September October or May for Italy trip
 

I'm in the early stages of planning a trip to Italy.

My original idea was September/October this year. I haven't booked anything yet.

On looking for apartments I'm finding that fall is still considered high season.

We are not terribly concerned about temperatures, we don't hang put at beaches, mainly walk, walk, walk.

If you had yout druthers...would you go to Italy in May next year or fall this year. May this year is not an option.

Thanks,
Cindy

Well, to start, you don't say where in Italy. The weather is not the same across the whole country.

That said, I have been there several times in Sep/Oct and think it's a perfect time for most areas.

We've done trips in both September and October to Italy. Which part of the country will you focus on and for how long? Fall is beautiful - still warm, less crowded and its harvest season if you have an interest in wine. Which leads to the next question...what do you want to see??? We did a 2 week loop from venice to cortina to bolzano to garda to milan to verona and back to venice. We also did a triangle from florence to montalcino to rome; another was florence, sienna, pisa and venice. All have been a miminum of 2 weeks.

We're most likely doing Milan to Bologna to Rome then heading for somewhere near Cinque Terre or the Italian Riviera and then back to Milan.

The main reason for this itinerary is the favorable pricing flying rt to Milan from Buffalo N.Y.

We've been to Italy once before, visited Venice, Florence, Rome.

We really want to see Rome again. We like walking, ruins, churches and just hanging out people watching

We will have at least 16 nights on the ground in Italy.

We will not be renting a car this time. We rented and drove in Tuscany last trip. Strictly trains for us and buses if we must.

You might want to check when sunset and sunrise are, as longer days can be a nice benefit
http://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/

Kja, great link, ty. Looks lime May has a couple more daylight hours than September,with of course May getting longer and September getting shorter every day. Longer days are nice, but I don't think it's adeal breaker either way.

I was in S Italy (Basilicata and Puglia) in late October 2014. The weather was great.

I traveled a previous October to Bologna and other parts of Emilia Romagna. It was wet, bleak and cold. Ditto Milan in mid October another year.

Bottom line: The weather changes N of Florence -- presence of mountains, etc etc. The later you go in Autumn, the more likelihood of rain and cold.

September should be OK.

Agree with tedgale re: likelihood of poorer weather the further into October you go. May is usually beautiful in Tuscany as long as you don't plan on swimming/sunbathing on a beach and can take a rainshower than may pop up.

Personally, if I'm walking a lot I prefer it to be cooler. We've been in southern France a couple of times in late September and it was quite hot (high 20s I'd think although I didn't check the weather while there). We were swimming which I tend to do only if the water is warm. I know not Italy but surely similar to parts of Italy. Check historical weather on www.wunderground.com

We much prefer to go in May. the days are longer, the worst of the tourist mobs have not yet arrived (Sept is still VERY crowded) and the weather is warm but not yet incredibly hot and humid. Also, we have had good luck finding hotel discounts this early in the season.

I'd do fall this year so I could go sooner. ;)

We have been to Italy in both October and May. We enjoyed both times. October was cooler than May, which was a bit warm in Rome but lovely in Venice. The scenery is very different in May with green fields and red poppies. In October the fields were freshly plowed with hues of browns and golds, still beautiful but not the green hills that many envision when they think of Tuscany. We experienced a little bit of rain in both May and October, so neither one stands out as a deal breaker. I think it really is a toss up with May winning by just a tad for me with the slightly warmer, longer days, but then that means you have to wait another six months!

I like the colors in spring better (especially for Tuscany). Also the longer daylight hours. Last year, spring was pretty cool in Italy. A few years ago, I froze in Tuscany in mid-September. The Italians were wearing their winter coats and many of my B&B's had not turned on heat yet (it turned cold enough to see your breath). No predicting of weather. You can only look at averages for those times and make a guess.