ITALY TRAVEL GUIDES

High season in Italy as with many other places in Europe are the summer months of July and August. And while the weather may be hot and sunny it also goes hand in hand with a boat load of tourists. It’s safe to say that you won’t have any place to yourself. Especially not the most touristic ones. In my honest opinion I would definitely avoid the Italy hot spots during this period of time and explore the lesser known regions of perhaps Umbria and Puglia instead.

Now shoulder season, this is when Italy shines. The big tourist groups have left and while the temperatures a re. a little lower compared to the summer they’re also not as excruciating hot. The months from April to June and September to October are ideal to explore the big cities and the popular coastal towns.

As for the Dolomites, it totally depends what kind of holiday you are looking for. If you’re looking for an adventurous hiking adventure then you need to go when there’s no more snow high up in the mountains. This leaves you with the months June, July, August, September and sometimes October. If you’re looking for a snow holiday then December, January, Februari and March are your go to months!

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN TRAVELING TO ITALY

Language – Although Italian is the official language of Italy, it’s not widely known that the country boasts some 34 spoken languages and related dialects. The majority of these languages are Romance-based, meaning that they evolved from Vulgar Latin. These include Sicilian, Neapolitan, Sardinian, and more. Italian is the native language for Italy, but around 29 percent of the population speaks English.

Credit Cards & ATM’s – In most places in Italy, paying by card is no problem, yet having at least some local currency in cash is always a good idea for unexpected cases. ATMs (Automatic Teller Machines) in Italy are known as Bancomat, and can be found anywhere in large cities as well as in small towns. The machine operates just as ATMs do anywhere else; at the beginning of the transaction, it prompts the user for the preferred language.

Safety – Italy is indeed a safe country to visit. The nation’s violent crime rates are low these days, and global safety rankings consistently place Italy higher than both England and the United States.

Taxi’s – One of the things I really don’t like about Italy is the insane cost of a taxi and how they sometimes refuse to give you the price up front. If you can avoid taking a taxi I highly encourage you to do so.

Trains – If you’re traveling long distance between two places then train travel is often the fastest way to get there. One thing you have to be aware of though is that in Italy you need to book your train ticket in advance cause you will be assigned a certain seat. If all seats are taken you can’t board the train.

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ITALY TRAVEL GUIDES