shortcake05479

I'm going to Italy in late October and don't have my plane tickets yet. Have been waiting and checking fares for a few months hoping that they will go down...but at this point, I'm not sure if they will go down to the point that is affordable for everyone going on my trip (ideally under $700). Have looked into fall fare sales but the dates are always either for just before or just after we are going, so the sale doesn't apply

Details: Planning to fly from Phila to Pisa...then returning Rome to Phila. However, I'm thinking now it may be a good idea to fly PHL-London, and then London to Pisa on Ryanair, home: Rome - London on Ryanair, London-PHL.

Checked fares PHL-London and prices were about $200 less than PHL-Italy. Adding in the Ryanair flights, it still comes out to less.

Has anyone else ever done this? Was it a pain?

thanks!

Patrick

Having been looking at some pretty remarkable London/Italy fares from BMI and JetBlue, I agree it is sure worth checking out. But I wouldn't do it if it involves changing airports in London, and I'd approach with caution times and which airports in Italy.

Catbert

Do the flights go in and out of the same London airport? If so, I'd do it. If not, I'd forget it. Going from one London airport to the next is expensive and bothersome.

shortcake05479

That's something I'd have to find out when looking into it more. Was thinking about staying one night in London either before or after leaving for Italy, so in that case a different airport wouldn't really matter.

JenV

Hi shortcake, I was in the same situation as you and decided to save about $300 by purchasing tickets to London and seperate tix to Rome on Alitalia. Both flights use Heathrow, which to me was crucial as other posters have mentioned. I have been watching fares for months and decided this was the only way to get tix for under $1,000. Also, make sure you leave plenty of time between flights.

Patrick

shortcake, while I don't want to rain on your parade about adding a night to London, you might want to think about that. You'll probably end up spending plenty getting from one airport to the city and then the very next day spend more getting to the other airport. London will probably be the most expensive city you visit (way more than anywhere in Italy), so add in your hotel, meals, and activities. When you're done ask yourself if you really saved anything over flying direct to Italy -- or if your goal changed along the way.

I mean if you enjoy London, great, but frankly spending an extra night there to save money on airfare somehow doesn't compute.

WillTravel

I've done this twice on recent trips. I used Priceline to get the 3* Holiday Inn Ariel for about $40 USD + taxes and fees. Then I went from Heathrow to the hotel (free public bus if you are within a specified perimeter), dropped my stuff off, went into London for the day and evening, and then flew out the next morning. There's no need for a London stay to that expensive if you don't want it to be. It's easy to commute into central London also.

The advantage for me is that I don't have to endure an expensive two-connection itinerary, and I get to enjoy London too.

sbc98grad

We have booked a similar series of flights for our trip leaving in about a week and a half, though we are staying in London for four days in between the flights each way. It certainly saved us a bundle. Coming and going from different airports didn't matter since we'll be in the area for several days between flights. Be sure you understand the baggage allowance (or rather limits) on Ryanair, too. I'll post regarding how this goes for us when we return, but that will be too late to help you much, I suspect.

aggiemom

IMHO, I wouldn't bother changing plans just to save $200. Unless you are a very hardy traveler your time in London could be a jet-lagged blur of buses/hotel room/airport. But I don't travel well - wish I was because I love to travel. It takes me a while to recover.

travelatte

Shortcake,
We just returned from a trip to Italy. We flew BA to London Heathrow and took Easyjet from Gatwick to and from Venice. The transfer to Gatwick was very easy. It took about an hours drive, so you need to factor that in as well. We also stayed in London for 2 nights on the return. I love London and was excited to be able to spend some time there. Yes, London is expensive, but so are Venice and Rome. We travelled with our 2 kids as well.

I'd check the site that list all the budget carriers. I'm not sure of what it is, maybe www.whichbudget.com
If you search the archives you will find it. Look into which airports are used.

Easy Jet worked out fine for us, but we primarily chose to fly from London, because freq. flyer tickets would only get us to London.

If it fits your budget and timing better, I'd do it.

Good travels,
Travelatte

rex

It can make sense - - IF you would enjoy a day or two in England (doesn't have to just be London) coming and/or going. In fact, I might not think of it as reducing airfare - - just subsidizing a bonus day or two in England.

Best wishes,

Rex

ira

Hi S,

Ryanair flies out of Stansted to Pisa and out of Rome Ciampino to Stansted.

Getting from LGW or LHR to Stansted is a pain. Ryanair has weight limitations on luggage that are stricter than the major carriers.

http://airtravelcenter.com/onetrav.htm
has PHL/PSA on Air France and Rome/PHL on alitalia and AF, both via Paris, for $784.

Is this close enough for you?

The cheapest fare RT PHL/LHR is at www.mobissimo.com - $546 - via Washington, Dulles.

You could also do RT PHL/FCO via Paris on AF for $553 and take the train to Florence.
See www.trenitalia.com for train schedules and fares.

metellus

"shortcake, while I don't want to rain on your parade about adding a night to London, you might want to think about that. You'll probably end up spending plenty getting from one airport to the city and then the very next day spend more getting to the other airport."

Buzz. Completely wrong. You can take the tube to/from Heathrow for about $6-7. You can take the Southern train to/from Gatwick for about $10.

" London will probably be the most expensive city you visit (way more than anywhere in Italy), so add in your hotel, meals, and activities."

True.

"When you're done ask yourself if you really saved anything over flying direct to Italy -- or if your goal changed along the way."

If you are flying alone, I wouldn't do it. If you are flying withnyou spouse and talking $400, then I'd do it.

One last throught. Check fairs to Shannon. You can fly to Milan on Easy Jet with no change in airport. There may be other options from Shannon or Dublin as well.

Patrick

Again, let me say I'm not being negative about London. I NEVER go to Europe without a stay in London (but I'd think twice about the extra efforts and expense just for a single night that is also taking away from time of the main vacation which is Italy). If you can spend a few days in London, by all means do it. But planning a single night when you have just arrived jetlagged to begin with is another matter, especially when it has stolen a full day from what I assume is already a full schedule for Italy.

But I think many of you are missing a point in the original post, "affordable for EVERYONE going on my trip". Clearly shortcake isn't talking about traveling alone or even just with a spouse. We're apparently talking about a sizeable group here. And I still feel that the cost plus the logistics of transporation, including the extra time of early checkin the next day at another airport, really warrants serious consideration before doing this for the sole purpose of "saving money".

Doble_Vergasser

Are y'all (can your group) fly mid week, as opposed to weekend?

You might have a larger group than normal. Are you getting pricing as a group of 6 or 8 people or are you pricing this as 2 or three people?

I don't know about Philadelphia, but I don't think that in October,from Atlanta, $700 per person round trip to Italy would be hard (my bet would be $600).

In 2002 the consolidators were a good deal now the dollar savings appears to be less.

Good luck

KiTchMe

It's been pointed out in one of the replies here about the luggage limit. It's very important not to overlook that, because it could be very costly. Luggage limit could be decisive for you in choosing direct flight vs. stay over in London. Luggage limit on flights over Atlantic are almost never a problem when travelling, but the same luggage that you brought with you on flight from Philly to London might be way over limit for the flight from London to Pisa via Ryanair. It could cost you way more than the ticket itself. I recommend that you check luggage limits for all the airlines involved in your trip. Follow this link for more info on "excess baggage", it might help you out.
http://www.airtravel-forum.com/forum...ht_598069.html

Hope you work out the best deal.

suze

Why not do a straight Rount-Trip ticket Phili/Rome? I'm all for open jaw usually, but can't you go to Pisa on the train from Rome?

For me I would never get involved in 2 airports + 1 overnight in London to *in theory* save a little money... when I want to go to Italy.

The baggage limits on the low cost airlines are something you really need to deal with in considering the alternate plan.

Brahmama

Hi Shortcake,
We are doing something like this.
We are flying DFW - London in October - but we are staying 3 to 6 nights (don't know yet) and then flying to Italy - either Milano or Rome.
When we depart Italy we fly from Rome to Zurich and then non-stop back to DFW.
We're flying American and the total cost per person with all THOSE TAXES (!) was$759.15 - but yours should be cheaper flying from Phila.
Good luck - we love our flights. Have seats booked and AA has the 2 seat configuation on each side.
Carol

WillTravel

It would be worth writing down all the details of each possibility to see the times and costs exactly.

I had a couple of other factors that led me to choose the method of going through London. If I go to London, my flight is late in the evening, so I have a full day at work or home. I also avoided any very-early-morning flights, which I really dislike. Luggage limits weren't a problem in the slightest for me. Also, on the return, I figured it was more reasonable to return to work immediately the next day after a single 10-hour flight than it would be after an exhausting 17-20-hour set of three flights.

That said, next trip I'm not using this method, but that's because I got a very cheap ticket to Madrid.

shortcake05479

Whew! Thanks for all the responses

Yes, I am traveling with a larger group (6 friends, besides myself). All of us are single and in our 20s, and then we have two 17 year-olds, so the budget is tight...

I checked out fares in and out of Rome, but they're about the same price as going into Pisa and out of Rome.

We're flying to Italy on a Monday, flying home on a Saturday, but the dates aren't flexible. I know it always costs more to fly on a weekend.

Didn't think about luggage limit, that will be important especially with a bunch of girls, lol