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How to find best airfare?

alexadeparis

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the website Rome2Rio.com will show you HOW to get to your destination from where you start out. But then you will still have to do an airfare search somewhere else - but it SHOULD give you the list of possible routes and then you will have set parameters for inputting your searches
 

beejaybeeohio

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I'm surprised nobody has mentioned putting in multi-city parameters vs. looking at two one ways. We've used EasyJet for European city to city flights in the past, paying extra for bags and early boarding for very little in total.

Also, cruise lines offer consolidator fares if you book with them, and your dates and cities do not have to align with the cruise itinerary!
For train travel go to Man in Seat 61! He knows a lot!
 

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Also a big fan of google flights and ITA Matrix (a little more tricky to get the handle of).
 

DaveNV

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Ok, the cruise is booked. We decided to sail from Rome to Athens. That way we can spend the period before the cruise doing all the walking around in Italy, then relax on the cruise for a week, before flying home after seeing Athens. The plan seems workable. Still seeking airfare options. I reviewed some of the links from the posts above, and those are great choices. Thanks, everyone, for such good ideas.

We'll make our way from the USA to Venice, by whatever means works best. (Although I do like the idea of flying into Munich and making our way to Venice by train.) We'll explore Venice, then hop a train to Florence to explore some more, then hop another train to Rome for one final bit of touring. We'll board the ship, which will conveniently stop at Naples the next day, so we can do a tour of Pompeii. Then the rest of the cruise we'll visit several Greek Islands and Kusadasi, and end up in Athens. Should be a fine time.

Is there an airport hub city in Europe that would be a good landing spot for a flight from the US? Thinking of that first leg, to get to Venice.

Dave
 

Passepartout

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Is there an airport hub city in Europe that would be a good landing spot for a flight from the US? Thinking of that first leg, to get to Venice.

Dave
We like Pisa for Venice or Florence. Alternately, there's Milan Malpensa. And if you make that choice, you can get a 15 minute private audience with Da Vinci's Last Supper. For that you have to order timed tix from the US.
 

Talent312

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I like Frankfurt or Munich for Euro-hubs.
Once, after landing in Frankfurt, we flew direct to Santorini,
took some inter-island ferries, and then flew from Athens to
Frankfurt for our return.

The Frankfurt to Santorini and Athens to Frankfurt flights
were one-way separate bookings.
,
 
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ScoopKona

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We like Pisa for Venice or Florence. Alternately, there's Milan Malpensa. And if you make that choice, you can get a 15 minute private audience with Da Vinci's Last Supper. For that you have to order timed tix from the US.

I saw the Last Supper when I was a child. I still remember it. It was before the long restoration. There was not only no line, it was free, and we stayed for a few hours. I spent most of that year crawling into or onto every ruin I could. There were no barricade, no chains, no warning signs, and nobody really paid any attention. I got lost in a dark castle and I learned "put your hand to a wall and walk clockwise until you find light or an exit."

The Amalfi coast was economically stagnant for lack of visitors. The Shroud of Turin was displayed fairly regularly -- but not permanently. You could go anywhere you wanted in the Forum. Photography was allowed in the Sistine Chapel. But that was also pre-restoration.

I almost fly into MXP when flying to Italy -- mainly because it's the easy choice. It's the least expensive with the most connections, and an easy train out to Italrail. It's a fun city in itself. And since it isn't on the selfie-crazed tour-group radar, it's easy to get away from tourists -- just stay away from the haute-couture center.
 

Breezy52

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The best way to search flights comprehensively is at oldmatrix.itasoftware.com.

You can put in any number of origins or destinations.

For your example, I'd navigate to that site and search 1 way.

From: LAS
To: FCO, ATH

And select the month long search around your dates, which will give you a calendar showing the cheapest price for each day of the month to either place.

If you wanted to expand the trip you can add any number of places.

For example
From: LAD
To: FCO, VCE, NCE, BGY, MXP, ATH, VIE

If you don't know the airport codes it will supply a list of airports within various distances of up to 500 miles from your original choice if you click "nearby".

Then do the opposite search for the way home.

You mentioned airline preferences, and you can filter your search by airline or airline alliance as well, either before searching or in your results, and also can limit your number of stops, total travel time, etc. It's infinitely flexible.

In terms of airlines, it's very likely the cheapest route from Las Vegas to Rome will be on Westjet Airlines connecting in Calgary, Canada. I did the search mentioned above for July and it was more than $400 USD cheaper per person than any other option. Downside is you have to clear Canadian immigration while connecting, but you're guaranteed a 787 Dreamliner no more than a few years old, and assuming you're going in spring/summer/fall for your cruise weather on the connection is unlikely to be an issue.

Edited to add: they don't sell tickets, but once you find exactly what you want you can search that specific thing on the specific airline site. It's better to buy tickets directly vs through an online travel agent in case of any issues.
Wonderful tip, thank you!
 

Carolinian

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A site I use as a primary source is skyscanner.com

I also watch the "Milage Run" board at Flyertalk.com where people post fare sales and mistake fares, or at least I did until their system got allergic to my VPN.
 

ambere

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We just flew to Italy on British Airways using American Air miles -- in to Rome and out of Venice; trains between the two -- and it was really easy. Just one stop in Heathrow. Our friend flew direct Newark to Milan on a new airline called La Compagnie, that he loved. They only fly from Newark to 3 cities - Milan, Paris and Nice, but all the seats are business class, and relatively reasonably priced for business class. Feel free to check it out! https://www.lacompagnie.com/
 

b2bailey

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I like Google flights as well, and also skyscanner.
Skyscanner is my go to website -- keeping in mind they don't include Southwest flights -- probably not a factor for the trip you are building.

I've used their feature of "anywhere" to discover lowest cost arrival cities from a particular departure city. So, LAS to Anywhere.
 
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