Would you campervan in Italy in August?

[Hidingfromsnacks]

We would like to take our vw campervan and drive to Italy next summer. We would stop in France and Switzerland and then stay longer in Italian Lakes, on to Florence and finish in Rome. We would have to do this during the summer holidays as we need at least 3 weeks I think, even then we’d be moving on every few days, (which may get annoying but that’s another thread!). My question is will it be truly hideous heat wise in a campervan in Italy in August? Does anyone have any experience of camping/touring at this time and can offer words of wisdom, or never again type stories? I’ve got a bee in my bonnet about it, but wonder if I might be very unpopular asking us all to sleep in a metal tin on very hot nights.

I did this a few years back. Austria in August temperature perfect. Switzerland perfect. Germany perfect. France perfect. Belgium -- perfect.
Italy?
Never again. And that was late August. I wouldn't consider going before September in the future. It was hitting 40 degrees on the way to/from/in Rome during the days and there was no respite from it. We ended up parking up at a hotel with air conditioning for a couple of nights to get away from the heat.

Argh I don't know why that's all crossed out it shouldn't be!

It will be far too hot.

There's a reason everyone in the cities decamps to the coast in August. Only mad dogs and tourists in Florence and Rome in August! Mid August is also Fer' Augusto, when all of Italy goes on holiday. Avoid.

I've done it , bloody hot.

hmmmm. Thank you, this is useful. I’m now thinking maybe Italian Lakes and then on to the Dolomites? I think the temperatures might be less bats there. Although I do really want to go to Rome in the van, maybe at Easter….

Do have experience of driving in Italy / Rome? It's bat shit crazy. Every other road user is fair game, they don't seem to have any rules, pedestrian crossings just mean there's more people to run down (not literally of course but that's how it feels. ) We tried a game 'spot the car with no damage' We couldn't. There are hundreds of little cars and scooters that think they're on steroids and buzz around like demented wasps. Lane discipline?????????? Don't get me started on the heat.........I would love to go again but in low season

Big, fat NO. Way too hot.

Yep. I've done it four times! In a Motorhome.

We usually stay on mountain summits. If not on the pass, then high up. We've done the Dolomites twice - hot in the day but cooool at night. Lovely! We've spent several holidays in the Italian Alpes Sauze d'Aux kind of area, also Cuneo. Basically the entire French/ Italian border. Again absolutely fine.

Last summer we did venture out of the mountains, we spent some time in Liguria. I found it too warm as it didn't cool at night. I've had this problem in France too. And anyone holidaying in the UK last summer in our heatwave would have had similar problems.

You've just got to be flexible. Keep an eye on the weather and if it is looking too warm, stick to the mountains. Also, you do get used to it as well. It's a shame to rule out entire areas or countries because it may be too hot. You'd never travel on that basis.

It's easy to be flexible in a campervan / Motorhome as you don't need to book anywhere. If you are anything like us we wild camping or use aires (sostas in Italy).

If you don't have it already I'd highly recommend Park4Night app with the paid subscription. We basically spend every school holiday abroad in the Motorhome and it's the only app that is any good (I've tried them all). The coverage is great, the others don't even have half the content.

Enjoy!! It's a beautiful country.

Some of the comments on here 😵‍💫

Go to Rome!! Just find a site or car park on the outskirts and get the train in!! You don't need to drive in Rome to visit. It's not complicated. There are some lovely looking mountains near Rome. The Appennines. We had intended to stay in those, but didn't make it far enough south. The weather changed - it wasn't hot, but was forecast for rain for the next week. (This was august). And what's the point of holidaying in the rain when you don't need to?! So we headed back up to the Italian Alpes for sunshine.

I've avoided the lakes (although holidayed there as a teenager - both Como and Maggiore). What's put us off going back is the perceived busyness. I don't know how true that is. Was certainly busy 20 odd years ago. I also struggled to find any free overnight spots which looked nice. I refuse to pay more than €10 for an overnight. I guess you'd need to put the research in.

I really recommend motorway travel!! We made the mistake of not on the way out last summer. We are used to travelling in France where the pèage is expensive and the Route National and D roads are blooming good. So we stuck to this in Italy. It was slow going!! Turns out motorways in Italy are cheap and fast and cut out big chucks of rural road. Obviously the rural roads are nice and it is often about the journey not the destination!! But...

We would like to take our vw campervan and drive to Italy next summer.
Make the most of it being a campervan. Give yourself three weeks, set off with some ideas but don't be too wedded to them. Check the weather, traffic, news, etc. and adapt as you go. If Europe gets another heatwave this summer, think about turning north after you cross the Channel instead of south. Or follow the coast where it's cooler, or head to the mountains. One of the things we love the most about motorhoming is that you don't need fixed plans and can make it up as you go along. If you don't get to somewhere you want to see on that trip, there's always another trip in the future that might get you there.

As an Italian who's been living in the UK for the last 20 ish year, I'd say no to holidays in August. In fact, we actively avoid Italy in July and August as it's way to hot for us to enjoy it and it's all packed with tourists everywhere. Most Italians go on holiday in those two months, so that adds to the millions of tourists.
Dolomites will have a mild weather/temperatures but the lakes will be boiling hot and cramped.
This said, it's really down on how to handle the heat and what you value on a holiday.

Oof I vividly remember lying naked in a tent at midnight in August near Lago d'Idro/Iseo a long time ago, desperate to get to sleep...that level of heat is not for me! I think late May or late Sep is a much better time to go but I understand it's not always possible.

I would, and have.

Take insect repellent! We bought a fan from an Italian supermarket and set it up in the awning- it made the nights much more comfortable.

Other than that, it was lovely!

We did France at 40degrees in August in a campervan one year. We had air con in the van. It’d be uncomfortable without

HI I am also looking to travel to Italy in August (mad child decided they wanted to get married mid Aug in Italy??).
I am following the replies to your post avidly. For me driving our camper van is better than cost of flying for a 2 night stop. At least we will get to see lots. But like a lot of the comments concerned about the heat and how we will manage it. Our van is a basic conversion so no aircon when engine is not running.

Sounds bloody hot @TCUZZ!

I did my honeymoon in August in Italy.

I cannot stress enough how hideously awful the heat was. It was also a mystery what Italian mosquitoes lived on when I wasn't there as from day1 onwards I was just a pile of red lumps from bites.

The more I look into it the more concerned I am. We are looking at taking a route via the mountains in the hope this will help with temperature etc.

We went to Rome in late July and it was HOT! I've not experienced heat like it other than when I went to Dubai in June.

Unless your caravan has air con there's no way I'd even consider it.

Not a chance. That would be very uncomfortable unless you have air con in your campervan and you are willing to plug in all night. I'd hesitate about the Lakes too. Late September would be lovely but August - I'd rather stay at home!

A friend is planning to drive to Italy in her van this summer. I would advise you to do what I advised her- base yourself somewhere nice and high in the Dolomites, and if you must go to Florence and Rome (and I do understand the appeal when you can't go outside school holidays), take the train from there and splash out on some accommodation with A/C.

Florence is even hotter than Rome BTW, being in this airless bowl in the hills. I did spend a night there in July in my van many years ago, and I couldn't sleep, ended up covered in mosquito bites and was so hot I actually felt I had a fever.

God don't do it!
We have done a couple of holidays in Spain in our van in July and it was so hot. Climate change means that even up in the mountains it gets pretty hot now.
I would do the French/ Spanish border instead, especially along the coast. It's so hot but not the desperate heat of Italy and Spain.
Have you thought about going to Italy in autumn half term instead? I think would be much more bearable.

We did a mini tour of Italy by train in 2019, in mid August, and it worked quite well.

I had about 9 or 10 days off from work, and we got a deal where we flew to Rome, stayed in an air-conditioned hotel for 3 nights, took a lovely (? airconditioned) train late morning to Florence, stayed for 3 nights, took train to Venice, stayed for 3 nights, flew home.

It was originally a Groupon deal! which the travel company let us extend so we could spend an extra night in each place.

It worked out quite reasonably too. I think we were staying in hotels that were more business trade, and which were accommodating Groupon travellers when their business trade was quiet. Suited us, though. Very educational for the kids.

I booked us up in advance variously for an audience with the Pope, a Vatican museum tour including the Sistine chapel, the Academia, the Uffizi, Doge Palace tour and so on. These places were very pleasant temperatures, either air-conditioned or lofty buildings with lots of marble, or both. It was also mostly very comfortable temperature-wise on the vaporetti around Venice & the lagoon. Though a couple of times the vaporetti queues were a bit eyebrow raising.

I think that driving would have been a lot hotter and troublesome. Florence and Rome looked difficult to drive around and park in. I reckon Easter in Rome is also likely to be very busy.

I am reading with interest however, as we are seriously thinking about getting a van of some sort, and extended holidays in Europe would be great!