Travel Info

Traveling to any of the SAI Italy cities is relatively simple because all have major airports, some with direct flights to and from the United States. While each student is responsible for his or her own travel arrangements, SAI has made arrangements with Waldorf Travel Service to offer SAI students the lowest available student-priced airline tickets. Waldorf Travel has handled flights for SAI students for ten years and the staff is familiar with each school’s calendar and travel requirements. We encourage students to book their flights WELL IN ADVANCE (at least 90 days prior to departure) and to make sure to notify the travel agent that they are studying with SAI. Please note that the number of student-priced tickets is limited, so we encourage students to contact Waldorf Travel as soon as possible to make arrangements.

Waldorf Travel
5316 SE Sherman St.
Portland OR 97215
E-mail: info@waldorftravel.com
Toll free: 800-328-7266 or
Tel: 503-233-4053

Milan students will fly into Milano Malpensa airport. Milan has a second airport closer to the city center called Milano Linate, but that is generally for travel within Italy and Europe.

Florence students should fly into Peretola airport, located approximately fifteen minutes from the center of the city. Students trying to save money by flying into other Italian cities often end up spending more due to local transport costs and plane delays. There are no direct flights from the US to Florence, so you will need to change planes in another European city. Pisa’s airport, Galileo Galilei, is located approximately one hour from Florence. For the reasons listed above we suggest that students NOT fly there on arrival day, but we do recommend it for inter-European travel because of the many low-cost airlines that land there.

Rome students will fly into Rome’s Fiumicino airport. Rome also has an airport located closer to the city center called Ciampino, but that, too is used for travel within Europe.

Students studying in Siracusa should fly into Catania’s Fontana Rossa airport, the closest and most convenient airport for both trans-Atlantic travel and travel within Europe. The Catania airport is roughly a 40 minute drive to the center of Siracusa.

We suggest that students arrive in Italy with 200.00 Euro/Pounds in cash to pay for taxis, trains, food and other immediate needs. Students must submit a Student Arrival Information sheet before departure.

Discount Airlines for Italian/European Travel

You must book online to get these cheap local fares. Flights can sometimes be as low as 1 cent!
Air Berlin
Easy Jet
German Wings
Hapag Loyd Express
Jet 2
Ryan Air
Wizz Air
Spanair

Other Airlines
Alitalia: 848/824/4444
Air France: 848/884/466
British Airways: 199/712/266
Delta Air Lines: 800/477/999
KLM: 06/650/11441
Lufthansa: 06/656/84004
Meridiana: 055/230/2314

Traveling By Train
When traveling between Italy’s major cities, the train is by far the most convenient method of transportation. The website of the national Italian railway company is www.trenitalia.it (there is an English language option at the top right corner of the homepage). On the site, you can simply type in your arrival and departure cities and all available trains for the time you request will be listed on the screen. (The most reliable, convenient, and comfortable trains are the Eurostar trains, which cost a bit more.) Purchasing tickets with non-Italian credit cards is no longer possible, but you can look up the schedules and then go either to a travel agency or directly to the train station to make your purchase. At the station, tickets can be purchased either at the yellow automated screens throughout the station or from ticket agents.