When is the best or most opportune time to schedule flights for the tour? I am taking the RS tour with my daughter. In my case, my RS tour (Best of Sicily in 11 days) is to Palermo, Sicily from Tampa, Florida, November 16th to 26th, 2025. Thanksgiving is the following day, but we will be coming back from Sicily when this happens. We plan to fly out a few days before. Since the tour was over a year out when first booked I was fine, but now I am starting to get a bit anxious. Moreover, flights are less expensive the further out you plan and more expensive the closer you plan to travel. Needless to say, my flights involve the American holiday Thanksgiving and wondered if this would present a problem for traveling to and from Sicily. My daughter and I thought booking this date around a holiday, will give her extra time off work since she works M-F for Manatee county. I pre-booked the hotel in Palermo to the one we plan to start the RS tour for the day before the tour knowing I can always add on if needed.
Posted by
London, UK
417 posts
I don’t know if this will help you, but I just flew from Tampa to London on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and the airport and terminal (F) weren’t any more busy than usual. While moving through the airport I did notice long queues at the check-in desks of the local airlines, but none at the airlines that fly overseas. So, if you fly from Sicily to Rome or London or any other place where you can fly directly to Tampa, and arrive on Thanksgiving Day or the Friday, you’ll probably avoid the worst of the Thanksgiving rush. Remember that Thanksgiving is not a European holiday, so your flights into the US won’t be affected.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8121 posts
People usually book to their level of comfort. Some want tickets in hand as soon as they go on sale, others shop for a deal, others? Who knows. There is no right or wrong, no truly predictable pattern to ticket prices, your comfort level wins out in this decision.
Personally, I start looking for tickets about as soon as I can, noting prices and trying different routes. My goal is to pick a price I am comfortable with. When I see that price, I grab it. I also know, that with the carrier I fly most, if I see something cheaper, I can rebook and take the savings as an e-credit with the airline.
I do not get too excited about having a ticket in hand until about 6 months before travel, and have even waited longer if the plane is far from filling up.
For the Sicily tour, people approach it differently. Some book round trip to Palermo, leaving them to get from Catania to Palermo for the return flight, or book open jaw X to Palermo-Catania to X.. Some fly round trip to Rome, then book tickets on local options to Palermo and back to Rome from Catania. If you do that, consider a good buffer, or overnight in Rome, between your international flight and the local flight.
Posted by
Idaho, USA
7875 posts
Hi Kat,
I don’t have any flight advice - I flew to Palermo from Rome, but I will share my trip report because there’s so much to doing Palermo! I stayed there five nights. This might give you some ideas for your day(s) before the tour or during your free time. (Palermo details come after Lecce.)
Posted by
🏝️ Hobe Sound, FL⛱️
3292 posts
Airlines prices fluctuate so wildly throughout the year that it is impossible to nail a “best” time to purchase tix. From what I have recently read, airfares are expected to increase in 2025. I set what I consider an acceptable price and start looking 3-4 months ahead of my departure date. Living in Tampa, consider flying out of Orlando if the price is right. I’ve noticed on international flights that they are affected by the Thanksgiving holiday and it is usually considerably less expensive to fly on Thanksgiving day than the days before or after.