Italy places to avoid in peak summer

IMHO, knock out Cinque Terre, as you'll be in Amalfi. Add days to Venice, Florence and Lake Como, [where you can slow down.] Also suggest an open jaw ticket, such as fly into Milan or Venice, and out of Rome, or reverse, as southern Italy will be hotter.

In Venice, for instance, stay away from St, Mark's and Rialto, and it's amazingly peaceful if you stay in a less crowded area. I'd also suggest Row Venice, where the whole family can have a rowing lesson on the canals, 90 minutes, about 85 Euros total, last time I was there.

I am so excited that you'll have this chance for a family vacation!

Thanks! Yes - it will be an open jaw flight - flying into Naples and out of Milan.

Removing Cinque Terre makes sense - especially since it probably is the most crowded of the lot.

Are you saying that Venice crowds are manageable in peak season as long as we do not stay in a hotel near St Mark's and Rialto or are you saying we should even avoid visiting areas near St Mark's and Rialto?

Are any of the places so crowded that they should be just avoided completely and substituted with some other less touristy places or more time among the remaining places? We can keep the very crowded places in an off peak season some other time.

If overtourism and crowds are issues for you then best to avoid most those places you have listed, especially in the high summer months, when they become Disneyland versions of themselves. For smaller less touristy places, I'd recommend:

Instead of the Amalfi coast try the Calabrian coast
Instead of Venice try Ravenna
Instead of Florence try Bologna
Instead of Siena try Parma
Instead of the Cinque Terre try the Etruscan coast

You can keep Roma though, because as a city it's irreplaceable :)

Sorry I wasn't clear, I think you do need to see the notable places, but find a hotel or rental away from the crowds, and you'll see another side of Venice. I love the city. We always stay in Cannaregio area, very quiet all day long.

Thanks for the suggestions!

If overtourism and crowds are issues for you then best to avoid most those places you have listed, especially in the high summer months, when they become Disneyland versions of themselves.

It is a tricky balance between a bucket list item and crowds/over-tourism. Who knows how many chances one gets to visit the same country again and again - there are many beautiful countries/places in the world, it is not cheap, life can happen, kids will fly away to their lives, etc.

Kids still being in school mean we cannot take off peak season vacations.

So we can brave out the crowds if it is a must see destination and as long as we can still have fun by careful planning - as you suggested for Rome. All the ones I listed are actually bucket list items but it is OK to substitute/remove a place or two if the peak season experience is really degraded or much less fun because of the crowds.

I think you do need to see the notable places, but find a hotel or rental away from the crowds, and you'll see another side of Venice.

Thank you - makes sense!

Siena is very close to Florence. We took a bus for a day trip. I am not sure it is worth changing hotels.

We were on Amalfi coast in July. Buses were very crowded but otherwise was fine.

We were in Venice this past August. Even without cruise boat crowds, there were plenty of people there mid day. It wasn’t crowded at all away from main thoroughfares, however. We enjoyed getting up early and seeing the city while it was waking up.

Thanks Beth!

We were in Venice for the last week of August 2018. We spent most of our time walking off-the-beaten-path. We started our day early and avoided the crowds. We enjoyed Burano, Torcello, Lido and the neighborhoods of Venice. Some ideas to consider-
https://www.ourescapeclause.com/secret-venice-off-the-beaten-path/

Thanks Janis - this is extremely helpful collection of "off the beaten path" Venice spots.

You’ve picked some of the most gorgeous and popular places in Italy, so of course they will be crowded! You just have to be ok with that. Or go at a different time. As a parent of teens, I know it’s a balancing act between school schedules. So you sacrifice and deal with the crowds.

We were in Venice in early July of 2018. Hot, humid and CROWDED. We stayed on the island of Giudecca and LOVED it. Google “Stella Marina apartments on Giudecca.”. There are several air conditioned apartments available. It’s away from the masses of people, but a quick vaporetto trip from St. Mark’s. I’m talking shoulder-to-shoulder crowds along many walkways from Rialto to St. Mark’s. We left the main areas during the mid day heat and crowds and returned to St. Marks in the evening when it was relatively empty (and magical).

That said, we are returning to Venice next summer, with my sister and her husband for their first Europe trip. It will be the very start of a 3 week road trip. And we’ll be staying in Giudecca again to avoid the crowds.

And do note that the need for places with air conditioning is important. Not only can it be warm, but there are flying bugs and the windows have no screens, so you need to be comfortable with the windows closed, especially in Venice.

Wi-fi is important now, for keeping up with ever-changing covid mandates and if you're using the monitored covid self-tests to return to the US.

Don't want to stress the negatives- you will have a wonderful trip in a beautiful country.

In Venice, if you visit early morning and evening, you can enjoy the really popular places without the overwhelming crowds.

June isn't the peak of the Summer season, more the beginning of. Note that most Europeans take their vacations in July / August; the Italian schools close around the 10th of June and one week later the older kids start their final exams.

If possible, try to avoid the seaside towns at the weekend. Especially Liguria and the Lake Como (ok, it's lakeside) where Milanese flock to any Friday to escape the heat.

You've gotten some great information and good points have been brought up.

All of the places you mention are must sees in Italy. Sure, there are others, but your list is the top. June will be crowded--Italy seems to always be crowded--and it will be hot. Prepare for that.

You must get hotels with airconditioning. But that doesn't mean the A/C will be turned on. Prior to the Pandemic, I used to spend much of May in Italy. In some areas, local ordinances didn't allow hotels to turn their A/C on. Not sure about June. But at least have the option.

Get an early start. Get tickets and make reservations to sights that you can. This will save time. Rick Steve's guidebooks do a really good job in giving tips on how to avoid the crowds.

As for the Cinque Terre--I've been there twice. Both times in May. It's a beautiful place but the crowds can be ridiculous. It was so crowded in Vernazza that trying to move through the main street was like trying to move in a crowded NYC subway car at rush hour. And I have done that many times. It's no longer enjoyable. But then the traffic on the Amalfi Coast won't be light either.

Italy is different than almost any place I've ever been. It's crowded, it's hot, it's frustrating, it makes no sense, and when you leave you are already pulling your hair out. And then the next day you start planning your return.

Every year I say, that's my final trip to Italy. I'm going back next month.

Agree to skip CT.
Avoiding places like Florence, Venice and Rome because of the crowds is a huge mistake, those are the gems in the crown of Italy. Just manage your time, book your visits to important places in advance.

We’re just now coming to the end of a three week Italy trip and visited many of the places on your list. It was our first time to Italy, and while we did not travel in peak season (we were here late September to now), I can tell you that every hot spot we’ve visited has been incredible. Amalfi coast was way more crowded than I thought, but we based ourself in Positano which is the most famous. The smaller towns of Praiano and Minori were still beautiful and way less crowded, and if we ever come back, we would stay there. I may suggest checking those out. And then take ferries to other towns for the day (highly suggest Ravello!). Some locals have told us that Amalfi coast can actually be more crowded in the early fall because it can be too hot in the summer. But not sure if that’s accurate. I totally agree that you just find places with AC! Even in the fall we absolutely used it everywhere except Tuscany. Even in Venice we had some days where it was warm and we needed it to sleep at night.

We spent most of our time in Tuscany and there were very few crowds there. We only spent the day in Florence which was definitely crowded, but nothing extreme. We also went to Siena for a day which was about the same with the amount of people. We based ourselves just outside Pienza and spent most of our time in all the smaller towns and loved how quiet they were, comparatively.

Okay, so let’s talk about Venice! My husband and I have lived in NYC, and we deal with crowds pretty well, especially when we prepare ourselves based on advice from others, and we both feel that Venice is really hard to navigate with the amount of people. And it’s still far less crowded than years prior to COVID and all the cruise ships docking (I honestly can’t even begin to imagine it back then!) However, as others have said, areas outside San Marco have been lovely and much, much quieter, while still having a perfect Venetian experience. That said, we have loved Venice, and we get up at sunrise, enjoy the prime spots (Rialto, San Marco, etc), and then head to the quieter areas around lunchtime, take naps after lunch if needed, and then head back out again for dinner. And we’ve found that allows us to not feel like we’re shoulder to shoulder with everyone. Really lovely romantic walks along the canals in the evening are perfect ways to end our nights.

We were underwhelmed by Rome, to be honest. We’ve been asking locals and tourists alike their opinions and everyone either seems to love it or hate it. We didn’t feel like it was crowded at all (unless by the major sites, of course, and even then not so bad). And of course, some things are just amazing to see in person. But we were happy to have only spent two days there and then move on. We much preferred Tuscany and even Venice over Rome.

I unfortunately can’t speak for the other locations you mentioned, but hopefully someday I will be able to :)

Overall, we pretty much only visited the most touristy spots of Italy as well, and we felt they were 100% worth it. Especially for a first visit. We went into it with mindsets to be prepared for crowds and we were fine. In Positano and Venice, we just had to adjust our schedule a bit because the crowds were a lot more than we thought but we were totally fine after that. Venice is one of a kind and definitely worth it, even if for a few days only.

Hi, Travelmoments, and welcome to the forums!
You've gotten lots of great advice, although some of it may differ depending on personal preference. There are no wrong answers unless it's wrong for you and your tribe. Speaking of that tribe, I'm guessing there are 4 of you?

I'll go along with dropping the CT but keeping the same number of total trip nights; just add them to something else. I'd also do Siena as a day trip from Florence, and you sure could add even another night or two to that one for additional day trips. For instance, the boys might enjoy riding bikes around the old walls of Lucca (1 hr, 20 minutes by train from Florence). Anyway, cutting 6 pack-up-and-move days down to 4 might be wise, what with 4 people to move. It can be wearing and time-consuming to make sure everything got back in the cases, get checked out, to the train, find your next accommodation (in a strange city), get checked in and settled....All before even setting out to do what you came for!

Those longer stays in one place also make apartment rentals (versus hotel rooms) more economical, with the cleaning fees spread over 4 or 5 days. Again, with 4 of you, the extra room would likely be welcome, and you can save some $ with a kitchen for having breakfasts in, maybe some lunches and take-out dinners too. Most teenage boys I've known have been sort of bottomless pits so keeping them sufficiently fed and watered is no mean feat! HA! You'll also need a few hours here and there to get the laundry done: even if you do end up with a washer in a rental apartment, I'll recommend going to a coin laundry as you can get more of it done faster in the bigger machines. Apartments might also have a washer but not a dryer.

Crowds? Grin and bear 'em. If you want to see the Main Attractions, you won't be alone. Yes, get advance tickets for the biggies (we can help with the websites for doing that) and try to do the outdoor ones early in the morning to help manage the heat. Museums sometimes are less busy in the later afternoons. Thing is, busy or not, if you are interested in the treasures a city/region has to offer, it's well worth it to go. All of them will also have quieter corners that fewer rather than more tourists explore: a very good reason for adding more versus less time in the cities: mitigate crowd exhaustion with a daily balance of more versus less-visited sites.

Amalfi Coast: with teenage boys, I'll recommend Sorrento. There isn't enough for them to do in, say, Positano ( I was bored with it in 1/2 a day). There has also been some love for Salerno so that's a possibility too? It's just a bit far by ferry from Capri, if interested in that one, and there's some nice hiking on the island that I think your young people would enjoy. Anyway, Sorrento (technically not the Amalfi but is right next door) is a good transport hub for the region, with bus, commuter train and ferry services. Salerno has all three has well, including high-speed train services from other Italian cities.

Rome? I love the Eternal City. Most folks I know who didn't like her only planned for a couple of days and she's too old and complex a lady to begin to get to know in that short a time. She's sort of like an iceberg, with immense amount below surface. Your crew might enjoy a long walk on Appia Antica? That's a terrific piece of history, and encompasses everything from ancient catacombs to the ruin of an Emperor's circus to the crumbling remains to once-grand tombs: it served as cemetery as well as a military and trade route.

https://www.parcoappiaantica.it

You get the idea... Lots to see and do. You're going to have a GREAT time!

Also wanted to mention that I think it’s good you’re spending more time in Siena than just a day trip. Very exciting and interesting place.

I was just going to suggest that if you eliminate Cinque Terre (which I agree with), add a day to Lake Como, Amalfi coast, and Venice.

We just were in northern Italy with young adult children and they all loved Lake Como. We spent five nights there-it was our first stop. I would have spent four nights but had extra night and this was consensus. Your teenagers will love jumping off docks into the lake. And riding the ferries. And the gardens.

My husband and I spent 10 days on Amalfi coast. We spent two nights in Sorrento and visited Pompeii and climbed Mt Vesuvius from there. You could spent all your time there as a poster suggested but the Amalfi coast is different than Sorrento. We stayed also in both Positano and AMalfi and much preferred AMalfi. It also is a transportation hub.

We spent four nights in Venice this past August and felt like it was about the right amount of time for a first visit. We were a bit overwhelmed by Venice the first day. We arrived mid day by train and it was crowded. We kept getting lost. By the time we left we all wanted to come back. Venice takes some time to appreciate I think.

I’ll just add that that I agree to eliminate CT on this journey. CT worked well for us on our first trip to Italy in 2006. We toured Tuscany & Umbria. Started in Florence ended in Rome. On another journey we did Southern Italy & Sicily. We have yet to visit Lake Como & region (it’s on our radar). I would give another vote to add a day to Amalfi Coast, Lake Como & Venice. Again, Venice is totally doable! You have a wonderful wish list.

Thanks everyone for all the encouragement and tips! This is all very good advice. After seeing countless travel videos on Youtube, skimming through several guidebooks, I agree these are must-sees of Italy especially on the first visit. Your tips on avoiding crowds are very useful - I will also go through Rick Steves' tips in his book (I have both his guidebooks - Italy and Best of Italy). Also skipping Cinque Terre and splitting the 3 days between other places makes sense as well.

Having just returned home from Florence yesterday, I recommend that you don’t stay on the Piazza del Duomo. Stay a few blocks off or across the river in the Oltrarno / Santo Spirito neighborhood.

I wouldn’t skip anything if those are the places you want to see.
Although, pandemics permitting, that is peak tourism time for all those locations, however you can find quiet spots in all those locations. Some neighborhoods of Florence, Venice, Rome never get overly crowded. Tourists tend to flock to few crowded spots. The only place where crowds are hard to avoid is Vernazza, the most popular of the Cinque Terre villages. But if you stay there overnight, you can enjoy the place before day trippers arrive (or after they depart). Just make sure that between 10am and 5pm, you stay away from the villages. That might be a time to hit the hiking trails, where there will be people for sure, but not as many as in the villages themselves, especially if a cruise ship is docked at Spezia.

I totally agree with what has been said about Venice. It is an amazing city, but stay away from the popular sites between 10am and 4pm. BUT just for the experience go to Saint Marks Square in midday to see why you are discouraged to stay there. And go there in the evening to enjoy the music. If you are tempted to sit down be sure to check the prices before you order.

And see https://europeforvisitors.com/venice/ for more info on Venice.

You have not asked about train vs car rental, but if you are considering a rental car for part of the time (like Rome to Florence, skipping CT as recommended), then you might consider this agriturismo just outside of Siena for your 2 nights there. I am including the booking.com page so you can see more photos and reviews, but you can book directly with the property (we did).

http://www.mulinodiquercegrossa.it/

https://www.booking.com/hotel/it/mulino-di-quercegrossa.html

The boys in particular would enjoy the various swimming pools, but you might too. I loved the “river” and the waterfall, and my husband did his lap swimming in the big pool. Our daughters liked it all. Just do not stay there over a weekend—-the pools are open to non-guests and it can get very busy.

For Venice, do consider an apartment. I highly recommend the Venice Red House agency; they are Venetians and very easy to deal with. And they have a very good cancellation policy. We had a very good experience renting from them for a month some years back, and had an apartment booked for a March 2020 stay, which of course we had to cancel, just 20 days before our intended arrival. Our entire deposit was cheerfully and immediately refunded.

https://www.veniceredhouse.com/

For our month-long stay, we had this apartment, chose because of the location (near Campo San Barnaba and the Rialto Bridge) and the altana (roof-top terrace):

https://www.veniceredhouse.com/apartments-in-venice/the-lions-house-apartment-lion-4/

If you 3 beds rather than 2, this apartment in the same building has 2 bedrooms, one with twin beds:

https://www.veniceredhouse.com/apartments-in-venice/the-lions-house-apartment-lion-3/

I have been in Italy 8 times in the middle of summer since this is the only time I could travel. It is very hot and crowded. That being said grin and bear it, enjoy every minute with your family, soak in the fabulous culture, art, people, food and everything Italian. Go knowing it will have some challenges and be prepared to face them. Talk about this before you go with your children. Make an agreement to deal with it and be happy. Have a great time. It will be a wonderful experience. viaggi sicuri!
P.S. I ran into Rick Steves in the Vatican on one of my trips and he was lovely to speak to.

I think you're planning a wonderful trip and have been given some great advice. We can now do our traveling in the off seasons, but if I'm including grandsons, we leave on the very earliest day in June they can clean out their lockers. It only gets hotter and more crowded if you delay.

I agree with the others that the CT is too much for this trip, though you CAN day trip from Florence or Lucca one day if you have enough time. Maybe not ideal, but possible. Hopefully you could find a day with great weather and no cruise ships scheduled. Lake Como is lovely, but I think it will be the least interesting for teenage boys. You can do better boat rides on the AC, or in Venice for sure.

Venice is my favorite city in the world, although I've never been in summer. Don't feel like you need to stay anywhere near St Mark's Piazza. I love the Dorsoduro and San Polo neighborhoods. Venice isn't that big; you can still get to tourist central on a quick vaporetto or a meandering walk. The outlying neighborhoods are much more peaceful than the center, and your boys may be invited to join a soccer game.

There are two points I would like to express most strongly. Connecting any two of these places is going to take longer than you ever expected, which really cuts into your sightseeing time. If you plan for this, and add some days onto a few locations, you will be less frazzled and everybody can relax and enjoy more. I would consider taking those 5 CT and Como days and redistributing them.

Second, I might love nothing in the world more than taking my two grandsons on trips, and they are great travelers, but I'm 50+ years older than they are, and they always hit the wall way sooner than I do. After about 7-8 days, they need a slower paced day, then can regroup and head out again. This kind of day might be easier to find on the AC or in a Tuscan agriturismo where there are other kids and/or a swimming pool. Hope you have a wonderful adventure!

Thanks everyone for great replies and suggestions!

For Roberto's point - I have booked an apartment in Manarola which is very near the station - is that as crowded as Vernazza? Perhaps we can have downtime at the apartment during the peak midday hours or travel to some other place nearby like Portofino during that time?

Tourists tend to flock to few crowded spots. The only place where crowds are hard to avoid is Vernazza, the most popular of the Cinque Terre villages. But if you stay there overnight, you can enjoy the place before day trippers arrive (or after they depart). Just make sure that between 10am and 5pm, you stay away from the villages. That might be a time to hit the hiking trails, where there will be people for sure, but not as many as in the villages themselves, especially if a cruise ship is docked at Spezia.

Hopefully your apartment has air conditioning!
Have fun!

We spent 2 nights in Manarola (Hotel La Torretta) when we took our daughters in 2010 (same trip as I mentioned above, when we stayed at the Siena agriturismo). We absolutely loved Manarola but found it was a mistake to leave there. We are avid hikers, and we hiked the coastal path to Vernazza, enjoying the hike very much. But when we arrived at Vernazza, it was so crowded we had trouble finding something to eat for lunch, and when we did (a bakery with take-out piadini) there was no place to sit. And the street was so packed it was unpleasant to walk down to the harbor. . . . . So we decided to leave, taking the train back to Manarola—-and that was the biggest mistake of all. The train platform was a zoo and it was hard to get to the ticket machine. Then we had to wait through several trains before we could board one, then only by being fairly aggressive about pushing our way in. Won’t do that again!!!

So I suggest if you have a nice place in Manarola, you just stay in and near that village until time to depart, or walk a bit of the coastal path and return the same way. You can only take the Blue Path toward Corniglia, as the famed Via Dell’Amore will not re-open until 2023.

There is a wonderful swimming spot with a ladder into the deep water just off the trail heading toward Corniglia. We spent several swim sessions there. Or wander the paths through the vineyards, or explore the trails above town if it is not too hot to hike.

And maybe next summer there will be kayak or motorboat rentals from Manarola. Or look into the sightseeing boat—-I would think they cannot pack that with passengers like the train.

Thanks for narrating your experience Lola. Thanks Pat - the Manarola apartment does have AC - all the places I have booked do have AC.