Past Best of Italy Tour Participants - What flight connections did you use

jrowland

Always planning my next Tauck trip. Have my reservations for Switzerland for 2017 but now doing my pre-planning for the Best of Italy in 2018.

Realize that flight schedules change almost daily but would like to hear what flight arrangements did you have flying from the East Coast USA to Italy. Wanted to learn which airport you routed through and any thoughts on the best
route(s) to look at.

Jeff

AlanS

We live in E. NC and usually fly out of Raleigh/Durham (RDU) on Delta due to miles and good experiences so far. Whenever we can, we fly Business Class (lay-flat seats) and usually book the flights ourselves very early, often 300+ days out. I look for flights with a minimum number of stops, shortest layover times, and shortest overall time. We took 'Best of Italy, Small Group' in May 2016.

Outbound flights routing (all times local):

DL230, 757-200 DL8688 (AF1178), A320
RDU 1756 - 0810 CDG (1+30) 0940 - 1155 NAP

I'm not a big fan of Charles De Gaulle (CDG) airport- confusing, busy, slow, but it wasn't too bad this time.

Return flights routing (all times local):

DL475, 767-400 DL4247 CRJ 700
VCE 1325 - 1645 JFK (1+45) 1830 - 2016 RDU

Both trips had reasonable layovers (X+XX)- we never felt rushed. Note: At CDG you must go through customs and immigration formalities which can take time.

Also note: depending on traffic, it can take 45 min. to an hour or longer for your Tauck transfer from from NAP to the hotel in Sorrento. The boat + van trip from your hotel in Venice to the airport takes less time.

Wayside

In September, 2015 we used Aer Lingus connecting through Dublin and were very satisfied. Dublin is an easy airport to transit and has the advantage that on returning you go through US immigration and customs in Dublin, arriving in the US as a domestic flight. We flew out of Boston, while another couple in our group flew out of JFK and was equally pleased with Aer Lingus. Connections in DUB are about 2 hours for flights from Boston, JFK, and Dulles.

The Aer Lingus flight to Naples operates 4 or 5 days a week, so depending on your arrival date they may not be an option. Also, while their transatlantic flights are traditional with a nice business class, within Europe they are a no-frills airline.

AlanS

Aer Lingus was bought out by BA in 2015/16(?). I think they may keep the Aer Lingus branding, at least initially, but schedules and routes are likely to change if they haven't done so already.

On getting to Naples- there are few if any direct flights from the US. Typical connections are via CDG and Rome (Fiumicino), both of which are two of the busiest airports in Europe (CDG = #2, Fiumicino = #8). In the summer of 2015 there was a fire which resulted in the closing of one terminal and significant delays at Fiumicino. Like many airports it always seems to be under construction.

Classic Italy was fantastic- one of Tauck's best! Don't forget to go early so you can see Herculaneum, the National Archeological Museum in Naples, Capri, etc. which aren't on Tauck's itinerary. Get tickets before you go to see the Duomo complex and other sights in Florence not included in the tour. We also took a side trip to Pisa. We had time but were tired by the end of the tour so did not get out to the islands of Murano or Burano when we were in Venice. Maybe we'll take Tauck's new 'Ancient Mariners: Venice, Croatia, Greece' trip which includes those.

KL in Hudson

Hi Jeff: We connected through Munich (via Newark) on United on the way to Naples. It was an easy connection and a nice airport, much smaller than CDG and very straightforward.

On the way back we were scheduled to do the same, but an airport strike in Munich necessitated a flight out of Venice on British Airways through Heathrow -- loved the airline, and actually loved Heathrow, although it is huge. If you do that, allow yourself a couples hours for the connection, as it involves a terminal change and lots of walking.

If you can come back through Toronto, you can clear US customs there (as with the Irish airports noted below); you can book that through United as well, given their relationship with Air Canada. I'm not selling United, it's just what my experinece happens to be.

I would strongly discourage you from coming back through Washington Dulles, where TSA coming off international flights is brutally long (and no TSA pre-check lines) -- we missed a connection while coming back from France last year and had to overnight in DC, and this year it took a solid 45 minutes to get through.

I agree with Alan that business class can make all the difference in the quality of your trip and your energy level when you arrive. Good to take advantage of the private lounges at the airports, too -- quiet and comfort (and free food!) make for a restful layover and a more pleasant journey.

Have a fabulous time on both your trips. Classic Italy was magical.

Wayside

Aer Lingus is still an option. They were taken over by IAG in 2015. IAG is the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, and Vueling. Aside from changes to their frequent flyer program there has been little impact on Aer Lingus. In particular, other than adding some US destinations the EI schedules between DUB and the US, NAP and VCE are largely unchanged.