Every year around this time, I start throwing around 2017 trips and trying to convince my wife why we need to go back to Italy. She usually disagrees, so that we go somewhere new - which I appreciate. In any case, I wanted to put together a week trip in the Italian Riviera just in case she changed her mind :)
Below are some dates and actual costs (including euros converted to dollars) for a week long trip in the Cinque Terre, where we spent 2 nights this spring (I included a few pictures below).
Dates: May 8th to May 15th (Monday to Monday)
Flights: Boston to Florence on Air Berlin - $776/person. Round trip out of Boston with one stop in Germany and total travel time of around 11 hours each way. We flew Air Berlin in 2013 and had a great experience. All seats come with built in TV entertainment for the long haul flight and I upgraded to an exit row (leg room) for an extra $50 a ticket.
Accommodations in Manarola: Arpaiu B&B for 6 nights - $900. Amazing balcony views of the Cinque Terre coastline and only a short walk on cobblestone streets to local restaurants and gelaterias.
Food and drink: We generally budget $150 a day for food and drink. We usually grab something quick for breakfast - pastry and cappuccino - and then split the rest on lunch, dinner, gelato and wine. We could easily do it cheaper (and possibly even more authentically) by shopping at the local market and swapping out lunch at a restaurant for a picnic on the Arpaiu balcony.
Transportation: Trains from Florence to Manarola in the Cinque Terre run about 50 euro a person round trip (sometimes cheaper). This is the most economical way to get from the airport to Manarola and we wouldn't do it any other way. Once you are in the Cinque Terre, the regional trains pick up passengers in each village for less than $3 a ride to any of the 5 seaside towns. This makes it low cost and easy to explore if you don't want to hike (of which I would also highly recommend - the views are stunning).
Total cost for 2 people = $3,452
