Not too long ago, Umbria–with its rolling hills covered in vineyards and olive groves and topped by tiny medieval stone villages–was touted as the cheaper alternative to Tuscany (her neighbor to the north). This is not so true anymore, as this region in central Italy has begun to show up on more travelers’ radars and prices have risen according to demand.

That said, Umbria doesn’t necessarily have to take a Tuscany-sized bite out of your wallet. Be it shoe-string or tight, here are four tips to help you stick to your trip budget in Umbria.

Time it right

The chances of scoring deals on flights, accommodations and car rentals rise exponentially by choosing a “shoulder” season (those buffer months between high and low seasons). This doesn’t mean you are stuck with the dog-days of January; shoulder season for Umbria generally includes the months of March (and some of April) and November (and some of October).

The weather can be spottier than it would be at the height of summer–with cool, crisp days interspersed with some showers—so bring clothes you can layer, and make sure you have both indoor and outdoor sights on your itinerary so you can work around anything the weather might toss at you.

Stay in an agriturismo

You can hardly spit in rural Umbria without hitting an agriturismo, or “farm holiday,” which are scattered throughout the region. These working farms offer accommodation (and sometimes small restaurants) and are a great choice for travelers counting their pennies.

Rates tend to be lower than hotels, many offer self-catering apartments so you can do some of your own cooking, and if you’re lucky and time it right you often have access to a vegetable garden, farm-fresh eggs, homemade wine, and olive oil. You also have the chance to savor authentic country life with an Italian family… an experience no money can buy.

Bring home the bacon (or prosciutto)

While we’re on the subject of the advantages of an agriturismo, let’s talk food. With access to a kitchen, you can dramatically cut down your restaurant expenditures by cooking at home and preparing picnics to take along on day trips. If you’re worried about missing out on Umbria’s fabulous regional cuisine, don’t fret; this simple fare is founded more on fresh, local ingredients than fancy preparation techniques.

Take the time to wander through the region’s farmers’ markets, local butchers, specialty cheese, pasta, and bread shops and pick up a little culture along with your dinner ingredients.

Sometimes the best things in life are free

Umbria is particularly budget travel friendly because so many of its sights are free. Almost all major artworks and architectural treasures are in churches open to the public. Much of the region’s charm is in taking scenic drives through the rolling landscape, walks in one of the region’s parks, or simply wandering the streets of its numerous picturesque hilltowns.

Umbria also has a plethora of music festivals from spring through late summer, and many hold free concerts during their program. A stroll through sleepy Spello, a drive along the Nera river, gazing upon the iconic frescoes in the Basilica of Saint Francis, watching the sun set over Lake Trasimeno, dropping in on an open-air jam session in Perugia, a picnic on Mount Subasio: all unforgettable moments in Umbria that won’t cost you a cent.

About the author: Rebecca Winke moved to Italy from Chicago in 1993 and shortly thereafter opened an agriturismo in her husband’s renovated family farmhouse at the foot of Mount Subasio near Assisi, Umbria. She spends her time taking care of guests at Brigolante, blogging about the lovely region she now calls home at Rebecca’s Ruminations, and wondering about what strange winds blew an urban vegetarian to a farm in Umbria.

The post Umbria, Italy: Tips for budget travelers appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Choosing the farm experience over a backpacking trip in Europe

I knew that my own personal budget for a European trip could likely only cover airfare and a few extras (a one-night hotel splurge somewhere, a few good meals, some museums) and originally wanted to find an artist residency program overseas. I had read about several merit-based programs and wanted to try my hand at one. But many have hefty applications and I wanted to get moving quickly. I then remembered that I had a friend who worked as a farm hand in a farm residency program in Tuscany. All the stars aligned. I contacted my friend, got the info on the program, communicated with the farm owner (that was a funny first email exhange!), and started packing.

How a farm residency is different from agriturisimo

Some farms, especially in Italy, focus on agriturismo.  For a fee, tourists can rent out apartments or rooms and live on the farm, enjoying the landscape and people. You won’t necessarily have to work if you go this route, but you will pay more for room, food, housekeeping, and possibly car rental depending on how far the farm is from town. The farm residency experience is intense, hard, and a world-altering. But, all room and board is paid for in exchange for your physical labor.

Green acres

I was excited for my trip. I knew it would be a crash course in how an entirely different set of people lived: I come from huge, flat, urban sprawl (how do you say strip mall in Italian?) and going to live on a farm with dense forests, mountains, swamps, and nearin fact I still sport dozens of scars on my forearms from clearing away thorn bushes from hiking trails. But most of all, I got to know the people on the farm, folks who did not have to pretend to like me to make a sale. There was no tourism involved. I was there to work, and they treated me with the respect of both a guest and a fellow member of the farm staff. When I ate with them, it felt like I was part of the family.

Although I spoke very little Italian, we tried to converse. I heard about the environmental crisis hitting Tuscany this year—the monsoon-like rains that threatened to prevent crop planting. I learned about the school lives of the children that reside on the farm. And I tried my best to share my own life with them.

Unlike when merely visiting a place—or simply consuming mainstream tourism, here I felt like I was leaving a very tangible piece of myself. My own hard work, my personal experience could remain, in some facet, at the farm. I plan to go back there again someday.

Farm tales

Tiziano, the farm manager, and Andrea, his one-man farm crew, handled the bulk of the work. I was introduced to Tiziano just as he was finishing the slaughtering of a pig. He smiled, wiped his bloody hands on his pants, and shook my hand. Then he waltzed over to a cooler, took out a chain of linked sausage, and after wiping a bloody butcher knife on his pants, he began cutting up pieces for me to eat. He then smiled again and offered me the salsicha (pork sausage). I felt that right at that moment, I had entered the world of the farm. Farmers of this region had been doing it this way for hundreds of years. I felt safer in Tiziano’s huge, sure hands than with the USDA anyway.

Tricks of the trade

The other figure that made quite an impression was Andrea. What Andrea lacked in physical stature; he made up for in attitude. He did much of the farm work on the farm by himself. When it was raining, and we couldn’t trail blaze, we were given over to Andrea for sanding duty. Many of the doors and window frames were old and needed to be refinished. So as Andrea explained to us what refinishing the doors entailed, we discovered two things: none of us had any real experience with sanding before, and Andrea was not really equipped to explain to us how to go about doing the sanding, as he knew just a few words in English. Andrea is as Tuscan as Tuscan can be, so he’d speak in a very specific Italian countryside dialect and end with “capiche?” Then he’d wait a second, say “non capiche,” smile, and walk away. We were left to the sanding.

After working with him a little bit, we found that if we just started doing stuff, and if we did it wrong, he’d come over and demonstrate how to do it right.

Cheapo farmer, and how you can be one too

The Cheapo benefits of working on a farm? I got great workouts (hello biceps!), ate amazing home cooking, and gained an eye-opening look at how another culture lives. And all I had to pay for was my plane ticket.  Hey, I got dirty.  I had to spend time with smelly animals and there were lots of physically straining activities. All of my cool city slicker clothes pretty much got destroyed (note to self: Next time, bring overalls.)

To find out more about programs like this one, you can visit http://wwoof.org. If it’s open to you, you can always go the artist residency route. The possibilities here are varied and have specific payoffs. Some programs house you in castles, some on farms, some in tree houses and the like.

Hoe-down!

For more about Reinhardt’s travels, visit his blog: The Pork Chop Express. And be sure to check out his post, “Five Tips for Stretching Your Budget Abroad” here.

The post Agriturisimo With a Twist: One Cheapo’s Italian experience appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.