Viva Italia Food Costs

[whayes]

Would those who have been on the Viva Italia tour, recently or in the past, please provide a ballpark number of the cost of food per person. I am finalizing my budget and would like to know how much I should expect to pay for the meals not covered by ABD. Thank you and I look forward to your responses.

 

[klsauer]

We were on the Taste of Tuscany tour in June and went to some of the same places that you go. I hope this helps a little. I would budget a little more than you think for food. We didn't really eat very fancy since we had our two young daughters with us. They mostly wanted pizza and gelato. Most of our meals on our own were lunches. I had capresi salad a couple of times and it was 12-14 Euros. The pizza margharita for the girls was 8-10 Euros. We had some great sandwiches in the town of Orvieto for around 12 Euros. The drinks really seemed to add up. If you want water, they will bring a large bottle to your table. It is arund 4 Euros. They will ask if you want it with or without gas! Our girls thought that was funny. A coke is about 4 Euros and you get it in a can(no refills) Then there is the wine. We had wine in a lot of little cafes and the prices were all over the place. You also have to allow for Gelato! Lots of it. I think we had it every day. It was about 2-5 Euros.

I hope this helps a little.

 

[3pirates]

The last poster gave good input...and yes, the budget for gelato is mandatory!

My answer would be to just budget about twice what you would pay in the U.S. Our McDonalds lunch in Rome was about $13 (U.S.) per person. A pizza combo most places will also run about that.

Soft drinks cost more than wine, and there are no free refills.

Our one "nice" dinner out on our own cost about $50 per person....and nobody was overly stuffed!

We became very happy that the majority of our meals were paid for!

 

[whayes]

Thank you for all of your information! I am SOOO glad I found DISboards. I have a couple more questions relating to the food and costs. Do you remember any grocery stores near the hotels? Sometimes getting a picnic at the store is a lot cheaper. Are you able to take food away from the morning buffets? Thanks again!

 

[awatt]

Thank you for all of your information! I am SOOO glad I found DISboards. I have a couple more questions relating to the food and costs. Do you remember any grocery stores near the hotels? Sometimes getting a picnic at the store is a lot cheaper. Are you able to take food away from the morning buffets? Thanks again!

We were at a different hotel ,ut the concierge directed me to a small grocery store where I picked up some soda and water for the room. So your hotel front desk will be able to help you with that.

On both of our ABD trips I never saw anyone taking food with them from the buffet breakfast. I think because it's presumed that the breakfast is included with the price of the tour, but not a snack additional meal for later. Idoubt that anyone would prevent you, but I don't think that's the intended use of the morning buffet, other than a piece of fruit or something small like that. Plus, after breakfast you usually arer on teh move touring, so carrying food around would be a pain.

Having just come back from Ireland, the dollar is weak, and everything is costly over there. It was something we knew about prior to the trip and just accepted that it was part of the trip. A good number of meals are included. When I compare the cost of teh four of us on teh Emerald Isle tour, about $10K for 4 of os, to the cost of our meals, about $700, the meal cost is small in comparison.