marmot

1. My college-age son is looking for a cheap hotel, hostel or b&b in the Oltrarno. Suggestions appreciated.

2. He has a 10:00 am flight from Pisa. What's the best way to get there at that hour, and what time should he leave?

3. Fares for his Boston--Pisa--Boston route have been running around $1600, same for Boston--Rome and Boston--Florence. Does this sound right?

scrb

1. Everyone has a different definition of cheap. I ended up booking an apt. through bbplanet.it. However, I also registered with studentsville.it, which as the name implies, appears geared towards students. Anyways, I got a bunch of offers for lower-priced accommodations, including some staying with a local family.

2. Pisa is like an hour out from my understanding. Try terravision.it. They appear to have a reasonable bus service to Pisa airport from the Florence train station. You have to check the bus schedules. Otherwise, a taxi which could cost like 50 euro or more.

3. I paid $1300 from SFO to FLR. I noticed if I booked a week later, it went up to $1500-1600 so it was considered part of the high season starting in June. However, it appears May is considered high season in Tuscany as far as lodging prices go.

Considering you're going from the East Coast rather than West Coast, it should be less. Try for instance routes that go through CDG rather than directly to Rome. Try the ITA software (Google for it).

willit

Alternatively, there are frequent trains from Florence to Pisa central station, and both train and bus connections to the airport.

ronin

There are a number of trains leaving out of the Florence train station to the Pisa airport, but I'd recommend "padding" the time frame by getting an earlier train - and then asking if the train you THINK is going to the Pisa Airport is the most direct run. My wife & I got caught in a little confusion with this scenario... multiple trains, all heading to Pisa - some much more direct. We took the milk train of course, and saw a lot of the countryside. Confounding if you're just traveling - very frustrating if you're trying to make a departure at the airport.

LoveItaly

Personally since I have had trains arriving and leaving Florence late I wouldn't use a train to get to the airport the morning of my flight.

bill_boy

Taking the train to Pisa Centrale is a good option. It takes just over an hour. Anything that involves driving would take at least an-hour-and-a-half without any unforceeable congestion on the roads. Plus, I would expect that it would be very expensive to hire a car service to drive to Pisa from Florence. If he has to avail of a car service, then I'd suggest using the money for a hotel room in Pisa.

After 6 am, there are trains leaving Florence SMN every 15 minutes to Pisa Centrale. Trenitalia.com has the schedules.

Just as an earlier responder warned, make sure to to take the one that takes just over an hour.

j_999_9

I'm no expert, but I'd be surprised if he could get a taxi to take him to Pisa for 50 euros. My guess is that it would be closer to double that.

The train seems pretty reliable. I assume he's already figured out that he better leave Florence very early. One other option would be to take the train the night before and say a night in Pisa. It would be a good excuse to see the tower.

china_cat

I fly out of boston, and $1600 seems awfully high to me. Although flight costs are way up this summer.

The Florence airport is closed, is it not? I thought I remembered this from another thread.

A quick search on ITA for July does show rates starting at $1500...yuck!

Flying in and out of Milan is cheaper. And probably not too bad of a train ride. These seem to be closer to $1000.

airfares sure are high this year!

scrb

FLR is open now. But my understanding is, you have to connect out of another city before crossing the Atlantic because FLR is too small for TransAtlantic flights.

So I have to get there early for a 7:15 AM flight which connects in CDG.

francophile03

Same here, scrib. We have the 7:15 flight from FLR to CDG connecting at 10:15 a.m. The airport is only a few miles from Florence so to be sure we're having the hotel reserve a taxi for a very early morning pickup.

marmot

Thanks everyone. I'll probably come back with three more ? after the flight is booked.

Chinacat, could you please direct me to where you found the $1000 Boston Milan fare? I think this is a good idea and a good excuse to see the Last Supper again.

cpeicott

Hi,
I am also interested in a cheaper fare from Boston to Italy for this summer. $1500 seems very high! My plans are open at this point. I could go in July or August and can fly in or out of just about anywhere, though I would prefer to fly into one city and out of another.
Having never been to Italy, everyplace will be new to us.

ilovetotravel29

For an international flight you would want to be there at least 2-3 hours in advance.

He can arrive at the Pisa airport via national railway (train) or the bus...but the bus costs 9 euros, and the train costs 5.50 euros.

ira

Hi M,

>Fares for his Boston--Pisa--Boston route have been running around $1600, ..

A lot depends on when he is going.

Have you looked at www.kayak.com and www.mobissimo.com?

china_cat

I used ITA http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/

This is not a booking site, it just gives airlines and flight times. You have to contact the airline directly to get the fare.

They do a nice job with the search engine though, I find it much easier to find things than the other online sites, like orbitz and travelocity.

MaureenB

You son might try STATravel.com, which specializes in student travel. My daughter's fare through them was very good, when she flew to Florence via Frankfurt from Denver, on Lufthansa in late January. They offer a very flexible change policy, which is helpful for students. The Florence airport is open now, so would be much more convenient than Pisa.

WillTravel

This place in the Oltrarno is cheap and has pretty good reviews. Note the check-in hours:
http://www.istitutogould.it/foresteria/

If he would stay at a convent, and is allowed to (as a single male), consider this nice place in the Oltrarno:
http://www.fmmfirenze.it

As for the flights, when is he traveling, and is he willing to consider breaking the trip up by flying elsewhere in Europe and taking cheap flights to Pisa, Florence, or Bologna?

artlover

My daughter's flight was a lot less as well last year (she was in Siena), but as others have said, much depends on time of year. But I believe she got hers though a student travel site. Goggle "international student travel" and you'll find lots of information on flights and also youth hostels. She stayed in one in Florence right across from the Pitti Palace for a good rate.

artlover

Just remembered--the reason DD's ticket was so much less is she flew into London, then went Ryanair from London to Venice (but boy did they get her in overcharges on her baggage--hard to pack light for 6 months!) But you might consider doing that. Check out whichbudget.com for fares from either London or Amsterdam.

Roadrunner4

Depends if he wants a direct flight on the price. If he flies in or out of Bologna which isn't that far away from Florence and is wiling to make a stop, it is significantly cheaper! We're flying Boston - Rome w/ stop in Amsterdam and home from Bologna to Boston again w/ stop in Amsterdam and cost was $850 ish.