Hi everyone,

We are planning a trip to Italy. Trying to decide on when to go? We are thinking sometime Spring or Early Summer?

What are the pros/cons? Any thoughts?

You will have more and better reponse if you share your likes/dislikes-what are your top three things to do/places you want to see. For example, we like to hike and so April is out because in the hills its still cold and rainy: on the other hand, July is too hot in the same area for a long walk. But for church and museum hounds, the answer would be different. Also state where you are likely to be going in Italy. It is swimming weather in Sicily in April, but you could run in to snow in the hills near Trieste at the same time...

LJ is correct. It all depends on what you want to do. I personnaly like early March, but in '06 this might be crowded because of the Olympics..

An advantage of late March/early April would be that, usually, tourist season is just starting. That means fewer crowds, & shorter lines. Therefore you can see a lot more in a shorter time and have more time to relax & enjoy it.

Rome in late March/early April should be 58-63 degrees F. Florance 55-60. Some people consider this cool, but to me it's short sleeve weather, even in March.

The beaches will not be very active in this season.

No matter when you go, make reservations everywhere you can. Here again, why waste time in line.

Also might consider starting south and working your way north. This is because of temperature.

Thank you to all for taking the time to respond!

This will be my first trip to Italy. Thus, will plan to do the typical touristy stuff.

We hope to eat as much as we can (love italian), see as much as we can. We would love to see historic places, beautiful churches, etc. We do not plan on hiking, or something like that.

We would just like to learn about the history, and see beautiful architecture....

Thanks!~

June is more probable (not guaranteed of course) to have better weather on average, and the days are longer, but the crowds are starting to build.

May will still be daylight savings time, so days aren't too short,crowds less, perhaps a bit rainier or cooler than June, but every year is different.
For historical weather patterns, see
www.wunderground.com, but again, no guarantees.

May - preferably the second two weeks. Weather is warm but not too hot, flowers look great, days are long and there are still (relatively) few tourists - so you'll have the chance of some hotel bargains.

Hello, reading your posts I too would chose May as the month to enjoy Italy. You could get some rain (especially in the north) but probably nothing to drastic. This June Italy was terribly hot and humid, especially in Rome. I would take a bit of rain (if it does occur) over the heat. Enjoy planning your first trip to Italy!!

On our first trip to Italy we arrived in Milan on Easter Monday in April, started North and ended up in Positano at the end of April, the weather was perfect and the crowds not too bad. Our last trip we went the last two weeks in May (started in Paris), went to Northern Italy and Cinque Terre, again weather was fabulous and not too crowded. I can't even imagine travelling in the summer to any of these places. Either month you choose will be fine for touring. It's a great time to travel.

Glad to see you got good advice: I would only add that June (and even late May) can be hot in Rome so do ensure you have booked air conditioned rooms if you are accustomed to that back home: not all hotels do provide A/C, esp if you are bargain hunting...

We went to Italy this past yr from May 21- June 1. We spent the first week in Tuscany and the weather was beautiful. It wasn't too hot or too cold. It sprinkled two days but for about 10 mins. It would be gloomy early in the morning but then clear up.

We headed to Rome after and it was hot and humid. If you can tolerate heat and large crowds then go during the summer, otherwise, it wasn't crowded in Tuscany and not that bad in Rome when we went.

As a post above mentioned, if you go later in the spring or summer, get a room with A/C.