Hello Everyone,

I'm planning to take a month-long trip to Italy this October. There is actually a long (and I think interesting) story about my trip and my motivitation, but I will share that in another thread when I have more time.

Anyway, until a couple of days ago, I was planning to just fly straight into Rome and then use the trains to get around the country. The current rates for a flight to Rome from JFK are in the $1000-$1100 range.

Then, I learned that I could fly into Munich and save between $500-$600 on airfare. This sounded like a great idea and I figured it would also enable me to add another city to my itinerary. Ideally, I would spend 3-4 days in Munich and then train down to Italy, starting with Milan.

But then I started looking at hotel rates for Munich using Hotels.com. They range from $200-$400 per night for even a semi-decent hotel. (I was hoping to spend more along the lines of $70-$100 per night.) As it turns out, the reason for this is that I would be arriving in Munich smack-dab in the middle of Oktoberfest.

So now I'm faced with a tough decision. Do I pay the more expensive airfare and fly straight into Rome? Or should I go with the flight into Munich and then hope/pray I can find a moderately priced hotel in the area?

Alternatively, I could fly into Munich and then get right on a train to Milan. And since I'd be flying out of Munich as well I could simply spend 3-4 days in Munich at the end of my trip (end of October) when hotel fares are considerably lower (according to the fares calendar utility on Hotels.com). I guess the only reason this strikes me as a less than attractive option is that after an eight hour flight to Munich, I'm not sure that I want to then spend several more hours (as many as 10????) on a train.

Would appreciate any feedback that you all can provide. I've been to Germany a couple of times, but I must confess that I'm relatively naive when it comes to European travel. Also, if anyone is aware of any other great flight deals for Italy (or the countries bordering it --- France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, etc.), I'd love to hear them.

Thanks everyone!

Look into flying into Zurich, taking a couple of days to see that beautiful city then take the train through the Alps to Milan or wherever. We did that, going the opposite way, and the ride is beautiful.

Try priceline for the Hotel. Even at 200 per night it seems that it would be a wash.

That is a great idea about flying into Zurich. I would love to see Switzerland and Orbitz has flights starting at $572 (though with all of the taxes and surchages, it pushes it up to $853). Still, it would be better than paying $1100.

Hi S,

If you decide to end your visit in Munich, www.hotel-uhland.de has singles for as low as $80.

It is a very nice hotel.

Oktoberfest rate is 140E.

Starbuck,

Why couldn't you see if you can get one of those cheapo inter-European flights between Munich and Rome?

From the Munich Airport, you can take a train (with one transfer at Munich East station) to either Innsbruck or Salzburg (each about 2:20 minutes). You could also stop at Prien am Chiemsee on the Salzburg line (about 1 hour from airport), location of Castle Herrenchiemsee:
http://www.tourismus.prien.de/en/main/home.htm

From Innsbruck it's about 3 1/2 hours to Verona.

Lufthansa flights (when I looked last week) were only $160 Round Trip from anywhere in Germany.
(I think the choice really depends on if you want to see Munich or not...if not...just get a flighgt down to Rome)

Have you checked the prices of training from Munich to ROme?