Italy - June Time - book now or wait?

kerri_gt

Hi All

hoping for some advise, myself and OH are looking to head to Italy this year for a sunny break. I don't really have any experience of Italy apart from skiing.

We're looking at going June time when it will be warm / hot but the kids will still be at school (for the cost, nothing against children holidaying) OH initially wanted Lake Garda and I looked at Bardilino there, but it seemed a tad over our budget (£700 - £1k pp). I then had a look at Sorrento that looks nice, more within budget at about £500pp, but baggage and airport transfer from Naples pushes that price up.

We're planning 5 -7 nights. Nice hotel with pool, nice to see / be able to get to the sea but we're not beach bunnies, easy walk to restaurants / bars in the evening (not looking for ibiza like clubs...we're 30 and 40 + and it's deff not us lol!)

Does anyone have any advise about whether we'd get better deals booking now, or waiting until nearer the time? 'Unfortunately' I have seen a hotel that looks amazing, and lots of sites are reading '2 rooms left' etc for the time we're going, but I'm not sure if this is true, or if they're just trying to get people to book up.

If anyone has any suggestions of other places to look at going in Italy, feel free to add them in. All info gratefully considered.

Blue264

How much have you seen transfers for, and which airline were you looking at booking with? Booking your own rail travel from Sorrento is really easy and relatively cheap on the Circumvesuviana. There's also a Sorrento travel pass you can buy which gives you free travel for 3 days and cheap admission to attractions.

Check the Sorrento pages on Tripadvisor for more help.

zagfles

Lake Garda is stunning, but I'd suggest getting a car to the see the area properly. Surprised at the price, we paid about £2k for 2 weeks in August for 4 of us, and that included a chalet right on the lake, car hire and flights (Easyjet to Milan). Was a few years ago though.

Sorrento is a great base for a holiday too, there we found we didn't need a car, public transport was excellent. Where did you look for the transfer - there's a coach which goes from Naples airport direct to Sorrento and it was quite cheap, probably about 7EUR each. We stayed in a hotel in the hills a couple of km from the centre, stunning views over the Bay of Naples and of Vesuvious (they provided free pickups and shuttle into town up till midnight).

kerri_gt

Hi All, thanks for the advise - the flights were with Sleazyjet to Naples and the transfer was a private one arranged by the hotel in Sorrento which was about €95 each way. Our flight back would be about 10am so we'd need an early start that day to get to the airport.

I don't really want to hire a car while we're away, I've never driven in Europe before and tbh I do most of the driving with me and OH in the UK so driving on holiday isn't a holiday for me IYKWIM?

We're planning a more active getaway later in the year so this is very much going to be a lazy sunny holiday to relax on.

zagfles

Sorrento we found quite an active holiday - walking round Pompeii, Herculaneum, up Vesuvious etc, June might be a bit hot for all that!

Lake Garda would be more relaxing. You'll probably be OK without a car, there are boats which take you round the lake, but not sure how you'd get there.

Have a look at eurocamp, looks like you can get a chalet/mobile home for well under £500 for a week in June.

daveyjp

We've looked and the Italian Lakes is one area where school hols make little difference. A week at Spring Bank is cheaper than a couple of weeks later.

becominganobsessivesaver

Not sure where you're flying from, but BA holidays had some good deals to sorrento, not including transfers, but included luggage. Maybe worth looking.

kerri_gt

Thanks I'll have a look - flight choices are from LGW or STN (although could fly from Birmingham as well)

becominganobsessivesaver

Think the Grand Hotel Aminta was £400ish from gatwick, I tried 17th to 24th June.

melb

I don't know about the quality of the hotels as I have never used them but italiangetaways always seem to have week long holidays to Lake Garda for about £400 to £500 per person with free upgrades etc.

Kynthia

Sorrento is lovely with lots of restaurants and convenient for getting around by train. There isn't really a beach so make sure you get a nice hotel with a pool.