Hello - Planning trip to Amalfi Coast for April 2022. Instead of Flying to Rome and then to Naples, we would like to fly from NY to another city (not in Italy), stay a day there, then fly direct to Naples. We are planning to spend the last 3 days of our trip in Rome so I'd rather save it for the back end. Figured if we could throw in a day layover someplace interesting before our arrival in Italy.
Any suggestions?
There are quite a lot of cities to choose from that have direct flights to both Naples and New York. So, what kind of city are you looking for?
TBH we are open to just about anyplace except Paris and Amsterdam since we've recently visited. I'm traveling with my husband and 17 yo daughter. We'd be relaxing, just wandering around, getting food etc. No heavy touring or museum visits.
For what it's worth, twice we have flown Lufthansa Naples/Munich/Chicago O'Hare.
If you are only staying a day, then you are really looking for a city that has direct flights from NYC and to Naples, that will thin out the list quick. Obviously, Paris, London Amsterdam, Frankfurt and other major hubs are candidates, but NYC may have direct flights to many cities in Europe not available to other markets.
One resource you can look at is flightconnections.com. Drawback, besides the ads, is that it really looks at "where can you fly direct from Naples (by putting NAP in the departure box and leaving the "to" box empty). A map will show all of the routes, you can click on a route, and it will tell you the Airline, and if Seasonal, the months it flies, and nice for the Budget airlines, the days they fly. Naples shows some 50 direct destinations, but usually those routes go both ways. You can then go to that Airlines website and look at flights. The other caveat, I am not sure how much this site is affected by Covid related route changes, if it is showing scheduled routes, regardless if they are flying, and how routes may change with recovery.
Just browsing...Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon, Prague, Berlin, Krakow, and many "non-major-hub" cities pop up, so probably some good options for NYC. Myself, given just one day, I would probably choose a place I have been to before, just for ease and comfort. Visit some old haunts, walk, and not feel I need to "do sights".
That doesn't really make it easier, but I'll give it a try. Being Swedish I have to answer Stockholm :-), not a bad city for just wandering around and relaxing.
Other options with direct flights to Naples and New York are Lisbon, Barcelona, Brussels, Geneva, Zürich and Vienna. And of course the mega-hubs Frankfurt, Munich, London and Madrid. Those seem like your options in low season. And all of them can be a good place to stay for a day.
But if your aim is to to just relax a bit, you can also look at smaller towns around the airports mentioned. Often there are many smaller towns that are well worth a day or so. If Brussels doesn't sound that interesting, consider staying Bruges instead. Or Oxford instead of London, Uppsala instead of Stockholm etc. Those are all popular day trip destinations, but if you spend a night there you'll see the "real" town and what it looks like after the day trippers leave.
I can also recommend flightconnections, as well as wikipedia.
Athens has a direct flight to Naples, or at least it did in 2019. I’m not sure about NY to Athens.
On one hand, it’s a long flight from NY and Athens is a busy city so maybe not the most relaxing choice. But with one full day you can see the Acropolis and some other really impressive things.
Go to the Naples airport website to see where arriving flights originate. That is what I do to find such answers.
If you aren't familiar with FlightsFrom,com, it's one of my favorite sites to check when I'm looking for flights to and from unfamiliar airports. It will tell you every direct scheduled flight in and out of every airport in the world.
For an easy shortcut, just put a slash and the airport code at the end of the URL. So for Naples, go to https://www.flightsfrom.com/NAP.
OMG Lane this website is AMAZING and extremely helpful!
Thanks to you all for these wonderful ideas....I'm leaning towards Lisbon or taking Paul's advice and simply go back to Paris and it will feel like 'home' for the day!
I have flown through Frankfurt or Munich and it was an easy connection. If you are settled on stopping for a night, look at Dublin.
Any of the below would be fairly easy and more of course:
I listed the major carrier but for the onward trip to Naples if booked seperately you could look at Easy Jet, Ryan Air, Vueling and other low cost european carriers.
Barcelona (Level or Vueling)
Madrid (Iberia)
Lisbon (TAP)
London (BA)
Dublin (Aer Lingus)
Paris (Air France)
Amsterdam (KLM)
Munich or Frankfurt (Luftansa)
Zurich (Swiss Air)
Hopefully they all stay in business and continue to operate long haul flights.
One of my favorite sites is www.rometorio.com
There is an app and a regular website.
You can find out how to get from anywhere to anywhere using all possible transportation methods.
Go to the Naples airport website to see where arriving flights
originate. That is what I do to find such answers.
Not a bad idea, but at the moment many routes are suspended due to the pandemic.
First decide where you want to spend that layover day and search from there. Nearly every major European city will have flights available to JFK/LGA and NAP.
Regarding returning to a place you have been, the main draw for me is that I know the layout, how to get to my hotel, I usually return to the same hotel, I have a couple restaurants that I know what I am getting, and I do not feel I need to go see a major sight, so I can concentrate on relaxing, some activity to fight jetlag, and in general, just have a stress free day and evening.
So far as Lisbon, even if you have not yet been there, it does have some real advantages. Taxis and Uber are dirt cheap, so getting directly to your hotel is a breeze. The airport, and Lisbon in general, is very accessible, almost small, at least the airport and the central area, so for a first night, it would be very manageable. While Lisbon does have some great things to see, (and forgive me for saying so, for the Lisbon lovers) I can't think of anything that is a "Top Ten A-list" must see to check off a bucket list. So you will not feel like you are missing out by just walking around and enjoying the city and the fresh air. In summary, it would work well for you.
I can't thank you all enough for this input!
We had considered Dublin as well as Lisbon and Paris. Gianna, (the 17 yo) prefers to save London for her study abroad program when she gets to college.
I neglected to mention the caveat that we will be arriving at this 'layover' destination on Saturday AM the day before Easter Sunday. We expect a lot of closures which will likely force us to do less anyway. Basically, we need to choose the destination that is best to visit during such closures.
I love all of these websites you guys recommended. The fun is in the planning!
You go to Google flights. Enter Naples to Europe (yes, the reverse of what you want), the date you want to arrive in Naples, one way, non-stop and a map will appear that answers your question. Test each airport by doing it in the right direction to see the flights available. Not all flights run every day so if you are a bit flexible you have more options.
