December is certainly one of the months of the year when we travel the most. Many "off-site" take advantage of Christmas festivities to return to one's place of origin and be together with relatives and friends. Usually the most farsighted aim to organize departure and return to the city well in advance to avoid nasty surprises at the time of booking. In fact, who hasn't had to postpone the departure date, or even in the worst case scenario, to give up the trip due to lack of seats on trains, planes or coaches or due to the exorbitant prices of the last tickets??
On the other hand, then, there are those who, on the other hand, think precisely of the bridge between Christmas and New Year's or of the first days of 2016 to have a nice holiday among the Italian cities of art or the European capitals. But we, in this article, want to focus on theChristmas exodus of the millions of Italians who, for work, for life choice, or for study reasons live far from their place of origin.?
The intention is to lend a hand to latecomers who, between a holiday plan on the high seas or a university exam under the Christmas tree, still haven't had the opportunity to buy a ticket to return home. We present the main ones below offers for travel by train, bus and plane in the months of December and January hoping to give you the right tip to save a few euros.
CHRISTMAS TRAINS OFFERS
As we know, for medium and long-distance journeys there are essentially two railway companies of reference: Trenitalia and Italo. Let's see what are the offers not to be missed to save money traveling by train.
Trenitalia offers during the Christmas period
Let's start from the offer with an imminent expiry, namely the “AV Special” which allows you to travel with a 50% discount on the basic ticket fare. However, Trenitalia's Special AV offer expires on 12 December but those traveling to and from Verona, Bolzano, Rovereto and Trento with the Frecciargento can benefit from a 50% discount from 13 December 2015 to 31 January 2016.
Surely the trains will be populated by thousands of university students who take advantage of the holidays to go home. Among these there are also those enrolled at the University of Basilicata and at the Vocational Training Centers of the Veneto Region. For them and for high school students the Student Card - IoStudio promoted by MIUR. With this card you can get a 20% discount on travel on Frecciarossa, Frecciargento and Frecciabianca, Intercity and ICN in first and second class, in the Business, Premium and Standard service levels and in the couchette and low-level services until 31 December.
Watch out too offers on Rome. Those who live in the north or south for work or study and want to go to Rome for the Christmas holidays can also take advantage of the offer “Special Jubilee round trip”. Trenitalia's offer on the occasion of the Jubilee allows you to purchase one-way tickets reduced by 20%, for round trips on all medium and long-distance trains of the national service that connect directly or in connection with the stations of Rome. The offer is valid for the entire period of the Jubilee of Mercy announced by Pope Francis and that is, for departures from 8 December 2015 to 20 November 2016. Be careful, however, because the offer is valid only for round trips, even not necessarily on the same day, with Rome as the arrival destination for the outward journey and the starting point for the return journey.
If you leave as a couple, the right offer is, however, the Special 2X1 which allows you to pay for a single ticket traveling in two. The offer is valid for the main Italian cities and for every Saturday. Furthermore, Trenitalia has extended the Special 2X1 offer also for Christmas Day (December 25), Boxing Day (December 26) and New Year's Day (January 1). The 2X1 does not include regional trains, the Executive service level and the couchette, VL and Excelsior services.
Finally, let's not forget the offer Cartafreccia SPECIAL valid only for customers in possession of a CartaFreccia Trenitalia. The offer allows you to travel from 11 to 14 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays with a 50% discount on the basic ticket price on all Frecce and Intercity trains. The offer does not include Night trains and services and the Executive service level.
Italo offers during the Christmas period and in January
As far as the carrier of the private company Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori (Ntv) is concerned, we would like to point out, in particular, four very interesting offers for moving around in the week before Christmas.
THEItalian offer not to be missed to go home a little early in view of the Christmas holidays is the Last Minute in Prima. What does Italo offer? Every day he guarantees for some routes the possibility of traveling between 10 and 17 December in first class with a 40% discount by entering the promo code PRIMA40. For example, you can pay for a one-way Milan-Naples ticket in first class with Italo for as little as 44 euros. However, the Bologna-Florence, Reggio Emilia-Florence and Reggio Emilia-Bologna routes are excluded from the Last Minute in Prima offer.
Very interesting too the Italo Special option which allows you to save 50% of the ticket if you travel on Tuesdays and Wednesdays on trains departing between 9.30 and 13.30. It should be noted that the offer is available on all trains and on all routes, and can be purchased on all channels up to 2 days before departure. The discount applies to tickets in Flex mode and for Smart, eXtra Large and Prima environments.
The third offer is dedicated to the new stations that have just entered the Italo network, namely Milano Centrale, Torino Porta Nuova and Verona Porta Nuova. Anyone who buys a ticket with departure and/or destination from Milan Central Station, Verona Porta Nuova, Turin Porta Nuova and Reggio Emilia AV by 9 December will benefit from a 30% discount at the time of purchase, by entering the promocode NEW30. This promotion will be valid for travel between 13 December and 31 January, on the low cost offers for the Smart and extraLarge environments.
The latest news is linked, however, to the new service Italobus. Travelers who choose to try the Ntv bus service will be able to enjoy a 30% discount which will be applied at the time of purchase by entering the promo code BUS30 on purchases made by 9 December. The promotion will be valid for travel between 13 December and 31 January, on low cost offers, for Smart and extraLarge environments.
HOME BY BUS
Less variety of offers for those who travel by bus out of necessity or by choice. We have scanned the web looking for advantageous offers under the tree but we have only found a few opportunities that we will list immediately.
Offers Bus Simet Christmas
The Simet bus company connects the main cities of the centre-north with many centers in Campania, Basilicata and Calabria. On the site you will find offers starting from 34 euros to travel from Bologna to central-southern Italy and from 47 euros to Milan to travel to the south. We simulated some purchases to see if the discounts were applied on all days and effectively, for example, for the Bologna-Cosenza route Simet applies a fixed discount of 20% (42 euros instead of 54). Furthermore, on some days you get to pay up to 27% less than the base price. Simet also allows you to buy last-minute tickets with a discounted rate. And so those who decide at the last moment to leave from Florence, Rome, Siena and other cities in the centre-north will be able to enjoy last minute discounts that even exceed 30%.
Offers Bus Marino at Christmas
As far as the Marino Bus company is concerned, we want to point out the offer relating to connections from Naples to Puglia and Basilicata and vice versa. From 19 November, in fact, it will be possible to travel on the Naples-Barletta-Trani-Matera, Naples-Bari-Fasano and Naples-Bari-Altamura-Matera routes starting from 9,99 euros. Discounted prices also for those traveling from Naples to Salento. In fact, it will be possible to travel from Naples to Brindisi for the price of 23 euros and from Naples to Lecce with an extra 3 euros.
FOR THOSE WHO PREFER BY PLANE
Also with regard to the air travel during the Christmas period offers there is no shortage but you have to hurry to prevent prices from rising as we approach the Christmas period.
Alitalia offers for Christmas
Let's start with Alitalia which offers numerous offers for all the main Italian airports. Leaving from Rome Fiumicino airport, for example, you can travel to Palermo for 60 euros, for Brindisi for 59 euros, for Reggio Calabria and Pescara for 69 euros. By moving our starting point to Milan Linate, prices rise by a few tens of euros compared to Rome. And so it will be possible to fly to Naples, Alghero or Cagliari for 79 euros or to Bari or Trieste for the price of 90. To find out about all the Alitalia offers in view of the Christmas holidays, we advise you to consult the website of the airline company chaired by Montezemolo.
Meridiana offers for Christmas
Meridiana is one of the reference companies for moving from the north and center to Naples and the two islands. We carried out some simulations on the Meridiana website to check the price situation on some routes in particular. For example, as regards the Milan (Orio al Serio) Naples flight, you can fly, for example, on December 20 at the price of 85 euros. If you prefer to leave from Milan Linate to Naples, prices will rise for flights from 21 December onwards. In fact, those who have the opportunity to fly on December 16th or 17th can spend 66 euros, a decidedly more accessible price compared to the 141 euros of the Milan-Naples flight on December 22nd. Not exactly affordable prices for those who were to leave Bologna or Milan for Cagliari. A Bologna-Cagliari ticket for 20 December costs 103 euros. The price is even higher for those leaving from Milan Linate with the ticket to the Sardinian capital which costs 157 euros on 21 and 22 December.
Finally, the offers of Ryanair, Easyjet and Blue Express which guarantee many connections even during the Christmas period. Particularly in this period Ryanair offers one way travel from the main Italian airports to many domestic destinations starting from 14,99 euro.
