The cheapest order to fly Madrid, Lisbon 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 $932 a person and the most expensive at $1,124, a difference of $192 for visiting exactly the same places.
Fly them in this order
San Francisco → Rome → Lisbon → Madrid → San Francisco
About $932 per person in flights, based on fares recently seen on these routes.
Every order, priced
- San Francisco → Rome → Lisbon → Madrid → San Francisco$932cheapest order
- San Francisco → Madrid → Lisbon → Rome → San Francisco$1,018$86 more per person
- San Francisco → Rome → Madrid → Lisbon → San Francisco$1,069$137 more per person
- San Francisco → Lisbon → Rome → Madrid → San Francisco$1,091$159 more per person
- San Francisco → Madrid → Rome → Lisbon → San Francisco$1,110$178 more per person
- San Francisco → Lisbon → Madrid → Rome → San Francisco$1,124$192 more per person
Why Rome first
- San Francisco to Rome$373
- Rome to Lisbon$39
- Lisbon to Madrid$29
- Madrid to San Francisco$491
- Out of San Francisco, Rome is the cheapest first stop at about $373. Lisbon would be $523.
- Going home, Madrid is the cheapest city to leave from at about $491, against $638 from Lisbon.
- The dearest order pays $545 for Rome to San Francisco, a flight the cheapest order never takes.
- Madrid to San Francisco is 53% of what the cheapest order spends on flights, so it is the leg to watch.
Between the cities
- Rome to Lisbon: about 1,860 km (1160 miles) as the crow flies. No train or bus we would suggest instead of flying.
- Lisbon to Madrid: about 500 km (310 miles) as the crow flies. Also by ground: ALSA / FlixBus (overnight), about 8h, usually $25 to $50.
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 $192 a person on this trip, 21% of what the cheapest way round costs. Of the 107 trips we price in full, that is number 59 for how much the order matters, about the middle: worth getting right, and worth checking against your own dates.
The same cities from other airports
The cheapest order depends on where you start. From San Francisco it starts in Rome.
- From Miamistart in Rome, about $711 a person, $133 less than the dearest order
What these numbers are
Cached one-way fares, 12 of 12 legs priced from real observations, put together on September 24, 2026, from fares departing September 29, 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.
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 16, 2027 to January 30, 2027, 14 days, for 2 travelers. Our dates, not yours, and about two minutes.
Plan Madrid, Lisbon and Rome from San Francisco nowOpen the form instead and pick your own datesSigned out, 3 trips a day per address, priced from cached fares and the free sources, so some legs may be estimates and the plan says which. Signed in, your first trip also searches Google Flights live, and you can change your trips afterwards.