Travel budget

How much does a trip to Palermo cost?

What a trip to Palermo costs, worked out for your days and your party, with every price traced to where it comes from. And then the part most budgets skip: how to actually pay once you are there.

Food, getting around and sights in Palermo come to €63 – €82 per person per day. Accommodation, flights and the airport transfer are on top. Prices reviewed: November 2026.

Work out my trip
What things cost
Accommodation and tax
How to pay

Full Palermo guide

Your trip

How much money you still need

Days, people and how you like to travel decide almost everything. Flights are left out: they depend on where you start.

Days

6 nights

Adults

Children

Counted at the child fares each operator publishes.

Travel style

BudgetMid-rangeComfort

Set meals and the odd sit-down dinner, and one paid sight a day.

Month

Also show in

Accommodation

Price per night for the whole party, in EuroStaying with friends, or already paid

We have no sample of hotel prices for this city yet, so we will not guess one. Type what you have seen and the lodging tax is worked out from it.

Adjust accommodation, food and the rest

Food

Getting around

Sights and activities

Nights out

Shopping and gifts, in total

In local currency. We do not estimate this: nobody knows what you will buy.

Already paid for

Airport transfersTickets and activities

You still need, flights aside

€910 – €1,200

≈ $1,000 – $1,300 · rate of October 16, 2026

€65 – €84 per person per day · 7 days and 2 people

Expected: €910 – €1,200; Most trips land in here
Set aside: €1,200; With this you are unlikely to run short
Cushion, kept apart: €100; 10% of the trip

Food€550 – €790
Getting around€78 – €120
Airport, both ways€24 – €27
Sights and activities€98 – €200
Nights out€32 – €76
Lodging tax and odds and ends€36 – €56

Of that, in cash: €12 – €120

The cash share is our reading of how each kind of place takes payment, not a measurement. Your own bank may charge on top; this page cannot know that.

Accommodation is not in this figure. Add your price per night to include it.
Flights are not included.
You probably will not spend the cushion. Having it to hand covers a night you had not planned, a taxi, or a changed ticket.

Styles

What a day in Palermo costs, by how you travel

Per person per day, two travelling, without accommodation, flights or the airport transfer. A style is not a figure: it is a way of eating, getting around and seeing things, and each one is spelled out below.

Budget

€38 – €54 per person per day

Local food, public transport, the odd paid sight.

FoodLocal and cheap: €24 – €39
Getting aroundPublic transport: €5.60 – €8.40
Sights and activitiesThe odd paid sight: €3.50 – €7.30
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water: €1.70 – €2.70

Mid-range

€63 – €82 per person per day

Set meals and the odd sit-down dinner, and one paid sight a day.

FoodMixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner: €40 – €57
Getting aroundPublic transport: €5.60 – €8.40
Sights and activitiesOne paid sight a day: €7 – €15
Nights outNow and then: €2.30 – €5.40
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water: €2.60 – €4.00

Comfort

€91 – €110 per person per day

The best food level we can price, public transport, two paid sights a day.

FoodRestaurants most of the time: €58 – €71
Getting aroundPublic transport: €5.60 – €8.40
Sights and activitiesTwo paid sights a day: €14 – €29
Nights outNow and then: €2.30 – €5.40
Sundries: luggage storage, laundry, water: €3.90 – €5.40

A style's total is not the sum of the extremes of its lines: nobody has a trip where everything comes out cheap, or everything dear. “Sundries” is an assumption of ours, 5% of food, transport and sights, not a measurement.

By length of trip

How much money for 3, 5, 7, 10 and 14 days in Palermo

Per person, two travelling together, without accommodation or flights. It is not the daily figure times the days: airport transfers are paid once, so they weigh less the longer you stay.

Days	Budget	Mid-range	Comfort
3	€130 – €170 €43 – €58 a day	€200 – €260 €68 – €87 a day	€290 – €350 €96 – €120 a day
5	€200 – €280 €41 – €57 a day	€320 – €420 €65 – €84 a day	€460 – €560 €92 – €110 a day
7	€280 – €390 €40 – €56 a day	€460 – €590 €65 – €84 a day	€650 – €790 €93 – €110 a day
10	€400 – €550 €40 – €55 a day	€650 – €840 €65 – €84 a day	€920 – €1,100 €92 – €110 a day
14	€550 – €770 €39 – €55 a day	€900 – €1,200 €64 – €83 a day	€1,300 – €1,600 €92 – €110 a day

Add your accommodation in the calculator above: it is the largest line and the one we cannot source yet.

Prices

What things cost in Palermo

Eating and drinking: no official statistic measures what eating out costs here, so these are prices from the menu each place publishes on its own website, and each row says where it comes from. It is a sample, not an average: there are cheaper and dearer places, and tourist areas cost more.

What	Price	Source
Eating and drinking
Espresso, Antica Focacceria	€1.60	From the source Nov 2026
Cappuccino, Antica Focacceria	€2.00	From the source Nov 2026
Brioche with granita (water ice), Antica Focacceria	€5.00	From the source Nov 2026
Arancina (fried rice ball), Antica Focacceria	€3.00	From the source Nov 2026
Pane e panelle (chickpea fritter sandwich), Antica Focacceria	€3.50	From the source Nov 2026
Pane con la milza (spleen sandwich), Antica Focacceria	€4.00	From the source Nov 2026
Sfincione (thick Palermo-style pizza), Antica Focacceria	€6.00	From the source Nov 2026
Aubergine caponata, Antica Focacceria	€9.00	From the source Nov 2026
Rigatoni alla Norma, Antica Focacceria	€12.00	From the source Nov 2026
Pasta with sardines, Antica Focacceria	€16.00	From the source Nov 2026
Cannolo, Antica Focacceria	€4.00	From the source Nov 2026
Caponata, Buatta	€9.00	From the source Nov 2026
Bucatini with sardines and wild fennel, Buatta	€16.00	From the source Nov 2026
Baked anelletti (pasta rings), Buatta	€16.00	From the source Nov 2026
Sarde a beccafico (stuffed sardines), Buatta	€16.00	From the source Nov 2026
Sicilian cannolo, Buatta	€4.00	From the source Nov 2026
Cover charge, per person, Buatta	€3.00	From the source Nov 2026
Draught beer (20 cl), Antica Focacceria	€4.00	From the source Nov 2026
Draught beer (40 cl), Antica Focacceria	€6.00	From the source Nov 2026
Glass of wine, Antica Focacceria	€6.50	From the source Nov 2026
Getting around
City bus, 90-minute ticket	€1.40	From the source Nov 2026
City bus, day ticket	€3.50	From the source Nov 2026
City bus, 2-day ticket	€6.00	From the source Nov 2026
City bus, 3-day ticket	€8.00	From the source Nov 2026
City bus, 7-day ticket	€16.50	From the source Nov 2026
Airport bus to the centre, one way	€6.00	From the source Nov 2026
Airport train to the centre	€6.80	From the source Nov 2026
Sights
Palermo Cathedral, roof terraces	€7.00	From the source Nov 2026
Royal Palace and Palatine Chapel (Thursday to Monday)	€14.50	From the source Nov 2026

From the source means we read it where it is set: the operator, the bank, the city or the statistics office. Reported means a guide or the press says so and we have not seen the original. Where sources disagree we show both figures and leave the price out of every sum.

What each food level is made of

A food level is not a number we chose. It is two lists of dishes from the table above, a cheap day and a dear one, and the price is the sum.

Bare minimum: convenience stores and counters: From Espresso, Antica Focacceria + Arancina (fried rice ball), Antica Focacceria + Pane e panelle (chickpea fritter sandwich), Antica Focacceria (€8.10) to Brioche with granita (water ice), Antica Focacceria + Arancina (fried rice ball), Antica Focacceria + Pane con la milza (spleen sandwich), Antica Focacceria + Sfincione (thick Palermo-style pizza), Antica Focacceria (€18.00).
Local and cheap: From Espresso, Antica Focacceria + Arancina (fried rice ball), Antica Focacceria + Pane e panelle (chickpea fritter sandwich), Antica Focacceria + Rigatoni alla Norma, Antica Focacceria + Draught beer (20 cl), Antica Focacceria (€24.10) to Brioche with granita (water ice), Antica Focacceria + Pane con la milza (spleen sandwich), Antica Focacceria + Sfincione (thick Palermo-style pizza), Antica Focacceria + Pasta with sardines, Antica Focacceria + Cannolo, Antica Focacceria + Draught beer (20 cl), Antica Focacceria (€39.00).
Mixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner: From Cappuccino, Antica Focacceria + Arancina (fried rice ball), Antica Focacceria + Caponata, Buatta + Bucatini with sardines and wild fennel, Buatta + Cover charge, per person, Buatta + Glass of wine, Antica Focacceria (€39.50) to Brioche with granita (water ice), Antica Focacceria + Sfincione (thick Palermo-style pizza), Antica Focacceria + Baked anelletti (pasta rings), Buatta + Sarde a beccafico (stuffed sardines), Buatta + Sicilian cannolo, Buatta + Cover charge, per person, Buatta + Glass of wine, Antica Focacceria (€56.50).
Restaurants most of the time: From Cappuccino, Antica Focacceria + Aubergine caponata, Antica Focacceria + Rigatoni alla Norma, Antica Focacceria + Glass of wine, Antica Focacceria + Caponata, Buatta + Bucatini with sardines and wild fennel, Buatta + Cover charge, per person, Buatta (€57.50) to Brioche with granita (water ice), Antica Focacceria + Pasta with sardines, Antica Focacceria + Cannolo, Antica Focacceria + Glass of wine, Antica Focacceria + Baked anelletti (pasta rings), Buatta + Sarde a beccafico (stuffed sardines), Buatta + Sicilian cannolo, Buatta + Cover charge, per person, Buatta (€70.50).

Getting around

Which ticket pays off

A pass is only cheaper past a certain number of rides. This is that number, worked out from the published fares.

1-day pass at €3.50: it pays off from 3 rides a day at €1.40 each.
2-day pass at €6.00: it pays off from 3 rides a day at €1.40 each.
3-day pass at €8.00: it pays off from 2 rides a day at €1.40 each.
7-day pass at €16.50: it pays off from 2 rides a day at €1.40 each.

A pass only counts on the lines it covers. Check which ones before you buy.

Accommodation

What the night costs, and the tax on top

There is no open source of hotel prices, and we have not sampled this city yet. So the calculator asks you for the price you have seen instead of printing one that looks plausible.

Lodging tax

From July 1, 2025
- Five stars: €5.00 per person per night
- Four stars: €4.50 per person per night
- Three stars: €4.00 per person per night
- Two stars: €3.50 per person per night
- One star: €3.00 per person per night
- Non-hotel tourist accommodation (single category): €4.00 per person per night
- Holiday apartment or short let: €4.00 per person per night
- Only the first 4 nights are charged.
- Under-12s don't pay.

Which area to stay in Palermo: the neighbourhood comparison

Saving

What saves money in Palermo, and what does not

Each line is a subtraction done with the prices on this page. No tricks: just the sum.

What saves

Eating “Mixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner” instead of “Restaurants most of the time”: €14 – €18 less per person per day.
Eating “Local and cheap” instead of “Mixed: set meals and one sit-down dinner”: €15 – €18 less per person per day.
Eating “Bare minimum: convenience stores and counters” instead of “Local and cheap”: €16 – €21 less per person per day.

What does not

The 1-day pass (€3.50) on fewer than 3 rides of €1.40 a day: it costs more than paying for each ticket.

Paying

Payments and tipping in Italy

Tipping in restaurants: Optional.

How paying works in Italy

Questions

Questions about money in Palermo

How much money do you need for a week in Palermo?

For seven days, €460 – €590 per person on the “Mid-range” style with two travelling. Accommodation and flights are not included. The airport transfer, there and back, is included.

How much money do you need for 3 days in Palermo?

For 3 days, €200 – €260 per person on the “Mid-range” style with two travelling. Accommodation and flights are not included. The airport transfer, there and back, is included.

What is a realistic daily budget in Palermo?

Per person per day, without accommodation or flights: €38 – €54 on the “Budget” style, €63 – €82 on the “Mid-range” style, and €91 – €110 on the “Comfort” style.

Can you travel to Palermo on a budget?

The cheapest style we work out is “Budget”: €38 – €54 per person per day, without accommodation or flights. Local food, public transport, the odd paid sight.

How much does food cost in Palermo?

From €8.10 per person per day (“Bare minimum: convenience stores and counters”) to €71 (“Restaurants most of the time”). The price table has what each dish costs.

How much does transport cost in Palermo?

A ride on public transport costs €1.40. The 1-day pass costs €3.50 and pays off from 3 rides a day at €1.40 each.

Is there a lodging tax in Palermo?

Yes: €3.00 – €5.00 per person per night, depending on the category of the accommodation. Only the first 4 nights are charged. Under-12s don't pay.

How much cash should you carry in Palermo?

For a week on the “Mid-range” style, about €5.80 – €62.00 per person, two travelling. It is our reading of how each kind of place takes payment, not a measurement.

Is it better to use cash or card in Palermo?

By card: in general.

Do you tip in Palermo?

Restaurants: optional.

Sources

Where every figure comes from

Each price on this page carries its source. These are all of them. Prices reviewed: November 2026.

The rest of Palermo

In the app

This page tells you how much to take. The app keeps count of what you spend.

Joru works out the budget of your itinerary day by day and sets it against what you actually spend, by category and with the exchange rate. On your phone, with no account.

Google Play App Store

Free for one destination of up to three days, on Android and iPhone.