Italy in May/June or June/July?

[misstravelbug]

Hi,
we are off to Italy next year, after a very long absence from Europe. We are a family with two children who will be aged 11 and 8 by then.

Originally we were going to go in June/July as we like to escape the Winter in Australia but now DH has suggested May.

we have our own business which is very busy in June for DH (end of financial year) and we don't see him much anyway, so the children and I are meeting friends for an extra month away. We homeschool, so this is all cool.

So would you recommend May or July for the add on with DH?

I have two itineraries roughly planned and the July one would include Santa Margherita Ligure, Como and more Northern destinations.

Thanks

MTB x

 

[Ian Sutton]

Personally I'd always choose May/June over June/July, so as to avoid the heat, but I suppose it depends where you are in Australia to how much that is an issue. Perhaps only a Tasmanian would agree with me, whilst a Perthite in July might say "heat? what heat?!!".

If going for July, it does open up the mountains a little more e.g. Aosta , but there are options. For May it opens up the idea of including Torino (a favourite city of ours). Either should appeal to the kids, but I suspect the film museum, countermining tunnel museum (museo pietro micca), Egyptian museum plus being a chocolate-specialist city might tip things in favour of including Torino. The trams will be familiar if you're based in Melbourne.

Fruit and veg will be excellent whichever you choose, though tiny alpine strawberries (fragoline) are a joy in May and you'll also have the wonderful nespole (Loquats) that I've been enjoying recently. Asparagus as well no doubt, though many would argue the best comes from the North West.

As long as you avoid August, you'll avoid the major public holidays.

Hope this helps

regards
Ian

 

[misstravelbug]

Thanks Ian, your suggestions are wonderful.

Torino has been on my radar for a while and now DH wants to visit there as the Italian Open golf was played at a course there...LOL

I think we will stick with May/June and enjoy those strawberries! Plus it's sooner.

 

[Ian Sutton]

Cool - Feel free to bounce other questions in, especially on Piemonte.

Another thing to do in Torino... The basilica di Superga in the hills overlooking Torino is worth a visit in it's own right, but the steep rack railway trip to get there should appeal (in that modestly scary way) to kids.

Meanwhile the Borgo Medievale in Torino may be a ~ 120 year old fake, but it's a good fake and surprisingly engaging for adults. Worth a visit.

 

[jan]

Coming from Florida, I would always choose May. I am used to the heat at home--we go from air conditioned place to a/c car to a/c shop etc. But the hot, humid weather is not good for walking in the streets of any city. July in the mountains could solve your problems, though.

 

[Alpinista]

American schools get out in mid-May (colleges) and June (high schools). The earlier you go, the fewer American family groups you will be sharing the tourist destinations with. Our home is near Lucca and I would note that it can be quite cool some years in May and June (but not always, so take that for what it's worth). It does make a difference on beach days, however. You might consider expanding your range to Lake Garda to allow your kids a shot at GardaLand (or, you might want to delete this post so that your kids never find out it was ever an option -- my wife would have voted for "delete", but we went anyway and 3/4 of our family had a great day).

 

[misstravelbug]

You are all awesome, we have decided on May and June.
LOL...Alpinista we will not be visiting Gardaland...The option will not even be presented to the family as I am the planner.
We always include fun stuff for the children and whenever we visit the USA we go to Disneyland/WDW, in July we are off to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand and will visit Universal Studios and Legoland...but in Europe; there will be gelato and all things fun and Italian. There is a very cool playground north of Venice that I am interested in though

(horrible mum that I am...LOL)

Great to know about the school holiday in the USA as I am sure that has great impact with the crowds, especially with the high $ at the moment.

I will be back with some itineraries for you guys to help with if you would be so gracious.

 

[Ian Sutton]

Hi MTB/Alpinista
That's useful info. For me it wouldn't at all affect planning for Santa Margherita Ligure or Torino, but might be a factor if (say) I was going to San Gimignano or Cinque Terre, places that are very much on the tourist map.
regards
Ian

 

[Alpinista]

The high school year calendars are set by state educational boards and the ending time varies. As a general rule, the warm weather states end earlier (some as early as the end of May; others, early June). The milder weather states tend to run into the second and third weeks of June. In states where there are days off granted for snow/other bad weather, there is a mandate for minimum days attended and, if that mandate is not met due to days off, the calendar is extended. In my state, Virginia, the local schools dismiss on June 23 this year. Maybe more importantly, the schools in our region of Lucca get out in early June -- which is usually when we stop seeing grandmothers with babies at the beach and start seeing moms with kids.

 

[Tery]

We always travel to Italy in late May / early June, to take advantage of the last week of low rental season at the villa we always stay at in Sinalunga (Siena Province). The weather has usually been quite pleasant and only rarely hot. However, in 2013 we did encounter the coldest May in 200 years, with lots of rain and even quite a bit of snow in the Appenines on May 25th that year! We are leaving for Italy again on May 17th and extended weather forecasts look like it will be much more pleasant during our trip this year than in 2013.

One thing I'd point out though is that every time we've done a day trip to Florence in late May, we've encountered LOTS of Italian junior high school-age kids there on field trips - 13-14 years old and really annoying, just like their US counterparts. I think it's a given that most kids all over the world can be annoying at that age, with both sexes cutting up to try and impress the other . These school groups can impact one's visit to Florence in late May, especially if you're planning to visit major sites like the Duomo, the Uffizi or the Academia. Lines are longer and the kids tend to be very noisy.

We haven't really noticed hordes of teens on field trips in Siena or other towns in Tuscany in late May. So, I'm not sure if these end of term type field trips are really only a problem in Florence or if they also happen in late May in other major cities in Italy as well.

 

[Alpinista]

In Tuscany, the school year ends in early June (June 10 this year). The field trips you describe are typical as are restaurants being clogged with end-of-term celebrations for students of all ages -- lots of kids/very few chaperones.

 

[Matt D]

If Liguria were in my plans I would definitely wait until June. The boats along the coast run very limited schedules until June and don't even get into full swing until later in the summer. You never know about the weather - You may find ridiculous heat in early June or a week of cold rain - we've had both. We try and wait until mid-June for Liguria. It's a good compromise.