Travel from Italy to Paris

Amanda, what do you mean you were " wrong"? Are there no budget flights from Rome to Paris that will work? Are you looking for suggestions on flights, or advice on using the train for this? How much time do you have for this travel, and how soon is it? That may affect prices.

We are traveling in November. Ideally we'd like to get there quickly as to not lose an entire day in Paris. The quick direct flights we have found are $600 per ticket. Not what I had in mind for budget.

Did you try any of the budget airlines, ryanair, easyjet??
Also did you just check one-way. In the states it used to be very expensive to travel one way, maybe that is the case for what you are trying. Agree, $600 per ticket is crazy!!!

We flew Vueling often from FCO to ORY.... In November (11/13/2012) you can get multiple flights for as little as $57 a person (one-way). And that was just a brief glance on kayak.com.

Amanda, we have twice taken the overnight train from Florence to Paris and were very pleased. It gives you the extra day in the city and you have spent your hotel bill for the train fare.

Amanda, if the one-way flight prices are too high, it's worth looking at the cost of a round-trip ticket. I did this when I needed a one-way Air France ticket for a flight within France. Buying round trip cut the cost by almost 50%. Air France knew I didn't intend on using the return segment and had no problem with that, and since I didn't plan to use the return, I adjusted the return date until I got the lowest price.

For one-way flights, the European budget airlines are very cost-effective. I just did a check for a random date in November (Nov. 7th) and found one-way fares as low as 31 euros on Easyjet. Vueling is 99 euros. RyanAir does not have fares up for November yet, but late October was 28 euros. Just be sure you read and understand the extra fees, which on RyanAir can be considerable (fee for booking online, charge is you don't print out your boarding pass, strict carry-on restrictions). I'd go with EasyJet. Everyone I know who has used them said it was fine.

Amanda, I most definitely agree with Lola, that EasyJet would be an excellent choice in this case. You didn't say which day in November you were travelling, but I found fares for 8 Nov. as low as €27.49 PP. There would (of course) be a few "supplemental fees" on top of that, but the prices are still good. One of the advantages of EasyJet on that particular route is that they depart from FCO, rather than one of the more "distant" airports (which is typically the case with RyanAir). The flight arrives at Orly (rather than Beauvais) which provides a relatively easy trip into Paris. They appear to offer four flights a day on that route, and if you don't want to waste a day in Paris, the 09:45 departure would be the best one to use (IMO). As with any of the budget airlines, the best prices are obtained from those that BOOK EARLY. Be sure to read the "Terms & Conditions" carefully! If you think your checked luggage might be over the allowable limit, pay for the excess at the time of booking, as it's more expensive if done at the gate. Finally, note that many airlines in Europe only allow ONE carry-on item per person. That doesn't mean "one plus a personal item such as a Purse or Laptop case", it literally means ONE ONLY of the approved size (and they will check). You could also travel from Pisa (Tuscany) to Paris via EasyJet, but there's only one flight per day departing at 14:20 (current cost shown is €32.49). Happy travels!

My recommendation would be to either fly directly from Pisa to Orly on easyJet or directly from Florence to Orly on Vueling. EasyJet flies its route every day. Vueling flies its route Monday-Wednesday-Friday-Sunday.

Amanda, It's good to hear that you've got this sorted. I've got two flights already booked with EasyJet, as I've always found their service to be good. One additional point to mention. Most of the budget carriers don't offer advance seat selektion, however I believe EasyJet is now trying this (for an extra fee). You may have to tolerate sitting in separate seats for the flight, but IMO that's not a big deal. For the trip from Orly into Paris, you might find it very helpful to have a look at This Excellent Website. Cheers!

Ken, Another great tidbit and wonderful link! Thanks so much! I'll look into the seating as our five year old daughter will be with us and I would not be comfortable with her sitting alone. Merci,
Amanda

This is fantastic feedback!!! We just booked 3 tickets for 90 euros total from Pisa to Orly on easyjet. I didn't even think abou flying in to Orly - novice mistake :) So grateful for all your posts and incredible travel wisdom!!!

When we flew Easyjet from Orly to Ciampino in 2010, we had early boarding because we were flying with a child and had no trouble getting seats together. It's always possible the policy has changed, but that was our experience.

Unless you're traveling with a very young child (I think it's 4 and under right now), it's pretty much every-man-for-himself when boarding an EasyJet flight. The flights are usually short, so it's not a big deal. My family has sat together and been scattered, and the end result is that we all arrive at the same place. Just make sure you adhere to their strict luggage policy. If you book a piece of luggage ahead of time, it's not really expensive, but you'll pay dearly at the airport. And when they say "one bag" they mean ONE. I had a flight help up by a woman who stood in the doorway and argued because she had a small purse and a carry on and they were making her pay to check the carry on.

Valuable tip on luggage. Our family of three will only have one suitcase between the three of us. I'll check the measurement for our carry on bags. Thanks again!

If anyone ever needs to check out flights within Europe, www.edreams.com is very useful website and shows low cost carriers like easyjet as well as larger international carrriers.

Last May my college roommate and I toured Europe after graduation. We went to London, Paris, Rome, Florence, and Venice. We took the overnight train from Paris to Rome. It was several hours behind schedule arriving in Rome, lol. I'd wake up during the night and we would be stopped at a train station for a few hours! lol. But all in all, it was a neat experience and I enjoyed it.