Flying to Italy, let alone anywhere else in Europe, has become increasingly more expensive and more difficult over the last couple of years.
This is always the worst part of the trip when traveling anywhere it seems.
Therefore, we thought we’d provide a few tips for flying to Italy.
Why these tips for flying to Italy?
Heading out to plane in Palermo
Consider our recent trip to Sicily in September 2023.
We flew out of Dulles outside Washington, DC on British Airways with a stop at London Heathrow on the way to Palermo.
On our way to Dulles, we get a text message indicating our flight was delayed by two hours, as our plane was delayed coming over to DC from London.
Why they waited so long to provide this text message is beyond belief, as they had to have known of the delay hours before.
As a result, we were going to miss our connecting flight to Palermo, so the airline already had us re-routed with an extra stop in Rome.
We ended up arriving in Palermo about 7 hours later than anticipated, which pretty much ruined our first day.
On our way back, our flight was delayed by two hours from London to Dulle. The issue appeared to be that no crew was available at the time our flight was supposed to leave.
In January we traveled to Rome and Florence. We were staying Florence first, so we flew there first… from Dulles, via Frankfurt on Lufthansa.
Unfortunately, our baggage did not arrive with us when we landed in Florence, even though our layover in Frankfurt was four hours.
On the way back, we were flying from Rome to Frankfurt, and then back to Dulles. However, our layover in Frankfurt was less than one hour, and Frankfurt is a BIG airport.
They were literally boarding our flight to Dulles when our flight from Rome landed in Frankfurt, so we had to jog walk to the terminal. In spite of our fast pace, this took us a solid 25 minutes.
Fortunately, we did make our connection, and since we had upgraded to business class, we had a nice flight back.
Tip #1
If you don’t mind the expense, the best tip we can give you for flying to Italy is to find a direct flight to either Milan or Rome from the U.S., rather than have a layover in Europe.
Your connection to wherever you are going in Italy from either Milan or Rome will be much easier than from elsewhere in Europe.
You can find plenty of flights to Rome from the east coast of the U.S., and some to Milan.
Of course, this will be more expensive as those flights are in greater demand, but it will make your life easier.
If cost is your primary concern, check out the AviaSales flight aggregator to find cheap flights to Italy.
Tip #2
If Rome or Milan are not your final destination, be sure to allow for at least a two hour layover. Our preference is 2.5 to 3 hours.
A 2.5 hour layover is the sweet spot, as by the time you exit the plane on this leg, you’ll only have about an hour to 90 minutes to wait to board your next flight.
This will also give you a little bit of wiggle room in case your flight to those cities is delayed.
Tip #3 – Flying from Palermo
If your trip is taking you through Palermo in Sicily, be ready for some delays getting checked in and getting through customs when you fly out of Palermo.
The system they appear to have in place seems to be a bit antiquated, and even though our flight was on schedule, it was delayed because getting all the passengers checked in and on the plane was a very slow process.
Tip #4 – Flying back home
Similar to tips #1 and #2, consider flying out of Rome or Milan on your way back to North America. If you live in Europe, obviously you have more options for direct flights from other areas of Italy back to your home airport.
Tip #5 – Avoid London Heathrow for the time being
London Heathrow is extremely busy these days, and getting through security is an absolute mess.
If you have any sort of delay getting there, and you are at risk of missing a connecting flight, they don’t care.
They will hold you up in security if they find the slightest reason to go through your luggage by hand.
This happened to us on the way over to Italy and back on our recent trip to Sicily, and we watched countless other people go through the same thing, typically waiting 10 to 30 minutes before the issue would be resolved.
Tip #6 – Get a luggage tracker tag
When flying overseas with multiple stops, there is a good chance your luggage will not arrive with you at your final airport destination.
This happened to us flying on Lufthansa on the way to Florence and on our return home from Rome on that same trip.
On both occasions, we knew within minutes of landing that our luggage was not on the flight, as we had a luggage tracker tag in our suitcase.
When we landed in Florence, we went to straight to the lost luggage department to let them know. But, service was slow, so we went to our hotel.
That was a mistake, as we ended up having to go back to the airport the next day to pick up the luggage once it arrived.
What you need to do is be as patient as possible (tough to do after a 12 hour trip) and wait for service, so they can send the luggage to your hotel. This will only be done if you fill out a form at the airport with the appropriate information.
Last of our tips for flying to Italy
Inside train station in Florence
This isn’t exactly a flying tip, but more of a general Italy travel tip.
Once you reach Rome or Milan, take a train to your ultimate destination if a high speed train is available and you can keep the trip within three hours.
I would absolutely do this for my next trip to Florence, rather than fly to the airport there. This would allow me to fly directly to Rome from Washington, DC, rather than deal with a stop somewhere.
There is nothing wrong with the airport, but I can keep my trip shorter by flying to Rome, and then catching a train from there to Florence.
The benefits to taking a train are less wait at the airport for your next flight, views of the Italian countryside, and a vastly more pleasant trip all around, as you have more seating space.
If you are flying to Rome, you can get to Naples in the south in about two hours, Florence in about 2 hours and 15 minutes, and Bologna in under three hours.
If you fly into Milan, you can take the train to Venice in just over 2 1/2 hours.
You can also reach Genoa by train from Milan, but it is not high speed and will take you a little over three hours.
