Which place is cheaper, Rome or Addis Ababa?
These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations. These travel costs come from the actual spending of real travelers.
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Should you visit Addis Ababa or Rome?
Which is cheaper to visit? Which is more expensive for vacation?
If you're trying to decide where to visit between Addis Ababa or Rome, this travel comparison, which includes costs, can help. The overall cost of travel is usually a consideration when deciding where to go next, and the cost comparison down below can help you decide based on the average prices from other travelers along with your own travel budget.
Where Should I go: Addis Ababa or Rome?
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia and also the nation's largest when ranked by its population of over three million. There are also more than 120 international missions and embassies in Addis Ababa, making the city a hub for international diplomacy concerning Africa. Other draws include its thriving marketplaces, spicy food, and rich coffee.
Rome
Rome is the capital and largest city in Italy. It is also a common entry point for most visitors flying into the country. Rome has been a center of power, culture, and religion for the last millenium, making it one of the most famous and popular destinations in not only Europe, but the world. The influence of the Roman Empire can be seen across continents.
For some great organized tour ideas, see The Best Luxury Tours to Italy, and The Best Budget Tours to Italy.
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Addis Ababa Prices
Ethiopia PricesRome Prices
Italy Prices -
Average Daily Cost Per person, per dayAddis Ababa $32Rome $243
The average daily cost (per person) in Addis Ababa is $32, while the average daily cost in Rome is $243. These costs include accommodation (assuming double occupancy, so the traveler is sharing the room), food, transportation, and entertainment. While every person is different, these costs are an average of past travelers in each destination. What follows is a categorical breakdown of travel costs for Addis Ababa and Rome in more detail.
Accommodation
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Accommodation Hotel or hostel for one personAddis Ababa $17Rome $106
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Accommodation Typical double-occupancy roomAddis Ababa $34Rome $212
Compare Hotels in Addis Ababa and Rome
Looking for a hotel in Addis Ababa or Rome? Prices vary by location, date, season, and the level of luxury. See below for options and compare which is best for your budget and travel style.
Kayak helps you find the best prices for hotels, flights, and rental cars for destinations around the world. Compare prices for multiple destinations when planning your next trip.
Our Analysis
We've analyzed the average and typical hotel prices based on guest reviews, star ratings, and hotel amenities here: Addis Ababa Hotel Prices and Rome Hotel Prices.
Local Transportation
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Local Transportation Taxis, local buses, subway, etc.Addis Ababa $3.10Rome $25
Typical Local Transportation Prices in Addis Ababa
Some typical examples of transportation costs in Addis Ababa are as follows:
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Short Taxi Ride$0.21
Hired Cars and Shuttles in Addis Ababa
Also for Addis Ababa, here are a few examples of actual transportation services:
- Transfer Services Addis Abeba Airport : $23
- 4 Hours Addis Airport Transfer with Ethiopian Cultural Tour: $299
- Addis Ababa Airport in/out transfer: $49
- Addis Ababa Airport pickup and Transfer: $23
- Addis Ababa Airport transfer and shuttle service(privet): $23
- City/Airport Transfer in Addis Ababa - Shuttles: $40
- Lalibela Full Day Tour with Guide and Transfer: $130
- Private Transfer from Bole Airport Addis Ababa (ADD) to Addis Ababa: $154
Typical Local Transportation Prices in Rome
Here are some examples of typical transportation prices from actual travelers in Rome:
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Metro Ride (for Two)$2.35
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Train to the Airport$18
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Taxi to Airport$53
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Bicycle Rental (Full Day)$12
Hired Cars and Shuttles in Rome
Some specific examples of transportation prices in Rome:
- Transfer from Civitavecchia 4 people: $299
- Transfer services from airports to rome for up to 4 persons: $299
- Transfer from Rome Hotel to Civitavecchia Cruise Port and vice versa: $299
- Private transfer with Luxury Car from/to Civitavecchia harbour: $299
- Transfer Fiumicino airport - Civitavecchia port or vice versa: $293
- Fiumicino Airport (FCO) to Saturnia - Arrival Private Transfer: $293
- Rome Airport Transfer & Pompeii Tour to Amalfi/Ravello Viceversa: $290
- Private transfer from Roma to Civitavecchia port: $274
- From Fiumicino to Orvieto Transfer: $274
- Private Transfer from Rome to Sperlonga or Gaeta: $269
- Arrival in Airport Transfer & Exclusive City Introduction: $268
- Rome Private Sightseeing and Catacombs Underground Group Tour with Transfer: $268
Is it cheaper to fly into Addis Ababa or Rome?
Prices for flights to both Rome and Addis Ababa change regularly based on dates and travel demand. We suggest you find the best prices for your next trip on Kayak, because you can compare the cost of flights across multiple airlines for your prefered dates.
Food
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Food Meals for one dayAddis Ababa $12Rome $98
Typical Food Prices in Addis Ababa
Here are some examples of typical meal expenses from previous travelers to Addis Ababa:
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Slice of Cake$0.05
Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Addis Ababa
For Addis Ababa, here are some samples of tours and activities related to meals and dining experiences:
- Totot Cultural Feast & Rhythm Show With Dinner: $54
- Food tour in Addis Ababa with airport pick-up.: $56
- Local Ethiopian Food Tour Addis Ababa: $62
- Flavors of Ethiopia Explore Traditional Cooking Class : $67
- Addis Ababa Ethiopian cooking class Airport & hotel pick up: $68
- Yod Abyssinia Cultural Night: Dinner, Music, and Dance: $70
- Half Day Food Tour Addis Ababa With Airport pickUp And Drop-Off: $75
- Food tours in Addis Ababa tastever with lunch: $76
- Private City Tour with Folkloric Dinner: $77
- Addis abeba Full Cooking class.: $90
- Cooking class in Addis Ababa: $95
- Nightlife Tour with Dinner and Live Music: $99
Typical Food Prices in Rome
Below are a few samples from actual travelers for food and meal costs in Rome:
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Casual Lunch (for Two)$16
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4 Ice Cream Sandwiches$3.51
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Cafe e doce$4.69
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Pizza (Fast Food)$3.11
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Sitdown Lunch (for Two)$37
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Cheese and bread$12
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Espresso$2.35
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Dinner$68
Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Rome
Also, here are some specific examples of food and dining related activities in Rome.
- Pizzas and Piazzas: A Self-Guided Walk of Rome’s Culinary Culture: $20
- Hard Rock Cafe Rome with Set Lunch or Dinner: $34
- Food Tour of the Vatican with Farmers Market and Wine Tasting: $35
- Rome City Center Largest Farmers Market and Street Food Tour : $35
- Vatican Street Food Tour around the Biggest Fresh Market in Rome: $35
- Street Food tour : Eat like a real local: $40
- Tasty Trionfale Farmers Market Food Tour and Local Wines Tasting: $42
- Vatican Street Food Tour and Wine Experience with Local Guide: $47
- Fettuccine Pasta Cooking Class in Rome City Center: $52
- Trastevere Ultimate Food Tour by Do Eat Better: $52
- Trastevere & Campo de' Fiori Street Food Tour, Eat Like a Local: $53
- Rome Street Food Tour Eat Like a Local: $53
Entertainment
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Entertainment Entrance tickets, shows, etc.Addis Ababa $3.20Rome $42
Tours and Activities in Addis Ababa
Also, here are some specific examples of entertainment, tickets, and activities for Addis Ababa.
- Traditional Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony Tour: $30
- 5 hours Addis Ababa Layover city tour: $36
- Layover in Addis Ababa 5 hours tour: $38
- Mercato Market & National museum Guided Tour with Coffee Tasting: $40
- Sightseeing Walking Tour: $40
- Open-bus Tour and Cycling: $41
- Local Food Open Market, City Tours & More.: $42
- 4 Hours Addis Ababa Cultural Discovery Tour: $42
- Merkato Addis Ababa Guided Tour: $42
- Mercato Market Guided Tour with Coffee Tasting: $43
- Entoto hill and Mercato Market layover tour: $45
- Layover in Addis: Tailored Tours for Transit Passengers: $45
Typical Entertainment Prices in Rome
Here are a few typical costs in Rome for activities, ticket prices, and tours that come from previous visitors:
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Rome Museum Vaticano (for 2)$81
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Coliseum Tickets (for Two)$39
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Roma Pass$35
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Hop on Hop Off Bus (All Day)$23
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Segway Tour$88
Tours and Activities in Rome
Here are a few actual costs in Rome for available activities, ticket prices, and tours:
- Appian Way and Aqueducts Electric Bike Tour: $90
- Baths of Caracalla Guided Tour -Private or Shared: $130
- Best of Rome by Night Private Sightseeing Chauffeured Tour: $227
- Discover The Churches of Rome guided tour: $178
- Evening Tour of the City’s Most Iconic Sights - Up To 6 People: $190
- Golf Cart Small-Group Guided Tour: Rome City Highlights: $104
- Golf Cart Tour of 3h with local guide and gelato: $215
- Guided Group Walking Tour of Rome Top Sights: $47
- Guided Tour of Rome's Churches and Art: $209
- Guided tour in Chinese between Vatican Museums + St. Peter's Basilica: $154
- Hidden Gems & Rome Catacomb Semi Private Tour by golf cart: $108
- Last Hour Guided Tour To Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel: $102
Alcohol
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Alcohol Drinks for one dayAddis Ababa $2.64Rome $21
Sample the Local Flavors in Addis Ababa
Some specific costs for nightlife related activities in Addis Ababa:
- Pub-crawl Tour ( locally crafted beer and wine tasting ): $58
- Night Tour Addis Ababa beer and wine tasting: $65
Typical Alcohol Prices in Rome
Below are a few samples from actual travelers for alcohol and nightlife costs in Rome:
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Bottle of Wine$7.63
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Pint of Beer$7.44
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Beer$12
Sample the Local Flavors in Rome
Here are a few nightlife and alcohol tours and activities from local tour providers in Rome:
- Unique Wine Tasting in Enoteca in Rome San Pietro Area: $33
- Trionfale Farmers Market and Vatican Quarter Food and Wine Tour: $35
- Rome’s Exclusive Wine Tasting: Sip Near the Colosseum!: $39
- Tour of Rome with wine tasting: $54
- Wine Tasting in Trastevere with Food and Gelato: $54
- Guided Wine Tasting Experience in a Roman Vineyard: $59
- Wine Tour in Historic Center of Rome: $60
- Dolce Vita Burlesque show: $60
- EAT AND DRINK LIKE A LOCAL - Wine Tasting in Trastevere w/ Gelato: $72
- Wine Tour in Romes Historic center: $82
- Devour Rome Food & Wine Tour of Trastevere: $84
- The greatest wine tour of Rome: $84
When we compare the travel costs of actual travelers between Addis Ababa and Rome, we can see that Rome is more expensive. And not only is Addis Ababa much less expensive, but it is actually a significantly cheaper destination. Since Addis Ababa is in Africa and Rome is in Europe, this is one of the main reasons why the costs are so different, as different regions of the world tend to have overall different travel costs. So, traveling to Addis Ababa would let you spend less money overall. Or, you could decide to spend more money in Addis Ababa and be able to afford a more luxurious travel style by staying in nicer hotels, eating at more expensive restaurants, taking tours, and experiencing more activities. The same level of travel in Rome would naturally cost you much more money, so you would probably want to keep your budget a little tighter in Rome than you might in Addis Ababa.
If you're trying to decide if either of these two destinations are within your price range, also see Is Addis Ababa Expensive? and Is Rome Expensive?.
Which is Bigger, Addis Ababa or Rome?
Addis Ababa has a larger population, and is about 8% larger than the population of Rome. When comparing the sizes of Addis Ababa and Rome, keep in mind that a larger population does not always imply the destination has more attractions or better activities. So, always research the type of place that you want to visit along with the activities and attractions that interest you.
Budget Your Trip is all about finding out how much everything costs so that you can travel cheaper and longer. Created by avid travelers Laurie and Bryan, our goal is to help you plan your next trip on the right budget. With average daily travel costs that are calculated from the budgets of real travelers, plus an analysis of hotel and tour prices, you can find out how much money you need to plan your next adventure. We also have plenty of travel advice, accommodation reviews, and activity suggestions.