We're trying to plan a 2 week trip to include a 5 or so day stay at a family guesthof in Sankt Andra em Zicksee, Austria maybe during the second week. (We may even want to visit Budapest that second week), but want to visit Florence for about 3 days. I have air miles that we can use but what is the best city to fly into from the US...Milan-Florence? From there is it better to fly to Vienna or take the train? This is my first trip to Europe and am trying to plan it myself as my travel agent is booked out. Keeping costs at a reasonable level, I'm sure I can find accommodations such as B&B or small hotels. Thanks in advance, Kim
Posted by
Idaho, USA
7674 posts
Hi Kim, I’ll recommend a couple of websites for you for information:
www.skyscanner.com for seeing which flights are the least expensive/best length of flight time. Always give yourself enough time at connecting airports - I go with 2 hours minimum in case the first flight is delayed.
www.rome2rio.com. to see initial options for transportation between any two locations in Europe (or elsewhere). Some of your places are far apart, and there’s a lot of wonderful options even within just Austria.
www.booking.com is an excellent site to find hotels, B&B’s or apartments. The reviews are only from people who have actually stayed at that place vs TripAdvisor where anyone can leave random reviews.
We’ve never used a travel agent for lots of European trips. So, you may find the same conclusion.
Posted by
The Heartland USA
8866 posts
kim, you're leaving out some critical information. Why would you want to fly to Italy to visit a town in eastern Austria if you don't mention planning to spend time in Italy? There are direct flights from the US to Vienna, or with a couple of connections. Maybe using miles complicates things?
A good guide book would help with planning this yourself. Its hard to find any travel agent with knowledge and experience with European travel outside the packaged tours, or who wants to deal with FF miles.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
We want to visit Florence first so I'm trying to figure the most economical airport to fly into. Also to maximize our time instead of sitting on a long 8 hour-ish train ride to Vienna wondered if there is a short reasonable flight that would be a better option. I love photography so am wondering if the train would be a better option for this purpose. Also if we do visit Budapest from the family guesthof, would a boat ride up the Danube be a good option for a flight home from Vienna.
Posted by
Fort Lauderdale, FL
1241 posts
Depending on where you are flying from, you could fly into Milan or Rome, and train to Florence.
Posted by
Portland
3635 posts
With such a short trip, I think you should resist the temptation to try to hit too many destinations. It sounds like Florence and the family visit are your top priorities. Stick with them and places close by. I don’t know the specifics of getting from Florence to Vienna, but I’m sure it will take a long time on a train, or, even if you fly. (Don’t forget to factor in time to the airport and to clear security.). I seem to remember, when we did go from Italy to Vienna, there were no great bargains on fares; however, that is the kind of thing that might have changed.
So, back to destinations. There is plenty to do near Florence for as many days as you want to devote to that part of your trip. Then, Austria. I presume the family site is near Vienna. Again, there is loads to do in and around Vienna. Whatever else you arrange, I would plan to spend the last night before departure in Vienna, unless the family site is really close.
A site like skyscanner is your friend. You can play around with different arrival cities. Then, you can go to the airline sites to see about using miles. I would caution against opting for crazy long itineraries in order to save money. If you’ve never done it, it’s hard to understand how debilitating transAtlantic flights can be. You lose one day just because of time change; but the next day is also lost to jet lag.
By the way, we can be more helpful if you post where you are coming from and when you will travel.
Posted by
Portland
3635 posts
Oops, sorry I missed the Oregon part. I presume you will fly from pdx; but depending on where you live in OR, you might also check out Seattle and Vancouver. You might be able to get a non-stop from one of those airports. Also, if you have some flexibility on dates, you can try putting in different times. There can be huge price variations. Keep in mind, though, Italy is not always sunny and warm.
Posted by
Sunriver
1321 posts
Just a bit of a warning about flying into Florence.... many flights are redirected to Bologna or Pisa...weather/wind related. I thought it was a myth but we in fact were redirected to Bologna from CDG. They bused us from the airport in Bologna to Florence. Apparently it happen fairly often.
Posted by
12 posts
Hi Kim!
Fellow Oregonian here - we always fly Condor direct from PDX to Frankfurt, with a short flight to wherever we go next. We've always enjoyed the experience (we pay the small fee for Premium class - it's worth it!) , it's nice to get the first long-haul flight over with before a very short intra-Europe second flight, and they partner with Alaska Airlines if you'd like to earn miles.
We're getting ready to fly from PDX to Florence (via Frankfurt) in a few weeks, and we found the tickets very affordable compared to other flights we looked at.