This will be our second trip to Italy and we're focused on Sicily and Abruzzo. Our favorite memories of European travel involve walking in beautiful national parks and returning to quaint little villages. We live in the cold upper midwest and we're hoping to get a little early spring as well...not really beach people, however, since we plan to be outdoors a lot we'd like it to be pleasant. The parks I'm looking at have higher elevations, so I'm concerned that it may be too chilly and windy . Sooo...is March likely to be good? Is April nice? Or do we need to hold off until May? Thanks so much!
Posted by
4384 posts
I'd do May, based on past visits in late May and that I detest cold. There are some flower fields in the mountains that bloom in late May/early June. Perhaps going to Sicily first could help the timing?
Posted by
Washington DC
27114 posts
I'd expect quite a difference between March and April weather in those two areas.
I recommend checking the actual, historical, day-by-day temperatures in places you plan to go over at least the last three years; five would be better. Although I generally just use Wikipedia entries for an idea of precipitation by month, temperatures vary too much to depend only on monthly averages. I'm cold-natured, and I'm not satisfied to know that it gets up to XX, on average, at the hottest moment of the day over the course of the month. What's it like at 8 or 9 AM? An 9 PM? And during the specific time of the month I'll be there?
Here are a few links on timeanddate.com to get you started--one coastal location and one interior location in each region. You can probably find similar data for other destinations. These links are for March 2021, but it's essential not to depend totally on what happened in one single year.
L'Aquila: https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/@6541999/historic?month=3&year=2021
Pescara: https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/@3171168/historic?month=3&year=2021
Palermo: https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/italy/palermo/historic?month=3&year=2021
Piazza Armerina: https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/@2523796/historic?month=3&year=2021
Posted by
Boise, ID, USA
2176 posts
The earliest we ever went to Italy was on March 20 to Sicily. We started out in Palermo with cold and rain, were very hot in Agrigento and had pleasant weather in eastern Sicily at the end of our three weeks on the island. The year before, our Sicily trip was May 9-27. Again, we experienced COLD (in Polizzi Generosa, at a higher altitude) and boiling hot in Piazza Armerina. For higher elevations, I think May would be best, but expect hot at lower elevations.
Posted by
Abruzzo Mountains
1034 posts
our plum trees started blooming at the end of February this year - we're in the mountains at 650 m / 2100 feet altitude. Spring was extended and beautiful. I only have one year of data, and I can't predict the future, but both March and April were beautiful here this year. I too would go to Sicily first though, before it gets too hot.
Posted by
58 posts
I went to Sicily (Taormina) in early March and despite the weather being gorgeous in my opinion, a lot of the restaurants were closed. Also, there was a lot of snow on etna and we couldn’t make it to the top as we had planned. I would push it back as far as you can, maybe late April?