Hello and Happy New Year!
We are planning our honeymoon for August 2006 and are concerned about the best flights. We are waiting until Jan-Feb to buy (I've read here that flights go down around then), but are trying to figure out the best airports to use for open jaws.

We are starting the trip in Positano and will end the trip in Cinque Terre (with the last couple days open for whatever city we fly out of). The plan for now is to fly from Philadelphia to Rome (take a train and boat from there) then leave from Florence to Philadelphia.

Is this the best bet? Any suggestions for convenience along with experience with airports would be welcomed!!

I'm not sure about what would be best for you, but Florence probably won't be it. Florence airport has some closing dates in 2006, and there aren't international flights to/from the US, anyway.

Most direct flights from the US are in and out of Rome, but you can connect through any other number of cities: Pisa and Genoa would both be convenient for the CT.

If you did a roundtrip into and out of London, you could fly Philadelphia-London-Naples, where you could either take the boat to Positano, or hire a driver to pick you up for the ride to Positano. The driving time from Naples to Positano is about an hour and a half.

On the way back, you could fly out of Pisa, connect through London, then fly home from there to Philadelphia.

One last suggestion: If you haven't already made your hotel reservations, do it as soon as possible! August is Italian vacation time, and many of the hotels, especially along the coast, fill up a year ahead.

Best of luck and congratulations!

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

If you want convenience, flying into Naples and out of Pisa would probably be idea. However, if you are looking to save money, usually, at least for me, flights into Rome (as opposed to Naples) are usually much cheaper. Same thing goes with Pisa. If I try to fly into our out of Pisa the flights usually go up considerably.

I think that you will probably need to play with several city combos until you get one that meets your budget and itinerary the best. Try plugging in flights flying into and out of Rome, into Naples and out of Rome, into Naples and out of Pisa, etc.

Good luck!
Tracy

Thanks Weadles, that is a great suggestion. I actually wanted to work in a flight to London since there are so many deals that pop up to there.

And don't worry, the hotels are being taken care of as we speak!

thanks also tcreath, I'm sure that's what I'll end up doing. I just wasn't certain about the Pisa airport. Its good to hear that that is probably my best bet for the end.