trying to plan Italian vacation for next year. Should we go in mid Sept, Oct or early Nov? Planning on starting in Sicily and finishing in Venice over 2 week period. Any wine festivals/special event that we might want to plan around? I have only been in late April to early May. Found that there were some steamy days (a lot of rain the year I went) in Rome and Venice and cool in Tuscany. Is it still pretty hot early Sept?
September can still be hot, hot, hot, but if you're from Thibodaux, that might not bother you.
Go in October, when the grape harvest is in full swing. They may also be harvesting truffles the end of the month.
It's an interesting time to be there.
I have been in September. Hot but not unbearable, even on the Amalfi Coast. Sept/Oct best. Fewer tourists. Grape crush time would be excellent. Fall is a bit dustier than spring for picture taken, but still fine.
September is generally still hot. Early October is generally warm, but daylight shorter and evenings, mornings, are cooler. Late Oct, early Nov. is statistically the wettest time of the year. Cooler too. Late Nov is generally cooler,but not yet freezing cold. in the high 50s during the day (at least in the major cities). When to go depends on what you want to visit. If it's mostly museums and churches, cold and rainy weather of late Oct and Nov also means fewer crowds, so That is is good. But if you plan to visit the outdoors (countryside, beaches etc.), then you might want to visit earlier.
Oct is our preferred month for that area.
Do you have a copy of RS Italy Guide book yet? If so, great. If not, you should consider getting one as it has lots of very useful information that we used in planning our trip to Italy in 2012, including weather.
I went on my honeymoon last November. We started in Venice on the 4th and encountered some aqua alta but it was actually really neat to see it all. We moved to Florence and then Rome and the weather was fairly nice. We live in SC and the weather was pretty similar to what we are used to.
As the weather will be cooling, at least relatively from north to south, you should consider starting in Venice and working your way south. I do think October is optimal. September is still summer, November can be rainy.
October was great for us. The days were nice, evenings cool enough for a light sweater, and we only had a couple of small sprinkles. It can get too hot for comfortable travel in Italy. Even in October, I could see how people would swelter on a summer day in Rome. November is getting into prime aqua alta time in Venice. We saw some in the third week of October, but nothing drastic.
November: typically cheaper airfare, cheaper accomodations, slightly less crowds, not that cold but cool enough to get cozy in jeans, boots, sweater, scarf.
I agree with Kelly. Less is more, especially less crowds.
I was there in mid-september and the weather was warm, Very enjoyable!!
Mid Sept is best. October and November tend to be chilly and rainy in Northern Italy. In Venice, this time coincides with the Acqua Alta. (high water) It's a great month for Rome, though.
i have only been in late february and october. great weather. not too hot. hardly even a jacket at night. i think go to italy whenever you can! have fun, be safe.
Thanks everyone for the advice. I love hearing from everyone. I think we have decided on early to mid October.