Minnesota to Italy
Oct 18th, 2015, 12:30 PM
#1
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Minnesota to Italy
I am looking to plan a trip to Italy. I'm willing to sacrifice perfect weather for cost and would rather go off season anyways to avoid crowds and get better deals on hotels. When is a cheaper month/season to fly to Italy? Is there a cheaper airport to fly in to such as Florence vs. Rome for example? Thanks!
Oct 18th, 2015, 12:43 PM
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Rome is probably cheaper to fly into than Florence, but it depends on where you're coming from. Low season is November to mid-December; then mid-January to the end of February. From March to October (and during the Christmas period) you can expect high prices and crowds if you stay in the major citities. Another way to save money is to venture out of the main cities. If you're using public transportation it's easier to stay in the city, but in the event that you venture out of town with a rental car, you'll find that everything from restaurants and groceries to hotels and basic services usually cost less outside the major cities. I live in Palestrina, just outside Rome (google it, it's beautiful here!), and I notice the difference in prices. I also lived in Tuscany for 6 years and everything was more expensive than the prices I found in Lazio. There are ways for Italians to save money, like using Groupon (meals, shopping, various services, hotels, spa treatments) or Megabus (transportation), but you need to be organized well in advance to take advantage of the offers.
Oct 18th, 2015, 01:18 PM
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Is this something you need to ask someone for generality over actuality you can easily obtain on internet? You can plug in travel dates into booking engines and out pop prices for travel in Feb, Mar, Apr, etc, instantly. Also you can vary airports to use and you get real numbers - specific airfares you can actually purchase. Same for hotels. You can use booking engines like booking.com and you can instantly find availability and prices for different time of the year. You an then look up guide books to see what is available at that time of the year. While some times of the year is bargain, if there is nothing to see or do, is it still a bargain? For some people, yes, for others, no. This is a matter of taste.
Oct 18th, 2015, 02:53 PM
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For the best combination of low air fares and lower hotel prices, I suggest November through mid-December or mid-January through mid-March. It can be rainy in those months, though. If you want to visit the countryside, then Februart-March might offer the best chance for decent weather, and there will be spring flowers and the fields will be green.
Oct 19th, 2015, 03:30 AM
#6
Florence doesn't have international flights from the states so usually flight prices will be higher there. Milan and Rome have the cheapest flights (usually). Venice has a few international flights and Pisa has some in summer only. That doesn't mean you won't come across a discount sometime to other cities, but you would have to connect in Europe somewhere.
You need to decide which cities you plan to visit before looking at flights.
You need to decide which cities you plan to visit before looking at flights.
Oct 19th, 2015, 01:07 PM
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We live in Minneapolis. One year we flew to Italy over the first two weeks in January. (You can often find quite cheap flights leaving on New Year's Eve since no one wants to fly then, but lodging can often be more expensive then.) We had 5 nights in Venice and 8 nights in Rome. In Rome we were told that the second week in January is the slowest week of the year. It seemed that way to us since we were able to walk right into the Vatican Museum and also had no trouble getting tickets to the Scavi tour in the Vatican.
For a Minnesotan, weather will be fine. In Venice it was normally clear blue skies in the mid 40s. One day there were a few flakes, but for us it was nothing. Rome was perhaps mid-50s. Once again, much better than the weather at home and great for walking and sightseeing.
For a Minnesotan, weather will be fine. In Venice it was normally clear blue skies in the mid 40s. One day there were a few flakes, but for us it was nothing. Rome was perhaps mid-50s. Once again, much better than the weather at home and great for walking and sightseeing.
