Visiting Italy in January

Hey Will,

Sicily is considered the warmest place in Italy on January. Why don't you spend your 4 to 5 days there.

https://www.voyagetips.com/en/things-to-do-in-sicily/

I adore Sicily but consider it more a 2-to-3-week destination. You'd have to fly to get there since your time is so limited, and you'd have time to see only a tiny part of a fascinating island. I agree that it would be a great choice, weather-wise.

Puglia also tends to be warmer than places farther north, and you could accomplish quite a bit there in the time you have, but it's not terribly quick to get to, so a lot of your time would be spent in transit.

We had seriously considered Sicily as part of the trip, but decided against it because of the relatively short period of time we had to spend and the travel time it would take to get to there.

BT

I don't know how much difference there is between mid-January and mid-February, except that the days are a little shorter. I've been to much of Italy in mid-February on multiple visits. Maybe I've been really lucky, but I've had little rain and many sunny days where I sat at sidewalk cafes, from Venice to the Amalfi Coast. The worst days (only a few) in terms of weather were lots of drizzly hours, alternating with short bouts of rain and dry spells. One of them was mostly outside in Herculaneum and I had a great time in spite of the rain.

It sounds like you've been to Rome. Naples is grittier, the sights aren't as grand, and as our forum member Harold likes to say, the only subtle thing about Naples is its charm. I spent a few nights there in Feb 2 years ago and really enjoyed it, though I am not quite yearning to go back. I also recommend Salerno highly if you want to visit the Amalfi Coast. Sorrento is better if you want Pompeii/Naples/Herculaneum with the possibility of a day trip to Capri or the AC by bus, if the weather's dry.

I was in Rome in February and had a wonderful time. It was chilly and windy on some days, but mostly sunny, no rain. I walked outside a lot and even ate outside a couple times. I see that you are from Wisconsin. I can almost guarantee that the weather will be better in Italy than there!

I’m from Minnesota, so I have a whole closet-full of winter jackets and coats. I took one of my lighter warm jackets and a cashmere scarf (so light and so warm!) and some gloves, and I was fine.

I'd plan on Naples -- easy trip from Rome, plus tons to do inside, plus a feasible trip down the coast if you luck out with sunny weather.