Best Way to Book Travel Combo Package

"It doesn't seem like it's possible to purchase something like this in one big package, but I would imagine purchasing each individual aspect of this trip seperately would probably be more expensive than it needs to be." Zach, I don't think this is true. You want to fly into Rome. Are you planning to spend time there, or do you plan to go directly to the Cinque Terre? If you don't plan to stay in Rome you should fly into Milan or Pisa. It is very easy to buy a train ticket that will get you from either airport to the Cinque Terre, then a train from there to Venice. For a train ticket from Venice to Munich you can even buy that online before leaving home. Do it 90 days in advance for the best price. Soaking up Oktoberfest for a day - Do you plan to do this the day you arrive in Munich? You will have to spend at least one night there. If you take an early train from Venice you can be in Munich by early or mid-afternoon. You could go to Oktoberfest that day, spend the night somewhere and fly home the next morning if that is the only amount of time you want to spend there. It is easy to book an open-jaw ticket yourself. When you put in what kind of flight you want (round trip, etc.) look for multi-city or multi-destination. Booking lodging yourself will allow you to stay exactly where you want. If you want a travel agent to do this for you it will cost more. If you need guidance doing this, the people on the helpline can help. Good luck and have a great trip!!

Thanks Andrea! The "rough-draft" plan at this point is to spend 2 nights in Rome, probably 3 in CT, 2 in Venice, and 2 in Munich. My only past experience booking combo-vaca packages is when I go to Puerto Vallarta, and I have saved a significant amount of money using Expedia. For example, I got a roundtrip flight-hotel package for 4 nights, for about $600 total, whereas if I had booked the hotel and flight seperately, it would have totalled around $1K. That's Mexico, and I suspect the economics are a bit different in Italy, but I figured generally if I could book combination trips online it might save me $ if there were any such sites that were specifc to Italy. And it sounds like getting a train ticket to-and-fro most places in Italy is an easy process, which is good to know. My concern is if I bought a ticket the day-of, it would be pricer and the train/time I want might not be available? Sounds like that is rarely the case? Thanks again!

The packages you are looking for do not exist for the places you want to visit. If you were doing a combo of Rome, Florence, and Venice, there are packages that pull together train, 1/2 sightseeing in each city and hotels. However, I have never checked to see if they really save you money. The other thing is they often use big impersonal hotels and are meant for 2 people traveling together. Also they may or may not include international air. See Globus, Monogram packages to see what I am talking about. Zach, you mentioned that you could do a combo to MX with air and hotel, but I think you are only staying in one city, right? That is the big difference. Also I bet that Octoberfest hotels are already sold out! Start checking now to see what is available. And prices will be high for hotels! This Helpline can work with you to refine your itinerary and guide you to the hotel type you want given your budget. Is this your first time in Europe? That makes a difference in how much you already know that would apply to Italy. I would also like to know what the Helpline folks think about purchasing part or all of your trip on Expedia or something similar. I do fine with that in the US but am very worried about doing it in Europe.

I have used Expedia from time to time for hotels. That generally works best when you get a free night for staying a certain number - a stay 2 get one free type of thing. I usually book directly from the hotel/b&b. You are doing a lot of moving in a short time. Remember that when you spend 2 nights in a place, that equals only one full day. You will mostly be seeing train stations and the countryside going by as you go from one place to the next if you do what you propose. I know the temptation is to see as much as you can, but you might consider cutting something out so that you can really see and experience the places you going to. Do you already have your airline ticket? If you don't, you might want to consider either eliminating either Rome or Munich. I understand you want to go to Oktoberfest, but it is a long trip to make from Venice for just that. If you can't skip that, maybe fly into Pisa or Milan to start you trip in the Cinque Terre. From there you can go to Venice and then Munich. Skip Rome on this trip. I count you being there for 9 nights. Spend 3 nights in each. If you already have your tickets you might want to skip the C.T. on this trip, as it is quite far out of the way from Rome-Venice-Munich. Italy is amazing, but you should give yourself the chance to really experience it. Oktoberfest is fun too. You should try to go on a weekday in the early afternoon. Table reservations (you will not be able to make one) start at 4:00 p.m. Before then you can find an empty spot to sit.

With a trip this busy and a schedule this tight, I'd recommend getting your train tickets from home; you don't want to spend any more time in a train station than you already will be, and you'll already know which trains you want to take - you won't have any time for 'playing it by ear' once you get there. As your itinerary stands now - every other day you'll be on a train, or going to/coming from a train station for anywhere from 5-6 hours a day (Rome > CT) to 8-10 hours (Venice > Munich). Ouch! (I looked them up) Half of your time there will be spent in a train station or on a train. I LOVE trains and train stations, but not THAT much LOL! I'm going to suggest something radical - Pick TWO locations. Why do you want to go to: (1) Rome, (2) the CT, (3) Venice, and (4) Munich? Is Munich ONLY for Oktoberfest? Do you want to go to the fairgrounds 1 or 2 times? Are you a 'beer person', or is going to Oktoberfest once or twice good enough for you? How about choosing Munich and Venice? Yes? No? I really don't like the way your very-short-to-start-with trip is already cut in half due to the transportation requirements.