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Members
Travel & Family
Real flight options to the US, the EU-access upside, and the extra leg southern-Italy retirees need to plan for.
Flights home
- Direct routes: 2026 has more nonstop US-Italy routes than ever, over 20, with American, Delta, United and ITA Airways flying direct into Rome (FCO) and Milan (MXP/Linate) from hubs including JFK, Newark and LAX. Typical round-trip economy fares run from roughly $421 on the cheap end up to the $900s depending on season and airline.
- The extra leg for southern-Italy retirees: Puglia, Sicily, Calabria and Basilicata don't have major transatlantic hubs. Getting home from Lecce, Ortigia or Matera usually means a domestic connection through Rome or Milan first; add that time and cost into the honest annual travel budget, not just the transatlantic fare.
- Realistic budget: 2-3 trips home a year is the common pattern for people who want to stay genuinely close to family, more than the once-a-year trip people initially picture.
Hosting family
- Where they stay: a nearby Airbnb or guest room, depending on the apartment, worth factoring into which unit you choose if visits will be frequent.
- What it adds: a 2-week visit typically adds a predictable, budgetable amount on top of a normal month (meals out, local transport, day trips), worth planning for rather than treating as a surprise.
The EU-access upside
- Weekend trips: Italy's Schengen membership means an Italian residence permit generally supports short trips across the rest of the Schengen area without a separate visa each time, and budget-carrier flights or high-speed rail (Milan to Rome in about 3 hours) put much of Western Europe within an easy weekend, a genuine quality-of-life win most people underweight going in. Confirm the exact travel rules tied to your specific permit before relying on this for planning.
- Shipping & gifts: packages from the US can carry real customs duties above a low threshold, worth knowing before a family member ships something "as a gift" and it arrives with a bill attached.