Italia in November for wife's 40th birthday

Tuscany. The Amalfi Coast will be dead.

When in November? Hotels/restos in Sorrento lay off some of their staff after the first week in November. They wont all shut down just go into winter mode. The big shutdown begins after the New Year celebrations, same with restaurants. We like to go, for one of our annual visits, at the end of Oct/first week in Nov and find plenty going on to keep us occupied. In theory it is quieter and easier to get around but we are finding that the season seems to get longer and longer! Weather can be iffy, November has on average the highest rainfall but the rain tends to come in a big deluge for a few hours with dry periods/days in between. And some spectacular thunderstorms to enjoy! Daylight saving time ends on 30 Oct with sunset just after 5 pm. For any later visits in the cooler months we go to the big cities.

If you really want to surprise her, take her in early October when the weather is better. :-)

Thanks for the responses so far. Linda, we will likely be going early November, possibly October (which would really suprise my wife!).

I spent Thanksgiving week in Florence last year. It was a great time of year to be there. Weather was cool but not cold with occasional rain, and it wasn't crowded. Room rates were very good. I especially enjoyed the seasonal foods (the winter cabbage soup was amazing). I've been to Sorrento at the end of October but not in November. Weather was pleasant and Sorrento was still lively that time of year. Given a choice, I would choose Tuscany because it provides more options.

My wife and I went to Sorrento last November, the place was still jumping. The weather was cool (temperatures ranged from the mid -50's to high 60's) with a few days of scattered showers and very few tourists (off season) and that made it all the more pleasant. Took in Pompeii which is a 30 minute train ride from Sorrento. Bought 2 Moreno wool sweaters MADE IN ITALY (not China) for less than what I could have gotten them for in the states. We stayed at the Antiche Mura (Ancient Wall) hotel and I can not say enough good things about this hotel. They upgraded us to a Junior Suite, the rooms are very nice, breakfast is AWESOME in a wonderful enclosed garden setting. The hotel has a very helpful staff, it is close enough to walk from the train station if you are traveling with just a wheelie and one other personal bag. Best of all it is only 1/2 block from the main area of Sorrento. Here is the hotel website: hotelantichemura.com

Tuscany in early November means truffle and olive oil festivals, truffle hunting, olive harvest, fall colors...very memorable. We were there last November and stayed at Agriturismo Cretaiole, which is a great place to stay, by the way. Also went down to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. Experienced some rainy days, but chose the best day for the bus trip to Amalfi and Positano to take advantage of the views. Pompei in the pouring rain showed us that the Roman gutters and drains are still operable! We decided that we were glad to stay within walking distance of the main piazza of Sorrento so that we could go back to our room during the worst of the deluge, wait it out, then head out again. If choosing only one, I would have to say Tuscany because so much is going on with the land at that time of year.

November, as I've posted many times, is a wonderful time to be in Italy.Either one is a good choice (I'll be in both places this November) but I'd probably pick Tuscany. It's truffle time and the food will be spectacular. Be sure to have a steak and the boar with truffles too good to miss. Anything with truffles is too good to miss. You may get some rain but I've only had one really rainy day during my travels in Italy. As long as you've got an umbrella you'll be fine. If it rains too hard, you'll have an excuse to go to a cafe for coffee or a glass of wine.

I would focus on the countryside and cities and not the beach resorts that time of year. Going to Amalfi Coast at that time is like going to Cape Cod in November, nice but not even close to experiencing it at the height of the summer when it is hot, beaches crowded, etc!