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The cheapest order to fly Frankfurt, Madrid and Rome from San Francisco

There are 6 ways to fly these cities. They do not cost the same. The cheapest works out at about $957 a person and the most expensive at $1,464, a difference of $507 for visiting exactly the same places.

Fly them in this order

San Francisco → Madrid → Rome → Frankfurt → San Francisco

About $957 per person in flights, based on fares recently seen on these routes.

Every order, priced

  1. San Francisco → Madrid → Rome → Frankfurt → San Francisco$957
    cheapest order
  2. San Francisco → Madrid → Frankfurt → Rome → San Francisco$1,024
    $67 more per person
  3. San Francisco → Rome → Madrid → Frankfurt → San Francisco$1,137
    $180 more per person
  4. San Francisco → Rome → Frankfurt → Madrid → San Francisco$1,255
    $298 more per person
  5. San Francisco → Frankfurt → Madrid → Rome → San Francisco$1,419
    $462 more per person
  6. San Francisco → Frankfurt → Rome → Madrid → San Francisco$1,464
    $507 more per person

Why Madrid first

  1. San Francisco to Madrid$363
  2. Madrid to Rome$30
  3. Rome to Frankfurt$31
  4. Frankfurt to San Francisco$533
  • Out of San Francisco, Madrid is the cheapest first stop at about $363. Frankfurt would be $755.
  • Going home, Frankfurt is the cheapest city to leave from at about $533, against $641 from Madrid.
  • The dearest order pays $755 for San Francisco to Frankfurt, a flight the cheapest order never takes.
  • Frankfurt to San Francisco is 56% of what the cheapest order spends on flights, so it is the leg to watch.

Between the cities

  • Madrid to Rome: about 1,360 km (840 miles) as the crow flies. No train or bus we would suggest instead of flying.
  • Rome to Frankfurt: about 960 km (600 miles) as the crow flies. No train or bus we would suggest instead of flying.

Entry rules on a US passport

  • US passport: visa-free in the Schengen area for 90 days in any 180. The Entry/Exit System registers biometrics at the border, and the ETIAS pre-travel authorization may now be required; check the official site. Official source

Rules change; check the official source for your passport and dates before you book.

How much the order matters here

Getting the order right is worth $507 a person on this trip, 53% of what the cheapest way round costs. Of the 107 trips we price in full, that is number 11 for how much the order matters, one of the trips where it matters most: flying these cities in the wrong order is an expensive mistake.

What these numbers are

Cached one-way fares, 12 of 12 legs priced from real observations, put together on November 10, 2026, from fares departing November 14, 2026 onwards. Right for comparing one order with another, not a quote for your dates.

A plan prices your own dates and weighs hours as well as fares, so it can pick a different order from this page.

Other trips priced this way

From San Francisco

Trips through the same cities

Put dates on it

Same cities on real dates, plus what one search cannot show: layovers long enough to count as a free city, two tickets that beat one, and cheaper days either side. No account and no card.

One press starts it on January 9, 2027 to January 23, 2027, 14 days, for 2 travelers. Our dates, not yours, and about two minutes.

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