Flights to Italy - Getting there on the cheap...
Whether you're planning to go to Italy for a whole month or just a couple of days, getting there is easy if you know where to look. Competition between low cost European airlines is fast and furious, and with a little bit of research you should be able to find rock bottom fares to whisk you away on your Italian holiday.
See - MQSEARCH for the latest advertised flights - if you are based in the USA follow this link.
Citizens of the UK must carry a valid passport for all travel to Italy (for more information about entry requirments, see our travel essentials guide), and flying time from London ranges from between two to three hours, depending on your destination.
Any national carrier will fly you to Italy, but for the cheapest fares let your computer do the work and check out the bargain basement fares from carriers like Easyjet and Ryanair. To find out which airlines fly from your local airport to your desired destination, try www.budgetfare.co.uk.
Airlines like these have revolutionised short haul holiday flights across Europe, and between them you can fly you from Britain to Milan, Turin, Venice, Bologna, Pisa, Rome, Naples, Sardinia, Genoa, Brindisi, Palermo, Trieste and Verona.
But these rock bottom fares - which can get as low as £1.99 one way - may mean travelling to airports twenty or thirty miles outside of your destination city - like Ryanair's flights to Milan which actually drop you off in Bergamo...an hour's bus ride away!
Flight prices naturally vary wildly and will depend on how far in advance you book them and what day and time you fly. Weekend flights cost considerably more than weekday ones; as do flights on long weekends, school holidays and the dates surrounding major sporting events. You'll get the cheapest fares if you can manage to fly between Monday and Thursday, and if you book 14 or even 28 days in advance. Fares are also subject to a number of additional taxes and levies - among them UK Air Duty, government tax, foreign airport duty, a September 11 insurance levy and wheelchair levies; taking your bargain £1.99 flight to as much as £14.
The hub for most low cost airlines is Stansted Airport, Europe's fastest growing major airport situated 40 miles north of London. Budget airlines fly almost everywhere from here, but if you're planning to travel from any other city your journey may take some consideration. If you live, say, in Cardiff or Bournemouth or Bristol, or even Edinburgh, you're more restricted in where you can directly fly to than Londoners. A connecting flight through Stansted Airport may be necessary to reach your destination. The airlines take no responsibility for missed connections, so make sure you book them with plenty of time to spare.
If you're concerned about using a credit or debit card to buy flights online, don't be. The Easyjet and Ryanair websites use SSL (or Secure Socket Layer) technology, the preferred method to securely transfer credit card and other sensitive data over the internet. For all other websites, just check the lower right hand corner of your computer screen. If their padlock there is snapped shut, the site is secure.
Italy Guide
