Travel to Italy

Flights to Italy

From the UK and Ireland the cheapest and quickest way to travel to Italy is by air. A large number of Italian destinations are served by direct flights and you can reach almost any part of Italy in just two to three hours, sometimes paying less than £60 for a return ticket, taxes and charges included. Despite airport delays and baggage restrictions, this is still the easiest method to get to Italy.

You will almost always find it cheaper to use a budget airline when flying to Italy. The firms which have sprung up in recent years now offer good coverage of both the UK and Italy, with many flights serving regional airports in both countries. More deals can be found via tour operators such as Thomson, although they operate fewer flights. However, if you want to fly in more comfort, or the budget airline timetables don't suit you, it's worth checking the websites of British Airways and other scheduled airlines, who sometimes have good offers. Personally we avoid Italian carrier Alitalia, since their financial problems have been leading to repeated strikes by staff, and grounded flights.

On our Budget Airports page, we list the destinations in Italy which you can reach using the cheap airlines Ryanair and Easyjet. Ryanair have greater coverage, but both the airlines operate flights to some small and interesting destinations as well as the major cities like Rome, Venice and Milan. We provide a handy guide for budget airline destinations in Italy, with suggestions for nearby holiday spots, and advice making the most of a cheap break.

If you book a bargain flight with Easyjet or Ryanair, don't expect luxurious seats or free food or entertainment. Seat space is cramped and service can be basic. Bring your own food if you want to save cash inflight, and try to bring only cabin luggage if you'll be in a hurry on arrival. Whatever the inconveniences, however, the fantastic prices make budget trips a possibility for everyone, and it's worth making the most of these prices while they stay low.

• Ryanair fly from Stansted to a large number of Italian airports, and also operate lots of flights from other UK and Ireland airports to destinations throughout Italy.

• Easyjet also serve lots of Italian airports, including a few convenient one which Ryanair don't cover, like Venice Marco Polo (the nearest airport to Venice) and Naples.

• Thomson Flights : Thomsonfly currently fly to a handful of Italian destinations from various UK airports: Venice Marco Polo, Pisa, Lamezia Terme, Catania, and two airports in Sardinia: Alghero and Olbia.

Of the scheduled airlines, British Airways generally offer the best deals for Italy flights. Their website is simple and colour-coded to help you find the cheapest flight options.

As experienced travellers will know, Expedia can come up with some fairly good deals and save time on shopping around. However, do your own search of the budget airlines first.

You may save time or money if you research the location of the airport and transport options. For example, Easyjet's Milan flights use Linate Airport, close to the city, while Ryanair fly to Bergamo, some distance away. You can save money travelling to Stansted Airport by booking cheap coach travel with Terravision, who also operate airport buses from Milan Bergamo, Rome Ciampino and Pisa airports.