Thoughts about flying to Italy in August?

Well we're here now on the Amalfi Coast, and there are crowds. We're in Sorrento now which isnt too bad, but Amalfi Town, Pompeii very crowded. We're good at avoiding the crowds by getting off the beaten path and mostly hiking. As for the Dolomites, August is probably your best bet for good weather, but I doubt you'll be alone. We were there in early Oct '24 and there were plenty of hikers. Unfortunately, we lost a day due to a cancelled flight and a day due to bad weather, so moved to Varenna a day earlier than planned. It was mobbed too. We too used some unexpected free time and enough miles to fly direct to Rome for this trip so I get your desire to use your miles and time, but I probably wouldn't travel to Italy in August. In addition to crowds, you'll have hot weather..

Should we just wait til next year? (We hate crowds.)

And why would crowds be less next year?

Data indicates annual global population growth is 69,million per year.
https://theworlddata.com/world-population-by-year/

i see no reason to expect a place like Italy to be less crowded 'next year'

If traveling next year means not going in August, then that may be worth considering.

Italy=crowds. You can't get around it. How crowded depends on when you visit.

August will be one of the more crowded months. You will also face the highest heat. The Dolomites won't be as bad as Verona or Padua but it will be warm.

I don't like crowds or high heat. May used to be Italy month for me. It's when I would visit. But even that time was getting warm and more crowded. I haven't been to Italy in awhile. If I do go back, it will definitely be in a month like October or November. Cooler and more managable crowds.

There might indeed be far fewer people this year... if the problem in the Middle East isn’t resolved.

Of course, it could also be your own flight that gets cancelled 😉.

https://www.politico.eu/article/italy-airport-jet-fuel-restriction/

The largest tourist influx to Italy is from Germany and the Veneto, Friuli, and Trentino are very popular with that population less than a day's drive away. The odds are that this year will look a lot like last year.

Never postpone to tomorrow what you can do today. There is no certainty about tomorrow, said a famous poem by Lorenzo the Magnificent. Carpe diem. If August is when you have the time this year, August it is.

Italian cities will be less crowded in August than the other months in high season. At least the Italians will be away. Italians do go on vacation en masse in August but avoid the heat of the cities like the plague. They like to go to the coastal areas, to the lakes, and to the mountains, where they can have relief from the scorching heat. So the Dolomites will be heavily visited, but it’s a large mountainous area, so it won’t feel crowded like the Amalfi coast or the Cinque Terre, but the hotels in the towns might be fully booked, so you need to make reservations quickly.

We were in Italy August of 2021. It was an unusual time for crowds as the world had not totally opened up. We went to Lake Como, Verona, and Venice for 13 days. I would not normally travel to Italy in August but we could get in with our vaccinations and had cancelled our trip in 2020.

Some observations:

1. Some of the local trains are not air conditioned. We took a local train from Milan to Verona and about died with no A/C and having to wear masks. I had not wanted to spring on the fast train for the time difference considering the price difference. Now the train we took from Verona to Venice was air conditioned so I don't if we got unlucky or if that was only standard for the Milan route.

2. Make sure you get a/c where you can. We did not have it at Lake Como as I would suspect you were not in the Dolomites but the mountain air cools down at night. We had very hot temperatures in Verona and Padua which we did not visit was even hotter.

3. Be flexible. It was forecast ed to be in the high 90s our first day in Verona. We took a bus to Lake Garda and had a lovely day.

4. Still temperatures still are hard to predict. My daughter and husband arrived in Italy a few days before us and visited Rome. They had lovely weather. A big storm went through in Verona our last night and cleared out all the hot humid weather. Venice was just lovely with sun. low humidity and highs in the low 80s.

If you are trying to avoid crowds in the Dolomites, one of the best times to go may be when we went last year. We were there in late June right before the high season of July and August. But honestly, life is uncertain. I would go in August if I could. You can always work around crowds. Even when we were there Seceda had crowds. One of the people we became friendly with told us they took the first funicular of the day up to get pictures and then came down. They returned a different day to hike. The multi day passes allow for this kind of flexibility.

I'm with those that say, care diem! You never what tomorrow will bring!

I recently watched a YouTube video called Explore This X Jen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUTaP8PSH7Y. It may help you plan a trip to the Dolomites without the crowds. It's about trails and hikes that avoid the crowds but offer the same spectacular views. I think she based in Ortisei.
We will be in Lake Maggiore this September, and wish I could make more time for the Dolomites.
Enjoy!

Still go--no time like the present--but do your due diligence in research if you want to avoid crowds. It's not impossible but find areas where you can get away from it if you need to. Personally, I've never traveled in high season, although last April during Jubilee year to Florence, Rome, Salerno, Taormina was more tourists than I like for sure. Next March to Rome for a couple weeks should be OK.

At this point you may need to dig a bit for August lodging in the Dolomites. I struggled two years ago and was booking a lot earlier in the year. If you end up in one of the valley cities (Bolzano, Bressanone, etc.), be absolutely sure your hotel is air conditioned. Not all of them are, and you will want that if you aren't up at significant altitude.

I am not a hiker, so I cannot comment on conditions out on the trails. "Crowded" in the Dolomite cities isn't the same as "crowded" in Venice. For that matter, "crowded" in Verona, Treviso and Padua is much less problematic than "crowded" in Venice. Verona did feel busier than the other two in 2024--Treviso was really quiet, but it wasn't unpleasant to me. The opera festival brings extra people to the city (and drives up hotel rates), and I ran into that. If you look at the opera schedule, you may be able to pick less-crowded days in Verona.

Hi Everyone - wow, thanks for all the prompt responses.

1. When I commented about waiting til next year instead, I meant a month other than August. We usually travel in shoulder season and sometimes off season, but given the Dolomites' size (many more towns/sheer geography), we thought maybe there'd be a chance it would be less crowded. Sounds like that is not the case.

2. I didn't think about AC in hotels but I guess I should - even high up in the mountains.

3. I figured hotels could be a challenge, but have already been researching that/identifying availability.

I still haven't made a decision but this has given me a lot to think about. Thank you all!