My husband and I are planning our first trip to Italy. Does anyone have any suggestions for websites where we can find the lowest fares? We plan to go in September or October but are not tied down to a specific date hoping that we will be able to find the lowest fare possible. Is this a good time of the year to go? Thanks so much for all your thoughts and ideas…we need them!!!

September/October timeframe is perfect. The crowds are fewer and the weather can be perfect. The later you get in October into November you may get a little rain. Layering your clothes is the key. Have fun, you won't regret it!

I found mid-October perfect for lower crowds and not too much rain (although I think it usually rains a little more than I experienced - which was almost none). Mid September to mid October would be my choice if you are talking about the big three cities, especially Venice. You should get lower airfares starting in November, but you also face a greater threat of rain.

Molly, I went to Rome and Florence in mid-October and had a great time. The weather was still quite hot in Rome, and Florence was cool in the mornings and evenings and perfect during the day. I use Orbitz and Expedia to check airfares. If you are doing a roundtrip flight and your dates are flexible, you can use Expedia's Fare Compare function to find cheaper fares.

I check a lot and I always find tiss.com (flights.com) to be the cheapest.

I couldn't find any deals last year for trips to Italy. I ended up buying our tickets from Italiatour (Alitalia agency).<BR>They offer options like the 5 days in Rome trip (flight from USA/Canada, 5 days hotel double occupancy) for not much more than as a flight. Price 3 stars in Rome for 5 nights, and its a deal! Phone and they'll send you a brochure.<BR>Don't be misled - you can mix and match; we booked about half our hotels thru them, half thru the internet and phone. Also got a car rental through them - the price was comaparable. We flew into Rome, out of Milan. Open-jaw ticket was no problem.<BR>We stayed at Porta Maggiore, out of the way but a tram ride to the Collosseum or the Metro (Vic. Emm II or Termini.) Buy a 5-day transit pass. Interesting location; our room looked out on the aqueduct/city gate.<BR>The only complaint - we flew out Sept. 9th. We asked if we could change our return (Sept. 28th) from NYC/JFK to Toronto, but they wouldn't. It was a comfy flight though, the plane was half empty. And in the end, we were very happy we went to New York.

I like www.onetravel.com for airfare, but also check expedia.

<BR> Message: Molly--Just completed fairly comprehenisve search over a period of about<BR> 10 days of most of the popular web booking sites (e.g. Travelocity, Orbitz,<BR> Expedia, Qixo, Priceline, Biddingfortravel, etc. etc.) and found the best deals for<BR> air/hotel packages on GoToday. In fact they agree to beat any better deal you<BR> can find by 5%. It was also one of the most user friendly sites. (Orbitz was the<BR> worst; could not even pull up package fares/rates on its web site; had to call them to get<BR> this info, and after giving them my departure/hotel options, they promised to call<BR> back shortly w. details. It's now 3 days later, and I still haven't heard from<BR> them nor have they responded to my e-mail inquires sent prior to that.) Reps who answered phones at GoToday were super friendly and helpful,<BR> and I received prompt responses to numerous questions. They are currently<BR> offering some wonderful European air/hotel packages at very low cost.<BR>e.g.just received confirmation tonite from GoToday for 6 nites in Paris 3-star hotel (incl. bkfst, hotel/CDG transportation, and Seine cruise) and RT air fare DFW/CDG for LESS cost than the cost of only the RT air fare offered by most of the sites I mentioned above.<BR>You are wise to begin your search several months in advance of your travel; you will have more/better choices as a result.<BR> Good luck!