ChgoGal

Hi, Fodorites.

So just beginning to plan a trip for me and my senior mother for the fall of 2014.
I want her to see Venice and she wants to go back to Paris.

Ideal (I think) is an open-jaw ticket from Chicago - Paris - overnight train to Venice - return to Chicago from Venice. This is a pricey ticket $1,200 at this point.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to save money on flights encompassing both gorgeous cities?

ellenem

These days, $1,200 for Chicago-Paris Venice-Chicago is a pretty good price.

ChgoGal

I should add, I'm not averse to traveling to another city (Zurich, Rome, London, Florence) and traveling by train to see visit these two cities. A third location would be nice, though I realize train travel is another cost.

ChgoGal

Thanks, ellenem. This is definitely an off-season fare, too. I may be stuck, but thought I'd give it a shot in case some savvy Fodorite found a way to get the price down.

Christina

That is a normal price and actually not bad at all from Chicago and including Venice, which is more expensive than flights to/from London or Paris. I wouldn't count on saving money over that price at all. If it were real late Fall (like November), yes, it might be cheaper in a year. But if it is September or October, I don't think it's bad at all.

Maybe you aren't aware of current airline flight prices to/from Europe, but that is a good fare if it doesn't involve long layovers, many flights are more like $1400.

ChgoGal

Ooh boy... not sounding good. But thanks for the reality check.

komal_moon_3

I also want to travel Paris.I also need some sogession.But i know this that you are easily go to paris.

Cathinjoetown

Not a fan of overnight trains, I don't sleep even with a couchette or compartment. So, any savings is wasted on me as I'm exhausted the next day. But, for those who don't mind It, you gain more time on the ground and can save money.

Do look at Air France Paris-Venice one-way tickets--I used an arbitrary date in 2014 and prices ranged from 50€ on a Saturday and Thursday and 500+€ on other days! My favorite budget carrier, easyjet, doesn't fly that route.

bluestar

I too think $1200 sounds pretty good for that routing, provided the times/connections aren't atrocious.

If you see an exceptionally low roundtrip fare for ORD-CDG you might consider purchasing that and then using a low-cost carrier like easyJet from Orly to Venice and return (or take the train one-way if you want). Right now easyJet hasn't loaded prices for that route beyond Sept 14 2014 but there are some €28 - €31 fares showing up in Sept (one way/person).

oedipamaas

Lately flights to/from Milan have been cheap, so look into that. Also, I'd say it's early to get the best fares for Fall 2014.

ChgoGal

Thanks, Cathinjoetown. Definitely something to keep in mind. I have my doubts, too, about that overnight train. A short flight may be better.

It's looking like $1180-$1200 for late Sept. 2014 (Chicago-Paris-Venice-Chicago).

Judy

I don't think late September is off season at all for Paris....possibly not for Venice. I think that's a good price for the airfare.

ChgoGal

Thanks, Oedipamaas. I imagine I'll be buying in Feb/Mar/early Apr... seems a good time to buy for fall. I looked at Milan... coming in the same right now as Paris/Venice for the dates I've chosen, but thanks for that tip.

ChgoGal

Thanks, Judy. Yes-you're right. It ain't off-season at all, I'm learning.

kybourbon

September is pretty much high season although June, July might be a bit more.

Without knowing how many days you have, it's hard to advise whether to use another city for flights.

The Paris/Italy overnight train has gotten poor reviews (dirty/bad food).

You might look at Chicago/Venice and Paris/Chicago (open jaw ticket, not two one way) and fly Easy Jet between Venice and Paris Orly.

Although Milan is the major airport for international flights to the states in northern Italy (not many flights Venice/US), I don't know that it would be worth the hassle for your mother since you say she's older. She would have to take transport (shuttle bus or train) from the Milan airport into Milan (about 10-15€ - 45-60 minutes travel) and then take a train from Milan to Venice (a couple of hours travel).

Cathinjoetown

bluestar,

How did you find Paris-Venice easyjet flights? Their website says they don't fly that route. I could well be doing something wrong. Maybe I need to try a spring or summer date?

ChgoGal

Thanks, kybourbon. Will try the reverse itinerary, too. Thanks for feedback on the overnight train. The idea of an overnight train sounded nice, but I've read several reviews that are mixed.

My mother is easily tired so I need to make the trip as simple as possible. I was thinking 6-7 days (not counting 2 air-travel days).

oedipamaas

Cathinjoetown, Easyjet site shows CDG>VCE, through 9/14. I'm not sure why you can access that.

ChgoGal, if you have the time and patience, just keep checking fares regularly so you'll know the fare trends and be ready to pounce on a good sale. ITA/Matrix have a useful feature (even a mobile app) that allow you to quickly do calendar searches. Sign up for price notifications: Travelocity, Kayak, etc. I really like airfarewatchdog (blog site and/or Twitter feed), since they publicize sale fares and surprise deals.

bab706

I recently booked tickets from Chicago (ORD) to Rome for $1200 RT for April 2014. I had been watching fares for about six months - and the highest fare was $1464 and the lowest fare was $1197 - all direct flights. I think the days of prices lower than $1,000 are unfortunately gone.

bluestar

Cathinjoetown, I just used the easyjet dot com site. Are you unable to select those airports from the drop-down under the 'book flights' pane? They fly from both CDG and ORY to VCE, the Orly flights seem a little cheaper from what I saw.

http://www.easyjet.com/en/routemap