Best time for Italy?

How much of Italy do you plan to cover. What are your major sights to see?

We visited once for 3 weeks, mid-December to early January, and Christmastime was a special time, with fewer other visitors in many places than if we'd been there in summer. But we started in Rome and went south from there.

Reenforcing what’s posted above, we were told by a local in Sorrento that April would be his choice for the "best" time to visit there, for decent weather and fewer crowds. Also, December meant some sights had shorter hours or were even closed some days.

With your 2 options, unless there was a specific thing you wanted to see, and you found out it wasn't going to be available on your schedule during Oct/Nov, I'd opt for the later timing -- even less busy with other tourists than in the first 3 weeks of September, and bring a jacket.

Anytime of the year with fewer tourists is “the best” time to visit Italy.

In recent years, I've been to Italy from north (Verona, Venice) to south (Naples, Sorrento, Salerno) in February. While the weather was sometimes cold, it was never below 40F and most days were in high 50s and 60s, a little rain, some cloudy days, but many sunny days too. Hot weather enervates me, so given your choices, I'd go with October/November.

I missed out on some things in winter like no ferries on the Amalfi Coast, but I got to see Rome covered in snow (it must have been pretty cold at night, but in the morning it was sunny and felt like 50F or more. Most sights were not crowded, though in Rome, the Vatican was very crowded (I can't imagine what it must be like in high season), and there were long lines for the Colosseum and Forum tickets.

In my mind, early September is still summer and high season. Also, hot.

I have made 11 trips to Italy, the first on a group tour in early June 1989 before the crowds were as bad as they are today. All my other trips beginning in 2001 have been in the autumn or winter. Last two years the trips began around September 21 only because I wanted to take the ferry from Sardinia to Corsica (seasonal service stopped on September 30th) and attend the White Truffle Market in Alba the first week of October. Most trips were in November and two were Christmas time trips in December. Temperatures were always moderate and, maybe it was just luck, if I had 3 days rain in total, it was a lot.

Not only are the crowds gone but since business slows down restaurants and tradespeople are happier to see you. Lodging prices start to drop in October and drop even more in November. It’s a great time of year for a visit.

I knew pretty much upfront that my tolerance/patience for crowds was almost nonexistent, not a good recipe for traveling to tourist areas. I care not for beaches, opting to see see historical sites, riding around on trains & buses or, conversely, simply sitting in a piazza with an espresso and a good book. Not everybody's idea of fun, which is why we haven't traveled with anybody else to date.

So, my 3 trips to Europe--all featuring Italy--have been October 8-20, and twice, February 25-March 12. The bad? Occasionally crappy weather--but no snow--and believe it or not, heavy crowds in Florence on weekends, even in February.

The good is everything else. Ease of getting around--Rome buses never filled to the gills, most restaurant seating available, and yes, waiters, shopkeepers & locals are happy to see you & generally interested in your background--not an ounce of BS in that. It's what keeps me coming back. Gosh, I can imagine at the nexus of high season how tiring the onslaught of clueless tourists must be.

Oh--to answer your question, OP--the September dates are only viable if you are not visiting Rome, Florence or Venice. And it still could be fairly hot. Me? I'm taking the October 15 to early November timeframe.

Enjoy your planning!

I vote for the October time frame as well. We went to Tuscany in mid-December and it was a charming time. We were the only guests at our agriturismo for the entire week. and we got to spend time with the staff and become good friends. Our Walks of Italy guide in the Uffizi didn't need to use his transmitter - there were only 6 of us and no other groups around.

Weather was light-jacket-in-the-morning pleasant, with only one day of drizzle in the evening.

Thanks you so much. We have not been to Italy before and plan to cover the usuals this first trip plus my grandparents home town of Genoa. I truly appreciate the insight. October it is!

Agree with the October/November dates, just be aware you're going to loose some daylight hours so plan accordingly.

In the past four years, September has become increasingly crowded.