Season Distinction

I found this page for you.
?For a discussion of high and low season read: ttp://www.reidsguides.com/t_pt/t_pt_seasons.html

It says:

There is a caveat to this summer norm. Part or all of August is often considered part of
the low season in many cities (except for Paris, where it's July).
Europeans go on vacation at this time, which means the beaches are packed, but the cities
are devoid of locals and crammed with tourists.
Especially from August 15 to 31, most European cities either close down entirely (Rome
is the most notorious) or go on severely shortened hours.
And that feeling that there are more tourist than locals? For those last two weeks in
August, it might actually be true.

I think you need to check with the individual hotel etc. In my experience high season can depend on the area (for example any time when the children are off school is considered high season) and the individual establishment. I once contacted one hotel who said that low season was November to February, but not including Christmas which was classified as high season. Everything else was high season as it was a popular area and people even came when it was cold!

I don't think there are specific dates for high and low or inbetween seasons. Each establishment sets their own dates for lower prices. In some areas, the high season can be December. High season in Europe generally refers to the summer and high tourist traffic. September begins to wind down and October is probably even better.

For Italy I don't think there's a clearly defined high season and low season, with exact dates that you can use to book accommodations, not in the way there is when booking accommodations for some destinations, for example Hawaii. Here's how Rick defines it: Peak season for Italy is May - Sept. Individual hotels may have their own calendar of prices, but it's difficult to generalize accurately, because there are some surprises. For example, August is the vacation/holiday month for locals in Italy, with some of the big cities quieter than at other times (with discounted prices) but beach and mountain resorts being jammed with the locals on holiday (with higher hotel prices).

Just to add to what Kent has said... May - September is peak season, and then July and August is rediculous season.

Thanks Guys, for all the great responses, I got the word now. Steve

Air fares or hotels? I believe September is still high season everywhere in Italy for hotels. You also need to book well in advance for top tourist sights.

Last year I started at the end of August to plan a trip to northern Italy for 2 weeks in early October. It was a struggle to get hotel rooms 5-6 weeks in advance.

We're in the process of booking a 3-week trip to England in late September and early October. All of our September bookings are high-season rates. We haven't booked anything for early October yet.

Over the years, tourism has increased dramatically so service providers had to extend the high season to fit in all the travellers :-P