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Sicily, Catania, Mt Edna August 2026 Wedding -Where to from there??

Posted by (CA) on

We have a wedding here the first few days of August 2026. Seems that is the time of peak crowds, highest temperatures and high costs.

We were planning on staying in Southern Italy for several weeks after the wedding but are rethinking that due to the above. (We typically travel shoulder season for 3-4 weeks at a time.)

Does anyone have thoughts about other countries we can head to from here that might be cooler, less crowded and maybe in their shoulder season? Or do you have suggestions on areas in the vicinity that might not be so crowded, hot and expensive (if that's even possible)? We've traveled other parts of Italy so aren't interested in Northern Italy.

I noted in another post that driving here is worse than Rome ( the stories I could tell!) so I guess I'll also ask for suggestions that allow us to use public transportation to get around if staying in Southern Italy for several weeks.

Many thanks for your suggestions.

Posted by
8849 posts

August is a bear all over Europe, with any coastal destination swamped, as well as cool weather mountain venues. August is the traditional vacation month for many European workers, when I was working, it was useless to schedule anything with our French and German sites in August.

It used to be that the cities were relatively deserted, like Paris, Rome, Milan, Berlin, but I do not think that holds anymore with the rise of tourists from international countries.

There probably are areas within Sicily that are not too crowded, you could check Malta, or places in Southern Italy that are under touristed anyway. Comes down to pick a destination, examine room availability, if something looks good, that's your spot.

Posted by
226 posts

If you are talking driving in Sicily, we've actually found that driving in Sicily is far easier than driving in mainland Italy. New, well-marked roads. Our Catania AirBnB host described it well: They all drive like they are crazy, but they care about each other. People will slow for you and rarely honk their horns. Just get a small car and drive with a belief that anyone and everyone will pull out in front of you.

Our go-tos for August travel in Europe are Switzerland (easy to jump in a cool lake or go to a higher altitude to escape the heat) and Scotland (colder and wetter summers there than an Atlanta winter!).

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