We are considering the 2019 tours and especially B O Rome connected with the Villages Tour. We've been so many places and everyone asks why not Italy.. so I guess it is time.
When do you think the best time to tour might be? Spring? Fall? ...
We don't like heat that much, but also get tired of rainy cold weather, too.
Not going to do Italy on our own as I think RS tours do a great job avoiding the crowds.
Thanks in advance.
April, May, late Sept. And October.
Italian air conditioning is not as good.as American air conditioning. Summers in Italy are about like Louisiana and Texas--stifling hot.
Italy has a great train system and is a relatively easy country to travel through independently. This forum has great info on Italy just about every day
I went the end of March, 2017 on the 7 Days in Rome tour. The weather was perfect then, 50’s in the mornings and then close to 70’s by afternoon.
I haven’t been on the Village Italy tour, but have done the 17 Days Best of Italy in October, 2016. We started in the north, encountered cooler temperatures in Varenna and Lake Como, then light snow in the Dolomites, 2 days of rain in Venice. After we reached the middle of Italy, weather was wonderful. When we reached Rome, it was in the low 70’s.
It’s hard to say when the weather will be perfect but spring or fall is probably your best times for more moderate temperatures. I’m with you on disliking really warm temperatures so I try to focus on shoulder season.
Hi, Google "average monthly temperature" and look up Milan, Venice, Florence and Rome. This will give you the graphs to show historical average high & low temperatures per month, plus average days of rain, hours of sunlight, etc. Then you can determine which month fits the best for you. Since I'm from Seattle, the number of non-rainy days is high priority for me when I'm deciding between early or late Shoulder Seasons.
I have always enjoyed beautiful, sunny and not-to-warm weather in late September and early October.
I took the "Best of Italy" tour in 2013 with a start date of September 1. It was hot until the 8-9th day of the tour. (Which was Cinque Terre). After that it was more comfortable. I would say that mid to late September or October would be better. I don't deal well with hot humid weather and I was washing a lot of my tops every night so that I would have a cooler shirt. It was a little cool in the Dolomites in early September, but it warmed up nicely. That was the only day that was really comfortable. The hotel rooms did not have adequate air conditioning. I would think that spring would also be good.
I've been to Italy twice during May and once during July. I far preferred May to July.
All our weather data are anecdotal. It's Europe, it's variable. The Village tours run from late April to late October. There's no way to know. The earlier and later dates will mean cooler (i.e., less hot) temps but a great likelihood of rain. Whichever Village tour you choose, I would go with Rome first if it's spring and Village first if it's fall.
Our preference is now mid-Sep through the end of Oct. When we were both in education we were forced into late May to early June. Which was OK but was on the edge of hot to very hot weather. A couple years ago did the last week of April/May in and around Florence. It was cool and rainy. Our fall trips have always been warm and dry. But that is no guarantee that your trip would be the same.
I took Village Italy last May, it was hot in places and few of the hotels had A/C.
I've been in Northern Italy for the last 3 weeks. Parts were warm. I'm in Venice and today was miserably hot and humid.
From now on I will avoid Italy between Mid May and early October because I too hate the heat.
We were in Italy in Aug a few years back. It was hot. We are planning on going back in Dec this year. We hope it is not too rainy. Enjoy
If I were you, I would pick the Sep 16–Sep 29, 2019 Village tour follower by Sep 29–Oct 5, 2019 Italy tour. We went to Italy in late September, and I loved it! The weather was amazing, and it was warm enough to eat gelato every single day :) You might want to check some tips on the best time to visit Italy and see that autumn is a great time to be in Italy. Hope you fall in love with Rome as we did!
I am also thinking about Village Italy in mid to late September 2018. Does anyone know when the wine harvest is in Tuscany? We were lucky enough to be on the Portugal tour in Sept 2016 during the port wine harvest and on our visit to a winery in the Douro Valley we got to squish the grapes with our feet, just like on the 'I Love Lucy' t.v. show from years ago.
