euro

Sightseeing: Free

Food: 7 euro

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Day 8: Eat a traditional Italian breakfast at the hostel, go take a morning walk in Firenze, slowly making way to the train station. Hop on a train to Bologna, and explore that city. Honestly, I wish we had spent another day in Bologna because there are cool mountain hikes that overlook the city there, and the city is pretty large, but we ran out of time. After a few hours in Bologna, get a train to Venezia. Get off at Venezia Mestre and stay in the coolest hostel, Venice Anda. This hostel is HUGE, super modern, has an amazing breakfast buffet for only 6 euro, is 1000 times better than a hotel, has a great vibe, and a cool place to meet people. It's only a few minutes walking from the station, and a fifteen minute bus ride away from the canals of Venezia. After checking in, chase the sunset, and head to the canals to see Venezia by night. Eat risotto at a local restaurant, paired with a bottle of Prosecco. Grab drinks at Al Merca. Discover the quiet streets of this magical city.

Transport: Free

Accommodation: 26 euro

Sightseeing: Free

Food: 35 euro

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Day 9: Eat an amazing breakfast and prepare to do the San Giorgio Maggiore hike. Pack extra croissants and apples from breakfast to eat for lunch. The best views are from San Giorgio, and it isn't too difficult. Have a relaxing day. Explore Venezia a little more and cook a traditional dinner of pasta at the hostel. If you’re not up for a hike, take a boat across to the other islands and explore the corridors of these darling towns.

Transport: Free

Accommodation: 26 euro

Sightseeing: Free

Food: 3 euro

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Day 10: Eat breakfast, pack, catch a morning train to Milano. Take extra apples and croissants with you from breakfast to eat lunch on the train. See the city, do a little boujee window shopping, and enjoy the sun with a bit of espresso. Obviously see things like the Duomo and Castello Sforzesco. The Vertical Gardens are well worth it too. Lanza / Breada is a great area if you want to feel more local. Definitely eat spontini. Drink beer on the bus, go to a club somewhere in town, and have the night of your life.

Transport: Free

Accommodation: 20 euro

Sightseeing: Free

Food: 10 euro

Club Cover: 10 euro

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Day 11: Wake up, catch a train to Lake Como, enjoy the hikes and views, relax and unwind because you just completed a hella long journey. Bring your swimsuit and enjoy the sun, lay out somewhere and take a nice nap. Pack a lunch with all the cheap Italian fruit and some red wine, and have a picnic. Make it back to Milano or Bergamo by the end of the night. (where ever your flight leaves from, or wherever you choose to end up).

Transport: Free

Accommodation: 20 euro

Sightseeing: Free

Food: 5 euro

Total cost of the trip (without flights):

632 euro

I definitely could have spent way less, especially on food, but I cook every single day back in Switzerland because going out to a restaurant in Lausanne will run me way more than I am willing to spend. So, I wanted to treat myself to dinner, and experience true Italian food at local places. I am huge into authentic food, and I write down all of the things I try as inspiration for later home-cooked meals. I will absolutely be making loads of risotto at home now that I know what it’s supposed to taste like. Food is what takes my experience to the next level while I travel :)

Sidenotes:

I have been to Rome before, so I didn’t feel the need to really go into the Vatican, or wait in any lines for museums, so it cost me less to see Rome this time. I think going into the Vatican is well-worth the price and wait, but it’s something I only saw the need to do once. Reserve your tickets way ahead of time though. It’s not something you can spontaneously decide on.

Download Google Translate and download the languages you will need help translating. I highly recommend learning Italian basics before coming to Italy, it makes people more appreciative and respectful of you. It’s not that hard, people.

Having free breakfast is so worth a few extra euros if you are picking between two hostels (one with or one without). It means you can come out into the kitchen in your PJ’s at 8h00 in the morning, no judgement, get a croissant, and go back to bed if you’re grumpy. It’s much more flexible and a genuine experience.

If I had more time, I would stay one night in Cinque Terre and do the entire hike along the coast, but we didn’t have that luxury this time around. It’s worth doing the entire hike.

If you have an extra day in Milano, take that day trip to Lake Como and enjoy the nature. There is a ton of hiking and great views. That was my original plan but I had to catch a flight to Greece on my Day 11.

Venezia has a city tax to get into the actual city between May and October, because that is the high tourist season. Don’t travel to Venezia during that time if you want to save money. I think it’s something like 10 euro per person per day.