roscoeG

Hey fodorites - I have a terrible dilemma!
I am 3 mos pregnant and my husband and I were planning to go to Italy for a week at the end of May/beginning to June as a fun second trimester getaway, before things start to get too uncomfy for me..

I did lots of research about Italy and finally decided that the Amalfi Coast was what we were looking for.. a few nites in Positano, a couple of nites on Capri. We love the beach/nice pools/water, relaxing, good food, some shopping and little sightseeing, but this is mostly a vacation to relax and we are splurging on hotels ( I was planning to stay at the Caesar Augustus on Capri). I have enough miles thru my credit card to fly anywhere in Europe for free (it's thru choose my rewards, if anyone is familiar with that).

Now, to the bad news. As it turns out there is NO availability at all to Naples or Rome during that time for airfare with my miles!! I am not surprised as it that is the start of the more popular time to go to Europe and I should have called sooner, but, alas, I didn't.

I have called back a few times to check in as I was told availability may change, but I'm starting to think I need to look elsewhere.

SO does anyone have any fabulous ideas of where we could travel for a week in Europe that would be romantic, relaxing, on the water, and might still have availability? I really want to fly for free!

Thanks in advance....

Intrepid1

FWIW before you give up totally on using the FF miles...have you considered flying into an alternate, including out of Italy, airport, and taking a budget flight to either Rome or Naples?

There is a realm of possibilities to include flying onward from Milan, London, Paris, and various points in Germany.

Underhill

Head for Provence.

Guy18

The French Riviera. Fly into Nice. One of my favorite cities. There are an abundance of lovely beachside hotels in Nice or just outside of Nice to choose from.

Neopolitan

I guess I'm a little confused what you're asking. It seems you're saying you have these miles you want to use but your first choice isn't available in the next couple of months so now you're asking us to suggest other places. Frankly, I think you're working backwards. Why not call and see what destinations are available (if any) and work from there?

I don't quite see the point of someone telling you about all the wonderful merits of going to Marbella or Crete, if your tickets won't take you there either.

I wish you luck, and if we knew what options are available to you, perhaps we could help guide you in the right direction.

Weadles

I agree with Intrepid's advice. There's usually a fair amount of availability if you're willing to do a roundtrip into/ out of London, then onward to Italy from there. Also try roundtrip into/out of Dublin. Don't give up! You might be able to snag something after all!

Guy18

Good thinking, Neopolitan.

Therese

Take Neopolitan's advice and just see what's available. You'll have fun anywhere, and availability is probably going to be very tight.

There are some recently active threads around on how to most effectly redeem miles. I'm guessing that this may be one of your first attempts doing so, and you'd be well-served to research the topic.

BTilke

Fly into Nice and from there to Corsica. Much less crowded than other Med islands and the Cote d'Azur.

http://tinyurl.com/fz8wj
http://www.relaischateaux.com/calarossa
http://www.casadelmar.fr/

I would be happy at either of those! Some friends went to CasadelMar for their anniversary and loved it.

norrisken

(Bodensee). You can fly into multiple destinations and take a train or drive there. 50 miles from Zurich, 140 from Munich. I'm not sure of water temperatures at the end of May. There is biking, hiking, sailing, boating, beaches, and much more. 2nd largest lake in Europe. Been there in Sept and June, but not to get wet. Just touring and seeing the gardens at Mainau.

suze

Agree that you should call and see what IS available. Like your Plan A... no sense bothering if you can't get there.

I would 1st look at alternate airports where you could then get to Rome by train or budget flight and stict with your first plan...

Or call the airlines and see what you can get. There's too many choices to consider. Most every country has either ocean beaches or lakes.

Lac Leman and the small towns outside Geneva come to mind (only because that's a region I am personally familiar with).

AllisonK

Early March I was able to find a 50,000 mile reward on United roundtrip between Seattle and London Heathrow. I then purchased my European legs out of and into London Heathrow on British Airways (I'm going to Paris, Bavaria and Italy). My dates were flexible and I had to really search hard to find anything at all, but ended up with an trip leaving on April 20 and coming back May 30. I'm fortunate in that I can take so many days. There was nothing else still in the system, at least at the 50,000 mile reward level. I think there were still 100,000 mile awards available -- you may be able to find and use one of these. One thing to be aware of if you go this route is that the baggage allowances for flying within Europe are quite a bit lower than flying transatlantic. I am limited to a total of 51 pounds checked bags and 13 pounds carry-on on British Airways, which is much less than the two 70-pound bags and 40-pound carry-on allowed by United.

BTW -- I checked other airlines too since I can get award miles on them also. I was looking in particular for 50,000 mile reward flights and these are quite scarce for international travel on most airlines.

suze

coast of Spain?
Portugal?
Italian lakes region
French riviera
Greece

yk

Agree with Neopolitan. Call back your airline and see what European destinations are available. Also, most airlines these days have partner airlines which you can use miles on. When you call back, make sure you ask the agent to check on partner airlines for availability. (For example, with Continental, you can use CO miles to get award tickets on Delta, NW, KLM etc.)

Jean

And ask the them to check "creative routing" options using all of their award partners. I.e., going somewhere you don't want to go in order to connect with a flight that takes you where you do want to go, as in fly to Cairo and then to Rome.

suze

Please let us know how this works out... we're cheering for you!

namaka

I would take a serious look at Portugal. If you look at the "Things to see and do in Lisbon", you can find just about everything you are looking for and with it being probably one of the cheaper places to visit.

roscoeG

OK I'm back with an update. I was trying to use the 45,000 mile reward with First Usa Visa which means you can only fly on Continental. Also, you can't fly any partner airlines with this particular award. Annoying, i know. So flying into Naples isn't even an option because Continental doesn't fly there. And Rome is completely booked. I didn't feel like I could ask the Continental agent to tell me every European city that was available for me dates. Or should I?

I tried London via Continental, at Intredid1's suggestion and there are flights avaiable, but the taxes are $115/pp plus we'd need a flight then to Naples, at least $100/pp on BA. Not to mention flying from Boson to Newark to London to Naples is kinda stinky. (I know I shouldn't be so demanding since it is last minute..)

I do have enough miles to use the 50,000 reward which I would book directly thru the CC so I will call today and ask them what other cities are available. I know Rome and Naples are not.

Hopefully I can work something out for Italy, but if not, I will have to look elsewhere. Thanks for all your suggestions. I will definitely look into Portugal and France. I want to stay away from Greece because we may be going there next year.

I will let you know what happens!

Intrepid1

Wherever you fly into (and only if you fly onward) please keep in mind the possibility of budget flights and I suggest you look at

www.whichbudget.com or www.skyscanner.net to find them

I have nothing against BA or BMI but sometimes you can do better, price-wise with an airline such as Easyjet.

I hope this works out for you.

nessundorma

Continental flies to Milano, which means an easy train connection to Liguria or the possibility of purchasing an air ticket to Napoli or Sicily.

I'd also look to see if Continental has any flights into Dublin, which makes for easy air connections to the cheap flights of Ryan Air.