Since I myself am from the hero city of Brest, and many of our readers are my compatriots, I will be glad to share with you useful experience on how to get to Italy from Belarus cheaply.
Let's try to simulate a real situation:
- You plan to relax in Italy for 7-10 days and have free 2 weeks of vacation, that is, you are not tied to a specific date and can vary the departure / arrival date by 1-3 days;
- We plan to relax for 2 months. Of course, the sooner, the more options to save, but a 2-month period before the travel date, in my opinion, is optimal.
As you know, I travel quite a lot, and mostly, of course, by air. During the year, on average, I make about 80 flights (everyone still doesn’t get their hands to calculate more precisely). Yes, it does not sound surprising, but today the plane is the fastest and, paradox, the cheapest way to travel over distances of more than 1000 km. So, the article will not be much research, but only specific solutions.
Today is February 9, 2014, and we need to get cheap to Italy, and preferably faster, to enjoy the culture for 7-10 days, somewhere from April 9 to 23, 2014.
Suppose we were never in Italy, and the arrival city was not important for us, we weren’t - it means everything is interesting. But let's limit ourselves to the 2 most popular: Milan and Rome.
Suppose another interesting fact is that it’s not necessary to fly in and out of the same airport. This is exactly what many tourists do when crossing the country from south to north or vice versa.
Each Italian city is worth it to spend at least a week in it, but our task is to see as many attractions as possible and go further.
Total our task:
- we want to rest in Italy 7-10 days in the period from April 9 to 23 (we start the search for 2 months);
- fly to Rome or Milan, from where we fly back look at the situation;
- tickets need to find cheap for 2 people (2 hand luggage + 1 baggage per 20 kg);
- starting point we take my hometown of Brest.
Note: personally, in 9 cases out of 10, I manage to travel around Europe with one backpack (hand luggage). If you are traveling with a woman or you are two women, the situation may be aggravated by additional weight.
By plane
The most economical option in most cases will be to get to Warsaw by train and fly out from there.
The direct train Brest-Warsaw with a comfortable border crossing in a compartment will take you 4 hours and 30 euros. A tougher way - the train Brest-Terespol and Terespol-Warsaw for 10 euros, we mean ... I don’t even know, well, we are going on vacation, and we are not carrying whitefish. Young people can try this budget option, but keep in mind that the Polish border guards will have much more questions for you + you need to get off the train and undergo a humiliating search procedure. What am I telling to my fellow countrymen? In general, we overpay here 20 euros and drive quietly.
Depending on when you get to Warsaw by train, you also need to look for plane tickets. There are several options throughout the day. Here you can see the train schedule:
- Official website of the Belarusian railway: www.rw.by;
- Polish Railways: www.pkp.pl;
- German Railways: www.bahn.de (oddly enough, it is he who never bugs and accurately shows all the timetables, even with transfers and even to Belarusian trains. Try, for the sake of curiosity, ask him for tickets Minsk (BY) - Roma ( Termini) on April 9, 2014. If I need to train somewhere in Europe, I always start calculating logistics with him).
Warsaw Airports
Warsaw has 2 airports: Modlin and Frederic Chopin. To get to them costs around 2 euros on a beautiful train. 30 minutes in time.
Two well-known and favorite low-cost airlines Ryanair and Wizzair fly to Italy from Warsaw. New planes, in most cases, move tourists on schedule, unlike the more "elite" counterparts.
Ryairair
We go to the main www.ryanair.com.
Ryanair does not have a website in Russian, but it's nothing, they still taught English at school, right?
Let's start with the options in Rome.
After going through the possible dates, we find this option:
- There: Warsaw (Modlin) → Rome (Ciampino) Mon, 14 Apr 2014 20:20 - 22:45
- Back: Rome (Ciampino) → Warsaw (Modlin) Mon, 21 Apr 2014 17:30 - 19:55
- Total: 656.00 PLN (it’s a little unfortunate that Ryanair does not have the ability to switch the currency to the euro, but that doesn’t matter, go to the website of the Polish National Bank www.nbp.pl and watch the exchange rate: 1 EUR = 4.1865. By simple division we get a reference at 157 euros).
Check that with Milan:
- There: Warsaw (Modlin) → Milan (Bergamo) Mon, 14 Apr 2014 09:45 - 12:05
- Back: Milan (Bergamo) → Warsaw (Modlin) Wed, 23 Apr 2014 13:40 - 15:50
- Total: 504.00 PLN = 121 euros.
Wizzair
We start the search from the main page www.wizzair.com/ru-RU/Search.
Let's start with Milan. From Warsaw shows two Milan airports Malpensa (MXP) and Bergamo (BGY), whichever you choose, you will still be sent to Bergamo.
We don’t matter where, don’t be afraid of this moment. It’s just that they apparently don’t fly to Malpensa temporarily, and they automatically offer you Bergamo, everything is ok.
- There: Warsaw Chopin (WAW) → Milan Bergamo (BGY) W6 1431 04/12/2014 19:20 - 21:25
- Back: Milan Bergamo (BGY) → Warsaw Chopin (WAW) W6 1432 04/22/2014 16:50 - 18:50
- Total: 207 euros.
Well, the option is not bad, but let's see other dates. We see that there is an option to fly out 3 days later:
- There: Warsaw Chopin (WAW) → Milan Bergamo (BGY) W6 1431 04/15/2014 19:20 - 21:25
- Back: Milan Bergamo (BGY) → Warsaw Chopin (WAW) W6 1432 04/25/2014 16:50 - 18:50
- Total: 186.33 euros.
Now let's check Rome, here we are interested in Fiumicino Airport (FCO).
After a moment combining with the dates, we find this option:
- There: Warsaw Chopin (WAW) → Rome Fiumicino (FCO) W6 1441 04/09/2014 12:10 - 14:40
- Back: Rome Fiumicino (FCO) → Warsaw Chopin (WAW) W6 1442 04.16.2014 15:15 - 17:40
- Total: 201.52 euros.
Belavia
It would be unfair not to consider yet a direct option with our native BELAVIA. We go to the official website of the Belarusian airline www.belavia.by/home/
We are looking for tickets Minsk-Milan
- There: 10-04-2014, Thursday 11:45 arrival 13:35 Milan (Malpensa)
- Back: 04/17/2014 2:35 p.m. 18:25 MXP - MSQ
- Total: 489.68 euros.
We are looking for tickets Minsk-Rome
- There: 04/13/2014 11:55 13:50 MSQ - FCO B2 885 MSQ - Minsk, FCO - Rome (Fiumicino)
- Back: 04/21/2014 12:40 16:25 FCO - MSQ B2 886
- Total:506.86 euros.
Personally, I never flew to Minsk. It is expensive, 40 km from the city and the evil border guards (according to friends). The bus goes there judging by the official website www.airport.by/transport/regular-route-bus. It costs around 1 euro.
Super combo guru
And finally, the most dashing options.
We will fly on April 14 to Milan or to Rome RyanAir from Warsaw for 42 euros together:
- Warsaw (Modlin) → Rome (Ciampino) Mon, 14 Apr 2014 20:20 - 22:45, 176.00 PLN = 42 EURO.
- Warsaw (Modlin) → Milan (Bergamo) Mon, 14 Apr 2014 09:45 - 12:05, 176.00 PLN = 42 EURO.
Back from Milan also Ryanair on April 23 for 76 euros together:
- Milan (Bergamo) → Warsaw (Modlin) Wed, 23 Apr 2014 13:40 - 15:50, 76 EUR.
I myself never draw up such tablets, but for educational purposes, for clarity, I made it specifically for you.
Download a table comparing prices for flights from Belarus to Italy in PDF
Tips and conclusions
It is always useful to check your searches on the site aviasales.ru. Moreover, I would advise you to start searching for cheap air tickets from it.
See which companies and where they fly advantageously on your dates, and then check these options on the websites of the airlines themselves or book on aviasales. Please note that aviasales itself does not sell tickets, but is an intermediary and helps you find the most profitable option. For example, I did not immediately notice a more profitable combination of dates April 9-16 for 212 euros.
Further, the choice is yours, as it is more profitable and easier to buy a ticket through this site, and sometimes on the airline’s website you can save a couple of euros. In any case, the difference here is insignificant, proceed as conveniently.
As you noticed, you can significantly save on luggage, in our case from 40 to 70 euros. I’m sure, if you think about it, half the luggage can not be taken. At Ryanair, the dimensions of hand luggage and a weight of 10 kg are decent. Plus just recently Ryairair allowed to take extra small cabin baggage (One cabin bag per passenger weighing up to 10kg with maximum dimensions of 55cm x 40cm x 20cm, plus 1 small bag up to 35 x 20 x 20 cms). ATWizzair there is a division into large, up to 10 kg, and small carry-on baggage up to 5 kg. For large, you need to pay 10 euros. Wizzair Baggage Policy. Now suitcases are sold specifically for the right size of luggage, you will also save time waiting for it (in Rome, waiting for your luggage is a tradition).
Look at the time of departure and arrival. Maybe sometimes it’s worth overpaying the extra 10-20 euros, but spending an extra half day in Italy than leaving the hotel at 5 in the morning by taxi for the morning flight. For these reasons, I would prefer the option for 370 euros (350 euros, if you take a large carry-on baggage instead of baggage) company Wizzair,
Wizzair has a discount program - a minimum of 10 euros per ticket for club members for 30 euros per year. Each member of the club can take on a flight up to 19 people, so if you often fly or do it more than one, then these 30 euros will pay off for one or two trips. For me, for example, instead of 212 euros, the price is 135.69 euros for two two-way tickets.
Also, at Wizzair, approximately every 2 months, tickets are sold at a 20 percent discount, which members of the club will find out about a day earlier. That is, you save at least 10 euros + 20%.
In Poland, you will need a little zloty to eat and buy a ticket for an electro to the airport. Changing at a train station in Warsaw is very unprofitable and not always possible, so buy zloty in advance, in Belarus this is not a problem.
It is worth recognizing that if you live in Minsk, each fly with luggage, and 150-200 euros is a small amount for you, then flying with a domestic air carrier on a fairly old plane is the fastest and most convenient option. If you joke in advance, you can even find a special price in Belavia, in any case there is such an option in the tickets.
Also, if your goal is to get to Italy as budgetally as possible, then you can get with transfers to Warsaw for 10 euros per person, fly to Rome without extra baggage in the evening (option super combo guru), spend the night in a campsite with a swimming pool Camping Village Roma for 40 euros per day. Then really meet the travel and accommodation costs of 600 euros for two for 9 days. I would recommend considering this option if you have an unprincipled woman or a good company of friends. Moreover, this amount can be reduced by one and a half times, if you think through logistics a few months earlier.
Useful articles for independent travel to Italy
I hope this article was useful to you and will take you one step closer to your visit to Italy. I will be glad to answer your questions in the comments.
