Air fare to Palermo

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.

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.

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.

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?

Barbara, thanks for pointing out the luggage issue If luggage did not arrive in Rome I think it would be a nightmare

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.

My opinion, it's way too early to book. We flew from the midwest (Minnesota) on Delta thru to Catania. It was a codeshare with ITA. Price was reasonable (consistent with what we typically pay to Europe) I believe it was about $1100 for economy/main cabin

I ‘m headed to Palermo in April. I ended up flying to Rome. I’m spending two nights there and then fly ITA onto Palermo.
I found it much easier to get reasonable flights this way. I’m going on the RS Sicily tour. At the end I’m flying to Naples, spending 3 nights then taking the train to Rome to Fly home from there as well.

Check flights a day or two in either direction and see if that makes a difference.

Hi Renee, when I went to Sicily, I flew over from Rome. I have done this also, when I was flying home from Dubrovnik, staying overnight at Leiden near Schiphol. They were two separate tickets with a day in between.

Either way, are you planning to arrive a day or two early to be on a tour? If it’s a tour & you’re wanting separate tickets, I would make one of those pre-tour days in Rome to avoid any flight connection mishaps.

Another piece of info that will be helpful for you to make a decision regarding the 1-reservation higher cost: After all of the holiday traffic is finished early next year, look up same-day flights from Rome to Palermo each morning for several days. How is the inventory of seats? What is the price of the short flights? When I was booking mine, I noticed that the cheaper flights start inexpensive (when I booked it) but kept increasing as the date became closer. And they charge for luggage; include that cost. And a hotel in Rome will cost more than the same in Palermo.

It may be a false economy to plan your flights on two separate tickets. You don't say where you are in the Midwest, but flying from a smaller market may be a factor in determining prices. Now that ITA is part of Star Alliance, it should be relatively easy to book through to Palermo from Rome on a single ticket. It's way too early to be looking for flights next September at any rate. You can start looking at flights now for dates in the spring to get an idea of routings and price ranges.

On a single ticket the airline is responsible to get you to your final destination in the event of a missed connection - that "insurance" should be worth any additional cost.

Marcw, Do you really think prices may come down in Spring? I have my hotels booked already as I was finding that they were selling out already in November! In fact, some I have booked are already full and this is coming from their own website not a travel site. This leads me to believe that September in Sicily may be quite busy. I am continuing to monitor airfare and still hope to get one of our two tickets on United reward miles. So this makes the search even more restrictive.

You might find this current post relevant:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/budget-tips/book-your-flight-then-do-look-back