flight for Family of 8 going to Italy

I see no direct flights to Rome or Milan.
If you are looking for the lowest price to Pisa, Virgin through London Heathrow.
For higher prices, there are flights connecting through Amsterdam (KLM) or Munich (United/Lufthansa).

I have been checking flights for same in April/May. I am also checking San Jose. There is usually at least 1 stop, JFK Ny, Miami, DC, London or Frankfurt Germany, for the most direct ones, all with 1 stop, to Rome and Milan. One went to LA then to either Rome or Milan, not sure which now, and another went to Seattle first then across and over the pond. I usually prefer British Air with a stop in London but last time I took United with a stop in Chicago then on to Frankfurt before finishing in Verona. It wasn't bad. I was able to bump up to premium economy for the pond jump which was the longer portion. What I don't like about United are all the code share flights with Lufthansa. (seat selection) . So I don't think there are any without at least 1 stop.

Judy,

Pisa and Florence are the largest airports in Tuscany. While they are both "International" airports, they generally don't have direct connections from the United States. In order to get to either, you'll need to transfer at a European gateway city such as London, Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, etc.

You will find most direct flights from the USA arrive into Rome (FCO), Milan (MXP) and Venice (VCE) with Venice being very seasonal in nature. You also may find it difficult to make it to Italy direct from west coast originations as most direct flights appear to leave from the east coast.

That all being said, while I can understand the desire for a direct flight, I wouldn't let the lack of one deter you. Changing planes in a major hub airport isn't all that difficult. The biggest thing, after connection/layover time, to watch for if making your own reservations on-line, is making sure your inbound and outbound flights are from the same airport. New York City has three international airports (JFK, Newark, LaGuardia) and booking engines will sometimes route you in to one and out another. Likewise, London as multiple airports served by British Airways and it's not uncommon to see itineraries with both Heathrow (LHR) and Gatwick (LGW). I would just make sure you give yourself plenty of time and stay focused. If it all seems too much, definitely consult a travel agent or consider an escorted Air/Land tour.

BTW - my first tourist trip to Italy involved changing planes in London for an arrival in Bologna (a first for me) with a bus transfer to Florence (another first for me) and an eventual train transfer to Padova (another first for me). Sometime getting there is half the fun.

Norwegian Airlines flies direct from Oakland to Rome three days a week through October 26.

There is a bit of risk with this airline as they have a small fleet, and if your flight gets cancelled for some reason you may have to wait a day or more for another. But many find the price very attractive and have had no issues.

On the trip to Europe I have a strong preference for changing planes (if necessary) somewhere in Europe rather than in the US. I realize that as a West Coaster, you may find better options by including US connection points, but if I'm going to miss my connecting flight, I'd rather already be in Europe. I'd hope then not to be delayed for a full 24 hours. However, from the standpoint of getting some sleep (which I can't seem to manage, anyway), changing somewhere like NYC for a non-stop to Italy might be better.

Look at it this way: if you're going to have to change planes anyway, at least you may not have to add a stop (or a train trip) to go right to Tuscany. Yes, I can fly non-stop to Rome, but if I want to go to Tuscany, there's going to be an additional travel leg required. I think you'd have to connect in Europe rather than in the US to fly right to Pisa or Florence, though.

The conventional wisdom here is that it's often a bit easier to change planes in Amsterdam, Frankfurt or Munich rather than London-Heathrow or Paris-CDG. So, all other things being equal, I'd go with that advice. Maybe Dublin would be an option, too. Or of course there's Reykjavik.

One thing to watch for, no matter what routing your choose, is the connection time. You won't be sold a routing with a connection time lower than the minimum for the airport in question, but I would never choose anything at the minimum unless it was the only choice or massively cheaper than a less nervous-making alternative. It helps if you're not checking bags, but even so, your in-bound flight could be late. I shoot for a connection time around 2-1/2 hours, or at least 1 hour more than the airport's minimum. If you're thinking how miserable it would be to sit around an airport for 2 hours or so, you're right--and that's one reason you might actually prefer to change planes in the US. It's easier to tolerate a layover at in the evening as opposed to what feels like the middle of the night.

Note: Everything I wrote in the preceding paragraph assumes you'll be flying on a single ticket. If you want to try something risky involving separate tickets, you need a much, much longer connection time (and steel nerves).

When you're looking at prices to the various Italian airports, keep in mind that the walk-up fare (which is what we'd recommend for you) from Milan-Malpensa to Florence is 68 euros one-way on Trenitalia's fast Frecce trains. Italiarail fares are similar. From Rome, walk-up Freccia fares are 48-54 euros, depending on what kind of train you take between Roma-Fiumicino and the city.

If you want to sleep, the longer flights from the US west coast are preferable to those leaving for Europe from east coast as after dinner is served there are not too many hours left to sleep.

As others have said, it may not be possible to fly directly to Tuscany from the US. My usual route to the area involves two/three plane changes. (Home to Atlanta or Philadelphia or Minneapolis) to Rome to Florence. You do have a few airport options in the Tuscany area.

What are your concerns about changing planes on this trip?

Wow. Lots of great comments and advice. My concern is a larger group having to deal with connections and the extended travel time causing more fatigue and hassle in general...

My concern is a larger group having to deal with connections and the extended travel time causing more fatigue and hassle in general...

All valid concerns, but a lot of that is going to be beyond your control. Travel is exhausting, and even if you sleep on the plane, jet lag may be your new best friend when you arrive.

The one thing you can try to plan ahead for is the connection time at airports. As previous posters have said, a three or four hour layover at a foreign airport may sound like too much time, but for certain airports you not only want but need that much time.

If you want to look up some flights and post possible connections, I'm sure people would be happy to offer their experience on airports and connection times. Regardless, I hope you and your family have an amazing adventure in Tuscany!

Lufthansa seems to have the best connections to Florence (FLR) from both Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC).

KLM has connections from Amsterdam (AMS) to Pisa, (PSA)
Florence (FLR) and Bologna (BLQ).

I personally would not transfer with a large group at either London (LHR)
Or Paris (CDG)

Keep your transfer times to 2 1/2-3 hours and total flight times between 15-18 hrs.

I personally would not transfer with a large group at either London (LHR)
Or Paris (CDG)

I don't like changing planes in either of those places with just me and my other half, much less a large group.

If booking from the US, you can see what Delta has. While you may purchase it through Delta, your flights may wind up on Delta, Air France or KLM.

Agree with others, try not to change at CDG in Paris! The airport is a nightmare!
Whichever airline you choose, try to keep the same airline throughout your trip. If a flight is delayed, they can put you on the next one. If you have to change airlines, that can be problematic.

Family of 8

?

If this is a Mom, Dad and 6 kids in an age range of something like 3-13, then a stopover to let the kids burn off some steam is not necessarily bad.

If its is 4 siblings and spouses, an entirely different dynamic to deal with

If you are herding little kids around, definitely give yourself a bit of a longer layover.

Thanks everyone ! We are six adults and three kids... ages 3-11 ( not sure about the three year old yet ! LOL )
I am thinking it's better to fly to, perhaps Frankfurt, because if for some reason your flights in the US get messed up, you only get that one day to get over there, or will probably get delayed until the next day ...

I'm really surprised tho, that there are no direct flights from SFO ! :)

Check flights.google.com for the trip. Enter SFO as the origin airport and then click the "+" symbol to add Oakland. For your destination, enter Pisa and click the "+" to add Florence. The cheapest flights I found in October are around $860 per person...until you enter 6 adults and 3 kids! Then the cheapest price is almost $12,000 total. Change your destination to Rome and the price drops to $5,826. So my advice is to play around with the destination airport and find something that suits you. Also, don't forget that airline tickets vary in price depending on which fare buckets you land in with your search. Try searching for 4 people and seeing what the price is. I always do this when using miles. If I search for one passenger, I may find a save award at 12,500 miles. if I search for 2 people, I may get 25,000 miles for both. You pay this highest price.

Went with a group of about 10 mostly-unrelated people (including some kids) from Minneapolis to Amsterdam to Istanbul to Antalya for a tour/cruise -- we met each other at the Minneapolis airport and at each connection point we did a head count and didn't move on if anyone was missing. Everyone made it!

Amsterdam is well-organized and easy to transit.

I can only vouch for myself, but for our last two trips we've flown Lufthansa, connected in Frankfurt on the way there, Munich on the way back, and it's been smooth sailing. We've allowed between 2-3 hours for connections, which is a little bit on the long side but it's peace of mind and we've never had to run for a plane.

Hi Judy
I too fly out of SFO or OAK. Norweign Air is flying to Rome in September or October on certain days. You can look at their website and the days available, just to inform you: bags, seat and meals are an extra cost at low fare, low fare"+" is a little more but it covers the above mentioned. Doing a "dummy" booking for October (14) days was about $6800, same of kayak was about $4500 with 1 layover. I would register and sign up for alerts to be emailed to you. If you are totally sure book it and don't look back, LOL Look at times of departing and arriving, (6-8am is too early for you and the kids to be at airport at 4am!) Plus not too early in europe that you have to wait hours to check in, unless you get early checkin. Lots of things to think about with all your other "jobs" for this trip. Do you have a place to stay in Tuscany and how many nights will you be there? Will you be going anywhere else and will you have a car? Does everyone have passports which are up to date. Happy Travels
Aloha Princess Pupule