Along with fantastic food, holidays to Italy serve up pinch-yourself scenery, impossibly pretty towns and no end of ancient sights.
Postcard-perfect scenery, café-backed beaches and cities stacked with big-name sights – long-legged Italy manages to pack a lot into its borders. And no matter which part of the boot you plump for, you’ll find top-drawer food, fine wines and a healthy dose of la dolce vita.
In the north, romantic Venice reigns supreme, while nearby Lido di Jesolo supplies the sands. A bit further south lies Campania, home to the dramatic Amalfi Coast and cliff-hugging towns like Sorrento, Ravello and Positano.
Italy’s most northerly regions are a different story altogether. Here, you’ll see some of Mother Nature’s best work, from glistening lakes to soaring mountains. When it comes to Italian lakes holidays, Garda, Como and Maggiore are the big names. Their glass-clear shores are fringed with forested slopes, tree-lined promenades and lavish villas. This spectacular scenery’s ramped up by the Dolomites – a cloud-tickling mountain range, where snow-crowned peaks mingle with village-lined valleys.
Holidays to Italy aren’t just confined to the mainland, though. At the toe of Italy’s boot is Sicily, which ticks off gorgeous beaches, ancient ruins and friendly resorts. And then there’s Sardinia, with its wild interior and sun-bleached beaches. Olbia’s your gateway to the island’s most famous stretch of coastline – the 34-mile-long Costa Smeralda.
Summer temperatures in Italy give you reason to smile. On the islands – Sardinia and Sicily – the mercury hovers around the 30°C mark in July and August, while mainland temperatures range from around 27°C on the Venetian Riviera to 30°C plus down in Campania. If you prefer things a little milder, spring and autumn are great times to visit – temperatures in the low to mid-20s are the norm. Most of Italy’s rain falls over the winter months, but you might see the odd shower or thunderstorm here and there in summer. The weather usually clears up pretty quickly, though.
British passport holders don’t need a visa to enter Italy but must have a valid passport. For the most up-to-date passport and visa info, visit https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/italy/entry-requirements ..
Don’t forget to arrange your travel money and insurance before you go.
You should take out comprehensive travel and medical insurance to cover you while you’re away. If you’re travelling to the EU and you apply for a card now, you’ll get a new UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) instead of an EHIC. This entitles you to emergency medical treatment on the same terms as Italian nationals. It won’t, however, cover you for medical repatriation, ongoing medical treatment or non-urgent treatment. Visit www.nhs.uk/ehic for full details on what it covers. You do not need to apply for a GHIC if you already have an EHIC. Your EHIC remains valid in the EU until it expires. An EHIC or GHIC is free of charge. For the latest health and safety information, visit https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/italy
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