re: Italy trip average costs

We went to Italy for about twelve days. We went to Rome, Florence, and Positano. We took trains to/from each place and a private car service from Naples to Positano. We used Walks of Italy in Rome and Florence for at least two tours in each place. We generally did VIP/Skip the line style tours.

Rome we stayed in Air BnBs. I don't look at prices for menus when I travel, but you can get by cheaply. I guess I should say I don't shy away from expensive places when traveling.

In Florence we did Air BnB as well. We also did a Grape Tours excursion and a semi-private tour at another winery. You can eat street foods all day/night or have some great sit down meals here.

In Positano we blew the f'ing budget doors off and stayed at Le Sirenuse. We ate at the Michelin Starred restaurant La Sponda. We also hit most of the top rated restaurants above and below.

We took a day trip to Capri and paid a guy to drive us around all day. Did Blue Grotto, ski lifts to Anacapri, and just generally walked around and took in the scenery.

We did the entire trip for $10,000. Almost right on the dot. The only way this was possible was that we caught a sale right when MSY opened up the direct flight to Heathrow. I think we paid something like $400 total (after a modest amount of points) for two RT tickets.

You could obviously do the trip way cheaper. Self-guided Rick Steve's tours, cheaper Air BnBs, street foods, etc...