Help - Best time to cruise Mediterranean

[coloradocruisers101]

Hello Fellow CC,

Looking to book a Mediterranean cruise sometime in 2015. Really want to visit Venice either starting there or ending. What is the best time of year for the best weather. Any and all comments will help. Normally we are Caribbean/Mexico cruisers. Love the warm weather.

Mark and Sharon

[Colo Cruiser]

The weather is great from May-Sept. The later in the summer it gets really hot and crowded. We like mid Sept, less people not quite as hot.

[coloradocruisers101]

Thanks fellow Colorado Cruiser. I will look into mid September...

[Pam in CA]

I've cruised the Med several times in October and the weather has been great. The further east you are sailing, the drier the climate. There tends to be fewer tourists after early September which makes sightseeing a bit easier.

Edited March 28, 2014 by Pam in CA

[HRPro]

Another vote for late September or early October. July and August are hot and muggy, especially in Venice. May is also a great time before the tourist season is in high gear. The weather tends to be nice in May too.

[Grammyluvs]

I can’t tell you when but I can tell you when we went the first week in July, it was hot, hot, hot and we live in the deep south.

[lj77346]

The past few years we've cruised the Mediterranean in late September and early October and the weather was very good, pleasant temperatures and not much rain. Although the weather will change from year to year, mid-September to mid-October is in general a good time to get to Venice. Have fun planning your cruise.

[lovespositano]

The past few years we've cruised the Mediterranean in late September and early October and the weather was very good, pleasant temperatures and not much rain. Although the weather will change from year to year, mid-September to mid-October is in general a good time to get to Venice. Have fun planning your cruise.

 

We do late May also. Don't go to Venice any later than mid-October, definitely not later than Nov. 1st.

[ggprincess2004]

Another vote to avoid the crowds and heat of the summer months, and go from mid-September on into October!

[J-D]

...Don't go to Venice any later than mid-October, definitely not later than Nov. 1st.

 

...After mid-October there is increased likelihood that low-lying areas like St. Mark's Square will be flooded by acqua alta.

 

John

[suzski]

We have cruised the Med twice in mid-September and found the weather (and crowds) to be perfect. Prices seem to be better then too, for both cruises and airfare.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Another vote for late September/early October. We had some rain in Rome and Nice but it was short-lived both times and then was clear and beautiful. It was hot enough at that time of year. If you choose to go during summer, keep in mind that a lot of the venues are outside in direct sun and they don't have A/C as much there like we do in the US.

[jerlen]

Agreed. Avoid the summer months at all costs. I live in Arizona, and thus am used to heat, but the Med in summer is miserable!

[caber]

June, July and August will be the hottest. We found it very humid in June the last two years and August in Rome was unbearably hot one year. I wouldn`t go too late into October as we spent a week in Corfu one October and it rained every day.

[coloradocruisers101]

Thanks all for your responses. It looks like I will be planning to cruise the Med September 2015.

[waverley7]

We did the cruise early May and the weather was awesome, also not a ton of tourists around then.

 

Have fun researching!

[evandbob]

Thanks all for your responses. It looks like I will be planning to cruise the Med September 2015.

 

Our Med cruise was from 9/12 to 9/21, Rome to Venice. About a week or 10 days after we returned home, St Marks Square became flooded from the annual October monsoonal rains that Venice experiences. TV News reports showed tourists sloshing through thigh high water.

[smtcan]

We have been to that area in May, October and November, and had good sightseeing weather each time. October and early November had fewer crowds, and while we sometimes needed a light jacket we had no rain. Of course the weather cannot be guaranteed at any time.

[H2Oregon]

Here is another vote for September or October. You will want to avoid August, hot and many Europeans are on holiday in August and everything is crowded.

[OCruisers]

Is there a reason why most seem to favor Sept/Oct over May?

LuLu

~~~

[Lsmith52]

I can’t tell you when but I can tell you when we went the first week in July, it was hot, hot, hot and we live in the deep south.

 

You've got that right., We went in August and it was almost unbearable and we live in Houston! I would love to go again though but only in spring or fall.

[avalong]

Is there a reason why most seem to favor Sept/Oct over May?

LuLu

~~~

 

I'd like to know the answer to this question too.

[Maedy]

worst months in Venice:

 

June - hot

July - very hot, very expensive (specially if you dont speak italien) very crowded

August - very hot, very expensive, very crowded

 

best months in Venice

 

May and first 3 weeks in September, last week September to mid October =

school holidays.

[suzski]

Is there a reason why most seem to favor Sept/Oct over May?

LuLu

~~~

 

Probably because there are more cruises to choose from in September and October than there are in May.