air ticket suggestions

I know I have heard that some days are better to purchase tickets than others because of fares airlines offer on certain days. wondering if anyone has heard anything about this?

Somebody who buys a ticket on Tuesday and gets a good deal says "buy on Tuesday"; someone buys his ticket on Saturday and gets a good deal says 'Saturday is the day to buy'

There is no 'magic' day to buy a ticket.

Thank you that is what I thought but not being someone who flies often thought it doesn't hurt to ask

Go to the Google Flights website.

First, find your ideal flights, without considering the cost yet. Fly into Rome, out of Milan? Try different scenarios. Book as a "multi-city" ticket not two one-way flights. What works best for you may not work best for me - I don't live in Florida.

Next, put a flight alert in Google Flights for the ones you'd prefer.

It's way too early to buy airline tickets now for next June, unless you get an amazing deal. Let Google notify you of big flight sales on your preferred routes.

It's easy to get by train (usually) to Florence from either Milan or Rome.

"I know I have heard that some days are better to purchase tickets than others because of fares airlines offer on certain days. wondering if anyone has heard anything about this?"

We've all "heard" such things. The only problem is, it's mostly based on past data, and just like a stock, "past performance is no guarantee of future performance." That is, if it's not totally made up urban legend (depending on what you read, some are historical data, some are just stories floating around the internet).

"Also, if the cost is less and flight times are less from either Rome or Milan home, can anyone tell me how difficult it is to get from Florence to either one of these other airports."

From Rome FCO airport, you can take a train to Roma Termini or Roma Tiburtina station, and from these there are frequent trains to Florence (your goal is Firenze Santa Maria Novella Station). A few times a day, there are direct trains from FCO to Firenze SMN, but don't worry if your timing does not work for one of these.

From Milan Malpensa (MXP) airport, there is a train to Milano Centrale station, and from there are frequent trains to Firenze SMN. Note that there are two trains from MXP to Milan; don't get on the one to Milano Cadorna.

From Milan Linate (LIN) airport, which does not get nonstops from the US but gets a lot of flights from European hubs, you can take a bus or taxi to Milano Centrale station (not too far from the airport), then a train to Firenze MXP.

It is not recommended that you prebook these trains. You could save a little money by doing so, but the cheap tickets are non-refundable, and you never know how long immigration and baggage retrieval will take. Just buy your ticket at the train station in the airport; they should be able to sell you a ticket for both parts (airport to city, and city to Florence).

If Rome and Milan are equally priced to fly into, Rome is a bit faster to Florence than Milan is. A few years ago, flights into Milan were substantially cheaper than to other Italian destinations, but that's not always true now, so do check all options.

If you say your home airport(s), people can give more targeted advice on your best options.

I live in south Florida and am about to make trip #12 to Italy. You didn’t indicate from where in Florida you would depart. If cost is a concern, start monitoring prices on Alitalia from MIA to FCO. They often run specials on that route and it’s a non stop flight. You can also monitor an open jaw flight returning from Florence to MIA but it is a pain getting to the airport in Florence at very early hour which is what you’d have to do. If you’re flying out of Orlando or Tampa, there are no direct flights.

I’d opt for a round trip through Rome and an inexpensive train ride to Rome the day before your flight home.

Some folks says it's the day you fly out that might be cheaper, not necessarily the day you buy the tickets. A popular notion is to leave in the middle of the week, since most people like to start their flights on a weekend. I say use some of the flight search engines like Kayak or Google to check prices on certain dates and with destinations you want. Then, after choosing your flights, book directly with the airlines.
I'm spending a week in Florence in September 2018. I checked flying into Rome and Milan (round trips) from Tampa and it was at least $200 cheaper to fly via Milan. I bought the tix in March, so that might not be the case now. Depending on the cities you want to see, consider a multi-city flight - fly into Rome and back through Milan or vice versa. That saves you time back-tracking to get to your airport. Just take the train to get there.

It is not difficult to get to Florence from either city, there are non-stop fast trains to Florence. I'd rather take the train to get to Florence from either city than fly into Florence. There are fewer flight options to Florence, plus it adds more stops to the flight.

Good luck and enjoy Italy!

In my experience, the only “rule” which seems to have a modicum of truth to it is the fly midweek one. Midweek travel days do seem to be slightly cheaper. Not enough to make me rearrange a trip but a little cheaper if it works date wise.

ETA: Perhaps things have changed but I have not found getting to Florence Airport for an early departure difficult. It’s a 15 to 20 minute cab ride from the Ponte Vecchio area. Venice airport is more problematic.

My rule of thumb is: When I find a price I can live with...I buy the ticket. Then, STOP LOOKING...it will only make you crazy. Also, flying mid-week seems to be a little cheaper, so we leave on a Tuesday and return on a Wednesday or Thursday. This is our strategy and it may or may not work for you.

Flying into Roma and home from a different airport is a most cogent strategy and will maximize your time in-country.

Getting to Roma or Milano from Florence is easy using a train. During the summer Delta flies into and out of Pisa. We've flown into Pisa and home from somewhere else in the past. This is another option to consider.

One other suggestion: Wherever you depart from stay in that city the night before to minimize your chances of missing the plane. If we fly home from FCO/Roma we stay in the city the night before and then transit to the airport the next morning. Going from your hotel to the airport is easy and you have options on traveling to meet the plane. You can use a taxi, a train, or a private car service. We are in our 70's, so we use a private car service.

Buon viaggio,

Google Flights is your friend! Yesterday morning, I could get a flight in June on American from Cincinnati to Rome for $942, by yesterday afternoon, it had gone up to over $1300. That's how quickly prices change.

If you have your alerts set on Google Flights, you will be notified when the prices increase or decrease. Determine what a good price would be and when it comes up, book it!

The "Hopper" app is also wonderful. Just enter the dates and destinations and it will track the flights for you and tell you when it is best to buy.
I have flown from both Rome and Milan to South Florida. It's just a matter of cost vs convenience. put both options in Hopper and see what it says.

My suggestions:

• Track prices over several months; you need lots of data points to get some insights on what's a "good" price
• Ignore the fact that prices will change up and don't constantly; don't feel pressured to buy a ticket out of fear that the price will only go up (chances are, you just have to wait a bit and they will change yet again in both directions)
• Ignore "rules" or hearsay regarding when it's best to buy - it's best to buy when you see a price that you can afford and be happy with
• You have LOTS of time on your side; unless you're getting a great deal, buying tickets a year out doesn't seem to have any benefit (your credit card gets charged early, you likely won't get the best price because airlines can't project demand that far out accurately so they hedge with higher prices, airlines schedules could change quite a bit from time of booking to flight time, and your own life can throw an unexpected curveball that can affect your trip)
• The best thing to do is to be as flexible as you possibly can - that means not being tied to exact dates, exact airports, and certain airlines - know what you're willing to trade off ahead of time
• Use comparison sites and don't count out budget airlines (which don't show up on comparison sites)
• Watch for flash sales (either sign up for those notifications of check certain airline websites once in a while) and be ready to jump if the price is right
• I don't see anything wrong with using alerts but I wouldn't count on them exclusively either since they're they'll only return results that meet specific (and sometimes overly narrow) criteria; plus their predictive power isn't perfect
• Maximize using airline points if you have them
• Be sure to calculate the total cost of different alternatives when making comparisons, like cost of a train ticket if not flying directly to where you'd like to be
• Above all, be patient

Be aware that when you purchase flights way ahead of time, the airlines will make changes to those flights with new departure/arrival times and aircraft.

yes, Suki. It happens often. But they don't usually have a big effect. It's usually decreasing the layover time. I feel more comfortable locking in my price for the flight before I make all my other reservations, and with Italy, some reservations need to be made far in advance.
Just my humble experience.