Cheap flights to
Milan

If you want to find the cheapest flights, it’s best to plan ahead. There’s a window when flights are usually cheapest that falls not too close to your departure date but not too far away either. We call it the Goldilocks Window. It’s 1–3 months ahead of a domestic trip and 2–8 months ahead of an international trip. Although, if you’re traveling during peak season, you’ll want to look on the earlier side. If you plan to visit Milan in July, for example, start looking for flights in January.

Last-minute deals are incredibly rare during peak travel periods. In fact, fares jump at the 21-, 14-, and 7-day points ahead of departure dates, so book before then if you can.

Even if you’re watching fares like a hawk, some flights never seem to get any cheaper. Before you give up on visiting Milan in the summer, try our Greek Islands Trick. The trick involves getting as close as you can to your final destination as possible, then looking for a regional budget flight or other travel option for the last leg. Luckily, it works all over Europe, not just for the Greek islands.

Say you want to fly from Atlanta to Milan in June, but flights are $1,300. Look for flights to London, Rome, Berlin, or Geneva instead. If you see a flight for $700 or so, you can then look for a regional budget airline flight (often under $200) for the last leg. Or, consider taking the train or renting a car. This type of trip involves a little more work, but it could save you a bunch of money that you could put toward something else on your trip, like a hotel.

Similarly, you can save by looking for flights outside your home airport. If you live in Madison, Wisconsin, for example, flights to Milan can be upwards of $1,500. Instead, look for fares out of Chicago. If they’re a few hundred dollars cheaper, it’s likely worth the drive or bus trip down to Chicago for the transatlantic leg of your journey.

Sometimes, you can save even more by searching even farther from home. Say you see a deal from New York to Milan for $450. It might be worth looking into flights from Milwaukee to New York. If you see a deal for $250, you can still save a bundle.

If you can be flexible with your travel dates, and even your travel seasons, you can save a lot of money. The cheapest time to fly is during a destination’s off season, which in Milan is January to April. You’ll have few crowds and lower flight and hotel prices. The downside is chillier, sometimes rainy weather, but Milan has so many museums and indoor activities that it can still be a great time to visit.

Shoulder seasons, tucked on either side of a busy season, are another good time to visit for nice weather while scoring lower prices and fewer crowds than in the summer. April–May and September–November are shoulder seasons in Milan, with temperatures in the 60s during the day.

Even if you are traveling in peak season, you can still save money by flying on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, which are generally the cheapest days to fly. If you can, avoid Fridays and Sundays, the most expensive days to fly.

Perhaps the easiest way to find cheap flights is to let technology do the work for you. Set up fare alerts for your itinerary, and you’ll get an email when the price drops by a significant amount or into your price range. If your dates are flexible, set a few alerts. It’s best to do this before the Goldilocks Window we talked about before, if possible, to see prices drop during that time.

Milan is a busy airport that’s well connected to Europe and much of the rest of the world. Visitors from the US can reach Milan on a nonstop flight or with just one connection, likely in New York, Atlanta, or somewhere in Europe.