Italy - October halfterm ideas

[SimoneSpeaksSoftly]

Considering Italy for the October half term (would be week of 18 October) and looking for a bit of inspiration. For reference, we went to Greece last year- spent a couple days in Athens and then drove down to the Peloponnese and it was easy and fun. Had a couple days of rain but overall nice weather, when in the Peloponnese we'd typically do some sightseeing in the morning and beach time in the afternoon, was still warm enough for my kids to swim. I've thought about returning to Greece and just heading straight to Crete this year but also looking for a similar type of experience in Italy. DS has expressed interest in Rome and Pompeii so my thought was we'd spend a couple nights there at the beginning or end of the trip and either do a daytrip to Pompeii or head south after Rome and visit Pompeii as part of a roadtrip. But overall my kids prefer smaller cities/towns so I don't want to make this a big city-heavy trip, we can always return to Rome later. We could fly back from other airports- e.g., Naples, Bari, Lamezia Terme in the south or others further north (Pisa, Bologna). Trying to decide whether to focus on Puglia, Carpathia, or head north to Umbria/Tuscany, and where within those regions would make the best base for 4-5 nights DH and I have been to Tuscany at that time of year and it was lovely, however I'm thinking the best chance to work in some beach time would be to head south....Curious what others have enjoyed that time of year?

Lake Garda and do a day trip to Verona which is much more a smaller city.

We did Naples and Herculaneum both of which we loved

If you want to see a few different places then maybe Sardinia. You can easily drive from the west to east coast (Alghero is a favourite of ours) and travel around the North of the island where there are often spectacular villages nestled on the cliffs.

So interestingly enough, my 8yo has been asking to go to Sardinia, I don't even know how she knew about it, but she saw pictures and now it's her dream beach destination. 😂I am hesitant to go all in on Sardinia in October though, given that's somewhere where we'd really want good beach weather. The flip side is that the only other time we could realisticlally go there is the summer, which of course has it's own draebacks.....

Fly into Naples, local train to Pompeii and then get the train to Rome and fly from there. Trains are super cheap if booked in advance.
We are staying in Sorrento over Naples so less city / more town.

We were in Pompeji mid-October and had quite mixed weather, incl. one day of only rain coming down heavily.

So be careful, the area is not beach weather anymore later in the month.

Venetian Riviera and day trips to Venice and the islands?

Sicily? Some great beaches and of course lots and lots of Greek and Roman archaeological sites. The train that goes on a ferry across the Strait of Messina from Italian mainland is a totally unique journey.

So much to see and do there. And it's a bit further South for a good chance of nice weather too. But even if it's not great, I don't think anyone will be bored.

We did a fab holiday 8 days from bologna to brisighella to fiesole - you can cycle into florence and flew out of pisa on the last evening so we could have a quick look at the tower but the rest of the town was much nicer. Gorgeous food. A bit off the beaten track. Autumnal trees. And if you brave the minor roads you discover lots of hidden gems.

Went to Italy last October for a short break during half-term. We didn't want to spend too much, as we're planning on doing more visits to Italy in future, so stayed in Milan but did a day trip to Florence and a day trip to Rome. This worked out well for us and the weather was good.

Make sure you book tickets for any museums etc in advance. We booked our tickets for the Accademia Gallery and the Coliseum about 4 weeks in advance.

Thanks all- some great ideas including some I wouldn't have thought of! .

We've been to Sicily in Oct half-term a couple of times. The weather around Palermo was more mixed, but around Syracuse was lovely - warm, sunny, warm sea for swimming, lovely sightseeing weather. There are Greek and Roman remains to poke around, Baroque cities and you can fly to Catania and hire a car. That would be my recommendation rather than the Italian mainland, Pompeii, etc.

We have done half term in Italy in the past

flew to Naples. Stayed amalfi coast. Still very beautiful. Can go on beach but swimming is chilly. Including trip to pompei etc. hired car

then train Naples to Rome. Fab few days exploring all then flight home.

another option might be Barcelona? Seville?

We did Rome, Sorrento/ Pompeii at October half term a few years ago and loved it. The weather was perfect for sight seeing that time of year but would have been a bit chilly for the sea I think!
I definitely wouldn't go to Lake Garda, I think it would be cold that time of year.

If you are doing Rome, you could take the overnight sleeper train to Sicily. I was in Cefalu last year and liked the combination of old town alleys and sights and the more modern resort on the glorious beach. If your children are up for a moderately strenuous hike, what about a 1 or 2 night stay on Stromboli and guided visit to the volcano? In mid October it would finish about 9PM

For what you describe, I’d probably do Campania rather than head north. Rome for 2 nights, then south and base yourselves in Sorrento or Ischia for 4 to 5 nights. That way your son still gets Rome and Pompeii, but the rest of the trip feels much more like smaller towns, sea views and easy day trips instead of lots of big city time. We did something similar and it felt a good balance. Puglia is lovely too, but if Pompeii is already on the wishlist, Campania feels smoother. Late October is never guaranteed beach weather, but I think the south gives you the best chance.

Thank you, this is a great suggestion. I was feeling like trying to do Rome/Pompeii + Puglia was a bit much TBH. Also considering saving Rome/Pompeii for a later trip when younger DC has a bit more stamina and just focusing on Puglia (and Matera, which I know isn't technicallly part of Puglia but close), in which case we could just fly roundtrip to Bari.