So....I was playing around with some dates on Kayak.com yesterday and I came across open jaw tickets from ORF-LON and then back from MAD-ORF for $590. The dates are last week of March to first week of May 2011. Our initial plan was to go in Sept-Oct 2011.

My questions are.....Should I just go ahead and go in March? Or would Sept-Oct be a better time of year. (Usual tickets are $990.) If March, then when is the best time to book my flights? Will it be cheaper during the 90 day window or is this the lowest it'll probably get?

And then lastly (sorry for all the questions) If we're going during this time I'll want to be in Rome for Easter (I'm Catholic) so when would be the best time to book accomodations and how would I go about getting tickets for all the Holy Week Masses?

Thanks in advance everyone!!!

Where exactly do you plan to travel in Europe?

Great deal!! Cheap tickets from ORF are hard to find.

london

paris, albi, nice

madrid, barcelona, seville, granada (maybe rota)

rome, venice, cinque terre, and florence

I don't think a $400 savings is worth considering for what appears to be a 4-6 week trip.

That's a great price and springtime is a good time to travel. It will be cooler than in Sept/Oct. I would book the flights now- don't wait. I also suggest booking the hotels/apartments now.

You might want to spend some time in the countryside while in Italy during the later part of your trip. Tuscany and Umbria are beautiful in the spring.

Bardo1: well since there will be 2 of us that would equal about $800. we were thinking we could spend it on better accommodations or at some good meals.

zoecat: would you suggest just skipping Venice and doing Tuscany instead. I have set aside about 3 days for Venice.

Kay,

It's still a question of priorities.

Sept-Oct IS a better time of year to go - that's why it is more expensive to fly there then. Supply and demand.

Assuming the budget is fixed. To me (though not to everyone), having better weather for such a long trip is easily worth cutting back on a few 4* dining outings and going for a cheaper hotel in a few of your cities.

On a day-to-day basis, that $800 is about $20/day extra (or $10/day per person) for better weather and more daylight for the long duration of your trip.

Whether or not that extra amount is worth it to you?? - you and your friend need to answer that for yourself.

<<zoecat: would you suggest just skipping Venice and doing Tuscany instead. I have set aside about 3 days for Venice.>>

It all depends on your interests. You will want a car for seeing the Tuscan/Umbria countryside- are you okay with driving? Try to spend more than 3 days in the countryside.

Personally, I would skip Florence and keep Venice (and try to visit for more than 3 days). But that's just me- I love Venice and feel it is the most unique city I have ever visited. I also enjoy the lack of cars.

Maybe it depends on how you will be getting back to MAD or wherever your next stop is after Italy. The money you save on your RT plane ticket may be lost if it costs too much to get back to MAD for your return flight. Do check into getting back to MAD from the cities in Italy- it may help with your decision on which cities to visit in Italy.

The last week of March is tradionally spring break for alot of the Midwest-colleges seem to have earlier spring breaks than the high schools and elementary. Easter is in the middle of April next year so you will then be competing for hotels,standing in lines,etc. with the Eastern seaboard crowd on their breaks.
I love traveling in the spring(early way before Easter) as the flights aren't packed;hotels cost less and tickets for special things like the Vatican or museums are easier to get OR after the kids go back to school in September.
As someone who flies to Europe everyweek, the flights have been packed since spring break and only now are starting to have a few empty seats.I think that you would have more fun and "breathing room" going way before Easter or September.
`

Hi Kaydoll,

I'm not sure about sept/oct being a better time; we often have lovely weather in March, and as we were leaving Venice on april 1st a couple of years ago the sun was shining brightly.

i know it's not the same as being in Rome for Easter sunday, but you could try Venice instead - we went to the easter sunday service in san marco, and though both it and Venice were crowded, they weren't the madness that is Rome at EAster.

Then you could make your way to Rome after they've all gone.

in the time you've got [are you really free to travel for 5 -6 weeks? lucky you!] you might think of spending a longer time in one or two places, renting an apartment rather than staying in hotels. it would give you some time to breath and gather your thoughts between all your travelling about.

also i would suggest not being tooo ambitions - it's easy to try to cram in as much as you can which runs the risk of everything merging into one great blur.

I think that with flying into Lodon and out of Madrid, I'd arrange it thus:

london, Paris, Venice, Tuscany, Rome, turin, Nice, Barcelona, Granada, Seville, Madrid. all by train, as you then see the countryside, and by the time you've got to the airport, checked-in, got through security, been delayed, etc. it'd be easier to get on the train.

I still think that's probably too many destinations. you could fly from Rome to Barcelona, which would be better, IMHO.

you might like to think about staying in a little town or agritorismo in Tuscany and renting an apartment in Rome and or Nice. also, you could hire a car in granada and explore andalucia for a week or so, ending up in Seville, which would be lovely in the spring.

have a great trip, whatever you decide,

regards, ann

I am Catholic also, but due to the chaos and crowds the last place I would want to be is in Vatican City on Easter. Enjoy the longer days and shoulder season of Sept.

I can only speak of my experience, but I spent months - a little under a year - watching flights from RDU into Europe. They were cheapest for my September 2010 trip in, if I recall correctly, March/April 2010. They did NOT decrease in that 3 month window prior to September where I have typically seen sales.

My advice - if you found cheap flights and can get them, I would, especially if they are in the cost range that would have been acceptable in the past few years. Now, flights seem to only be increasing in cost.

I have been in Venice at Easter, it was wonderful to attend Mass in San Marco, and the basilica was not not crowded. BUT, the areas around San Marco were crazy, clogged with visitors trying to get through the very narrow streets.

Update:: B/F and I would really like to be in Rome during Easter (yes, yes i know. crazy. but as Catholics we'd like to experience it at least once in our lives) So!, I've just booked tickets from ORF-LON Heathrow and return from MAD, Spain-ORF for 7 weeks. Mar.23-May 11. Now on to itinerary. Thanks so much everyone and hopefully I will be hearing more from you all in regards to the itinerary which will be a different thread. I'm so excited!!!!

Kaydoll - yep you're crazy.

but if it means a lot to you, and you can organise it, why not?

IME people rarely regret doing things like this, but they do regret NOT doing them.

Can I suggest trying to spread your trip across EAster sunday itself? the week after will be mad, but it won't be as mad as the week before. when we went, we arrived on Easter sunday [no ,we're not catholics] and were pleasantly surprised to find everything open. but the monday was completely different - many shops and attractions [not all] were closed, which was a bit difficult as we were in an apartment. but by the tuesday, things were more or less back to what I suppose passes for normal in Rome.

WEd to WEd would be good, i think.

you probably can't start looking too early for accommodation for this period in Rome, whether you want a hotel or apartment.

I agree - nail down the Rome portion of your lodgings NOW.

annhig- thats exactly what i am doing wed-wed. right now i'm just trying to find an apartment in the budget. found one in the Colosseum area that's affordable but don't know about the neighborhood. any advice? book or avoid? trying to find something less than $115/night. any recommendations?!?!

hi Kaydoll,

I put a recommendation your other thread [in which you talking about going to rome in sept/oct, right?] for where we stayed in Rome in February - www.lacasadiclelia.webs.com. they are still charging €100 per night for 2 people which would be a great rate if you could get it for Easter. the apartment is privately owned and in a very convenient position, about a 15 minute walk from st. Peter's in one direction, and 10 mins from the piazza navona in the other. lots of great bars, cafes, shops, restaurants, etc. in the area.

we did stay near the Colloseum the first time we stayed in Rome and though there's a lot to be said for it, and if you walk north you'll find some very good restaurants etc. we found that we spent a lot of time away from the area, rather than in it.

there's a lot of good advice about finding cheap accommodation on your other thread too. you'll probably do better with owner run places than agencies.