We live in the Midwest US and are attending a wedding in Italy next June. Do you have any tips or hacks for flights to Europe that might help save money? A few ideas I’m considering are flying to a separate US city first (NY or Boston) and then flying to Italy, or flying into a different European country that’s cheaper and flying or driving to Italy. We want to spend 10ish days in Europe to make the trip worth it, so we’re very open to flying into/out of other countries, even different countries for arrival and departure to see more and save more money.
I’d love to hear any tips you have, from flights, best time to buy, travel tips once in Europe (e.g. rental car vs public transit), or anything else you can think of. I haven’t been out of the country since I was in elementary school so this type of planning is all very foreign to me. Thanks in advance!
Google Flights and/or Skyscanner are going to help here.
Also, hugely significant is where specifically the wedding is. If it’s in Rome, then fly there and use public transport. A tiny village an hour in from the Adriatic coast, and it’s more complicated.
Additionally, where else in Europe are you going? It all makes a big difference.
As for flights within Europe, Ryanair/EasyJet/Wizz are usually your best options, but you normally get the best prices about 8-12 weeks in advance. June is a peak month, but not as much as August, so you might be able to get some well-priced flights. Just remember with those airlines that the price you see on the booking page doesn’t include seats or bags!
@Omar
It’s at lake como! Thanks for the tips. As for other locations in Europe, we haven’t decided on anything yet and are open to staying in Italy the whole time, we’re just unsure what’s most economical.
@Zyler
Zurich is about 3 hours by train from Como, compared to 2 hours from Milan airport. The other airports, you’ll need to allow a day of travel to get there. Rome is about 5 hours, Munich about 7 hours, Vienna 11 hours. Paris and Frankfurt can be done in 7-8 hours.
If you want the European low-cost carrier experience, Ryanair flies to Bergamo from lots of places in Europe, but you likely would have to an airport change. Heathrow → Stansted, Charles de Gaulle → Beauvais, Amsterdam → Rotterdam.
If you want to do Rome-Florence-Venice, that is easily done by train, and can be quite cheap if you book in advance.
If you want to rent a car, be aware that drop-fees for leaving the car in another country can be substantial, and also check area restrictions, mileage, and insurance coverage. Gas is more expensive than you are used to as well. Don’t speed in Switzerland.
For the costs part, 10 years ago the countries on the eastern side of the Adriatic would have been the obvious recommendation. Now I think costs have gone up. Generally, accommodation is much cheaper in eastern Europe.
@Lane
This is great info, thank you so much! If we were to stay in Italy I love the Rome-Florence-Venice idea, I’m sure we’d be satisfied by the amount we see in that case and could use the budget airline another commenter mentioned to fly into Rome.
@Zyler
If you have enough time I would choose the airport depending on a ticket price. If you fly in the north, like Milan your destination isn’t that far away. If you fly to Rome you could make a road trip to the north. Either way I’d probably rent a car.
@otieno
Don’t rent a car in Europe unless you really know what you are doing. Especially Italy is full of traps like limited traffic zones with big fines. And most cities are not car friendly.
@Zyler
Add Geneva and Zurich to your flight searches. You can jump on a train across the border and while I suspect the train fare will be more than a potentially cheaper flight, it’s worth a look (and is a breathtaking train journey).
I have done this, but not to save money. I went from the Midwest to New York and stayed in New York for a few days because there were some plays I wanted to see. It also helped break the trip up. It was a short six-hour flight from New York City to Europe.
Get a cheap flight to New York (JFK) and book with Norse Atlantic to Rome. Norse Atlantic is a budget carrier, and one-way tix to Rome are often less than $200.
@Marin
As a Canadian, I second looking on Canadian sites. I just booked a flight from a small town on the west coast to Europe for $860 CAD (between 600-700 USD). WestJet has some very cheap offerings right now for the winter months.
Mason said:
You’re better off staying in Italy if it’s only 10 days. It will cost you time and money to try and get to other countries.
Noted, thanks! I don’t have experience with European travel so I wasn’t sure if that made sense or not, but I’m sure having a little extra time to explore Italy would be great.
@Zyler
Since you are going to Lake Como you’ll be right on the border to Switzerland, so you could definitely go there as well. And being in the very north of Italy, you’ll be closer to the south of France than the south of Italy, so you could also drive to Turin and then Monaco, Nice, Cannes, and fly out of Nice. Depends on what sort of things your family likes and what you would like to see. Big city/mountains/the sea/small medieval villages/art museums, etc.