I am looking for flights to Italy for October. I was assuming that the prices would be less for that time of year. I would ideally like to fly to Florence and out of Florence, however, it seems that it's cheaper to fly into Rome. What are my best options? Should I just fly into Rome or look for Open Jaw flights? Also, is it likely that air fares will go down as we get toward the Fall? Or should I really get on the stick and find a fare now?

As a slow traveler, I would like to land in one place, enjoy some of the nice hill towns and visit the Chianti region without having to do a lot of driving (especially from Rome) because I will only have 7 days.

Thanks.

Holli Rossi

Holli,airfares are frequently discussed here on this board,but in the end its kind of up in the air.Most years the fares will go down for fall
(Fall fares lower than summer)But this year from La it has not happened yet.I am willing to wait until at least June.Maybe I am optomistic but any day I anticipte fall sales.I would like one on air france(due to my "Free" Frequent flyer ticket) but if a good enough Fare come up(less than 600?)I will turn in my FF ticket and get my miles back and buy two tickets.how comfortable are you waiting? Its a bit like playing Poker or is it like a wigi board? RR

Holli, when in October are you thinking of going? Airfares do usually fall sometime in July/August for October. You'll also see some cheaper flights if you're willing to leave Noveber 1 (well, again, that's only if past history holds true for current year). For example, I've seen $600 for October from the NY Metro area drop to $375 on November 1st.

As far as driving, I think if you want to spend your time in Chianti you'll probably need a car. You could fly into Rome, pick up a rental there and drive to Chianti. You could fly into Rome, train to Florence, pick up a car there and drive to Chianti or you could fly into Florence, pick up a car and drive into Chianti. Price it out, determine what you feel like or are capable of doing (jet lagged and all) and go for it.

Remember though, if you pick up a car at the airport, there's something like a 14% surcharge (no surcharge for dropping off though). Also remember to fly into Florence from the US, you'll have to change planes somewhere.

Now if it were me, I'd fly into either Rome or Florence, spend my first night there to get acclamated to the time, pick up a rental car in the city and then head into the country.

Florence is a tiny airport. Pisa is small, too, but I found it to be a bit cheaper to fly in/out of, and is only 30min by train to Florence (to get from FLR to the city center is 30 by taxi... take your pick). I believe the train even runs thru the airport, but my memory's a bit fuzzy there, so double check that li'l factoid.

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Remember though, if you pick up a car at the airport, there's something like a 14% surcharge

I didn't know that Kim. Thank you, we will keep that in mind in the future. We have done both -picked up the car at FCO and under the Borghese in the garage. I didn't remember a high tariff from doing an airport pick up, I'll keep my eyes open from now on.

Grazie,
W

Sometimes its worth the convience to pay the surcharge for airport pickup.depends on itinerary.November is chepaer for a reason it is not as desirable esp as the mid sept to mid october period.RR

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November is chepaer for a reason it is not as desirable esp as the mid sept to mid october period.RR

See - again, one man's garbage is another man's treasure. I find it very desirable because it costs me half as much to travel during November as it does in say May or September. Plus in November I get porcini, truffles and ribollota and I find the landscape stark but incredibly beautiful. Oh, and the lack of lines at most major attractions doesn't hurt either.

Does it rain much in Tuscany in early November?

It can. We've been three times in November. The first time, the very first week, no rain. The second time, the second week, rain and overcast three out of five days (short trip). The third time, first week, it rained one day and the rest of the week was incredible (high 50's and bright sun). Another risk to travelling off season.

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See - again, one man's garbage is another man's treasure.

I fall into the "fair weather traveler" category. I understand the advantages of traveling in the off-season, but I am willing to "pay the price" for sunshine, longer days and warmer temperatures.

Of course, no one can predict the weather in Italy with any degree of accuracy, but in general as you hit mid-October, the chances for rain and cooler weather increase. Sometimes you luck out (as we did in Sicily in 1995 when the weather was gorgeous until November 2) and sometimes you don't (as in our Le Marche trip in October 2003--the first four days in Rome were in the 80s but as we hit Le Marche in the middle of October, we had two weeks of overcast and rain).

My ideal in Italy is long sunny days and comfortable evenings.....so I try to avoid off season travel.

However, as I also like to say, there is no bad time to visit Italy....but sometimes are better than others.

Well if you are willing to go in November fares are also low in December,January,Februrary and March and maybe part of April,actually there not that bad with departures as late as May 29Th.Jim, regarding no bad time.... I am willing to give Rome a 2nd chance but if we went in August I am sure it would be the last time to Rome.(Visions of Philadelphia type weather and never being dry 24 hours a day).RR

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My ideal in Italy is long sunny days and comfortable evenings.....so I try to avoid off season travel.

This is the one thing that does bother me about travelling in the off-season, not so much the temperatures but the shorter days.

I've done it but I'm not crazy about January, February and early March travel only b/c I fear a snowstorm or blizzard at departure that will impede my trip.

>> I am willing to give Rome a 2nd chance but if we went in August I am sure it would be the last time to Rome<<

Ah, you Californians with your dry air and no humidity.....

I have to admit that I love hot and steamy weather (like summers in DC). I have been to Rome in August and I liked it much better than my cold and rainy week in Florence in February. Yuck !!!!

Days are longer in March than November.Jim
my body is waterproof,i'd rather be wet from rain than sweat.I went to college where it rained every day for 6 months! RR

This thread interests me too, as I have tried to pinpoint the best time for us to be in Italy, based on the weather and views, etc. We live in Atlanta, which is very humid, even well into September some years. I have heard that the climate in Italy is similar to ours, except that there is less humidity. Please tell me this is true!

Also, even if we are early for the truffle season in September, will we still experience them in some form, if not fresh?
Maureen

I prefer November over March. March can be much colder and more rainy than November. Or you can be lucky and find a taste of real Spring.

November has beautiful colours and it is not that rainy. It really changes every year. From the 5th to the 20th of November is generally not bad. We usually pick olives in that period of the year and we do not have major delays in the work because of the weather.

As for truffles, of course you can find them all year round. There is a restaurant in Paganico for instance, called I tre cantoni, that is specialized in truffle.