Do you need A/C in Tuscany (end of August)?

My crystal ball is cloudy, but you are likely to encounter daytime highs in the 80's and by that I mean historically it has been from around 81 to as high as 90 something which was a record.

Nightime lows will probably be in the 60's, but the lows generally occur early morning before dawn.

Humidity in Tuscany is usually in the 60 to 85% range at that time of year.

SO it can be hot and sticky or you may luck out and be cool. Personally, I would like to see air available and not have to use it than not have it and be uncomfortable.

Your call.

I'd say there are some variables. If you're accustomed to AC at home, you might have trouble with just relying on the breeze through the window.

But the primary determinant is where you're staying. A third floor room in the middle of Siena? I'd want AC. A room in a hilltop agritourismo? Who cares?

Remember that wherever you're staying, countless others have stayed there too, so the place wouldn't be in business if conditions were intolerable

I would want A/C since I am used to having it at home. Another thing to consider is that window screens are not common in Italy. That means bugs (including mosquitoes) will enter along with the breeze. The Italians consider it good luck if a moth/butterfly enters your home - I'd prefer to keep the bugs out!

Bob: The above posts are helpful, I'd just add that you can go here

http://www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp

input your location and dates there and it will give you a summary of actual weather at your location on those dates for the last 10 years or so.

To assist you in interpreting the weather summary you get from the link, for sleeping at night, a measure of discomfort often used to quantify the discomfort caused by a combination of heat and humidity is the dew point. Metereologists say the average person starts to notice some discomfort from heat/humidity starting at dew points above 60 (that's dew point, not air temp). Some weather sites further define humid weather as a dew point above 65; and sweltering weather as a dew point above 70.

What the site doesn't give is the time of day the high dew points are reached, whether it's during the day or at night.

But hopefully the link will give you some basis for thinking about whether you want to get a room with AC, in addition to the advice already given by others.

Yes. No ifs, ands, buts, or maybes. Yes.

Doug is right, it depends where you're staying. These old stone buildings in rural Tuscany where most agriturismo are located are built for the climate. So even if the temps are in the 90s - as they were when we were there in June 08 - the inside is quite cool. No need for AC. Just keep the shutters closed during the day and open them up for the night. Oh, and it also helps that many agriturismo come with a pool ;-)

It may be different in the cities. When we toured Florence and Siena during the day we found it very hot. Gelato is the AC of choice in those circumstances! Can't say much about the hotels there.

Caveat on the old stone buildings: They ARE great, and designed for the weather, however by August, if there's a warm streak, the stone can get warmed to the point that it never really cools down. So even if there is a more reasonable day it might stay warm inside - depends on thickness of the walls.

If you're not used to AC, you might be OK. If you're used to AC or just not used to the heat, I'd get a place with AC.

Without knowing what sort of place you are considering - that is, a hotel or an apartment - we have been caught out a few times renting apartments which say they are airconditioned and only the living room has been, or, in one case only the living room and one of the two bedrooms.

So now I always check where the aircon is.......

In terms of whether it would be a deal breaker for me would depend on whether it was in a city or the countryside, how long I was staying, other attributes etc. But I agree with others that it would be preferable to have it.

We were in Rome and Tuscany last month (June) and we were miserable a few times...laying on the bed in our underwear with wet towels on us...just to try to cool off in places that didn't have A/C.

Yes, we did better in the old stone agriturismos with thick walls, high ceilings (like 14 feet) and tile floors. We closed the windows when we left the place in the morning, to keep in the morning cool, and it was still fairly cool in the afternoon even though it was in the 90's outside. I say "fairly cool". Tolerable, but not completely comfortable.

I will NEVER return to Italy again between June and September. I don't enjoy hot and humid. I'd rather wear a sweater than sweat.

If you go in August, at least take a small, light weight fan and a converter to let you run it over there. I'd have given anything for one last month. Some places we stayed had a fan in the bedroom, but most didn't. No matter how hot it is, if I have a fan blowing right on me I can be happy.