How to Save Money While Visiting Rome

Rome is a very interesting city as it has many historical places as well as contemporary places to see. The only problem one faces while visiting Rome is the budget as the expenditure there always exceeds the estimated budget. The simple reason for this is 'Rome is an expensive city'. Everything there is costly and even exchanging dollars for euros costs us a lot as the exchange rates are high. We can do nothing in such situations except of course saving money wherever we can. Planning perfectly makes this task a bit easier.

Some important points about how one can save money on a trip to Rome-

Lodging

# Though the costs for lodging in hotels are high, staying in a bungalow at Flaminio Village, is a way of saving money on a Rome vacation. But many people may not like this idea as the places they want to visit may be a bit far from this bungalow.

# The best option for such people is to stay at a hotel near the places you want to visit. There are myriad hotels near the places which are most visited by tourists. It is better to stay in such places as the stay in these hotels are relatively cheap. Besides this, the places are very near and it saves travel fares one has to spend.

# There are many cheap hotels situated around Termini Station. Though Termini is far from the major

Food

Rome is as famous for it's delicious food as it is for it's rich culture. Since the food is so delicious, you tend to spend a lot of money on it if you are not conscious about it.

If you follow simple steps, you can spend little and still eat well in Rome.

# If you are having a coffee, breakfast, and lunch or dinner, it will cost you more if you sit and eat.

# They charge for service if you sit down. Besides this you will be inclined to give a tip to the waiter in that case. You can save a lot of money by self catering.

# Instead of having a good(not to mention it's cost) lunch at a restaurant, go for a wine shop. In Rome, wine shops offer a wide selection of Italian sandwiches, and appetizers which are very tasty and also very cheap.

# The most famous thing about food in Italy is pizza. Have a slice or two of pizza for dinner which is not expensive at all

# Stay away from the American food as they are very expensive there. As you can eat them daily at home, try different Italian varieties instead.

# Have a heavy meal for lunch and cut a bit off dinner as in most restaurants in Rome, the prices for lunch are lot cheaper than that for dinner, though the items are same.

# Stay away from having food at tourist places and prefer local eateries as you may lose a good amount of money in former case.

# Gelato is an Italian ice cream which is very tasty and available in many flavors. Try it out as it is very cheap and having it in the evening makes you energetic to roam around.

Traveling around

# If you are planning to stay a couple or more days, the first thing you should do is to get a Roma pass. It offers free public transport within Rome, a map and guide, admission to two museums or archaeological sites, and discounts on other museums and sites. You can visit the Roman Colosseum or many of Rome's other top ancient sites, as well as more than 20 museums. It costs only 20 euros and one can get it from any tourist information offices.

# In the other case, prefer some tourist buses like Trambus which are mainly run for sight seeing and they cover about 20 major sites on the way. They are available one in every 10 minutes and they cost around 12 euros per day.

# If you want to save this money, try to start from the hotel early and go on foot. Since Rome has many places to see, you can catch a glimpse of one or other historic places in every other street. It wouldn't be a boring walk as you will indulge yourself in checking every monument and palace around the city. Walking is a great exercise too.

# Many people say- 'the more you walk in Rome, the more beautiful it looks'.

Other important things

# If you happen to be in Rome on the last Sunday of the month you can save yourself 13 Euros. On that day of the month, one of Rome's number one attractions, Vatican Museum is free to visit.

# Although spring and winter are considered the best times for visiting Rome, one gets to experience a lot of cultural events in summers. Attending these events doesn't cost you a penny and besides this there will be sales in summer time and shopping lovers can take advantage of this.

# Nightlife is very colorful and exciting in Rome with a mix of everything from salsa to jazz. The best way to discover is to simply wander around and see what takes your interest.

# International Student Identity Card is really helpful on a trip to Rome, as you can get discounts on travel passes and entry fees to some museums and galleries.

With careful planning, one can save at least a 100$ per head on a trip to Rome. It can add to your budget for your next trip!