the best way to travel to italy

[landreclaim]

Hi there,

We are planning on going to Florence and Venice in April and wondering what's the best way to go from HK-Venice-Florence-HK. I checked with a travel agent who told me that type of ticket costs over HK$30000 each.

Also would anyone have a suggestion on booking domestic flights in Italy?

Thanks for any advice.

[fth]

I would suggest getting a flight to a central hub. CX flies to Milan and Rome direct, or you can go indirectly through BA, Finnair, Air France or any other major European airline which leaves Hong Kong.

Once in Milan, use the trains. They are very comfy and quite quick. I did something similar when trying to get to Naples a couple of years ago, and I took Finnair to Rome.

For more information go here
http://www.trenitalia.it

I would avoid domestic flights in Italy as they are very strike prone plus you have chaotic airport hassle to boot. Milan has two airports Malpensa is bigger but further out from the city, Linate is smaller but closer. Low cost carriers use a third airport which is 45km away. Rome's airport is a bit of a hole.

[Mr. No]

Hi there,

We are planning on going to Florence and Venice in April and wondering what's the best way to go from HK-Venice-Florence-HK. I checked with a travel agent who told me that type of ticket costs over HK$30000 each.

Also would anyone have a suggestion on booking domestic flights in Italy?

Thanks for any advice.

LOL!
HK$30,000!!
LOL!

OK, go to orbitz or other online booking place. Buy the ticket to Venice (about HK$4000 I guess, though I paid less last year), and then take the train from Venice to Florence and back. A nice 3 hours train ride.

[landreclaim]

We only have just a week so I am hoping to spend as little time on traveling as possible.

Movto, I did check with a travel agent? We prefer to arrange our own itinerary.

[carang]

the trains are EXCELLENT and a wonderful way to see the area. venice and florence are not that far apart and you'd probably spend the same amount of time as if you were to get to the airport, wait for check-in, wait for boarding, wait for your luggage etc.

we LOVED the trains!

[gilleshk]

Agreed you'll waste more time trying to take planes then taking trains for these kinds of distances. Get a return ticket to either Venice, Milan Rome or Florence. If you've never been, it's a shame to go to Italy and not visit Rome though...

[landreclaim]

Thank you all for your info. You've been helpful.

[Dreadnought]

I would look into getting a flight to Milan > train to Venice > train to Florence > train to Rome and fly back from Rome or vice versa. However, I think Rome would be a great place to finish off.

In any case, something isn't right about the agent you checked with if the air fare alone stands at HKD 30,000/-, unless you intend on travelling in Business Class!

Looked up the above city pairs and found much betters fares on Qatar Airways, Lufthansa/Air China as well as Cathay Pacific.

[landreclaim]

We have never been to Italy and we don't speak Italian. Language was a problem in Spain for us when we visited there so are there specific things we should be watching out for?

And since we prefer not to rush, should we cover four cities in a week?

[Dreadnought]

To my knowledge there are no non-stop or even direct one-stop flights from HKG to Venice nor are there any to Florence so you would have no choice but to pass through Milan/Rome on your outbound as well as inbound legs, but even then those are just transit points.

You could opt for a return ticket to Milan only instead flying back from Rome, but then it is the same as 'visiting' four cities, isn't it?

Worst case it takes you one full day to get to Venice from Hong Kong, incl. the train journey, likewise on your return leg from Florence. This would give you at least two full days each at Venice and Florence.
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