Hello, I would appreciate any help. My family is taking a trip in November from Fort Lauderdale to Italy. We arrive in Rome at 7:10 AM on a nonstop Norwegian Airlines flight. I am in the process of booking a flight from Rome to Palermo that same day. I understand we will have to collect luggage, go through customs, and then go through security again to catch the flight to Palermo.

There is a 9:20 am flight. Just wondering is that will give us enough time (2 hours and 10 min). There is a 1:25 pm flight we could catch, but it is a long wait and $50 per person more. But if necessary, I will book that rather than the 9:20 flight.

Thanks so much for any opinions on this.

Lynn

This is one time I would make an exception to my rule, which is push on as much as possible the first day of travel. I think the two hours is risky, just a short delay on the first flight and you are stuck. The second flight means a terribly long layover right in the middle of the day, thus wasting another day with travel, layover, more travel and getting to hotel in Palermo.

I would try to find better flights to Palermo all on one ticket.

If that is not possible, I would arrive in Rome, drop bags at hotel (perhaps even one near the airport), then spend the day sightseeing in Rome and catch the earliest flight possible the next day to Palermo. Even if you got to Palermo the evening before, you would be too tired to do anything that evening and would likely not be up too early the next morning. Staying the night in Rome lets you see a bit of Rome, get a decent night's sleep and not miss much of the next day.

$50 more and 4 hours longer vs. the odds of missing the flight altogether and having to pay for walk up tickets.

I don't usually play the 'What if' game - but do when talking about two un connected flights on two budget airlines. 2 hours would typically be enough, but what if your Norwegian flight is even a little late? What if your bags are slow to come out? What if Norwegian arrives on time but they have to wait for a gate? What if the lines at Immigration are loooooong?

Lots of transatlantic flights land in the early AM so there will likely be crowds at Immigration (Customs is a non-issue)

Even the 1:25 isn't guaranteed - if your flight is delayed - but you'd at least have wiggle room.

was posting the same time as sassafrass. Spending the night in Rome is a great idea.