Any suggestions on the best airline & route to choose when flying from Tampa,FL to Sicily? My husband & I have never traveled to Europe. We plan to travel late September and stay through late October.Thank you seasoned travelers!
Posted by
lexington, il
4105 posts
Lufthansa, United and US air fly out of Tampa to Palermo and Catalina fares today are running $1254.52 which is a fairly good price
Have a great trip
Posted by
Gaston, Oregon, USA
931 posts
Patrice, you may also want to check flights into and out of Rome, and Naples. From there you can catch one of the awesome lo-budget inter EU airlines, that you can find on Whichbudget.com and Skyscanner.com. Watch their weight and carry-on rules. In fact,a stay in the Amalfi coast before or after Sicily would work out quite well. (We have done this) You can find quite a few flights into and out of Catania and Palermo. Make sure that you look at the weather history for October, to understand what you will need to dress for. (find history on Weather Underground, etc) We found the Lonely Planet guidebook to be invaluable for Sicily. Read Rick's Italy book, and Europe thru the Backdoor is a must for the first time traveler. Read, read, and do some more reading. A rental car was a must. We usually use Autoeurope.com to find our rentals. ( Go to their web site and fiddle with pick-up and drop off locations.) Make sure that you understand that you have to take your drivers license, and your International Drivers Permit, that you can buy at your local AAA office. Pick up your rental car in one town, and drop it off in another. Bring your GPS from home(loadede with EU maps), and a Michelin map of Sicily. Don't even attempt to drive into Palermo or Catania during rush hour. The Aeolian Islands would be just awesome in September. Bring some water shoes for walking on the hot sand/pebbles. Stay in some agritourisimos. A must!!!Check out Karen Brown and Alistar Sawdays recomendations. Our first un-guided trip to the EU was to Sicily. It was a hoot! Have fun!