Over the past decade, Italy has become one of the world’s most visited destinations attracting over 50 million visitors annually. It’s a shocking number considering that Italy’s entire population is only 60 million and geographically speaking Italy as a country doesn’t even occupy half the state of California. Yet, what is more shocking still is the fact that the vast majority of visitors to Italy (over 80% of travelers) are visiting the same six places: Florence, Venice, Rome, the Amalfi Coast, the island Capri, and the Cinque Terre.
No doubt, all of these destinations are extraordinarily beautiful and nowadays, many of these destinations in Italy are continuously blogged about, Instagrammed about, Tweeted about and talked about. Often times, the art cities like Florence, Venice, Rome are showcased with their empty piazzas and the coastal areas and islands with their pristine beaches, vacant roads and untouched hiking trails, but what so many people leave out of the equation is that once you get here, especially to places like Positano on the Amalfi Coast, or the island of Capri, especially now during the peak seasons, you can find yourself there with thousands of other people and that is something the vast majority of companies or social media outlets in Italy fail to mention or educate their clients about.
Tourism is a wonderful renewable and sustainable resource if managed with sustainability in mind and tourism has in fact helped the economy in Italy enormously, however when tourists start to outnumber the locals, when towns and cities cater entirely to tourism, it’s not always certain if this is the best case scenario for local communities and visitors themselves.
The fact that so many areas in Italy have turned into tourist states where tourists outnumber local residents and the vast number of businesses cater primarily to the needs of tourists and not the local communities, means that the big six destinations in Italy (those mentioned above) by their very nature are tourist traps and we’re not saying they’re not beautiful to see – of course they are, but they are primarily driven by mass tourism and it’s best you know before you go and make no pretense about it, and if possible to learn some of the facts about traveling to some of these areas well in advance, particularly when it comes to knowing when the peak season is in Italy is and some other surprising facts which may alter your decisions in terms of what you decide to purchase in terms of experiences during your next vacation to Italy.
Not only can arming yourself with up-to-date information about travel in Italy, save you money, it can all save you a lot of aggravation in terms of waiting in long lines, traffic, grumpy staff experiences and other details that we think make the difference between planning an average trip and a truly excellent one.
Below, we have prepared some important information that can help you in planning your upcoming trip to Italy and avoiding some of the major pit-falls, so many visitors to Italy fall into and one of the most important things to consider is when the peak-seasons for travel are.
- Know when the peak-season is
Many first time travelers want to know when is the best time to visit Italy, and the answer may surprise you. Peak season for travel in Italy is not what most people consider.
The peak seasons for travel may not be what you expect, for example October is one of the very busiest times in Italy, particularly in Florence, Venice, Rome, the Amalfi Coast and Cinque Terre and you may be shocked to know that June, September and October are considered peak season in Florence, Venice and Rome, but it’s getting tobe busy now all year round and so it’s important important to reserve well in advance to get the best prices for accommodations, otherwise if you wait you end up paying more and finding less options the closer you get to the date of departure. It’s a matter of supply and demand. It’s a small country with a limited supply of hotels in areas like the Amalfi Coast, Taormina, Venice, & the Cinque Terre, supply is often less than the demand, hence prices are going up all over Italy during the peak season and scarcity is driving the price-hikes.
2. Avoid Travel to the sea-side areas from August 10 – 18 if you can avoid it and for some of the best deals in Italy consider visiting Florence, Venice and Rome in August where you can find the best deals!
August 15th is Ferragosto and around this time of year almost all of the public workers in Italy are allowed a one week holiday, so quite literally tens of millions of Italian tourists themselves are on the move around the 15th of August making traffic horrendous and hotel prices, particularly near the sea-side sore.
Generally speaking during this time, the local residents pour out of the cities like Florence and Rome and all head to cooler climates, make Rome and Florence ideal to visit if you can stand the heat!
If you don’t want to deal with the August temperatures, consider visiting Italy in the winter months which is a surprisingly great time to visit Italy and may be a pleasant surprise for all that this country has to offer in terms of natural hot-springs, great culinary experiences, wonderful scenery and access to the museums and galleries without the hassle of the masses during the spring and fall months!
3. Consider towns and cities nearby some of the more popular areas.
Take for example the Cinque Terre. This is a stretch of coastline on the Italian riviera that is shouldered by some other tows and regions towards the north and the south. Check out one of our recent articles on the Cinque Terre national park:
https://www.italyvacationspecialists.com/blog/thinking-staying-cinque-terre-italy-may-want-think
And it’s not only for the Cinque Terre we have recommendations, its for everywhere in Italy close to the major centers and even this fall we are gearing up to show some of our colleagues the area around Rome which is so fascinating!
4. When taking a group tour confirm the number of participants before the tour.
Some tour companies offer huge group tours where you are with head-sets and walking with anywhere from 40-60 people. If this sounds like your idea of a good time, great, but a lot of people find these types of group sizes overwhelming.
5. Rail between cities like Florence and Rome may seem inexpensive, but at what cost?
If you are arriving into Florence and need to take another tour to get into Tuscany, consider taking a private transfer and seeing some of the Tuscany region en-route between Florence and Rome. Have a look at one of our articles about using private transfers as great sightseeing experiences and knowing where and when not to use them.
Save Money & Use Private Transfers as Opportunities for Incredible Experiences & Sightseeing
6. Use a travel professional who knows the ins and outs of Italy. Know the facts about using a travel consultant and hire a good one who really knows the ins and outs of Italy! We know quite a few excellent agents and can certainly recommend one in your area!
You may think that using a travel agent or travel professional is more costly, but this is in fact a complete misconception. Travel agents are paid a commission off of products that you wouldn’t have access to otherwise, so they are not making money off of you but rather the suppliers or hotels that they may be recommending to you based on a great experience. It’s their intention to give you the best experience and believe us, organizing travel details and make things go smoothly from start to finish is a big task.
Sure, maybe you can do it yourself, but definitely not with the same level of expertise and safety that somebody who specializes in this can do.
7. Big travel sites like Expedia, Viatour, Booking.com, Hotelbeds are catering to the masses of tourists coming to Italy, so if you want to be away from the big crowds and you are booking sightseeing tours and experiences on any of these sites, be prepared to be bulked into the mass experience.
Many of these large multi-national big name internet travel companies dominate the web and their big group tours the streets of these major cities in Italy – but you don’t have to fall into the herd-type travel.
Explore other options and get informed before you go!
Fatal Mistakes You or Your Travel Agent May Make When Planning A Visit to Italy & How To Avoid Them
8. Use private guides, local drivers and / or companies who employ them and specialize in boutique experiences, even if its not us!
Often times private guides are very reasonable and you can use private guides and drivers often at the same cost as what doing a large group tour costs!
We are guides and drivers here in Italy and many of our colleagues specialize in specific areas and they can truly bring may of the areas to life for you and ensure your comfort and safety during your experience here!
9. Look for boutique tours or consult with friends and plan your own private tour for the same cost as some of the big tour companies offering the same standard stuff.
Many of the large tour operators like Trafalgar, Globus, Perillo and Gar Tour are offering cookie-cutter tours with bus-loads of 20+ participants. For generic, first time tours to Italy these might suite you just fine, however these tours can be expensive and tiring, since you have to always go at the pace of the slowest group member.
There are many alternatives including planning your own custom tour with friends or family and the price you would pay for a big bus tour is often the same as customizing your own experience.
10. Come to Italy once and see the major sites, then come back and see some of the off-the beaten track places!
There are 20 regions in Italy and within those regions there are provinces. From the north to the south each region varies considerably in terms of cuisine, language, architecture and cultural influence. Sicily for example was strongly influenced by the Arabic, Turkish and Greek cultures while the north has long standing traditions with the French, Austrians, German and Swiss. With such a compelling position in the Mediterranean, Italy is ancient country with a deep military, political and cultural influence that is evident in numerous locations.
We can assist you by providing you the very best up-to-date information about travel in Italy and steer you away from the mass experiences so many visitors to Italy fall into, to a personalized one for you and your loved ones!
We love Italy and want to see that it is well preserved and its environment, culture and traditions respected for years to come!
Join us today in discovering Italy in all its beauty with an authentic heart-centered team of local experts!
Email: team@italyvacationspecialists.com TOLL FREE 1-866-779-2565
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