Seaside vacation, August is a luxury. Up to 3,500 euros per week for a family in a three-star hotel

August sea increasingly a luxury good. The alarm comes from consumer associations, in particular from Assoutenti regarding hotels and ferries, especially in the month traditionally favored by Italian vacationers. Vacations are increasingly expensive and for many families they represent a real drain so much so that many have now said goodbye to long breaks of 10 or 14 days and also to the very expensive "prince" month of vacations, that is August, and also to July, moving to the more reasonable June and September.

"Unjustified price increases"

"The recovery of tourism in Italy and the growth of foreign visitors - denounces the president of Assoutenti Gabriele Melluso - push operators to apply continuous increases in rates, increases that do not appear justified either by phenomena such as energy prices and inflation, or by the higher costs for accommodation facilities and transport companies".

According to Assoutenti's calculations, Emilia Romagna is the region that in the summer of 2025 offers the best prices in terms of accommodation facilities, while the seaside resorts of Sardinia are confirmed as the most expensive: a family with two children who decide to spend a week on holiday around Ferragosto in a 3-star hotel spends, booking on these days, a minimum of 1,030 euros in Rimini, 1,498 euros in Riccione, 1,512 euros in Milano Marittima.

Rimini low cost, Santa Margherita Ligure the most expensive

Those who opt for Tuscany must take into account a minimum expense of over 1,600 euros in Lido di Camaiore and Viareggio, which becomes 2,226 euros if you choose Marina di Pietrasanta. Different prices in Liguria: if in Rapallo for the same week of vacation 1,610 euros are enough, the cost for the "typical" family taken into consideration soars to 3,551 euros going to Santa Margherita Ligure.

Around 1,500 euros is the cost for a week in a hotel in Veneto (Jesolo and Caorle) while it takes just over 1,800 euros in Friuli (Lignano Sabbiadoro and Grado). For Puglia, opting for Gallipoli or Otranto, you need to budget a minimum cost of around 1,700 euros.

The picture changes dramatically - explains the association - if you choose more exclusive destinations: in San Vito lo Capo and Cefalù (Sicily) 7 nights in a hotel cost a family of 4 a minimum of just over 2 thousand euros, in Sorrento it starts from 2,051 euros, 2,264 euros in Amalfi, to reach 2,681 euros in Baja Sardinia, 2,870 euros in Golfo Aranci, and a minimum of 3,015 euros in San Teodoro, numbers that confirm how Sardinia boasts the highest rates in Italy in terms of accommodation facilities.

The ferry bloodletting

A sore point is that of ferries, which have increased by an average of +9.7%. The same family examined who decides to travel by sea with a car in tow spends, without a cabin and leaving on August 8, returning on August 16, 1,343 on the Civitavecchia-Olbia route, 1,363 euros on the Genoa-Porto Torres route, 1,197 euros for the Livorno-Olbia route, 1,005 euros for the Civitavecchia-Porto Torres connection, 678 to go from Naples to Palermo and back.