I’m not saying that I don’t like being around other tourists but traveling during peak vs off-peak season is a very different experience. Like being able to stroll into a restaurant without reservations or waiting for a few minutes vs an hour to get into a popular attraction.
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I absolutely agree. We’ve tended towards April, May and October as our preferred months for visiting Italy, adjusting by a week or two either way depending on whether in the North or South. The weather often warm/settled but rarely hot in October, and rarely much rain. April / May a bit more variable, but overall similar temperatures.
December-March have been rare for us, but we’ve been to Torino to ‘fare la spesa’ do the grocery shopping 
in that period before and it presents a different view of the city that was good to see. A good time for a short ‘city break’
My first visit to Italy (Ravello in 1990) was the first two weeks in July, and gave a very clear view of how restricting the heat could be. Although Ravello got busy during the day, and for the Wagner concerts (even Prime Minister Andreotti turned up, as well as Nureyev - the latter as a concert conductor), the mornings and evenings were still a joy in the square (even though it wasn’t at that point fully closed to traffic). Even then, the paths were mostly deserted, but the buses were a stressful and uncomfortable challenge. I would have hated being in a city in such heat, surrounded by crowds of people.
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Thanks for the recommendations!
My wife and I enjoyed Cinque Terre very much when we visited 20 year ago and would love to go back sometime, but it’s just not working out for this trip. (My initial hope was to spend time to Piemonte, but I think Firenze will be better for the activities our whole family is interested in…ah well, next time.) We spent a few days in Siena on that trip as well and enjoyed a memorable meal there - although at this point I have to admit I don’t remember the name of the restaurant.
Hopefully our timeframe works out so that most places won’t be overcrowded, but you never can be sure.
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As we’re getting closer, I have a couple of what I assume are dumb questions that I just don’t know the answers to because I’ve never been to the UK and haven’t been out of the US in 20 years…
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We’re planning to take the train from London to York, and then two days later (on a day when a train strike is scheduled, evidently), from York to Edinburgh. I am assuming that I should buy those tickets ahead of time but haven’t done that yet. Is there any risk in buying with that strike on the books? How is that likely to affect our schedule?
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What’s the preferred way to get cash to have on hand while traveling? I was planning to exchange some at the bank here (Chase) before we leave, but I’ve read a good amount of conflicting advice. Inflated rates if exchanging in the US, fees if exchanging overseas… Does it make much difference in the end? If so, what generally works out the best? I’m planning to use our credit card wherever possible, but I know that won’t be possible all the time.
Thanks!
The best is if you have a debit card associated with Schwab (or another broker bank). ATMs that work the Plus network in general will give the best exchange rate ( be careful if Thomas Cook ATMs, they give a poorer rate -even if the advertise no fees, it’s quarter the haircut on the rate -way too big).
Chase debit cards will be part of the plus network (should show on the card ) but they may charge a fee for a) not being a Chase bank and b) possibly a second charge for it being a foreign ATM. And the hosting bank of the ATM will likely also charge a fee.
My Schwab card has zero fees reimburses me for up to four hosting ATM fees per month.
The worst would be using an ATM with a credit card- it’s a cash advance that will have both fees and interest.
Usually a good ATM opportunity at your arrival airport - I never bother with getting foreign currency while in the US).
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Also, if they ask whether you want the transaction in euros or dollars, either at an ATM (when withdrawing euros) or when using credit card, ALWAYS euros.
It’s a trap to give you a crap exchange rate. Your bank will convert it for you, without the crisp exchange rate.
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Re train travel, it is cheaper to buy tickets in advance, if they are affected by a strike you will receive a refund. I am sorry you may be affected by this though, my daughter uses trains a lot and has found them to be a PITA. If you are affected on several days you may wish to change to hiring a car.
Re cash, there are loads of cashpoints/ATMs, but most people use cards rather than cash. You could consider something like Starling Bank which doesn’t charge for foreign currency transactions- I am sure you will have a US equivalent.
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Good common-theme advices here. I’ll just add my $.02 and drive the point of using your credit cards wherever/whenever possible, except to pull cash from ATM/banks. Btw, my family is a big Amex user in the States and since it is still not widely accepted by merchants and restaurants in Europe, bring multiple cards and include Visa/MC.
ATM withdrawals in Europe is our only way of getting and carrying a few hundred Euro in cash while in Europe. It is much safer than carrying wads of Euros that you may be planning on getting from your US bank before you leave. Even small town banks would have ATM dispensaries. Just in credit cards, have with you and your family multiple bank or debit cards in case one gets rejected or locked.
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It’s been a few years, but my wife and I loved Florence. Recommendations are:
- Climb the Duomo. It is awesome! You must purchase timed tickets in advance. Climb it earlier in the day if possible, as it is quite narrow and unventilated.
- If you have the stamina, also climb the Tower. We climbed the it 20 minutes after the Duomo, which was… a mistake. We should have waited 2 hrs between climbs.
- Vini e Vecchi Sapori is a terrific family bistro. Reservations recommended, simply because it is so popular.
We visited Edinburgh with 3 children aged 11-16. Favorites were:
- Camera Obscura - a lovely museum of photographic oddities. Everyone enjoyed it. Plan for 1.5-2 hrs.
- Jeffrey Street Whisky - I signed up for their Independent Bottler Whisky tasting. Liked it so much I went back the next day for a different one. They are just off the main drag so not very touristy, and they really know their stuff.
- Makars Mash Bar is a 10 min walk from Jeffrey Street Whisky. I still think about their hipster haggis. It is definitely a bistro, but reservations are recommended due to popularity. (You can walk in during non-busy hours.)
- The National Museum of Scotland was just about perfect. My favorites were the taxidermy section, the horde of Roman artifacts (including a preserved pair of shoes!), and the sheer enormity of the industrial revolution. Plan for 3 hours; more if your kids are up for it.
We also took a guided Harry Potter tour and a guided Medical History / Surgery tour. We booked those either on Viator or Get Your Guide. Both were very good.
I would not recommend climbing Arthur’s Seat. It was far too windy, and the trail was slippery and dangerous.
Have a great time!
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Thanks, all! I’ll skip exchanging any currency ahead of time and will rely on ATMs + Visa instead.
The strike seems like it might have torpedoed the option of train travel on the 30th, so I’m at a little bit of a loss for how to make that leg of the trip without it costing an arm and a leg. It seems like there might be no trains running at all, although I don’t really know how to check that out thoroughly. Any recommendations of other viable travel options, preferably ones that don’t cost an arm and a leg?
Thanks for the links, Patrick! I’m looking through them and making some additions to my list of travel options.
Honestly, I’d plan around the sttije by skipping York.
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Whilst I do think York is a great place to visit as a tourist / spend time there, skipping (or rescheduling the timings) is indeed worthy of consideration. So either:
- Remove York and add a day to London and Edinburgh
- Skip the Highland trip and thus cut Edinburgh down by a day, adding it to York
… I did think about suggesting making York a 1 nighter, but you just see so little doing this
Alternatives? National coach companies will do that route (I think it’s National Express and Megabus these days). Regional airports e.g. Leeds may fly to Edinburgh, but I doubt it’s cheap.
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I had failed to mention that our lodgings in York are no longer refundable at this point, which is a factor. In the end, we’ve settled on just staying one night there and then heading to Edinburgh via train a day earlier than planned. Down to last minor details now…
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I hope it works out for you, England isn’t quite as cold as it has been all winter, and isn’t too wet in the forecast either.
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You could just drive. It’s a pretty trip and not too bad of a time. We did London - Cambridge - York - Edinburgh - john O’Groats - Edinburgh last summer by car.
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Whilst almost nowhere shines in half a day, I would say that York is one of the better choices for this, as it’s very walkable, and that includes to/from the train station.
I first went to York when visiting someone studying at the Uni back in 1987/8, then again on a couple of holidays there, finally quite a few times with work, and it’s these latter visits where I maybe had just 2-3 hours ‘free time’ to enjoy the city whilst there, that I still enjoyed and valued that time.
Last time I checked there was a decent looking wine shop a short walk from the centre, but always worth a check. Whilst nowhere near as good as places we find in Italy, this place was reasonably enjoyable for a casual ‘enoteca’ like experience. https://pairings.co.uk/ but it looks like there are more places now, with Enoteca by L’Uva looking like it might be good.
Jorvik was meant to be good, but I never went, even though one of my college friends worked on the dig for it.
Nice to simply walk the intact sections of the walls
The Minster is a must see for many (if not me), and the little artisan shops sprinkled across the city are good… and if you’ve never been to Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma Gate, then you’ve simply not lived 
A recommendation for a cake, which used to be only around October/November, but now can be found all-year round - (Yorkshire) Parkin, a quite dense and reasonably moist cake with lovely spice.
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Thanks, Ian. I was taking a closer look at walking distances earlier today, and I was glad to see that the core is pretty compact. The Shambles (including Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma Gate) is probably highest on the family’s list, and I’d like to get over to Minster and maybe some of the walls or other historic sites. We’ll see what we get to.
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