When to Book a Spring Tour of Italy - A Complete Guide
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Shoulder season is a great time to travel to Italy because you get to try some of our favorite seasonal cuisines, avoid the tourist crowds, and beat the summer heat or winter chill.
It’s our preferred time of year to travel for these very reasons, and we host two different tours of Italy during this time of year.
Heart of Italy Food Tour
This trip is an all-encompassing 9-day tour of three different regions of Italy. You’ll start on the Amalfi Coast exploring charming cliff and island towns eating fresh mozzarella, limoncello, and seafood. You’ll make your way through Naples and Florence, enjoying walking tours, market visits, and cooking classes where you’ll learn to make authentic recipes alongside Italian chefs.
You’ll end up in the hills of Emilia Romagna where you’ll taste aged Parmigiano Reggiano straight from the factory, balsamico from a family-run acetaia, and incredible local wines. A delicious insider look at what Italy has to offer!
Treasures of Tuscany Tour
This small group trip is a 6-day deep dive into the heart of Tuscany and everything it has to offer, from food and wine to hand-crafted artisan products. This incredible experience is full of a variety of experiences, including a tour and tasting at a cheese farm, a market tour, and hands-on cooking class in our friend’s home, a tour of the amazing Busatti textile factory, a tour and tasting at a local winery, a watercolor class led by an artist, and more.
This is a brand new trip and we only have four spots left on our spring trip! Join us as we savor the Tuscan treasures.
If traveling in the spring is on your calendar, how far in advance should you start planning a spring trip to Italy?
Travel is getting booked further and further in advance. Here’s the timeline we recommend to make sure you are getting the best deals on your flights and are securing the highest quality experiences that match your trip goals before they sell out.
Book your trip a minimum of six months in advance.
Six months ahead of time is the minimum length of time you should give yourself to secure your spot on a group trip. For example, a May 2024 trip should be secured at the latest by the end of December 2023. (This would make a great gift for the holidays!)
We have travelers secure their spots on small group trips or start planning their customized private trips more than a year in advance. By the time we’re six months out from a trip, we usually only have a few spots available, and that’s if the trip is not already sold out.
Within the six-month timeframe, you should still be able to get the experiences you want, but we wouldn’t recommend going too far past that.
After you’ve secured your spot on a trip, we recommend purchasing trip protection. It's critical you research your trip protection options and know when you need to purchase a policy. If you’re not sure what to get, we recommend purchasing trip protection, as well as “Cancel for Any Reason” coverage.
You can get a no-obligation quote through our preferred provider, Travel Insured. They require you to purchase a policy within 21 days of paying your trip deposit in order to qualify for the "Cancel for Any Reason" coverage.
Purchase airfare three to four months before your trip.
We’ve found that purchasing airfare three to four months before your trip allows you to find the best deals for your flights. One insider tip is to set an alert for the specific flights you’re looking at. This way if the price drops unexpectedly or a great deal comes along, you’re able to act quickly.
Complete Checklist
For a complete list of everything you should do months, weeks, and days before your trip, check out our Know Before You Go Travel Checklist. This will make sure you don’t forget anything before your trip.
Contact us about our spring Treasures of Tuscany or Heart of Italy trips. We have a few spots available on both of these April and May trips.
Want to chat with a past traveler? Contact us and we’ll put you in contact with someone who has traveled to Italy with us before!
Travel with us around the world on one of our multi-day small group food tours. Check out our itineraries to Italy, Japan, Peru, and more! Join us as we visit tea farms in Japan, sip on limoncello in Italy, and savor ceviche in Peru.
If you’re traveling abroad and don’t know where to start or want to tap into our travel expertise to make the most of your trip, check out our Travel Coaching and Private Trips with booking service.
No matter where you travel, we always recommend purchasing travel protection to safeguard against sudden changes or cancellations. If you don’t already have a preferred vendor, you can check out ours - Travel Insured - which offers a “Cancel for Any Reason” policy.
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