Unless you are staying you whole trip inside an airport, you will not be able to fly the entire way to your destination. Whether this is a bus, train, taxi, rental car, or your own vehicle, some planning can save you money and headache.
Driving your POV: For short trips (for me, that is anything on Sicily), I simply drive, and obviously don't look into driving options. Likewise, beyond a certain distance, I know that I am not going to drive (how far this distance is will depend on your own personal list of criteria). However, there is that middle distance, where you will need to run the numbers. Think about all the costs associated with either option. For driving, this includes gas, additional lodging, ferries, and parking at your destination. For flying, don't forget that you will still have to drive to the airport and pay to park there while you are gone, plus there are transportation costs at your destination (taxis, buses, trains, tours) that you may be able to avoid if you have your own vehicle.
I have traveled twice to Malta, and both times I have driven, taking my vehicle on the ferry out of Pozzallo. I find it much more relaxing than flying, only takes about an hour on the ferry, and I like having my own vehicle there.
For information on ferry schedules and costs, I use directferries.com, except when booking the ferry to Malta, then I go right to the ferry company web site at virtuferries.com.
Transport from the Airport: Definitely plan this part out along with your airline search. Know when and where you will arrive, and what the options are for transport from the airport to your lodging. Remember that buses and trains stop running at a certain time at night, and that schedules may be different on weekends and holidays. Also, figure out the costs associated with each option. Airport buses are often cheaper, but can take longer and run less frequently. They may also drop you off pretty far from your lodging, requiring a second form of transport the rest of the way. So, depending on how willing you are to figure out how to get around cheaply, you may be able to save a bunch of money. This can be particularly true in cities where your airport is pretty far out of town (quite a few these days).
Rental Cars: When considering how you will get out of the airport, look into renting a car for your trip. On several occasions, we found that renting a car that we could use for our entire trip was actually cheaper than getting the airport bus, plus it gave us more freedom to get out to areas that were not convenient by other modes of travel. If you are flying Ryanair, check into their deals through Hertz (accessed from the Ryanair web page). We have gotten cars for surprisingly little. Two weeks from Venice was just 250 euro, and a weekend in Jerez de la Frontierra (Spain) was just 14 euro (for the entire weekend).
Train: In Europe, the train is always an option. I however, have always found it to be at least as expensive as flying, so have not taken advantage of this option yet. I always check, though, and have found raileurope.com a good site to check on schedules and prices.
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