at12am

Hi, I will be going to Florence from Toronto in late March 2008. Stay a few days in Florence and rent a car to tour Tuscany for about a week. What is the most economical and sensible way to travel? I've heard traveling to London then to Bologna via Ryanair then to Florence via train is cheaper, but will it extend the traveling time too long that it is not worth the savings? I am planning to return from Florence with my friends after touring Tuscany.

WillTravel

I'd say it depends on whether or not you have any interest in stopping in London. I wouldn't use Ryanair, but would use EasyJet to fly from London Gatwick to Pisa, and then take the bus or train from Pisa. However, many options exist at www.whichbudget.com .

What price can you get for a ticket to London? Are you willing to consider Zoom or Canadian Affair? Would you be interested in doing the same sort of thing, only landing in Paris? Or you could even do an open-jaw landing in London, departing from Paris, with Italy in between, or some such combination.

Another option to reduce prices possibly is flying from Buffalo.

If you decide not to use budget airlines, and want to use a major airline that flies to Italy, often Rome is cheaper than Florence.

tedgale

You can fly direct from Toronto to Rome on Air Canada, which had a seat sale recently and may do so again. From Rome Termini it is 1.5 hr non-stop train to Florence SMN station.

I cannot imagine flying to London and taking a connecting flight, then a train, when a direct flight is available.

Yes, Air Canada likes to route seat-sale Toronto-origin passengers via Zurich or Frankfurt rather than putting them on a direct flight to Rome. But there WERE seat-sale tickets for the direct flight in March, when I canvassed that option a couple of weeks ago.

Apres_Londee

Don't know if this helps, but Air Canada is having a sale on flights to London that ends tommorrow. $99 each way (round trip totals about $550) from Pearson to Heathrow. Valid for travel between
November 15, 2007 to December 12, 2007; and between December 24, 2007 to March 4, 2008; and between March 22, 2008 to April 30, 2008.

at12am

So many options! I think a route with one change works best with me. Figuring the connecting terminals and wait time with luggage in hand can be a daunting task. I won't be stopping over other city on the way, like Paris or London for shopping.

I figure $800 for a return trip (flight (and train if train is needed) would be a good price. Flight from Toronto to Florence via Rome seems enticing. Zoom or Air Canada better? Any flight from Rome to Florence or is it better to take the train? If train is better, do I need to buy ticket before hand or on the spot is OK? Is the train station at the airport? Thanks.

WillTravel

You can buy the train ticket from Rome to Florence at the airport. I don't think flights between Rome and Florence are available - the distance is just too short. Basically you have 30 minutes on the Leonardo Express from FCO to Rome Termini, and then 90 minutes from Rome Termini to Florence Santa Maria station.

Zoom is no use if you aren't going to the UK or Paris.

The cheapest airline I see for you right now is Delta, but that requires changing in New York.

at12am

Thanks! I will look into the combined cost (flights, bus and train) versus (flights only, which is about $1100) and see which is the better deal ($ and time wise).

WillTravel

Delta from Toronto to Rome via NYC is about $870 last I checked, for late March dates. The cost of the train ticket from FCO airport to Florence will be about 40 Euros each way per person.

Zoom to the UK or Paris is in the $650 range. Then allow about $100 per person each way for the flight to Pisa or other nearby city plus the bus ride. But using Zoom (or Air Transat) basically demands you build in a lot of extra time, because both are frequently delayed due to plane issues, which is why I'd suggest an overnight stay.

travelingmad

Whichever option you choose, keep in mind the possibility of delays having an effect on you catching your connection(s), and the trouble and hassle of having to run to catch the darn connections in environments you are not familiar with.

After having travelled extensively using differents means, I can assure you that a saving of 200$ usually does not worth the hassle.

Also, if you decide to go with multiple connections, make sure the flight plans are proposed that way and that you do not buy each ticket independently from one another.

The reason is that if you buy the tickets independently from one another and if you do miss the connection (for whatever reason), you will have no other choice but to buy a new ticket.

If, however, the tickets you bought were proposed that way (through connections), the airlines with which you departed from Canada will be responsible to put you on another flight.

Finally, don't forget the time you waste catching those connections. Sometimes, it can amount to a day less for visiting...

It rarely worth the hassle, IMHO.

Hana

I agree with the other posters above regarding the risks and time delays associated with multiple travel providers. Hopefully you can find something that works for you.

In spite of my statement above, we've been using a combination of Zoom & either Ryanair or Easyjet for the past four years. The main reason is we are situated in Western Canada where there are limited direct flights to Europe. A single flight lands us in either Paris or London and then we hop on a plane to Italy.

So far we've been lucky - no major delays or cancellations - we typically allow for four hours to make our connections. We save $$, fly in premium economy and the overall travel time in most cases has been equivalent to flying with other carriers with multiple stops.

bardo1

I agree that the non-stop to Rome is a best bet.

Take the 90 minute Eurostar train from Rome to Florence - it will likely be less time than waiting for a connecting flight and SO much more pleasant.

at12am

I tried a few sites for tickets to Florence or Rome. The fare to both cities are similar (at the most 20-30$ diff).
Alitalia has no direct flight (via Milan to Rome or Florence with layover about 2 hours), fare is about $960. Air Canada outbound is via Frankfurt to Rome (no florence)(direct too $$) and inbound direct, fare is $980.
I think flight plus train post no economical savings over flight alone but training do give a better experience. I just have to wait the pros and cons. Thanks guys.