Detroit to Rome

Peruse Kayak.com, Bestfare.com. Also check witch airlines have flights from Detroit to Rome and sign up for their fare alerts. When you see a fare that fits your budget buy it.

We're leaving around the same time and I plan to start looking seriously about 6 months ahead, or mid-October.

A few months ago, I thought I had my perfect flight options picked out from Detroit to Rome on Kayak. When I went to book them, I realized my usually trustworthy Kayak took me to a shady website. When I looked for the same flights on any other website or directly with the major airlines, the fares were 2-3 times as much! Just something to consider when you are pricing out flights. Also, keep in mind open jaw flights unless you are staying in Rome for the full 10-14 days.

On the other hand, you can sometimes get flights and upgrades directly through the airlines that you can't through the kayak type sites. You really have to look in lots of different places. Don't rely on any one site.

Chris... since Detroit is the Delta hub be sure to keep an eye on their website and plug in a variety of dates as well as put in the 'flexible dates' option. Another thing is be sure to check the Delta flights from Flint... even though you will fly to DTW from FNT it is often times cheaper than directly out of DTW....(makes absolutely no sense)

I am a huge fan of booking directly with the airline. In my case mentioned above, I was not comfortable booking with the shady website Kayak took me to, and couldn't afford to pay the 2-3x higher price (which was probably the legit one) for our family of four. My wonderful friend, who happens to be a travel agent, was able to book my flights at a super low price- so don't overlook that option, too! I had never used her travel agent skills in the past as I thought I could find the same fares on-line. Lesson learned:) We ended up with tickets on United out of Detroit. Good luck!

Kate, how much did you end up paying for your tickets?

Delta Airlines has service from Detroit to Rome. Might want to sign up for their "specials." The earlier in April will probably get you the best price

Michael, my TA friend was able to book a flight right into Verona (where we are staying). It was a one way as we are cruising back to the States. The one way fare for DTW to Verona with one layover in Frankfurt was $831. Not bad, considering we were booking less than 3 months out!
My dad is visiting us for a week in Verona, his is not a true roundtrip, but found a great deal anyway. His tickets from Chicago to Verona and then a return flight of Verona to Grand Rapids, MI (this was the airport combination he needed) ended up $1200- again with only one layover and booked less than three months out. Hope this helps!

Going to admit that I'm retired airline person. My research indicates that the best time to purchase int'l tickets is 2-3 mos. before the trip....but it seems every day is a new day in the industry. I've used "farebuzz.com" as well as Cheapo air.com. DAL flies non-stop from dtw to fco, and they may be a bit more expensive than the other airlines that fly out of dtw, but some of them have several hour lay-overs to connections, so it depends on how much is it worth to have a 9hr flt as opposed to 12 or 13. Hope you have a fabulous trip!

If there is a specific flight that I'm particularly interested, I'll try to get an idea of whether the seats are selling. Often you can look at seat availability before purchasing the ticket (more true directly thru the airline's own website.) If there are lots of available seats, I'll hold off on buying, and then recheck every week or so. And of course there are websites that you can have track various fares for you.

Be sure to check the fares for Flint Bishop Airport as well. While they are not as reliably cheap as they were a couple of years ago, you may find a deal. Start looking now, and get an idea on what the "normal" fare is. Then, decide on a fare you find acceptable. When I am actively hunting for tickets, I check both Kayak and Tripadvisor at least twice a day - particularly at 2 or 3 PM and 2 or 3 AM. Their email alerts have never been helpful. I prefer to check the fares myself. There was an article in the Detroit News a couple of months ago about Detroit airfares being some of the highest in the country this year. No one seems to know why. After searching for 2 months for a tolerable fare to Vienna, I can believe it. The key is to look often, and keep at it. Deals are still out there.