You have a complicated itinerary in a short time....one suggestion is to fly into Barcelona....and transfer to Girona (1 hour by bus). From there you have cheap Ryanair flights to Malta...spend some days there, then fly from Malta to Pisa also on Ryanair. These flights are now available for as low as 6 Euros per person...but careful if you have a lot of luggage.

From Pisa, visit Florence, or Rome or Milano etc. Then get to Greece by cheap airline (Easyjet, Ryanair, Clickair etc) , or skip Greece and go directly to Paris and fly home from there. (An "open jaw ticket" is often the same or less than a standard RT to one European city. Eg arrive BCN depart PAR)

You will need to do some research to keep this all within a reasonable budget. It will also depend on when exactly you are going....but the fares currently are pretty low through the early winter. Good luck. Rouss

Is it smarter to just book a tour(train and air) or will we find better deals booking everything on our own??

I don't think you'll find a tour that goes to Italy, Greece, Paris, and Malta in one trip. Planning and booking yourself will reduce expenses for four people.

First you should decide where in Greece and Italy you want to go. That will help with the logistics.

thanks. I know it's a little overwhelming. We want to see so much in a small amount of time. I think we will end up spending to much time getting from place to place instead of enjoying ourselves. I've narrowed it down to flying into Paris. I'm thinking of just planning train travel from there. It is going to be cheaper to just go on our own. **Does anyone know what is the best transportation to Malta if we are in Sicily?

When I visited Malta there were people taking boats to and from Sicily. It's only 90 miles. You can try these sites for info.

http://www.aboutmalta.com/

http://www.visitmalta.com/

I'm glad you realize that it will take a lot of time getting to four different countries. It will be a long train ride from Paris to Sicily. Paris to Rome is between 12 and 15 hours and from Rome to Palermo is another 11 hours plus connection time in Rome. You might want to think about flying or at least check the prices and schedules.

We flew to Malta and had time there (loved it) then flew from Malta to Catania in Sicily with Malta Air. The flight was about 25 mins. There are quite a few cheap airlines that fly to Malta, try www.flycheapo.com or www.whichbudget.com These sites won't give you all the airlines, it's also worth checking the Malta airport website. There is also a boat from Pozzallo in Sicily but we found the timing difficult for our trip, from memory it ran once a day but might run more often in peak season.
Kay

If you haven't been to Malta before, there's a lot you can do that would interest your sons, I'd think; WWII sites and Crusader things seem to hold a fascination for most that age. So maybe, since you have to go to Malta anyway, you could spend eliminate one of the other countries for now? Here's a list for Malta that might be helpful: http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/maltas-100-best.cfm

THe others have already given you good logistics advice. I'll just add that I'd go according to where you could get your cheapest flight to (quite possibly Paris) and then the budget airlines from there, as your time is limited.

Hi t-c, just back from a wonderful holiday on Malta. I can still taste those delicious pastizzi on my back molars!. Took the Virtu ferry to Pozzallo in Sicily, which is the shortest ferry ride to Sicily at about 1.5 hours, depending on sea conditions. They also have ferry services to/from Catania-Valletta taking about 3 hours. The trip back from Pozzallo to Valletta took some 20 minutes longer due to heavy seas. Anti sea-sick pills are available free at the snack bar, . Virtu ferries depart from the Pinto Pier at Valletta. You can check schedules, prices etc on their website http://www.virtuferries.com

We booked, paid for and printed our tickets on the internet. The ferries are sleek and new, and interestingly, built in Western Australia; Virtu plan on expanding with a bigger craft and increased services in 2010.

Also just a heads-up if you think you and your boys would enjoy the wonders of the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum ... you need to book well in advance, as visitor numbers are restricted to 80 a day and sometimes they are booked months in advance. There was a youngster about 12 with his Dad in our small group, and he was totally blown-away by the experience .. as were we! Here's the website for info, where you can also book and buy your tickets. http://www.heritagemalta.org/hmshop/hmshop.html

Thanks everyone. Great info and very helpful. I am just watching flights to Paris. Hoping for a seat sale of some sort. the taxes and fuel charges are a killer. My husband and i are thinking we have to forget about Greece this trip. Yes my boys would love seeing the sites in Malta so we should just enjoy.
**Has anyone found an economical rental or apartment in Paris for families?