yk

Okay, this is one of those crazy Saturday night ideas.

I'm tempted to *try* to attend the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro Italy in August. If we go, it seems that it'll make sense to visit Bologna & Ravenna.

I know the closest airport is Bologna, but when I tried pricing out plane tickets from Boston, I'm getting $1500 for economy. This is ridiculously expensive, esp when I'm seeing other Fodorites posting incredibly cheap US-European airfares.

I tried pricing Venice ($1400) and Milan ($1000). All of these are just way more than what I'm willing to pay. (AA/Oneworld does not fly to Florence).

For those of you who have been to Pesaro, or Bologna, or Ravenna, how did you end up getting there? Just wondering what other options I have that can make this more affordable.

ellenem

I visited Pesaro a year ago. My approach to Pesaro was influenced by my first stop, which was Florence to visit with a friend. Our plan was then to head south to Puglia. Interestingly enough, the route with the least train connections is to go north from Florence to Bologna, and connect there to a direct IC that heads to Rimini on the east coast and then follows the coast all the way to our destination in Molfetta. We decided to break our trip in Psearo for two days so that we could also visit Urbino, which is easily accessible from Pesaro by bus. The IC train from Bologna stopped in Pesaro.

Because I live in NYC, I took advantage of the Delta's direct flight to Pisa. I was flying in March, so prices were reasonable, but even better, I was able to cash in mileage for first class seats. Florence airport might be a reasonable option as well.

Click on my screen name to read the recently completed trip report.

Dionysius

"This is ridiculously expensive, esp when I'm seeing other Fodorites posting incredibly cheap US-European airfares."

Yea, but it depends on the country. Airfare to Italy from the US is normally more expensive than other countries, e.g. Germany or Spain or even France.

I don't know what are your specific dates, but toward the last week of August, I see fares ~$600-800 from Boston to Rome. However, you have to add your train fare to NE Italy, and your total would be +/- $1000/person.That is cheaper than the fare you saw for Bologna or Venice and about the same for Milan.

You can also fly into another European country, and take one of their low cost airlines to Bologna. Or you can just wait a bit more, and see if there will be another airfare sale in the summer.

yk

Thanks. The Rossini Festival @ Pesaro is around the 2nd week of August.

I looked again for Milan, Venice, Pisa and Bologna - all are about $1000 (using ITA software).

I can get to Rome for a little over $700 using Air Canada. Or I can get to Florence for around $800 using Swiss Air.

I probably will put this plan on the shelf for a few years (or decades) until I have more money.

General ticket booking for the Rossini Festival opens tomorrow.

Steve_James

Hi YK - The nearest airport is Rimini, I think.

You could maybe connect through London. Ryanair fly to Rimini from Stansted (- and various others European airports).

Steve

yk

Hi Steve -

thank you. I looked up whichbudget and ryanair, and it flies to both Bologna and Rimini. So potentially, we can fly into one and out of another.

I think this can be my dream trip for the future, perhaps a milestone birthday gift for myself...

EricBentzen

Why not from Rome? We were in Pesaro in 2007 and liked it a lot. We went by train from Rome. It is a pleasant 3+ hour trip, and you'll enjoy the countryside. It is very easy to buy tickets from one of the machines at the stations - you can also pay with credit card.

Pesaro is a charming city and very cheap compared to tourist centres like Rome, Venice etc. It is also an easy bus ride to Urbino.

My Pesaro trip report is at http://www.sitestory.dk/rejser/italien2007/4e.htm

Enjoy your trip!
Eric