My partner and I have been talking about taking a trip to Italy for a little while now. Various actors finally aligned so I spent today booking flights to Italy for Fall 2022. Since it’s been awhile since I’ve booked international travel, I had forgotten how many factors there are to consider.
Where to Travel in Italy in Fall 2022
We have a place lined up that we’re going to stay for most of the time that we’re in Italy. It’s outside of Rome. Therefore, at least that decision was simple. When looking for flights, I looked specifically for flights from San Francisco to Rome. In terms of filtering the flights, I chose economy seating. Of course, I’d love to fly first class but the ticket difference was over $8000 per ticket, so that’s not even an option to consider.
Factors to Consider When Booking Flights to Italy for Fall 2022
In addition to looking for economy seats on flights from SFO to Rome, here are some of the other factors that I took into consideration as I booked my tickets:
When and For How Long
I knew for certain that I wanted to travel to Italy this fall. Specifically, I was looking to go in September or October. I prefer traveling in spring and autumn when it comes to almost any destination. Moreover, I’ve spent time in Portugal in autumn before, and it’s not too dissimilar from Italy in terms of the seasons. I enjoyed that, so I wanted to look for that again.
However, when I went to Portugal in late October/ early November, I couldn’t travel to the nearby islands due to rain. I want to visit some of Italy’s islands, so I wanted to go a little earlier in the autumn.
It’s so hard to decide how long to go to Italy for. My partner is going to stay a full month. However, I ultimately decided that I’ll go for about two weeks. I would love to stay longer. However, I have a dog at home that I don’t want to leave for that long. (The cost of boarding him is a factor, too, of course.) Plus it’s hard to figure out being away from home for a full month for many reasons.
One-Stop Flights and Layovers
If there were a non-stop flight option from here to Italy, I would book it. However, there’s not. Therefore, I filtered to make sure that I only saw flights that have a single stop. I want as few layovers as possible.
Ideally, I’d love a layover length of about two hours. It’s a nice cushion in case the first flight is a little bit delayed. However, it’s not so long that your trip takes seemingly forever. That said, after factoring in cost, I ended up with a flight to Rome that has a five hour layover in Amsterdam. Returning, I have a shorter layover. There were options for layovers that were as long as 15 hours, which I immediately skipped over.
Change Fees and Trip Cancellation Insurance
When booking flights to Italy for Fall 2022, I had to think about the possibility that plans will change. This is my first large international trip since COVID. We have no idea what travel might look like a few months from now. Plus, of course, there are always other potential life factors to consider.
Expedia allows you to filter for “no change fee” and “no cancel fee.” I selected “no change fee” as the option for our tickets. I don’t think that we’d have to cancel our trip, but it’s possible that we might need to change it. So, I want the option to do so without charges.
Moreover, I booked the trip insurance for our tickets that Expedia offers. It’s less than $70 per person, which, to me is worth it. Finally, I booked the trip with the credit card that also has the best travel protections on it. So, hopefully there are no issues with the trip. However, if there are, we are fairly well covered.
The trip is booked, and I am excited. Are you traveling at all this autumn?
Read More:
Kathryn Vercillo is a professional writer who loves to live a balanced life. She appreciates a good work-life balance. She enjoys balance in her relationships and has worked hard to learn how to balance her finances to allow for a balanced life overall. Although she’s only blonde some of the time, she’s always striving for total balance. She’s excited to share what she’s learned with you and to discover more together along the way.