Jordan Curry
9th Sep 2025
Reading Time: 6 minutes
Our guest writer, Jordan Curry, recently took a trip to Tuscany on a budget. Here, he shares his experience to inspire your own budget-friendly trip!
According to touristitaly.com, 65 million people visited Italy in 2024. Popular locations include Florence, Pisa and Sienna in Southern Italy’s Tuscan region.
It can be easy to overspend while holidaying. Using knowledge from my recent visit there, these tips and tricks helped us save.
Food and Drink
A delicious Fruitti Di Mare Risotto I enjoyed. (Copyright Jordan Curry).
Compared to the UK, I found that small bars generally open early till late. They offer cheap coffee and pastries for breakfast then alcoholic drinks and sometimes light meals.
Starting your morning the Italian ‘espresso’ (quick) way is usually €3.50 or less. Lunchtime or fixed-price deals are perfect if bigger meals are kept for the evening. Bruschetta with Aperol Spritz cost €7.50, or switch to Margherita pizza for €10.00. It’s also handy to know that local custom means bar snacks come free with purchased alcoholic bar drinks if you’re not ordering food.
This coffee was great! Copyright Jordan Curry
Italy loves coffee. It’s affordable, too, starting from €1.20 for an espresso while larger varieties rarely exceed €2.50. Premiums apply in tourist areas or airports though these ‘costa lot less’ than coffee shops back home. Instant coffee is frowned upon though – ground beans are the way forward. Several other hot drinks and machine pods are stocked in shops. Avid tea drinkers best bring their own teabags and request a cup of warm water please: “Una tazza di acqua calda per favore”.
Italian supermarkets are best for dry food, drinks, topping up staple foods like butter, hummus, pesto or tapenade, and short-dated reduced items. Market stalls and independent shops are better quality for everything else. They may be cheaper, too. To stick to a budget, easy-to-make snacks from the supermarket will keep your overall costs down especially if you have self-catered accommodation. But if you stay in a hotel with breakfast included, eat well and consider taking a piece of fruit or similar for later in the day, too.
Florence had good allergy and intolerance provision. There was strong allergen recognition across Tuscany but dairy or gluten-free alternatives were scarce in other locations we visited. Nonetheless, soya milk was generally available upon request. Supermarkets had a better selection with prices comparable to Britain. Dairy and gluten-free in Italian is “Senza latticini e glutine” whilst “I’ve a nut allergy” is “Ho un’allergia alla frutta secca”.
Italians favour bottled water to drink, though tap water across Tuscany and the country itself is drinkable. Exceptions are signs saying not drinkable (Non potabile) or in built-up areas with harder water and old pipes. Sip to see is recommended!
Public water fountains or taps are found nationally, though I only saw one personally. They offer free or low-cost drinking water which may even be available chilled, sparkling (frizzante) or lightly carbonated (leggermente frizzante) too. Large water bottles found in shops were cheaper than UK equivalents. It’s a good way to stay hydrated on a budget.
Beware Mosquitos!
Mosquitoes are common during the peak holiday season, and especially in areas with water. Pack good quality insect repellent and antihistamine cream if you’re prone to bad reactions. Mosquito coils are found cheaply in shops and useful when dining ‘al fresco’. Empty burnt wax often so a citronella deterrent remains. Use Brown coils on tables as they’re less smoky.
Getting Around: Transport in Italy
Train services in Tuscany are reliable and much cheaper than our own. But be aware there are two types of train available depending on the ticket price: high-speed trains for cross-country and slower trains for more rural or local areas. Specifying set return times lowers costs though it’s essential you get that specific train or the ticket becomes invalid. Larger stations during daytime hours have several staff manning ticket offices or as roaming support for passengers. Overnight and in smaller stations, this differs drastically. Try to plan ahead when you can. Booking tickets online can also save you a lot of money.
It’s vital that you time-validate all new train, tram and bus tickets before or while boarding, unless told not to. Ask the bus driver or staff for assistance if there’s no working or visible machines. Carrying round a pen means they can validate the old-fashioned way if necessary.
Example bus timetable. Stazione is Italian for station.
Bus services are common, though finish earlier and were less frequent in rural areas. They usually resemble coaches in quieter places though built up locations have bendy or single deckers. Prices start at €1.70 each for a seventy-minute ticket covering multiple buses during the allotted time. Alternatively, tap contactless cards when boarding, though each traveller must have their own card. Separate entrances and exits on larger buses were ideal because unless you’re a small child or visibly disabled, getting on and off was a free-for-all!
In Florence only, the bus company operates a tram network and has the same ticket structure. Their buses were electric, smaller and appeared to predominantly focus on short journeys.
Taxis can be found in urban areas though rural train stations are highly unlikely to have taxi offices or vehicles waiting. Unusual for us Brits. Tipping isn’t mandatory but people round up to the nearest Euro.
Taxis in Italy are white with signs like this.
Ask your accommodation provider for details of a local taxi firm. Like the UK, availability is more stretched without pre-booking (Friday and Saturday evenings, Sunday or for larger groups). Having used a taxi unexpectedly and booked private hire (known as Noleggio Con Conducente) to the airport, they were friendly and professional though very expensive.
Hire car prices have increased sharply over recent years. Read the fine print and don’t always get the cheapest option. Cheap car hire may exclude hidden fees, pressure selling or demands to pay more than originally quoted. Tuscan fuel prices averaged 5p more than the UK for petrol or 10p for diesel vehicles. Ask locals where to fill up cheaply and consider an electric car if you don’t need to go long distances.
Be mindful of Limited Traffic Zones (Zona a Traffico Limitato) or motorway (autostrada) toll roads as you likely need to pre-register vehicles or pay fees after to avoid fines. Anyone with mobility difficulties is exempt from travel costs in Limited Traffic Zones if they provide evidential documents.
Be cautious as a road user. Unexpected hospital visits or costly insurance claims may leave you saying “Mamma Mia.” I don’t mean the Abba song…!
Learning the Lingo
A view from Marine De Pisa
Standards of English varied across Tuscany. Knowing basic spoken Italian does assist in social situations, especially if you’re a tourist relishing sights and experiencing the culture.
Our family managed with a few Italian phrases, one person utilising five weeks of Duolingo practice and another recalling O-Level Italian from years ago. Even better knowledge would’ve helped. If you get stuck, try a direct speech-to-text translation app or Google Translate (which is free) – it could get you out of a tricky spot!