I got tired of watching my Ord to Fra flight prices going UP UP UP so I booked that much of my Rome spring break yesterday. I have heard about some really cheap flights within Europe but can't recall name or location. What do you Fodorites know about the cheap fares WITHIN Europe that I might book on line or else have a good friend in Frankfurt book for me.
Thanks!
Carol

Good thinking, Simpson

www.rayanair.com has Frankfurt to Rome for 15E.

I have heard of the low-cost Italian airline Volareweb. It seems very good.

A couple of websites to try are skyscanner.net and aerfares.net. These are just for airfares within Europe. Volareweb.com is the Italian low fare airlines. Their prices did not come up on either of the above websites when I needed airfare from Paris-Rome this March. I booked directly with their website. Volare does not fly from Frankfurt to Rome. I do believe Germanwings.com does. Hope this helps!

I knew I could count on my Fodorite friends to come up with some of these names! Thanks so much!

Ira, do you know if you can book on line with rayanair? That name sounds like the one my friends in Frankfurt mentioned.

Thanks.
Carol

Yes, Carol, you can book online.

Carol,

Please note that Ryanair flights do not depart from FRA, but from Hahn airport, which is a 90 min. bus ride from FRA (bus schedules and other info at http://www.hahn-airport.de/index_e.php) - so not recommended unless you're planning to spend some time in the Frankfurt area before and after the italian portion of your trip (and even then, it's a schlep out to Hahn vs. FRA). Also, Ryanair lands at Rome Ciampino airport, which I'm not familiar with, but it does seem there's a decent bus link to Termini station (see http://intershop.sysnet.it/cgi-bin/t...N/product/1105).

Unfortunately, only Alitalia and Lufthansa (the latter codesharing with Air One) serve the FRA to FCO route, but if you purchase now and are travelling round trip, you can still get a halfway decent fare. I plugged in some random dates in April and got a best rate on Alitalia of EUR 154 on www.opodo.de and USD 190 on www.expedia.com. Both prices are round trip incl. all taxes and fees. I would recommend simply booking through Expedia as prices are basically identical and the Opodo site for Germany is in German only and requires the a German mailing address for paper tickets.

Ryanair tickets can only be booked direct at:
www.ryanair.com

Hope this helps,
Andre

I've been debating train v. plane from Paris to Rome next year. I think maybe the train is cheaper, more convenient in the long run than flying. Ryanair (29.99E) flies from Paris to Rome at 21:40 arriving Rome 23:45. It flies out of Paris Beauvais and arrives at Rome Ciampino. I don't know, but I think both those airports are a fair distance from town. So I would be looking at expensive cab rides added to the expense of a hotel room for that night. The train is more expensive (around 150 E for a 2-person sleeper), but it leaves at 18:00 and arrives Rome Termini at 9:05 a.m. Plus no hotel room that night. So, I'm not sure flying is the way to go. Any other opinions?

Barb,

Neither the train nor Ryanair make any sense for your route!

Simply book a cheap flight from Orly to Rome FCO on Volareweb:
www.volareweb.com

Both airports can be reached cheaply and conveniently by public transportation.

Hope this helps,
Andre

Barb, just wanted to tone down my remark a bit - while Ryanair doesn't make sense IMO, a night train could, from a purely financial point of view, although I'm not sure a true sleeper (not couchette) only costs EUR 150. Anyway, the cheapest fare I could find on Volareweb is EUR 75 one way all in - and I'd rather sleep in a hotel bed than on a train.

Hope this helps,
Andre

Thanks Andre, certainly is more convenient than Ryanair! I will have to do a cost/benefit analysis. It would be nice to be there quickly and cheaply.

Got my airfare from Paris-Rome on Volare for 10euros+ tax. Much cheaper than the train!

><

Back to FRA-FCO, Deutsche Bahn (German train co.) has a special deal going on now for night trains to Italy for as low as EUR 29 (seat only; couchette is EUR 39; sleeper is from EUR 59). I don't believe there's a Frankfurt to Rome, but I think there's a Frankfurt-Florence or a Munich-Rome. These tickets can be found as the "SparNight" at http://www.bahn.de/pv/view/angebote/...parnight.shtml. I have no idea on how long the promotion runs. (It was running this past August when some colleagues used it to get to Vienna.) If you visit http://www.bahn.de/pv/view/service/f...isezuege.shtml you can get more info on the night trains (i.e., which routes run through Frankfurt). Unfortunately, all is in German.

Enjoy your trip,
Paul

Hi
Ciampino airport is on the SE side of Rome, about the same distance from the city as FCO.

The train into Roma TE takes 13 min.

Umm.... Ira,

As stated, I've never been to Ciampino airport, but I'm certain there's no train station on site - you need to take a bus to Ciampino train station first. Bus takes 15 min. but runs only every 30 min or so. Seems to me the bus straight to Termini, which is timed to coincide with Ryanair departures & arrivals, would be the easiest, especially with luggage.

Anyway, further info on the bus to Ciampino station (with continuing service to an outlying metro station) at:
http://www.cotralspa.it/Orari/cot_01004B_r03.pdf

Granted, I would certainly consider flying into Ciampino - it's the other airports the posters above would be using - Hahn and Beauvais - which I would avoid if at all possible.

Hope this helps,
Andre

Just a word of thanks to all who have posted information on cheap transportation between Frankfurt and Rome area. I have emailed a dear friend in Frankfurt and I think maybe he and his wife will be traveling the same rounte as I will, and they may book all of us together! Then it won't matter which airport, as they are close to the either FRA or the one 90 minutes by bus from there.
In any case, I have lots of things to check on the internet now.
Thanks heaps!!!
Carol

Thank you for the correction, Andre. I seem to have left out a line in my posting.