Startled to receive so many questions about Italy on my weekly radio program, I phoned a prominent member of an Italian tour company and was stunned by the extravagant nature of his claims.
According to this enthusiastic gentleman (who was perhaps a bit giddy from Italy’s victory in the World Cup), tourism to Italy in 2006 is so strong that Rome very well might pass both London and Paris in the number of American visitors. And tourism to Italy as a whole has regained the levels it enjoyed in the millennium celebrations of 2000.
It’s obvious that Italy – with its extraordinary historic sights, its colorful and warmhearted people, its phenomenal cuisine, its opera and concerts – is booming, and you might want to plan your own visit. Several developments make the coming autumn a particularly good time to go.
A top autumn bargain is airfare to Italy aboard a wide-bodied Airbus 330 of the new (to America) Eurofly (800-459-0581 or euroflyusa.com). Founded by Alitalia 15 years ago, but now fully independent, the cocky Eurofly is flying nonstop from JFK in New York to places like Sicily, Naples and Bologna (in addition to Rome). And not only does it fly nonstop, but it charges hundreds of dollars less than Alitalia and other Italy-bound airlines.
Whereas every trans-Atlantic carrier imposes a round-trip fuel surcharge of $150 to Italy, Eurofly includes the fuel surcharge in its prices to Rome, Naples and Palermo, and includes both the fuel surcharge and government fees in its airfares to Bologna. In September and October of this year, it will be charging only $719 for round-trip, nonstop flights to Rome and Naples, only $769 to Palermo – a full $400 to $500 less than other carriers. And once again, it will be flying nonstop: to Palermo on Tuesdays; to Naples on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; to Rome on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays; and to Bologna on Thursdays and Saturdays.
Outstanding deals
Starting Nov. 1 and continuing until late March, the air-and-land packages aboard all airlines to Italy will also be outstanding bargains. From the industry leader Central Holidays (800-539-7098 or centralholi days.com), roundtrip air between New York, Boston or Chicago and Rome or Florence, and four nights at a comfortable three-star hotel, will sell during those fall and winter months (except during a short Christmas blackout period) for $775 per person, including the current $150 fuel surcharge. The price from Los Angeles will be only $150 more, while upgrades to a four-star hotel will cost only $50 more in Rome, even less in Florence. Subtracting the fuel surcharge from those rates and considering the low price for a package using four-star accommodations, you’ll find that Central Holidays’ prices have barely changed from the levels of prior years – and are thus a major lure.
Italy, via its several port cities, is also the featured location for an increasing number of Mediterranean cruises, including those offered by Italy’s own MSC Cruises. With 10 giant ships (of which seven are quite new) and four more arriving in the next three years, MSC most recently introduced the 2,600-passenger Musica at a christening ceremony in the presence of Sophia Loren. People who have seen the Musica, including my informant, claim that it is the equivalent of any of the new, leading cruise ships of other lines. And its crew (and cuisine) are largely Italian.
Arthur Frommer, who first published “Europe on $5 a Day” in 1956, is a budget travel authority.
