We are planning a trip to Sicily in mid September and finding airfare very high from our city in the Midwest to Palermo, where we have booked our first hotel. It appears to be cheaper to book roundtrip to Rome and catch a short flight from there to Palermo. My question is: Should we pre-book this short flight in advance (both ways) or try to get on one once we land in Rome. Second question is: If we pre-book, how much time should we allow in between flights to clear passport control, etc and retrieve our bags and get to the next gate for the Italian domestic flight to Palermo. I am still hoping that fare will come down in the next few months to avoid this hassle, but right now, the Rome RT is substantially lower.
Posted by
3351 posts
We did this going to Catania. We ended up staying two nights in Rome on the way there but would have done same day with four hours between flights. In fact I have done that to Sardinia. The other thing I did going to Sardinia was to buy the two legs of the journey on separate tickets. That way if you miss your flight to Palermo, you do not risk having your return flight cancelled.
We flew to Rome the night before our return flight and stayed near the airport. I will not take two unconnected flights when the second is an expensive international one.
Posted by
Vancouver, WA
574 posts
It is still very early for purchasing airline tickets for September, so you have time to set an alert on Google Flights for the flight (or flights) you prefer. Hopefully the price will drop, but only you know what price point you are comfortable with..
I can't speak specifically to Palermo, but I have booked separate tickets as you propose. If you do this I recommend staying overnight in Rome at the beginning and end of your trip so you don't have to be concerned with missing the connecting flights. On the way home you would need to buy a new one-way ticket home from Rome if the same-day Palermo-Rome flight were cancelled or delayed, which would be very expensive. There are many recommendations on this Forum for hotels near Rome's FCO airport.
Posted by
Brooklyn, NY
4846 posts
We did this recently returning from Istanbul. We flew into Zagreb, went through immigration, got our bags (Turkish Airlines is very strict with weight), walked outside, went up the escalator to departures, checked in, went through security all under 45 minutes.
BUT, the airport in Zagreb is very small, just one terminal. And honestly, even though we had 2.5 hours, I was worried that
1. Our first flight would be delayed, it wasn’t.
2. The amount of time to wait at immigration, thankfully it wasn’t lunchtime so the booths were manned and ours was the only incoming flight.
3. Waiting for our luggage, it was a small plane so not too many bags.
4. That all our luggage was there, we had to check our carryon also, it was overweight by 1.2kilos. If it wasn’t on the plane we wouldn’t have the time to wait for it and they would be under no obligation to forward it to NY, just to Zagreb. Even if you plan carryon only, doesn’t mean the airline won’t make you check it for whatever reason.
The airport in Rome is so much larger and busier. It would be on my mind the entire trip. We also decided, for my peace of mind, never to do this again. We did prebook our Turkish Air flights before we left.
Posted by
OP
USA
264 posts
Thank you! This is helpful advice! I will definitely book flights from Rome to Sicily as two separate flights esp since I am flying out of Sicily from Catania I had thought of staying overnight near Rome airport but really prefer not to add two nights to my trip Is it difficult to catch a flight out if Rome if I book at the airport? In case my flight to Rome is cancelled or delayed?
Posted by
OP
USA
264 posts
Barbara, thanks for pointing out the luggage issue If luggage did not arrive in Rome I think it would be a nightmare
Posted by
3351 posts
We did not check our luggage as that adds another layer of complication to everything. I think you could go from home to Sicily in one day (not spend night in Rome) if you allowed at least 4 hours. One reason we did not do that is our flight to Rome was arriving too late in the day to do that comfortably. We ended up staying two nights in Rome because my husband thought if we were going to bother, why not see some of Rome?
We took Ryan Air back and forth to Sicily (into Catania, out of Palermo). The other option was ITA. We could pay more and bring a regular sized carry-on on to Ryan while we would have had to check with ITA. The price was the same in the end. Now Ryan air has bus like seats but for the short flight it was fine.