MFS_7

This will be our 1st trip to Italy, with our two (21- 24 year old) "kids." We have some great advice from an 'in country' expert, but this is so hard to plan! I imagine I will ask more details later but for now, we seek your advice on booking plane tickets from NY.

(with a potential wrinkle that one traveler might be based in LA by this time so I have to figure out how to book this ticket, possibly get his later, or book it as a refundable /changeable fare)

We can go anytime from May 7 - end of May; have about 9 days. Have "narrowed" it down to Amalfi first, then in whatever order makes the most sense, Rome / some Florence +/or something Tuscan countryside (understand how vast Tuscany is!).

Sadly, we decided we probably can't include Venice in this timeframe.

Thinking about these possible multi-city plane/train itineraries, with eye toward costs as well as maximizing our time. Because we are completely flexible on dates, I would appreciate some wisdom on that as well, for costs as well as best times to see things.

Going for mix of sheer beauty, history, some art, some night fun for the kids.

Overnight flight NY to Naples. (the LA traveler has much further to go obviously!)

Days 1-3 in the Amalfi region.

Next possible moves, where I need your advice ---

Variation 1: Train to Rome, Rome for a few days, then out to Florence / Tuscany area, depart from Florence.

But that is a MUCH higher fare. Departing from Rome seems to save about 200-300 per ticket.

So variation 1-a: come back to Rome after F., and depart from Rome. (Don't need to "see" Rome again, so is a train from Florence direct to airport on final practical?)

Variation 2: From Amalfi / Naples, take high-speed train right to Florence? (big chunk of time mid-trip is a bummer but does it make sense to loop the trip this way?)

Base there for a few days, then to Rome for final 2 days, depart home from Rome.

Thank you in advance for this very basic advice!

frencharmoire

It might be that the $200 per ticket catches up with you almost how you try to do this intinerary in a short time, so you might think about first and foremost what you would most enjoy in terms of ordering your trip, and then see if you can economize a bit somewhere else.

If you haven't considered this, think about flying to Rome first and immediately taking the train to Florence (or getting a connecting flight to land in Florence first. Then Rome and then Naples/Amalfi. Can you depart from Naples? Or, since there are 4 of you, check out the cost of a taxi/driver from the Amalfi coast to Rome airport. If the number comes in under $500, it might be an attractive option.

If you decide to visit the Tuscan countryside instead of Florence, you can also think about renting car in Sorrento and driving there. It's a long drive that will also consume the better part of a day in the middle of your trip, but with a car you can find ways to make it an interesting drive. Personally, if I were not going to Florence and wanted to experience nice Italian countryside, I would go to Sabine hills, closer to Rome.

neckervd

Train journeys between Salerno - Naples - Rome - Florence are extremely easy. Trains are fast and run at least every hr (most of the time every 30 min).
You can book them at any time, even shortly before their departure, but at standard fares only. For discounted fares, you may have to book long ahead.
So, before comparing flight fares, you may have a look at train fares:
Example Naples - Florence, random date February 27th:
standard fare: 74 EUR (can be got an any time)
economy web fare: 55 EUR (must be booked ahead, no change/refund possible)
super economy fare: 36 EUR (must be booked well ahead no change/refund possible)
The corresponding fares from Rome ar 45, 35 and 30 EUR.

Tuscany: Tuscany begins some 100 miles north of Rome. The southern part of the area can be reached from Rome by cheap local trains (for example Rome - Orbetello 10 EUR, no reservation needed).

May be you will define the places you will visit in Tuscany (in addition to Florence) and then fix an itinerary and check the train fares.
http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en

BTW: the main airport of Tuscany is at Pisa, a short train ride from Florence
Milan Malpensa airport is 3 hrs by train (60 EUR standard fare) from Florence.

MFS_7

Thank you, those are excellent suggestions. The NY-Rome flight is direct which is appealing of course. Then Naples-NY looks like a good return option. Will also consider that idea of a driver back to Rome airport from AC.

Once we decide on how to structure the flights we can consider the options within that framework.

dweislaw

I know this is not necessarily consistent with your current plans, but Emirates has a sale (good through January 16) - JFK-Milan $799 for 2, with some blackout times. The fare is available April 20- May 14. I don't know whether that represents a savings over your Rome flights. There are numerous Milan- Rome or Milan- Naples flights and the trains are a great option.

FuryFluffy

200-300$ per ticket is a lot, so if I were you I'll grab that.

For 9 days I think Amalfi region and Rome + day trips from Rome is quite enough. But if you really want to include Florence, why not.

For the date, my advice is: as soon as possible. May 7 is very nice to travel in southern Europe, if you don't swim in the ocean (if you do, then end May might be warmer). The more it goes towards end May, the more crowded those cities will get.

MFS_7

Good tips, thank you everyone. We are simplifying this to RT Rome tickets (best deals and non stop). Landing and going right to AC for 1st leg, then to Rome for 2nd leg, with day trips to maybe local hills , or maybe train up to Florence if we are ambitious!

If anyone has a good suggestion for how to deal with buying a ticket the one person who "might be in LA, might still be in NY" I am all ears! Thinking I should buy that one refundable; and possibly on a flight that connects in JFK meeting up with us.

ellenem

However you plan this trip, if you fly home from Rome, then put all your time in Rome at the end of the trip since you will be there anyway.

I believe in May, Delta may also have nonstop flights from JFK to Pisa on certain days of the week.

You could book the four JFK-FCO-JFK roundtrips. Then book LA-JFK-LA as one roundtrip ticket. The problem with this is if the LA flight has delays--it would be on a separate ticket and not connect to the onward European flight--no recourse if LA traveler misses the flight to Rome. Therefore, if doing this it would be best to allow plenty of connection time--even a day--between flights in case of delays.

MFS_7

Thank you ellenem, that makes total sense!! he can fly in a day earlier to be safe. and we can book that RT from LA later.