When should we start booking Airfare, Hotels, Train and so forth?

My girlfriend and I are leaving for Italy in mid October and we booked our hotel and plane tickets about a month ago. We got pretty good prices, although I would have preferred to book earlier. I guess the earlier the better especially if you want a specific flight/hotel room/etc., but we are very happy with our plane tickets, and hotel room. I'm going to reserve for the Borghese Gallery in Rome soon, but other than that we are all set. Good luck! Sounds like a great trip.

Ireland, Scotland, and England next year for us.

James,

Enjoy your vacation. If I may ask... did you book all that online (and where) or through a travel agent?

LA to Paris - do you mean open jaw, LA-Paris and Rome-LA? This will undoubtedly be cheaper than one-way tickets.

I think I would start in London, maybe even with the cruise, then see London, train to Paris, fly to Rome. Getting right on the cruise gives you time to recharge after the long haul flight and get over the jetlag. By the time you get back to London, you will be rested and able to enoy it. Allow a day for travel between London-Paris and between Paris-Rome. Otherwise you will end up with only 2 touring days in each.

When are you planning to go? I'd start searching for the transatlantic flights now and book as soon as you find a good fare. If you are looking for smaller hotels or B&B's, you may find that they don't take bookings (or even have rates) more than 3 months ahead. OTOH if you are going in high season, 3 months may barely be enough time. Other stuff, 2 months is probably plenty of time.

Steve,

It would help to have some information on when you're planning to take your anniversary trip? Is the order of visits the same as you listed? Finally, could you provide some details on the Cruise to Ireland and Scotland?

I'd definitely recommend "open jaw" flights, perhaps starting in London and returning from Rome. One thing to keep in mind is that you'll need to allow adequate travel times between cities. Based on your list, each trip will realistically be about 4 - 6 hours, so that will leave about 2.5 days in each city.

On the flight to Rome, you'll likely be travelling via one of the "budget airlines". These usually have VERY restrictive baggage limits, so you'll need to keep that in mind. Also, many airlines in Europe only allow ONE carry-on item (NOT one plus a personal item, as is usually the case here), so you'll need to configure your packing accordingly.

If this is your first trip to Europe, I'd highly recommend reading the guidebook Europe Through The Back Door as it will provide lots of great information to help with your planning.

Cheers!

Sorry for the lack of info. Here is the schedule I was thinking of... based on a 3 week vacation.

Flying from LA to Paris 07/10... In Paris 07/11 - 07/13... Train to London - 07/14... In London 07/14 - 07/16... Board Princess Cruise in Southhampton 07/17... Cruise to Ireland/Scotland 07/17 - 07/28... Depart Ship 07/29... Fly to Rome 07-29... In Rome 07/29 - 07/31... Fly home from Rome 08/01.

It all has to be centered around the cruise and the time we can take off work. So far the best I have been able to find for the Main Airfare (LA to Paris/Rome to LA) has been around $1500 each. The London/Rome airfare on Alitalia (doesn't go that far in advance)... seems like it will be around $125 (I hope), and the Eurostar train from Paris to London seems to be around $150 (again it doesn't go out that far on dates).

So if I wait till say April... should prices be better? Worse?

Steve:

What a glorious way to honor your anniversary! good for you!

I am going to Italy for three weeks in June and already purchased my tix. With them in hand, I have piece of mind and continue enjoying the planning and anticipation of the adventure. Of course, some said it was too early, but I got the exact flights I wanted, so for me it works out well. It is my understanding the airlines except reservations 330 days before a flight. Did I pay a premium? perhaps a little, but like I said, I have peace of mind. On former trips, I waited to purchase the tix and did not get very desireable routes. I have only one stop from SFO to Milano...same returning from Rome.

Have a sensational time!

Take care,
Jan

Also you can go to tripadvisor.com and input where you want to go. They will send you fare updates as things come on sale. Leaving from L.A., you may find some good deals.
I was recently planning on returning to Italy and the lowest fare I found on Expedia or Priceline was just under $1000, and that was flying out of a smaller airport (Eugene, OR). (Sadly, I wasn't able to go after all and take advantage of those low prices!)
Good luck!

Steve said,

"James,

Enjoy your vacation. If I may ask... did you book all that online (and where) or through a travel agent?"

We booked it on Expedia.com. You get very good rates if you package things together like the flight and hotel. And many hotels will take a percentage off of your stay if you stay so many nights.

Good luck.

Steve,

The first question that occured to me after reading your most recent post is given your vacation time and the cruise departures, could you travel before July? I'm assuming the cruise you're planning is the Princess "Southampton Roundtrip", which appears to have departures on June 23, July 17, August 10 & August 22. July and August are the busiest months in Europe, so the June 23 departure might be preferable?

Regarding the airfares, I'd suggest starting to watch these early in the New Year, as the airlines likely won't have their 2010 schedules finalized yet. In addition to the "usual" sites such as Expedia, also check the airline sites and perhaps speak with a Travel Agent.

I'd highly recommend avoiding Alitalia, especially if you'll be travelling with checked luggage (you might not see it again until you get home!). Check other posts here, as they have a bit of a "reputation".

As your cruise returns to Southampton, you might consider EasyJet from London Gatwick to Rome/FCO instead. You'll have to deal with their luggage limits and the "ONE carry-on bag" policy. I did a brief check and found fares as low as £32.99 in March (which is as far as the schedules go at this time), which I believe is inclusive of all taxes and fees. "Late bookers" usually pay more, so if you want the cheapest prices, you'll have to monitor their website. NOTE that fares with budget airlines are often non-refundable and non-changeable once booked (although some will allow change for a fee). There may be extra fees for baggage if you're "over the limit", so be sure to pack light!

Cheers!

To all. Thanks for the help and info. Keep it coming.

To Ken. We can't go in June or August because my wife will be back in school.