Best of Italy: Tuscany, Cinque Terre & The Amalfi Coast

You can spend a couple of months exploring Europe and still feel like you have not seen everything. Generally speaking, a two-week Europe trip should be just enough if you are looking to cover its major highlights. However, if you want a comprehensive travel experience within this duration, it is better that you focus on a region or a few countries rather than traveling all over the continent. 

Choose a single country or schedule your trip around a handful of cities in different countries. While larger European cities may require three to four days to explore, you can get around smaller destinations in a day or two. Planning your trip around a particular region will cut down your travel time and save your time in transit.

The best time to visit Italy is between the months of April and June as well as from September to October. The weather on the Italian Peninsula during these months is ideal for going out on sightseeing tours, hiking, and exploring treasures stretching from Palermo to the lagoons of Venice. Traveling to Italy during July and August is avoided by many because of the summer heat and crowds, while the period between November to March sees the fewest visitors in big cities. However, these months coincide with the prime skiing season in the Alps, while southern parts of Italy, such as Sicily, remain relatively warm during this time of year. Find more information here.

Citizens of the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK, and Japan can visit Italy (along with the free-movement zone of Schengen in the EU) for 90 days as tourists without requiring a visa.

The best time to visit Italy is between the months of April and June as well as from September to October. The weather on the Italian Peninsula during these months is ideal for going out on sightseeing tours, hiking, and exploring treasures stretching from Palermo to the lagoons of Venice. Traveling to Italy during July and August is avoided by many because of the summer heat and crowds, while the period between November to March sees the fewest visitors in big cities. However, these months coincide with the prime skiing season in the Alps, while southern parts of Italy, such as Sicily, remain relatively warm during this time of year.

The duration of your vacation in Italy depends on the ground you want to cover. It is possible to enjoy a city break in Rome that lasts just three days, while one week in Italy will give you the chance to tick the country’s top sights off your bucket list, be it the countryside around Tuscany, the highlights of Florence and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. However, we recommend Italy trips of no less than ten days. This will allow you to take in the country’s iconic landmarks as well as explore off-the-beaten-track destinations, such as the medieval hamlet of Barbarano Romano,  the Dolomites, and Mantua in the Lombardy region.  In two weeks, you can add Sicily to your itinerary. Read our travel article on how many days to spend in Italy.