Spring April to June
Warm and settled: highs climb from about 19°C (66°F) in April to 28°C (82°F) in June in Rome, a degree warmer in Florence and a little cooler in Venice. Everywhere works.
Italy
Luxury travel in Italy
One region given time, or a route from the lakes to the sea.
The Rialto Bridge, Venice
Italy in its cities and its country: ancient Rome and the Vatican, Florence and the Renaissance, Venice on its lagoon, the Amalfi Coast, the Tuscan hills and the lakes beneath the Alps. Avelia, based in Málaga, plans private, tailor-made trips to Italy.
Italy at a glance
- Recommended stay
- Ten to fourteen days for three places; a week for one city and a region
- Best seasons
- April to June, and September and October
- Getting there
- Fly to Rome or Milan; Naples for the coast, Venice for the north-east
- Best for
- Art and antiquity, food and wine, the coast, the lakes and mountains
- In a wider trip
- Spain and France in the same journey — we plan all three
- World Heritage
- 62 sites on UNESCO's list: 56 cultural and six natural
A trip with us typically includes hotels, private transfers, guided days and restaurant reservations, and always support while you travel.
01Where to go
Where to go in Italy
Rome, Florence and the Amalfi Coast each open a page of their own. We arrange the others just as readily, and the note on each says what it is like.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
The map runs from the Alps to the Amalfi Coast, with Sardinia to the west. Each city is pinned where it stands, each region at its centre, and the coast, the lake and the mountains at Amalfi, Bellagio and Cortina d’Ampezzo. Rome to Florence is about 230 km in a straight line, Florence to Venice about 200.
Cities
Rome The Forum, the Colosseum, the Vatican and St Peter's
Florence Brunelleschi's dome, the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace
City
Venice
A city spread over 118 small islands in its lagoon since the 5th century: the Grand Canal and its palazzi, Titian and Tintoretto in its churches, glass on Murano; on the World Heritage List since 1987, two hours from Florence by train. Best for two or three nights, and as the way north to the lakes or the Dolomites.
The coast, the country and the mountains
Region
Tuscany
Beyond Florence: the Chianti Classico hills between Florence and Siena, Siena's Gothic centre, San Gimignano's towers and the Val d'Orcia, each on the World Heritage List, and the Medici villas. Best for a villa, the wine and slow days.
Region
Umbria
The hill towns between Rome and Florence: Assisi, Saint Francis's birthplace, where Giotto and Cimabue painted the Basilica of San Francesco, on the World Heritage List since 2000, and woods where the truffles are hunted. Best for a quieter week, or a few days between the two cities.
Region
Lake Como
A long lake under the Alps, about 50 km north of Milan, lined with villas and gardens: Bellagio where its arms meet, Villa del Balbianello on its point, left to the FAI in 1988, and Isola Comacina, its only island. Best for slow days by boat, at the end of a route through the north.
Region
The Dolomites
Pale limestone peaks in the north-east, eighteen of them above 3,000 m, on the World Heritage List since 2009: Cortina d'Ampezzo, green lakes such as Braies, walking in summer and skiing in winter. Best for the mountains after the cities, north from Venice.
Island
Sardinia
An island of its own: the Costa Smeralda and the La Maddalena archipelago, a national park since 1994, with clear water for sailing, and inland the Bronze Age towers of Barumini, on the World Heritage List since 1997. Best for a week on the water.
02Inspiration
Experiences in Italy
Each of these is arranged privately for your dates, subject to availability.
Art, history and private guides
Rome’s Forum and Colosseum, the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, Florence’s Uffizi and the towns of Tuscany, each with a guide who knows them — and Pompeii, Ostia Antica and an evening at La Scala.
Food and wine
Tastings with the families who make the wine in Chianti, truffles hunted in the woods of Umbria and Piedmont, and cooking classes from Florence to Naples, with the tables reserved for you.
The coast, the lakes and the mountains
The Amalfi Coast and Capri from the water, Lake Como’s villages by private boat, a gondola in Venice, walking in the Dolomites, a yacht off Sardinia and Tuscany’s warm springs.
03Seasons
When to go
High summer July and August
The season for the Amalfi Coast, Sardinia, the lakes and the Dolomites; Venice is a little cooler, with highs of 28–29°C (82–84°F).
Heat: Florence averages highs of 32°C (90°F) in July and August, Rome 31°C (88°F). In the cities, take the mornings and the evenings; give the afternoons to water or shade.
Autumn September and October
The other best season: highs ease from 26–27°C (79–81°F) in September to 22°C (72°F) in October in Rome and Florence, and from 24°C (75°F) to 19°C (66°F) in Venice.
EventsAlba's white truffle fair, from mid-October into December: 10 October to 6 December in 2026.
Winter November to March
Cool: January highs of about 12°C (54°F) in Rome and Florence and 8°C (46°F) in Venice. November is Rome's wettest month, with rain on about ten days.
EventsVenice's Carnival, in the weeks before Lent: 23 January to 9 February in 2027.
04Shape your trip
Routes and itineraries
Each route is a starting point, tailored to you, and any of them can run on into Spain or France.
7 days
Culture and cuisine in Rome and Florence
- Places
- Rome and Florence
- Suits
- A first taste of the two great art cities, and their tables
7 days
The Amalfi Coast, Capri and Pompeii
- Places
- The Amalfi Coast, Capri and Pompeii
- Suits
- One base on the coast, with Capri and Pompeii as days out
10 days
Rome, Florence and Venice
- Places
- Rome, Florence and Venice
- Suits
- The classic first journey, three cities joined by fast trains
Itineraries that include Italy
Rome and the Amalfi Coast
from $18,900 per person
05Planning with Avelia
How we plan your trip to Italy
We start with which parts of Italy, and in what order — the cities by train, the coast, the lakes or the countryside by road — then choose the hotels, and only then fill the days. Ramin Jafari plans it from Málaga, where Avelia is based, and is your contact until you are home.
Share your plans
Tell us your dates, who is travelling and the pace you like, and whether Spain or France belong in the same journey.
Shape your trip with us
Before any payment, we send a written proposal with a quoted trip price and what it includes — such as a palazzo in Rome, first-class seats on the high-speed trains, and the Vatican and the Uffizi booked ahead — and refine it with you.
Travel with our support
Once you approve the proposal and complete the agreed booking requirements, we confirm your arrangements. We coordinate the details and support you while you travel.
Peace of mind
Financially protected. Your payments for a package trip are covered against our insolvency by a guarantee with AXA. Plan with peace of mind
What we can arrange
Your proposal sets out the arrangements included in your trip.
- Hotels matched to you — a palazzo in Rome, a hotel on the Arno, a villa in the Tuscan hills or above the sea on the Amalfi Coast, a house on Lake Como; hotels and private villas alike.
- Private transport — first-class seats on the high-speed trains between the cities, drivers for the coast, the countryside and the mountains, and a helicopter between Venice and Lake Como on request.
- Private guides — for the museums, the ancient sites and the hill towns, in English.
- Experiences — a cooking class, a truffle hunt, a day on the water with a skipper, a mountain guide in the Dolomites, each arranged privately around your days.
- Tables and tickets — reservations from Michelin-starred dining rooms to a trattoria, and the museums and monuments booked ahead, the Vatican and the Uffizi among them.
- Special occasions — honeymoons, anniversaries and family trips, planned around who is travelling.
06Questions
Questions we are asked
What does it cost to have a tailor-made trip designed by Avelia Travel?
Every trip is priced individually. After discussing your plans, we prepare a tailored proposal with a quoted trip price and a clear outline of what is included.
How long should a trip to Italy be?
Ten to fourteen days suits most first trips: time for Rome, Florence and Venice, or two of them and the coast or the countryside. A week does one city and one region well. Our sample routes above run from seven days to ten.
When is the best time to visit Italy?
April to June and September to October suit almost the whole country. July and August are hot in the cities — Florence averages 32°C — and belong to the coast, the lakes and the mountains. Winter is cool, with January highs of about 12°C in Rome and Florence, and brings Venice’s Carnival.
Can I combine Italy with Spain or France?
Yes. We plan all three, and a journey that begins in one and ends in another is common — Madrid or Barcelona and then Rome, or the French Riviera before the Italian lakes. Our Spain and France pages set out where to go in each, and all our destinations are on one page.
Which parts of Italy do you arrange?
All of it. Rome, Florence and the Amalfi Coast have pages of their own here; we arrange Venice, Tuscany, Umbria, Lake Como, the Dolomites and Sardinia just the same, and beyond them Milan and La Scala, Bologna, Naples and Pompeii, Puglia and Piedmont’s truffle country.
How do we travel between places in Italy?
By high-speed train between the cities: Rome to Florence in about an hour and a half, Florence to Venice in about two, Rome to Naples in a little over an hour. For the Tuscan countryside, the Amalfi Coast and the Dolomites, a private driver; on the coast and the lakes, often a boat. We arrange each leg, first-class seats included.
Do I need to speak Italian?
No. English is widely spoken in the major cities and in luxury hotels, and the guides we arrange work in English. A few words of Italian are always appreciated.
Do I need a visa to visit Italy?
Italy is in the Schengen area. Citizens of the United States and the United Kingdom do not need a visa for tourism for stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Longer stays, or travel for work, study or residence, need a visa arranged in advance. Visa-free visitors also meet the EU’s Entry/Exit System, which since April 2026 registers fingerprints and a photograph at the border in place of a passport stamp, and will need ETIAS, an online travel authorisation the EU is introducing; the EU’s own travel-europe.europa.eu page gives its current status. Check your own nationality’s requirements before you book.
Do you only plan full itineraries, or can you help with just a hotel?
Both. We plan complete trips, and we also arrange a stay on its own: a hotel matched to you, with transfers, a guide or a few reservations added if you wish.
Is Avelia right for me?
Avelia suits travellers who want a private, well-paced trip planned around them: the right places in the right order, hotels chosen for them, guides who know the ground, tables and tickets taken care of, and one point of contact from the first conversation until they are home.
Start planning your time in Italy
Ten to fourteen days for three places in Italy, or a week for one city and a region: tell us your dates and who is travelling.
Usually answered within one business day.