Flight Cost

Don't buy now:) You have plenty of time to see if fares will go down, and they probably will. For June a fair price will be something between $1000-$1200.

Hi Brian. A couple of thoughts; - I agree with Micheal; no reason to buy now; prices will likely come down.
- if you are flexible on your itinerary, you can sometimes save quite a bit. for instance, fly a day earlier or later; fly into an alternate city (in Rome / out Venice?) fly inor out of milan? etc? with Italy's great train system, you can be in the next city in no time (e.g. Rome to Florence - 90 min). Enjoy your trip!

I agree with Michael. Wait. There seems to be a sweet spot of mid January each year, after the holidays when is everyone is together and vacation plans made, flights are booked the week everyone returns to their offices. Airlines seem to keep fares up and then seem to put things on sale when the flurry passes. There are no guarantees, though. Keep an eye on how flights are filling by looking at seat assignment/availability on line. If the flights are still very empty (and they will be) hold off for the fare drops. I made the huge mistake of booking tickets at $1700 each a few years ago, then paid the rebooking fee of $250 each TWICE as fares dropped twice, and I still came out way ahead. Even on my last trip to Italy, when I had booked a very good airfare, a week later fares shockingly dropped to $300 something each for a few days, and then that deal disappeared within a few days. It's a gamble, but you have plenty of time yet. So many things affect supply/demand and there are so many uncertainties these days. With the economy/stock market the way it is right now, and the prediction that the economy will languish for two years, my guess will be on some attractive "travel deals" as many who would otherwise travel go into hunker-down mode instead. That said, I would not wait until April or May to book, because the times you want to travel may have pretty full planes and you may get stuck with not-so-great connections and crummy seats. Italy -- what a great place for a honeymoon!!!!

Awesome advice, I really appreciate it! I will definitely wait a good while. Hopefully I can manage to get lucky in January.

We will be looking to do the same thing in June/July. It will be the 6th consecutive summer trip over the ocean for us. The first one in 2007 we bought tickets in mid-January that were crazy-cheap. To this day, I think it was an error in pricing that went away a day later and never came back. For 2008 we bought in December and got the best price we would have gotten at any time later (I watched later fares). For 2009 we bought in November and, since the economy went to heck a couple of months later, we wound up missing the lowest fares by about $100pp that showed up in April. For 2010 we bought in November and got the best price we would have gotten any time later. For 2011 we bought in October but that was a different situation going to Australia where there really isn't a high or low season. Buying 8 months early got us the best price we would have gotten any time later. It pays to wait, but not too long. Take any price you see below $1000 and consider yourself very fortunate. Seriously consider any $1100 ticket, as Italy tends to be around $100 more than the more western European cities. There were precious few sub-$1000 tickets to Europe this summer unless you were flying from the east coast.

I don't know if this will help because it was three years ago and my wife and I went in April, but after reading your post I feel like I need to reply. Our round trip tickets were about $850 per person. Like the person above said, if you see something below $1,000 TAKE IT! My wife and I did this same trip, but in reverse. Here is my advice ... consider flying into AND out of Rome. When we finished our trip in Venice we flew back to Rome (very short flight) then back to the states. It only added about four hours to that day, but it saved us a bunch of money. Consider it ... and be prepared to freeeaaaak out ... Italy is going to rock your socks!!!

"...Awesome advice, I really appreciate it! I will definitely wait a good while. Hopefully I can manage to get lucky in January...." But keep checking those fares on a daily basis. Anything is possible in the crazy world of airlines. One day the fare will be $1700, the next day $700, and the next day back up to $1700 again.

Hi Bryan, On the Slow Travel Talk boards there is a thread of what travelers paid for their tickets in 2011. It might be helpful. http://slowtalk.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/275002353001/m/483006553001 I am waiting to book our "Open Jaws" tickets to Europe and have signed up for e-mail alerts with various airlines, kayak, bestfares, dohop, cheaptickets etc.

Bryan, you have been some wonderful advice. Do like Char says, and sign up for the auto notices. When the price drops to your set point, they will send you an Email. This aways works for us. We monitor prices and when we see a flight that is near $1000, we jump. We have found that the sweet spot is usually 2-3 months before our flight. (for our May flight to Spain this year we found great prices the 1st of Feb. We like to use Kayak and Orbitz to look, and then book directly with the airline.) Don't fixate on one itinerary: pick multiple entry and exit points. Some airlines have central hubs in Europe. Once you get to that "hub" you an book a super cheap flight on one of the inter EU airlines (use Whichbudget.com to find them), making sure that you verify exactly what town this airlines flys into and out of. The trains in Italy are awesome, and cheap. Sometimes the buses are a great optoin. (do like Rick says; stay in Siena and take the bus to Florence. Siena is magical at night!)

Definitely wait until you're closer. There was an excellent article in last week's Seattle Times on this exact topic: Buying too early

I just read that story and it included this quote at the end; "Times are changing. Rarely does it make sense these days to buy a ticket more than six to 10 weeks in advance and certainly not six or nine months out." To which, I would say; rarely does it make sense for any individual to rely upon any generic travel advice article. Buy your plane tickets to Europe in June just six weeks early and you will not have you pick of places to sleep. That $100 savings you waited for will be blown on the first couple night's sleep you had to settle for when every other place you contacted was full. The multi-flight combination to Australia for our family that we booked 8 months (!) in advance last year creeped up in price virtually every week after we purchased. By the time it got to six weeks out, we would have payed over $500/pp more. Flying into a cheaper location and taking a cheapo flight or train to your preferred location can be good advice, too. But is it really worth it once you factor in the cost of the extra transportation, several hours of extra travel (on top of jet lag) and the potential for missed connections? Place a dollar value on that before you get too excited about finding that cheap fare to Munich when you really want to be in Venice. There is no perfect solution. You have to balance the desire for the best possible airfare with other needs like lodgings, car rental or train tickets, and perhaps most of all, piece of mind.

Good points all. At some point, you have to remember that it's impossible to predict the future. We bought our tickets for May travel back in early January, and got an okay price. But 10 months in advance is way too far.

I'm in a similar situation as Michael. My best friend is getting married in Italy in late April 2012. I'm trying to find airline tickets from Philadelphia to Rome around April 19th and returning April 29th (dates are somewhat flexible). What is the best month to buy the ticket in? Right now, prices are ridiculous. I am finding tickets for $1,200-$1,300. Will prices ever get any better? Thanks!

Last summer when I was buying tickets for May-June to Italy, most of the prices I found were $1200-1300. One day I jumped on, saw that it was $864 and bought it. This time when I was buying flights into FCO and out of LHR, I had to pay $1500. $1750 does seem high, but at the same time, I believe Venice is more expensive to fly into than Rome. (I know Florence definitely is.) It is hard to predict what flight prices will do soon. I would give it a few months. However, if you need to fly on those dates (due to jobs, etc) and have a certain airline, you may want to go ahead and buy now. Enjoy your honeymoon!

I heard that European airfare has gone up nearly 50% since last year...anyone know anything about this? Will it come down? I'd prefer to go from Philadelphia to Rome (late April 2012) for under a $1,000, which I think is reasonable yet I may be SOL with the sky-high rates airlines are charging now.

I have signed up on Airfarewatchdog.com that provides me the lowest fares from my home airport to different places around the world every week on different airlines.

You're too far out to buy your tickets as everyone has already said. It will get better in a few months, but you must also remember that you are also going at the beginning of high season and the cost of everything is higher. To offset your costs, here are a couple of thoughts.... If you are a frequent flyer with any airline that flies to Europe make sure you are signed up for their email specials that often come come out weekly. If you're not on anyone's frequent flyer program, join them ALL and sign up for their specials. There is no cost, and right now a number of airlines are offering large amounts of free miles to apply for their credit card. In addition to the free flights you can get, and you have almost a year to earn the miles, sometimes they have some great deals.... and some weird ones. For example, Houston to London on Continental last week was $986 RT, but if you flew from Dallas or Austin to London (which ironically connected in Houston to the $986 flight), the price was only $594. Since it is your honeymoon and you're looking at the three cities you mentioned, consider flying into the most romantic city of them all, Paris, and taking the night train through the Alps to Venice to start your trip. Paris flights are generally less expensive. Or you could fly to Rome and finish up in Paris. Regardless, you can wait until February and still get better prices than now. Good luck. By the way, if you're going to be in Florence you MUST go to the Cinque Terre. A quick 2 1/2 train ride.

Bryan, this may muddy the waters just a bit, but I purchased our tickets for October 2011 in January 2011. Open jaw from JFK to Milan and then Rome to JFK on Alitalia in the Classica Plus (midway between coach and business, which is pretty nice on their newer A330's) for $1700 per ticket. At the time, coach on the same flight was about $800.) Yes, it was a big boost in price but much more comfortable in my opinion. If you are being quoted that price for COACH, please keep looking. BTW, I periodically check the price for the same exact flight combo, and it hasn't changed in 8 months. Yes, I booked very early, but didn't pay one penny more. That will not always be the case. Check out flyertalk.com for information. Very informed and very well travelled (and very opinionated) bunch of frequent fliers on that forum.

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. I'd like to make a suggestion -in addition to seconding the recommendation of biding your time. My husband and I are planning a similar trip next May. We want to start our trip in Venice and end in Rome. We are going to fly into Paris and spend a couple of days there. Then take the night train from Paris to Venice (booking a double compartment) on the Artesia night rrain. At the end of our trip we plan to take a cheap flight via either Ryanair or Easyjet from Rome to Paris, spend one night there and get a good night's sleep before returning via direct flight back to Seattle. My point is that you can fly from the US to any number of European destinations and then either fly or take the train to Venice. Our total airfare roundtrip to Paris is $2686 (for two). And Paris is a pretty romantic place!!

So is the consensus to book your accommodations first and the flight later? Just to make sure you can stay in your accommodation of choice?

James, every hotel that I considered had pretty much the same policy - a credit card to reserve the room, but not charged until departure and cancellation policies varied but were still very generous. So, I wouldn't hesitate to book your hotels early and in the upcoming months if something changes with your itinerary or budget, you can react accordingly with virtually no consequences provided it is outside of the cancellation guidelines. Of course, changes close to your travel date will thin your choices. FYI, I couldn't get my top five hotel choices in Venice for the month of October when I inquired in June. Be wary of hotel rates that are pay in full up front with no refund. They are cheaper but you have no ability to change or cancel that reservation.

I'm looking to fly in late April 2012 and it seems the consensus is to wait on airfare for right now. Based on the Seattle Times article, I should be checking periodically throughout the fall to see if rates drop. This is probably my best bet. Right now though, it's very frustrating seeing how expensive it is to fly from Philadelphia to Rome.

I think it also depeonds on how "rare" your flight is. Being from a smaller area, we needed to take a commuter flight to a larger city, which decreased our flexibility for tickets... we are also flying open ended on both ends... which further complicated pricing. I purchased our tickets (St. Johns, Canada to Venice) and (Rome to Fredericton, Canada) in February for travel at the end of this month.
I had been monitoring pricing, and when it dropped 300pp one night, I jumped. We ended up paying $1350 each... pricing is now $2800 each, more than double! I would figure out what is considered a good "deal" for the flight you are looking for :)

Fly into another country and then take the train. It will cost less. You are going during the summer months when it will cost more.

James, In regard to your question about when to book lodgings; you certainly could book early and then cancel/rebook if/when your flight details solidify. However, that has always felt rather brazenly manipulative to me. Imagine if you were the hotel owner and lots of people did that at once. You would never really know who was going to show up or not until whenever your cancellation deadline arrived. That's a pretty poor way to operate a business, even if, purely out of necessity, it is standard practice. I think it is better all around to plan to take whatever the best price fare is available EARLY ENOUGH to then be sure you can get your preferred accommodations without having to engage in the cancel/rebook dance. It is likely that the difference in airfare from moderately good deal to least possible price will not be much - and not worth the hassle of playing games.

I would start checking in February, if I were you. Some websites let you see how full the plane is before actually paying for the reservations. This can let you know if you want to go ahead and get the tickets (if it's starting to fill up) or if you have the luxury of waiting in the case of a mostly empty plane. Happy travels.

To further clarify the question of booking lodgings in advance of actually purchasing the ticket - I don't think it is "brazenly manipulative" to book your first choice lodgings in advance and then change them if circumstances force you to change your dates or gateway cities. Those changes will likely occur 3-4 months in advance (as the tickets will certainly be purchased by then) and not cause hardship on the hotelier if you cancel so far in advance. Plenty of traveler's don't even start looking for lodging until a few months in advance. Brazenly manipulative would be to cancel at the minimum date which is generally 7 or 14 days in advance of arrival. Then you might be hurting the hotelier's bottom line.

Having never traveled on any airline that wasn't a domestic, US carrier, can anyone tell me if there are international carriers that have tickets that can be changed without a fee or have a price guarantee if you book your tix in a certain class?

They all have nearly the same rules. You can always book economy fares on all airlines that are changeable without fees. Just look at the higher fare classes. It is just the cheapest economy fares that are non-refundable, non-changeable.

KLM has a seat sale in January. You can fly open jaw which we did into Roma and out of Venice, of course Hub is Amsterdam. Very reasonable. I suggest wait and get linked to their newsletter emails which alert u to the seat sales.

KLM has a seat sale in January. You can fly open jaw which we did into Roma and out of Venice, of course Hub is Amsterdam. Very reasonable. I suggest wait and get linked to their newsletter emails which alert u to the seat sales.

are you very attached to the dates above? June is not only the most expensive time to go, it can also be uncomfortably hot in places. if you can, i'd do the fall. we went two years ago and my mother got an open-jaw flight into Milan and out of Rome from NYC for under $600 (purchased in March for an October departure). i used air miles, but had i paid for the flight, it would have been just over $800 (from Charlotte, NC). the weather was lovely. it was a bit chilly in Venice in mid October...i'd think that late September to early October would be absolutely perfect.

to clarify my above post...clearly your wedding date is already determined, and you want to honeymoon directly after, but several people i know who have gotten married recently have waited a few months before the honeymoon so as to go at the best time to see their intended destination. it's something to think about.
if you want to stick to the dates above, here are a few tips: it's almost always cheaper to fly out of the US on a Wednesday or Saturday and back to the US on a Monday. round trip would be cheaper than open-jaw, and the train from Rome to Venice is only a few hours (when you land all you'll want to do is sleep anyway, so that may as well be on a train). Rome is the cheapest airport to fly in/out of in Italy, in my experience. but, if that is still pricey, look into Frankfurt - i flew round trip from there in June 2011 for WAY cheaper than any other European airport...once there, you could get a cheap intra-Europe flight or a train anywhere else. that may wind up cheaper. you have plenty of time (i wouldn't even think about booking anything until October at the earliest), so do as much research as you can!