Is Bari Expensive? What You Can Expect & Tips to Save

It is no secret that some places in Italy, such as the Almafi coast, are extremely expensive. But is that true for all coastal towns in Italy? 

When it comes to Bari, is it expensive? 

I took extensive notes on my recent trip to paint you a pretty clear picture of what you can expect to pay. 

And I can confidently tell you that Bari and neighboring towns in Puglia are much less expensive than you might expect. 

How Expensive is Bari? What You Can Expect To Pay

Depending on your travel style, a trip to Bari could be expensive, but generally speaking, it is not.

Your choice of accommodations will dictate the price of the trip.

The best way to explain this to you is to be transparent about the prices I encountered for food, transit, hotels, and activities.

Food & Drink Prices

• Food: Get excited because I found great food in Bari to be largely reasonably priced! A pasta dish at a sit-down restaurant will cost around 12-14€, and seafood dishes are anywhere from 15-20€. Street food like focaccia, arancini, and Sgagliozze can be found for under 5€.

These restaurants are all highly rated, and tested by me. You won’t have to sacrifice quality for price!

Below, you can find the food and the menus with prices for 2 of the places I ate for dinner.

• Alcohol: If you opt for house wine, which in Italy, I’ve never had a bad glass, you can expect to pay around 3€, and for a 1/2 liter, around 6€. Local beer was typically 5€, and my personal favorite, Aperol Spritz, was priced between 7-9€.

On the Almafi Coast, you can expect to double or triple these prices.

Accommodations:

• Budget Hotels: You can find a great budget hotel in the old town of Bari or in the city for around 60€ a night!
• Mid-Range Hotel: If you want something a little more upscale, you can expect to pay around 130€ a night (in the high summer season).
• Luxury / Boutique Hotels: Few properties within Bari’s city limits qualify as 5-star hotels, but the ones that do qualify are around 625€ per night.

Transportation

I found getting around Bari was very cheap! For the most part you can walk to all the major tourist attractions which is great.

You don’t have to spend much money to travel outside Bari to nearby towns such as Polignano a Mare, Monopoloi, or Alberobello.

The train and bus are very affordable! The train journey from Bari to Polignano A Mare will cost you a whopping 3€.

Do yourself a favor, download the Trenitalia App before arriving, and set up a customer profile for quick purchases.

GOOD TO KNOW: I experienced the ticket machines in the Puglia region not always working and the ticket counter not being open.

Car rentals in Puglia are always a bargain! For an entire week in Bari in July, you can rent a car for $168! That is just $24 a day!

READ NEXT: Should I Rent A Car in Puglia?

Cost of Activities in Bari

A lot of the things to do in Bari don’t cost very much! Here is a breakdown of the most popular things to do in Bari and how much they cost.

• Visit the Basilica of San Nicola (Free)
• Explore the Old Town (Bari Vecchia) (Free) 
• Walk along the Lungomare (Free) 
• Visit the Cathedral of San Sabino (Free) 
• Check out the Petruzzelli Theatre (Entrance fee: €5) 
• Visit the Swabian Castle (Castello Svevo) (Entrance fee: €10) 
• Explore the Pinacoteca Metropolitana di Bari (Entrance fee: €5) 
• Visit the Bari Fish Market (Free) 
• Take a day trip to Polignano a Mare (Train fare: €3-5.30) 
• Try the local cuisine in a traditional restaurant (Cost varies) 

On average, you can expect 4 days in Bari to cost around $800 with meals, drinks, and a hotel for $100 per night. That is a healthy budget of $200 a day.

I know budgeting isn’t exactly fun, but you could always use programs like YNAB (You Need a Budget) to help you stay on track.

READ NEXT: Best 7 Things to Do in Bari, Italy

Tips to Save on Your Trip to Bari

I have picked up many tricks over the years of solo traveling. When I first visited Bari, I did so because of the cheap flight I found when scanning deals in Skyscanner. 

I flew from Berlin, Germany, directly to Bari, Italy, for around 50 euros! I often use travel planning sites like Skyscanner to find the best flight deals, and sometimes, the deals inspire the trip in the first place. 

To find the best time to come to Bari for the best price, search Skyscanner for flexible dates from your departing city. 

Mastering Points for Travel Savings

Over the years, I’ve become an expert at saving money while traveling, largely thanks to travel credit cards and the points they offer!

Many people use credit card points to get discounts on flights or hotels. If you’re interested in learning more, check out my comparison guide.

Hotel Considerations

If you are really trying to save money in Bari, you can find a highly-rated hotel just outside the old town.

On my second trip to Bari, I stayed at a fabulous hotel that was a 20-minute walk from the old town.

I could have easily jumped the bus and saved myself the walk, but I wanted to exercise to eat more pizza.

• Affordable Hotels I Recommend: LoStabile Bari, Palazzo Zippitelli Apartments, and CALVANI23 LUXURY HOUSE
• Save Money Off Season: Although Bari is a place best visited in the summer, you can visit in the shoulder season and experience great weather. An early May or October visit will further help you keep the costs low.
• Look for special deals on Travel Tuesdays, sign up, and establish memberships with sites like Booking.com and Hotels.com. I often get a 20% discount with my genius-level status via Booking.com and earn One Key cash with Hotels.com.

Affordable Food Options in Bari

If you like Italian food and aren’t afraid of carbs, you can easily save money in Bari! Some of the best places offering cheap eats are:

• Panificio Fiore
• La Uascezze
• Pizzeria di Cosimo
• Mastro Ciccio
• Osteria delle Travi di Bari

Grab my FREE GOOGLE MAP with all my favorite locations pre-pinned by subscribing to the newsletter!

For quick reference, this is what to expect with pricing:

• Focaccia Barese from a bakery: €2-€4 
• Panzerotti at a street vendor: €3-€6 
• Orecchiette pasta at a simple trattoria: €5-€8 
• Sgagliozze (fried polenta squares) from a street vendor: €2-€4 
• Local pastries (like pasticciotti or sporcamuss): €1.50-€3 each

A lot of the accommodations in Bari are like Airbnbs that have a small kitchen. If you stay at one of those you could always visit a local grocery store and pick up some of the essentials.

Transportation Costs

The cost of getting to Bari by train is fairly affordable, as is using trains or rental cars.

For example, in Rome, the way I traveled on my last visit to Bari, you can expect to pay around 45 euros depending on the time, route, and season. 

Taking the train and visiting at the end of May cost me 37.50 for a first-class train ticket to Bari from Rome. That’s a pretty sweet deal. 

Once you are in Bari, you can keep your transportation costs low by walking and using public transportation.

Stay away from taxis and ride-shares. Uber is not popular and not cheap in Southern Italy.

Visit Off Season

The best way to really save money in Bari is by visiting off peak season like spring and fall.

The weather should be great, though you could get some rain, which is true of the summer too.

Prices in hotels will decrease as the summer season ends. You can find higher-end hotels for much less than you can in the dead of August.

Final Verdict

As I mentioned at the start of this post, Bari is not a very expensive destination in Italy.

As tourism grows in the region, I would expect the prices to increase, but I think it will always remain more affordable than the Almafi coast.

If you have questions or need more recommendations, don’t be shy to contact me here or on social media!

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