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Best Month for Europe


shofer

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I wish someone who actually did October would post. I just can not make it out of town for 12 days in September so October is the earliest I could do. October anyone????????

 

Maybe I have not been clear. i've done October and it was fine.

 

Yes you might get some rain but it is a great time of the year to sail.

 

Book it.

 

Keith

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I wish someone who actually did October would post. I just can not make it out of town for 12 days in September so October is the earliest I could do. October anyone????????

 

I have been three times to the Med in October on cruises.

 

As I said earlier, the first time was the end of September and into October. IT was very hot.

 

The second and third times were both from about October 24/25 and into November. On both of those trips I experienced rains -- including a steady all-day rain in Livorno/Florence and winds bad enough to keep us from making port in Civitavecchia (they closed the port). Oddly, it wasn't chilly. On the other cruise it rained less (about a half day of rain in Palermo and a few rain drops/cloudy skies in Tunisia). However, the seas were a bit rough at times. The captain canceled the "Welcome Aboard" party twice because the ship was moving a lot and he didn't want waiters walking around with trays nor women wearing high heels.

 

Truthfully, I've had better weather in November (less rainy, less windy, but a few degrees cooler) than in October.

 

That said, I am going AGAIN on a trip to the Med in October of this year -- a land trip, not a cruise. :D

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So you think our cruise from Oct 21 to Nov 1 should be a nice time? My 2 previous have been in early March and May/June. March was not to bad will a little rain a few days and no real crowds but May/June was already getting hot and crowded.

 

Well, let's just say it's a time I like. :) Fewer crowds to fight. Although the weather isn't as predictable, it's unlikely you'll have constant rain and the temps will be moderate. Are you doing more of an eastern or western itinerary?

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Well, let's just say it's a time I like. :) Fewer crowds to fight. Although the weather isn't as predictable, it's unlikely you'll have constant rain and the temps will be moderate. Are you doing more of an eastern or western itinerary?

 

Eastern, Rome to Santorini,Mykonos,Athens,Kusadasi,Istanbul & Naples

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Eastern, Rome to Santorini,Mykonos,Athens,Kusadasi,Istanbul & Naples

 

Be careful if your itinerary includes Venice. We arrived in Venice on Oct 29th and left on the 31st. The flooding from the "aqua alta" had already started. It rained the 3 days we were there and continued to rain in Paris for the 2 days we were there. I would try for the first 2 weeks of October if I were to go again.

 

Hubby and I have been to Italy in late May and it was so hot, we were buying bottles of water to drink and bottles of water to pour over our heads. Humidity was terrible. Thought we would miss the Summer heat, but ended up not being the case. So hot I got sun poisoning even with a hat, really made the trip miserable.

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Be careful if your itinerary includes Venice. We arrived in Venice on Oct 29th and left on the 31st. The flooding from the "aqua alta" had already started. It rained the 3 days we were there and continued to rain in Paris for the 2 days we were there. I would try for the first 2 weeks of October if I were to go again.

 

Hubby and I have been to Italy in late May and it was so hot, we were buying bottles of water to drink and bottles of water to pour over our heads. Humidity was terrible. Thought we would miss the Summer heat, but ended up not being the case. So hot I got sun poisoning even with a hat, really made the trip miserable.

 

No Venice stop on this trip. We overnighted in Venice in 2011 on a cruise in late May and the weather was awesome.

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We did a Med cruise over Christmas several years ago. The weather was cooler, typically a sweater or light jacket, but the sights were so much more relaxed than the high tourism season. When in Athens it was possible to get pictures in front of the Acropolis without a million other people milling around, and you didn't feel gross and sweaty walking around cities that have some major elevation changes.

I went to Istanbul this past December and just wore a light down vest over a long sleeve t-shirt and was perfectly comfortable. Again, so much easier to see the sights without the massive crowds of tourists. If you're looking for sun and beaches, this isn't the best time to go, but we saw a lot in a short amount of time and it was very relaxing.

Remember that Italians are very strict about taking their vacation time. For the Veneto region (northern part) most things were "Chiuso per Ferie" (closed for holiday) for almost the entire month of August. The preferred dates vary by region, but is something to consider. A friend came to visit in August expecting to see the sites in Milano, and was very disappointed that many things were unavailable (Last Supper, etc).

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