Inexperience has made a wuss of me...
 

I have spent hours searching for the best airfare..Sacramento-NYC, then Dulles to Rome and Paris back to Sacramento..SWA has one ways to NYC and from Dulles to Sac. for $99 each way...can fly KLM to Rome via Amsterdam from Dulles and from Paris via Amsterdam back to Dulles for $818...so for the two of us a total of about $2200....don't know yet how we will get from Italy to Paris....I know I have pestered you before, but would appreciate some "frequent traveler" opinions...
Thank you,
Dupher
P.S. to NYC on 3 Oct..to Rome on 16 Oct. and back from Paris on 8 Nov.

I must have tried the patience of the most patient folks in the world....

We flew AA from Seattle via ORD to Paris, then from Rome via JFK back to Seattle, for about $1600 (for both) last October. The SWA fares across the country sound good (although how many stops will you make on the way?), but it seems you could do better on the transatlantic flights. You might consider flying out of a major hub, (like San Francisco) and stick with one airline all the way to get better fares. There may even be non-stops SF to Paris and Rome to SF -- a much easier way to do it.

I fly out of SMF all the time - and I LOVE Southwest. But I personally wouldn't fly a multi-stop cross country w/ them if there were better routings, just to save a couple of bucks.

Is Washington part of the itinerary - or just a jumping off point for Europe?

You can fly jetBlue from SMF to NY.

Why do you need to go back to Dulles from Europe? From Paris you could fly into LAX and take southwest back to SMF, Or you could fly into SFO and drive home, Or you could fly AA or United or several others to SMF w/ a stopover somewhere in the States.

How do you get from NYC to Dulles? I'm confused :-(

It looks like you have an awful lot of connections there - and a lot of possibilities of missing a flight. Have you allowed plenty of time between flights? (I assume these are all separate tickets and you'll be the one responsible for rerouting everything if you miss any of the flights.)

actually - I'm w/ suze - really, really confused :)

My post was'nt very clear...there will be a visit in New York, then the train to D.C.---because people tell me it is easier than flying---a visit in Virginia, then on to Italy....Thanks for your time...
Dupher

dupher:

I'll be in Sac this Saturday, by the way.

Instead of beating your brains out on the internet, try my guy here in L.A. I've been using him for 10 years and he ALWAYS beats the best I can get on the internet. I have my entire family using his ticket services and all say the same...call Sebastian at 323-938-5001 xt.203, or e-mail:

[email protected]

Let me know when you want to call or write him and I'll alert him to treat you like family. Same goes for any Fodortite having tix troubles.

Stu Tower [email protected]

Stu,
Thanks for the assist...I'll send him an e-mail tonight...again, thanks to all of you...
Dupher

I would not do any same-day connections on different tickets. The possibility for expensive disaster is too great.

One thing to consider - you might get better prices and fewer connections flying out of SFO or Las Vegas (LAS).

From Sacramento, I'd actually take a look at Chicago, the limitation here being that you must change not planes but airports. Still, American has flights to both Rome and Paris from Chicago, so I think it's a viable option, though I can't tell you much about costs. Otherwise, I'd go the opposite direction and fly from either San Francisco or LA direct to Europe. YOu could do Air France to Rome via Paris. I think the idea of trying to get cheap flights to the east coast and then switching airlines is a losing battle and not worth the trouble.

unfortunately, since you want to visit NYC and DC enroute, Doug's suggestion won't work.

As I mentioned - returning from Europe, I don't see much reason to return through Dulles if you can fly directly to the west coast.

<<don't know yet how we will get from Italy to Paris..>>

dupher...we are flying Rome Ciampino to Paris Orly in late October on EasyJet. Total for two, including taxes and 7.50 Euro extra for added baggage...80.98 euros total! :)

Sarge,
Thanks a lot for that info...and the rest of you again...the times in NYC and Virginia are pretty much set in concrete..... from Paris we could go anywhere...
Dupher

Duoher:

Send me a copy of the e-mail to Sebastian...so I can follow up. I'll call him in the morning.

Stu

Seems like a reasonable plan, at a reasonable cost. But like others said, beware of the connections on separate tickets.

Sarge,
Pretty dumb..how do I send you a copy of the e-mail?
The flight to NYC has no connection..the flight from Dulles to Sacramento goes the day after we arrive at Dulles from Paris..the flights to Rome and from Paris have one stop each at least two hours apart and are on the same airline....we are on a pretty tight budget...does it make sense to wait for better prices, or is what we have close enough to rock bottom to take and relax a bit...you guys are great...
Dupher

Dupher:

send e-mail copy to

[email protected]

sorry I forgot to include it. Sebastian says he will try his best for you. Can't ask for much more than that. I'll keep following up woth him

Stu T.

Stu T. -
Thank you for that information. I am not ready yet, but will be booking airfare to the UK with a return from Paris. I am really intimidated about trying to do it myself. I will definitely check what Sebastian is able to do for us.

You are a true Fodor's gem :)