I am planning my first trip to Italy, and I am looking for advice as to when to travel (weather wise) hopefully off season. I keep reading kudos about October for good weather - but is it considered off season in Oct.? HELP!

Hi CC,

>..is it considered off season in Oct.?

Depends on where you are going.

Most airfare is shoulder or low-season. Some hotels are low-season, some are still high-season.

Mid Sept to mid Oct is a good time.

My favorate time in Tuscany is late March & early April. The green winter wheat covering the hills in the Val d'Orcia is breathtaking. We were in Florence & saw David with only 5 other people in the room. I've been there June, Sept, and Oct - March/April was my favorite. Fewer crowds in March than in Sept or even October.

Stu Dudley

I most enjoyed November in Venice and Florence. The weather was terrible, cold and drizzelly. However, there were no lines for anything, restaurant reservations were a snap, the pace was slow and easy and locals had time to relax and talk. I know others would disagree, but I'll never travel to Venice again other than the low season - terrible weather and all!

If the outdoors are an important part of your plan, go no later than early October, after that days are short, some seasonal businesses (boats, tours, etc.) close down, and nature fades away. Rain can happen anytime, but is a bit more likely around that time.

But if museums and such are your priority, listen to Margaretlb.

We were in Tuscany almost the entire month of October in '99. The first 10 days were very rainy & overcast. We spent an entire day in Siena under an umbrella. Our friends arrived around the 17th, and after that it was sunny & warm almost every day.

Stu Dudley

Can't believe that I was in Italy just 3 weeks ago (seems much longer.... big sigh). The weather was absolutely fantastic. We had 16degC on the Cinque Terre - hubby was walking around in tee shirt. We didn't experience any wind at all in Italy (I thought this was very unusual) and most days were bright and sunny. It was amazing and no rain apart from slight drizzle in Rome for about half an hour. No need for thermals. I would say the normal temps were about 10-12 deg C, daytime. No crowds at all. Literally only met about 8 other couples/groups on the Cinque Terre, apart from the locals. And can you imagine being the only person at a given time to be standing in front of the 'Birth of Venus' in the Uffizi Gallery - happened to me and I found that truely astounding. We walked straight into the Vatican Museums - without having prebooked our tickets. I would definitely visit Italy again at this time of the year - and for everyone who told me we were crazy for visiting Europe in winter, all I can say is 'eat your heart out'. It was awesome.

I absolutely agree with amandab. I have visited Italy in January and April and it was great. No queues or big crowds, wonderful! May was much busier and I can just imagine what it must be like in the height of the season.
Wrap up warmly and you'll have a wonderful time. Hopefully the rain will hold off for you like it did for us.

Wally makes an excellent point... make sure you note what time the sun sets when you plan your vacation. We went to Rome in late November, and the weather was great sunny, mid-60's, only one day of rain, but Florence was chillier (about 50). More importantly, the sun was setting fairly early by that time, so it really cut off some of our site-seeing time.

I read in a lot of guidebooks that October is a recommended time to visit, so you may find that you won't see as great a discount as you might have hoped - at least not until late October.

I believe that season 'changes' into a low variety around November 1st, so October is at least a shoulder season. We were in Italy in October of '04 and, while Rome was almost too warm, it was cool and drizzly in Venice, Florence, and Southern Tuscany. Lovely nonetheless. Clearly, weather changes from year to year, and what we had experienced in 2004 may not at all be the case in 2007. I would recommend bringing along T-shirts as well as light cashmere tops and a lightweight jacket. As far as prices go, we did not score any 'good deals' on hotel prices and it was plenty crowded in Rome, Venice and Florence. I am not complaining or trying to deter one from traveling in October--just stating the facts here.

Anna Roz