As a long peninsula stretching deep into the Mediterranean from the Alps, Italy’s weather can vary greatly, and there are many destinations that are wonderful to experience outside the normal tourist season. The most popular months for travel to Italy from the US are May, June, and September. The key sites can be crowded in the peak summer months of July and August, and the heat in the cities can be overwhelming, but this is the perfect time to travel to lesser-known regions and destinations.


April, October, and November are the new shoulder season and can offer an appealing combination of pleasant temperatures, fewer visitors, and lower hotel rates. In winter months the south, especially Sicily, has very mild weather. If you're more interested in history, food, and culture than beaches, winter can be the ideal time to visit. Our travel advisors are keen to help you explore the best of Italy at any time of year. Our guide to the guide to the best time to visit Italy is packed with more information.

Italy's a country packed with beautiful sights, from ancient cities to spectacular landscapes. It could take years to properly explore all of Italy. Most of us aren't lucky enough to have unlimited money and time, so we have to focus. You could confine yourself to the classic trifecta of Rome, Florence and Venice, ideally with at least three days in each, or focus in on a region if you have a shorter time or already know you'll be back for more! We offer many of Italy's most interesting destinations, going far beyond the obvious. Our travel advisors have had the benefit of considerable years of visiting and living in Italy and can help you pick where to spend your time for the maximum enjoyment.

Italy is rich in wonders and as one of our friends likes to say "extends from the Alps, to Africa". Whether you want mountains, lakes, gentle hills, Maldives-style beaches, ancient cities or historic towns, our travel advisors will help you pick the ideal spots for your vacation whether you want to stick to the well-known highlights or visit less famous delights. Wherever you go we'll make sure it's the trip of a lifetime. Every time.

We start by working with you to plan your trip, starting with your route, and where you're spending each night. A private Italy tour offers you complete freedom to create your dream itinerary. You'll get to pick from a shortlist of recommended accommodations. You can also decide how you'd like to get around Italy. Arrival and departure airport transfers are always included in our Italy trips. We can arrange train tickets or a private driver. You can pick which guided tours including city sights, galleries and museums, and other activities like wine tasting, cooking classes, and many more that you'd like to include at this point or wait until it's closer to your arrival, when you'll be in touch with our local staff in Italy. Once you land those staff are available to you by phone or email to assist with whatever you need.

It's tempting to want to tick off the "Holy Trinity" of Italian tourist destinations, and many people do. Rome's Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Museums, Michelangelo's David in Florence, topped off by St Mark's Square and the canals of Venice are all powerful attractions. Yet there is so much to see in and around each of these places that you could easily pick just to one or two of these major cities and see lesser-known places along the way in between. Our extensive coverage and knowledge of Italy means we can create whatever kind of trip you're looking for.

While we don't think a fully escorted tour is necessary to see the cities, once you head out into the countryside to truly experience Italy at its best, an escorted tour can make a lot of sense and for this reason we offer "escorted segments". Our Italy country manager Daniele will be your tour director and guide over several days, with local guides at certain sites. If you prefer a private escorted tour we are more than happy to plan a trip that covers all the destinations you wish.

Our custom Italy vacation packages of accommodation, transfers and activities start at around $300 per person per day, but you can get a rough estimate based on any of the itineraries on our site by using the Price Guide function. Choose which class of hotel you prefer, the size of your party and the month you wish to travel in and an estimated total price will be generated for you. Included in the price is our expert planning service and support throughout your custom tour of Italy.

Italy is home to perhaps the world's most famous cuisine, with delicacies and dishes popular with people from millionaires to children and grad students. The dishes that you might be familiar with from Italian restaurants abroad (especially chains like Olive Garden!) are a poor introduction to Italian food, however, as it varies greatly from region to region. Until Italy unified 150 years ago, it was a bewildering hodgepodge of kingdoms, democracies, and a theocracy, speaking different languages. This is reflected in the local foods. Trieste has excellent pastries, but a decent pizza is rare up there, while you'll be hard-pressed to find a perfect risotto in Sicily. In each region or destination you visit, we'll provide dining suggestions to help you explore local traditions via food and drink. Italy's food and wine traditions are an important part of the culture so we prepared a guide to some dos and don'ts when dining in Italy.

Italy has a vast array of wine varieties (at every possible price point). As vineyards can be found in every part of the country, we recommend seeking out local wines, which often perfectly match the local food, and are always available. Italy produces some good beers, especially its increasingly popular micro-brews. People seeking something stronger should seek out Grappa (brandy made from leftovers from wine production), or Limoncello (a sweet lemon liqueur popular in the south). A common digestif is Amaro, a bittersweet liqueur. Italy also has a burgeoning craft beer scene to supplement the ubiquitous Peroni and Moretti brands. Local water is usually safe (some cities, such as Rome, have decorative fountains that double as drinking fountains), but we generally recommend bottled water.

Italian cities can be chaotic, especially Naples and Rome, with aggressive drivers, constant traffic jams, and overcrowded subways and buses. Italian cities and towns are best explored by foot, and we prioritize centrally-located accommodations, to help you do so. The high-speed express trains that serve major cities are modern, frequent, and are often the best way to get between destinations quickly. Long distance buses aren't the most comfortable and are only popular for reasons of cost. They don't often cover routes not already served by trains. If you'd prefer a door-to-door service over taking the train we can arrange private transfers and include stops along the way.

Although Italy's cities are well connected with high-speed train services, regions such as Puglia, Sicily, or Tuscany aren't so well served by public transport. An Italy road trip can be a great way to see more of the country and a rental car is a cost-effective way to get around. Driving in Italy isn't as terrifying as you may have been led to believe, outside the major cities at least. We can include car rental in the custom Italy vacation package we prepare for you.


If you'd prefer not to drive, we can arrange a guide and driver, or just a driver, to transport you between overnight destinations, stopping at points of interest en route.

The Italian Peninsula's rich history, from the Etruscans, ancient Greek colonies, the vast Roman Empire, the Renaissance, and its dramatic natural beauty means you're never far from a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Italy. There is a total of 58 on the main list and another 31 on the Tentative List. Fun fact: the UNESCO logo is based on the ancient Greek Temple of Concordia in Agrigento, Sicily

Italy is generally safe, but you’ll want to keep an eye out for bag-snatchers and pickpockets, especially on public transport or in touristy areas. If driving, be sure not to leave valuables in your car. Although southern Italy is infamous for organized crime, these gangsters are rarely involved in petty crime affecting tourists, preferring to focus on other activities, such as drug trafficking and racketeering. Although you should keep your wits about you in Naples’ old town, its petty crime rates are on par with Barcelona, Marseilles, and Amsterdam.

In many locations, we offer both options; either with a private tour guide just for you and your party or small group tours. Although your overall Italy tour will be a private one, based on your dates and preferences, you can enjoy the social aspects of a group tour by opting to take some group excursions. We emphasize small group sizes wherever possible on the group excursions we offer. A bike tour is often more enjoyable in a small group.

We often create itineraries combining Italy with Croatia and Slovenia as well as other countries around the Adriatic Sea. Another common pairing is Switzerland and Northern Italy. If visiting Sicily, Malta is just a short flight away. Antiquities enthusiasts often ask us to create itineraries that feature Italy and Greece.