Loading…
Click here if you are not redirected automatically.
Shoulder season in Italy has changed - what October in Tuscany, February in Venice, and Spring in Puglia really look like now, and when to actually go.
Not the way it used to be. According to Amy Chambers of Scappare Travel Club, shoulder season is now busy, significantly more than it used to be. October in Tuscany, once quiet and unhurried, has turned into something closer to a second high season over the last three or four years. The quiet Italy still exists, but you have to know where and when to look for it.
It can be. Amy was in Venice in February and could not move through Sestiere San Marco on foot because it was wall to wall people. Part of it was the tail end of Carnevale, but winter in Venice is no longer reliably uncrowded.
Yes. Late September and October are still Amy's personal favorites for Tuscany, crowds and all. The light is extraordinary, the food is at its peak with porcini and white truffles on menus, the harvest has just finished, and the wine conversations with local producers are the best of the year. You just will not be the only one there.
Late October and early November in Sicily is one of Italy's best kept secrets. Amy was on a beach in Ortigia on October 28th in 80 degree sunshine with almost no tourists around. The Scappare Travel Club Western Sicily trip is timed for October on purpose.
Yes. Early spring in Tuscany is underrated, with green hills, wildflowers, and changeable weather Florentines call marzo pazzo, crazy March. Late spring is spectacular around the Italian Lakes and Bergamo, and late spring in Puglia, with its farms, fava fields, and ancient olive trees, is something more people should know about. Bring layers.
Scappare Travel Club skips summer altogether. July and August heat in Italy is not just uncomfortable, it is limiting, and with packed streets it is hard to explore well during the day. Scappare Travel Club trips run in fall, winter, and spring instead.
By Amy Chambers, Scappare Travel Club.