Ways to sleep for free in Italy
Yes, it can be done! There are at least 11 ways you can spend the night in Italy absolutely for free. And the best news is that none of them involves park benches or climbing out hotel windows and down fire escapes at 4am.
Some of these techniques do involve joining a club or network, and there is a fee involved with that, but spending the night won't cost you a dime—and besides, those one-time fees tend to cost less than a single night's stay in a mid-priced hotel.
There a really three categories of techniques, those that are:
- Totally free, like Couchsurfing and sleeping in airports.
- Only sometimes free or involve small fees, including overnight trains, hospitality clubs, and monasteries & convents.
- Come with some sort of small catch, like owning a home you can swap, offering to house-sit (which usually means "pet-sit"), or working for your board, as is the case with work exchange programs (like WWOOF), house sitting, or crewing a boat.
- Couchsurfing.com - The largest free hospitality network, with mroe than 12 million users in 200,000 cities, including more than 46,000 hosts in Rome, 10,000 in Florence, and 39,000 in Milan.
- Hospitalityclub.org - More than 38,000 users in Italy, including more than 3,500 in Rome.
- Globalfreeloaders.com - More than 1,450 users in Italy, including around 180 in Rome and Milan.
- Affordabletravelclub.net -
2,400 members—though Italy coverage can be spotty.
Membership: $65 for a downloaded directory; $80 for a print version. Plus $15–$30 gratuity for your hosts.
Requirements: Must be over 40; must agree to host.
- Servas.org -
An acutal UN-accrecited NGO devoted to fostering world peace through travel.
Membership: Free, buy you must submit two letters of recommendation snad undergo an interview.
- Womenwelcomewomen.uk -
2,100+ members in 86 countries, including 6 in Italy.
Membership: Recommended donation of £37, with annual renewal fee of £27.
Requirements: Must be female and over 18.
- Lghei.org -
500 listings in 30 countries.
Membership: €25. No fee, donation, or gratuity for hosts.
Requirements: It doesn't say you have to be gay, but I assume that's a bit of a given.
- Homeexchange.com - This is the outfit the characters in the movie "The Holiday" used, one of the biggest around with more than 65,000 listings worldwide, including more than 2,570 in Italy (450+ in Rome, 300+ in Tuscany)—though I have noticed that includes some regular rentals, not swaps. Membership: $150 per year.
- intervac-homeexchange.com - Intervac is one of the older ones (founded in 1953), with a focus on Europe, listing 200+ in Italy, of which 30+ in Rome and 50+ in Tuscany. Membership: $99 per year.
- Homelink.org - Listing more than 430 home swaps in Italy, including around 50 in Rome and 20+ in Tuscany. Membership: $95 for one year, $152 for two years.
- invented-city.com - This web-only service has the cheapest membership rates out there, currently listing about 100 properties in Italy, of which 15 in Rome, 15 in Tuscany. Membership: $25 for three months, $35 for six months, $59 per year.
- Trustedhousesitters.com - By far the biggest, with thousands of house-sitting opportunities in 130 countries around the world, of which—at press time—9 in [[thisnat]]. This one is upfront that it is primarily a pet-sitting service. Fee: $99 a year.
- Luxuryhousesitting.com - Several hundred listings, and mostly in the U.S.—though there were 7 in [[thisnat]] at press time. Fee: $25 a year.
- Mindmyhouse.com - Currently lists around 240 houses, including a handful in [[thisnat]]. Fee: $20 a year.
- Housecarers.com - Currently lists around 300 houses, including eight in France. Fee: $50 a year.Partner
- Caretaker.org - It's a newsletter (physically and online), not an online database, with around 150 listings per bi-monthly issue. As you can tell from the name, many are for caretaking or staff positions rather than simple house-sitting. Still, lots of intriguing opportunities. Fee: $29.95 annual subscription ($49.95 for two years).
- Helpx.net -
Helpx was founded in New Zealand in 2001 by an Englishman who worked his way across Australia and New Zealand. The idea is to offer to work for an average of four hours per day in exchange for free accommodation (and, sometimes, meals).
You can sign up for free, but if you pay for Premier membership (€20 for two years), you are able to contact all hosts and read all host reviews. Being "Premier" also allows hosts to read your own profile, where you can list special skills, and they might reach out to you to offer a gig.
Some hosts only ask for two hours of work a day, but require you to provide and cook your own food. Other might ask for a full four to six hours, but cook for you and feed you.
- Wwoof.net -
WWOOF is a collection of volunteer organizations in 97 countries around the world, from Australia to Korea, Ghana to the U.S., Italy to Nepal (plus "independent" members—countries with only a handful of opportunities).
Each chapter is devoted to supporting and helping teach about organic and environmentally sound farming techniques—though many joke that the funny acronym WWOOF doesn't actually stand for "Worldwide Opportunites on Organic Farms," but rather for "Willing Workers On Organic Farms," since you do end up doing a lot of farmhand chores.
To become a Wwoofer, You join the WOOF chapter in the country where you'd like to work (for roughly $10 to $40)—so you would join WWOOF UK (for £20)—it sends you a list of farms that would appreciate a helping hand in exchange for room and board.
You must be willing to put in six hours of work six days a week to see how the farming half lives in a variety of nations.
- Barattobb.it - An Italy-only network of B&Bs swapping rooms for handyman work, professional help—web design, photos, etc.—and other odd jobs.
Tips
You will notice that all hotels, B&Bs, and other lodgingds (as well as sights and restaurants) on this site have a ReidsItaly.com star designation from ☆☆☆ to ★★★.
This merely indicates that I feel these accommodations offer a little something that makes them special (or extra-special, or extra-extra special, etc.).
These star ratings are entirely based on personal opinion, and have nothing to do with the official Italian hotel ratings—which have more to do with quantifiable amenities such as minibars, and not the intangibles that make a hotel truly stand out, like a combination of great location, friendly owners, nice style, and low prices.
In general, a pricier place to stay has to impress me that it is worth the added expense.
This is why I give ★★★ to some (official) "two-star" hotels or B&Bs that happen to provide amazing value for the money—and similarly have ranked a few (official) "four-star" properties just (★★☆).
Accommodations rates vary wildly—even at the same hotel or B&B—depending on type of room, number of people in it, and the season.
That's why here at ReidsItaly.com we simply provde a general price range indicating the rough rate you should expect to pay for a standard double room in mid-season.
There are three price ranges, giving you a sense of which lodgings are budget, which are moderate, and which are splurges:
| € | under €100 |
| €€ | €100–€200 |
| €€€ | over €200 |
Useful Italian for lodging
| English (inglese) | Italian (italiano) | Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun |
| Where is? | Dov'é | doh-VAY |
| ...a hotel | un albergo | oon al-BEAR-go |
| ...a B&B | un bed-and-breakfast | oon bet hand BREK-fust |
| ...a rental room | un'affittacamera | oon ah-feet-ah-CAH-mair-ra |
| ...an apartment for rent | un appartamento | oon ah-part-tah-MENT-toh |
| ...a farm stay | un agriturismo | oon ah-gree-tour-EES-moh |
| ...a hostel | un ostello | oon oh-STEHL-loh |
| How much is...? | Quanto costa? | KWAN-toh COST-ah |
| a single room | una singola | OO-nah SEEN-go-la |
| double room for single use [will often be offered if singles are unavailable] | doppia uso singola | DOPE-pee-ya OO-so SEEN-go-la |
| a double room with two beds | una doppia con due letti | OO-nah DOPE-pee-ya cone DOO-way LET-tee |
| a double room with one big bed | una matrimoniale | OO-nah mat-tree-moan-nee-YAAL-lay |
| triple room | una tripla | OO-nah TREE-plah |
| with private bathroom | con bagno | cone BAHN-yoh |
| without private bathroom | senza bagno [they might say con bagno in comune—"with a communal bath"] | SEN-zah BAHN-yoh |
| for one night | per una notte | pair OO-nah NOH-tay |
| for two nights | per due notti | pair DOO-way NOH-tee |
| for three nights | per tre notti | pair tray NOH-tee |
| Is breakfast included? | É incluso la prima colazione? | ay in-CLOO-soh lah PREE-mah coal-laht-zee-YOAN-nay |
| Is there WiFi? | C'é WiFi? | chay WHY-fy? |
| May I see the room? | Posso vedere la camera? | POH-soh veh-DAIR-eh lah CAH-mair-rah |
| That's too much | É troppo | ay TROH-po |
| Is there a cheaper one? | C'é una più economica? | chay OO-nah pew eh-ko-NO-mee-kah |
Basic phrases in Italian
| English (inglese) | Italian (italiano) | pro-nun-see-YAY-shun |
| thank you | grazie | GRAT-tzee-yay |
| please | per favore | pair fa-VOHR-ray |
| yes | si | see |
| no | no | no |
| Do you speak English? | Parla Inglese? | PAR-la een-GLAY-zay |
| I don't understand | Non capisco | non ka-PEESK-koh |
| I'm sorry | Mi dispiace | mee dees-pee-YAT-chay |
| How much is it? | Quanto costa? | KWAN-toh COST-ah |
| That's too much | É troppo | ay TROH-po |
| Good day | Buon giorno | bwohn JOUR-noh |
| Good evening | Buona sera | BWOH-nah SAIR-rah |
| Good night | Buona notte | BWOH-nah NOTE-tay |
| Goodbye | Arrivederci | ah-ree-vah-DAIR-chee |
| Excuse me (to get attention) | Scusi | SKOO-zee |
| Excuse me (to get past someone) | Permesso | pair-MEH-so |
| Where is? | Dov'é | doh-VAY |
| ...the bathroom | il bagno | eel BHAN-yoh |
| ...train station | la ferroviaria | lah fair-o-vee-YAR-ree-yah |
| to the right | à destra | ah DEH-strah |
| to the left | à sinistra | ah see-NEEST-trah |
| straight ahead | avanti [or] diritto | ah-VAHN-tee [or] dee-REE-toh |
| information | informazione | in-for-ma-tzee-OH-nay |
Days, months, and other calendar items in Italian
| English (inglese) | Italian (italiano) | Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun |
| When is it open? | Quando é aperto? | KWAN-doh ay ah-PAIR-toh |
| When does it close? | Quando si chiude? | KWAN-doh see key-YOU-day |
| At what time... | a che ora | a kay O-rah |
| Yesterday | ieri | ee-YAIR-ee |
| Today | oggi | OH-jee |
| Tomorrow | domani | doh-MAHN-nee |
| Day after tomorrow | dopo domani | DOH-poh doh-MAHN-nee |
| a day | un giorno | oon je-YOR-no |
| Monday | Lunedí | loo-nay-DEE |
| Tuesday | Martedí | mar-tay-DEE |
| Wednesday | Mercoledí | mair-coh-lay-DEE |
| Thursday | Giovedí | jo-vay-DEE |
| Friday | Venerdí | ven-nair-DEE |
| Saturday | Sabato | SAH-baa-toh |
| Sunday | Domenica | doh-MEN-nee-ka |
| Mon-Sat | Feriali | fair-ee-YAHL-ee |
| Sun & holidays | Festivi | feh-STEE-vee |
| Daily | Giornaliere | joor-nahl-ee-YAIR-eh |
| a month | una mese | oon-ah MAY-zay |
| January | gennaio | jen-NAI-yo |
| February | febbraio | feh-BRI-yo |
| March | marzo | MAR-tzoh |
| April | aprile | ah-PREEL-ay |
| May | maggio | MAH-jee-oh |
| June | giugno | JEW-nyoh |
| July | luglio | LOO-lyoh |
| August | agosto | ah-GO-sto |
| September | settembre | set-TEM-bray |
| October | ottobre | oh-TOE-bray |
| November | novembre | no-VEM-bray |
| December | dicembre | de-CHEM-bray |
Numbers in Italian
| English (inglese) | Italian (italiano) | Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun |
| 1 | uno | OO-no |
| 2 | due | DOO-way |
| 3 | tre | tray |
| 4 | quattro | KWAH-troh |
| 5 | cinque | CHEEN-kway |
| 6 | sei | say |
| 7 | sette | SET-tay |
| 8 | otto | OH-toh |
| 9 | nove | NO-vay |
| 10 | dieci | dee-YAY-chee |
| 11 | undici | OON-dee-chee |
| 12 | dodici | DOH-dee-chee |
| 13 | tredici | TRAY-dee-chee |
| 14 | quattordici | kwa-TOR-dee-chee |
| 15 | quindici | KWEEN-dee-chee |
| 16 | sedici | SAY-dee-chee |
| 17 | diciasette | dee-chee-ya-SET-tay |
| 18 | diciotto | dee-CHO-toh |
| 19 | diciannove | dee-chee-ya-NO-vay |
| 20 | venti | VENT-tee |
| 21* | vent'uno* | vent-OO-no |
| 22* | venti due* | VENT-tee DOO-way |
| 23* | venti tre* | VENT-tee TRAY |
| 30 | trenta | TRAYN-tah |
| 40 | quaranta | kwa-RAHN-tah |
| 50 | cinquanta | cheen-KWAN-tah |
| 60 | sessanta | say-SAHN-tah |
| 70 | settanta | seh-TAHN-tah |
| 80 | ottanta | oh-TAHN-tah |
| 90 | novanta | no-VAHN-tah |
| 100 | cento | CHEN-toh |
| 1,000 | mille | MEEL-lay |
| 5,000 | cinque milla | CHEEN-kway MEEL-lah |
| 10,000 | dieci milla | dee-YAY-chee MEEL-lah |
* You can use this formula for all Italian ten-place numbers—so 31 is trent'uno, 32 is trenta due, 33 is trenta tre, etc. Note that—like uno (one), otto (eight) also starts with a vowel—all "-8" numbers are also abbreviated (vent'otto, trent'otto, etc.).
Also in Top 12 hotel savings:
- Don't get star-struck
- Alternative accommodations
- Check the hotel website
- Bargain
- User reviews
- Avoid breakfast
- Share bathrooms
- Share a room
- Stay nearby
- Try a bidding site
