WHEN to Visit Italy…

It is a question I am asked almost daily. The answer is mostly depends on what your travels/goals are. For example, if you want to be here for the wine harvest, best to come in September or early October. If you want to an olive oil pressing, then October. But what I find most people want to base the travel dates arounds is weather and when there are less people. Unfortunately, these two ideas don’t necessarily mesh that well most of the year.

Pretty much anytime between April and October, you are going to find crowds in the “Big Three” (Rome, Florence and Venice) with all them hitting maximum capacity in July. In August, the locals escape but the tourists are still around. August would be considered the least desirable time to come “in the season”: crowds, humidity, higher prices, etc. – no way around it. Just be prepared: if you come in July and August, you’ll have to leave the “off the beaten track” idealism behind. From the Dolomites to the slope of Mt. Etna, there will be people, people, people, even in the most remote places.

My personal favorite times to travel to Italy are the month of May and until June 15th. This is when the days are warm, long (in June the sun goes down around 9:30!) and the uber-crowds have yet to hit. September would be my next favorite period of time. The only real difference is the days are shorter, but the weather tends to be lovely and if you are planning anytime on the sea, the water is still nice and warm. October is great for city and country traveling although about mid-month we start having more rain showers and cooler weather. The only place you might be still swimming in the sea would be the way south (Puglia, Calabria and Sicily).

Since we’ve touched on when to visit, we might as well chat a bit about when NOT to visit…well sort of. Truth is the off season (November – February) can be a real treat for some. If it’s a nice November (as it was this year), the cities are great. I really recommend hitting some of the next tiered destinations such as Torino, Milano, Bologna, Parma, Ferrara, Verona, Lucca, Siena, Bari, Lecce, Naples, Palermo, Catania, etc.). For the holidays, the “Big Three” tend to be quite festive, but you’ll find little “movement” in the countryside and seaside resorts (ok, barely a pulse even at the sea!). January and February are tough…mostly due to the unstable weather. I’ve been to Venice 3 years in a row either the last week of January and February and had pretty darn good weather and loved the semi-emptiness of the place. And of course the ski resorts are optimal this time of year (personal favs such as Ortisei, Merano and Bormio are such fun!) But if it’s anything like this year, or even close, you would nearly in a stand still, and possibly snowed in. Not exactly my idea of a fun vacation.

I seem to have left out March. Not totally surprising. March is what I call the “iffy” month. Many places are still closed even it the weather is nice. For example: many of the accommodations in the Chianti region and also the Lake District, two of Italy’s most popular destinations, don’t open until the week before Easter which this year falls on April 8.

So, let’s recap the calendar on a scale of 1 to 10:

January/February
4.5: a 2 for general travel in the country, a 7 for traveling to the ski resorts as long as the weather cooperates)

March
5: Just keep in mind the weather can go either way and outside of major cities, you may find less options in terms of accommodations.

April
7: What a I call a 50/50% month in terms of rain but you will have many more options for accommodations with less crowds (besides Easter week in Rome!). Also, everything is in bloom so it can be a feast for the eyes and nose!

May/June
10: It can’t get better than this in my opinion. Be prepared for crowds in the Big Three as well as the start of some in seaside areas like Positano and Le Cinque Terre, but a bit more freedom on the rest of the coast and countryside. Optimal until June 15, then start counting on a influx of people and higher prices.

July
6: Hot and crowded, but if it’s the only time you can do it, go for it, but best before the 15th when the mass Italian exodus begins!

August
6: First three weeks can be a travel nightmare and cities like Florence, Rome, Venice, Bologna, Torino, Milano, contain heavy tourist traffic, but little local flair (they’ve all left for the beach, mountains or countryside). Something to keep in mind: The third to last week of August (after the Ferragosto holiday), many places, even seaside resorts, can be surprisingly less packed as the Italians have returned home for work and school. You might even see a real dip in prices for such places as Sardinia, the Tuscan and Romanoglo coasts, Puglia and Sicily.

September
9: See May/June with shorter days, but it’s also festival season so lots of local fun fun fun!

October
7: See April, although some festivals are still going on as well as the vendemmia in certain parts of the country.

November
5: Getting risky but can be surprising nice. Best for the cities and countryside. Most seaside areas have closed up shop for the winter.

December
5: a 3 leading up to the holidays (dead and usually wet) but a 7 between Christmas and New Years (but always subject to where!).

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