teej

My wife and I are having trouble finding flights on points to/from Italy/Canada in September/05. I have business in Rome the first week of October and had planned to tour for the last 3 weeks of September before the business week in Rome. Given flight difficulties to do the touring in September, we would like to know if travel in the last 3 weeks of October will give us nice warm weather throughout Italy. Our plans include Tuscany region for a week, cities of Florence and Venice and not sure where else are "must-sees". Real concern is the wisdom of doing this trip in October instead of September as originally planned. Your experiences, please!

LoveItaly

hello teej, September in Italy, weather wise, is much better then October. Nice warm weather will probably not be what you will find in October. But miserable weather will probably not be a problem either.

Venice and the Veneto area will probably have rain and electrical storms (these storms are fantastic however). Tuscany will probably be better.

The weather in Italy, like most places these past years, has been so unpredicatble. Exploring Italy in October will mean that a lot of the tourist will have gone home and life in Italy will be a bit more relaxed and nontouristy.

I would not hesitate to go in October. You may not have as many days to enjoy outdoor cafes (although places do have outdoor heaters sometimes) but if you take clothes that you can layer, a good coat along with a good attitude I think you could have a beautiful visit in Italy.

Veneto (the region where Venice is located) had so little rain last season there is a bit of a worry about water rationing this coming summer. So there is no telling what this October will be like. Florence in autumn will be beautiful. A bit of rain will not take away from the pleasure of being there. BTW, I wouldn't bother packing an umbrella, you can pick one up there if it starts to rain very easily.

I would not attempt to visit the Cinque Terre, the Amalfi Coast, the Adriatic Coast in October. I would save that for another trip. If you have an interest in Naples etc. that should be enjoyable.

Go, have fun, and let us know how your beautiful visit was in Italy when you return.

Henry

teej,
For Late October consider Montalcino. See http://www.montalcino-tuscany.it/sagra_del_tordo.htm
for information on the Sagra del Tordo.

sssteve

teej:

We've been to Italy in October several times. The weather is usually wonderful. We'll be there in October this year as well. It's a great month for visiting tuscany.

ira

Hi teej,

>My wife and I are having trouble finding flights on points to/from Italy/Canada in September/05.<

Have you searched www.mobissimo.com?

radiofanatic

we travelled in Italy in October, 2002 and it was HOT - high 70's, low 80's.

jsmith

I never understand why anyone asks about weather on this site. Weather from year to year in the temperate zones can vary so much year to year that an individuals experiences can be meaningless. A traveler to Worcester, Mass on May 26, 1932 would have experienced a record high of 90, on the same day in 1992 another would have experienced a record low of 35. From which would you take advice?

The BBC has an extensive website for weather and you can find a page devoted to Italy at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/c...ml?tt=TT004000

Once there, you can find weather tables for selected cities.

Eloise

For the fun of it, I just plugged in September 11 as departure, October 10 as return between Toronto and Rome at www.expedia.ca.

Practically every airline is showing availability, starting with Czech at Cdn $ 1,190.94.

Since September is still high season, it's unlikely that there will seat sales or other reduced fares for that period.

jules4je7

When we were in Europe (including Italy) in October 2003, it was clear & cool (40s-50s) in London and Paris, Venice and Florence, but warmed up the further south we went -- from Rome to Athens and Istanbul.

It rained a couple of nights in Rome, but other than that we had decent weather. It's always something of a gamble, but unlikely that you'll run into anything worse than a good rain storm. Nothing a little Goretex or umbrella can't handle.

And the rain-soaked streets of Rome were beautiful too.

Good luck,

Jules

teej

Thanks to all for the comments so far-very much appreciated.
LoveItaly, thanks for the encouragement for travel in October and advice about avoiding the coasts at this time of year.
sssteve, encouraging that you routinely go to Italy in October and strongly endorse Tuscany at that time. of year.
Jules, thanks for your advice.
Eloise and Ira, we could find flights in September but I was trying to get us there on points to save a bunch of money.
Henry, the Feast of the Thrush sounds like a terrific weekend but it is the last weekend in October and our 3 week time allotment has us having to leave before the last weekend in October.
Thank you again for taking the time to share your experiences.