A month has raced by since I have returned to Australia and now the countdown is on for the September/October tours. I had never envisaged a life divided into 90-day increments, but that is my life and I love it. Italy for 90 days. Australia for 90 days. Repeat.

Like anywhere in the world, things change, so here are answers to some of the questions posed by my travellers getting ready to travel to Italy very soon.

Not surprisingly, the EES rollout has experienced challenges since it was introduced last October with the aim being to increase security at EU/Schengen borders. EES digitally registers non-EU nationals and shares information about who crosses EU borders, when and where, as well as information about refusals of entry, across Schengen countries. It replaces the manual stamping of passports.

As everyone arrived in April, May and June for the spring tours, there were varying degrees of efficiency to long delays due to the machines not fully registering the biometric data. When I left Italy last month, it was a speedy exit with the machine registering the data within seconds.

Apart from a security function, EES was also introduced to better track the ‘90-day rule’, which allows non EU citizens from countries, including Australia, to spend up to 90 days in every 180 in the EU without requiring a visa. In the first six months of the operation of the new EU digital border system, more than 8,700 travellers were denied entry into Europe’s border-free Schengen area because they had stayed beyond their permitted time limit, commonly referred to as over-stayers. Penalties for over-staying include a fine, but more seriously you could be banned from entering the EU. If travelling for an extended time throughout Italy, it pays to count your days. Remember, also, that once you have used your 90 days, you have to be out of the EU for a period of 90 days before you can re-enter.

The EU is expected to yet again delay the launch of its travel authorisation scheme known as ETIAS which was due to be implemented in late 2026. It is not expected to come into play until 2027 because of problems and delays with the rollout of the biometric EES border checks.

ETIAS requires visa-exempt travellers to fill in an online form before they travel and pay a 20 euro fee to receive authorisation. The UK and USA both operate similar systems known as ETA and ESTA respectively. Once held, the authorisation - which is linked to the holder’s passport - lasts up to three years and covers multiple trips.

There is a reason why there are no Ciao Italy Tours scheduled in July and August! The third heatwave of the summer is well under way, with uncomfortably high heat and humidity in many areas.

Italy’s national environment agency, ISPRA, has kept detailed temperature records since 1961. It shows without a doubt that summers are getting hotter and even the type of heat in Italy has changed. Every year since 2000 has been warmer than the norm, with only four exceptions, but 2024 was Italy’s hottest year since records began.

I believe the best seasons to travel throughout Italy are spring and autumn. In the north, from mid April, expect high teens to low twenties. May is the sweet spot with wonderful mild, sunny days and crisp, cool evenings. Everything is green and blooming and Italy smells amazing. In June temperatures hover around the mid to high twenties, which we’ve experienced even in the Dolomites.

Travelling south in the autumn is brilliant timing. September and October are easily the best months for southern Italy. The oppressive, blinding heat of July and August breaks, the sea remains incredibly warm from the summer sun, and the massive summer crowds start thinning out.

For our tours of Puglia and Sicily in October, expect temperatures hovering around the low to mid twenties and less tourists.

Perhaps it’s a given that as mass tourism increases, so do incidents of unruly tourists. It shouldn’t, but it does. This week, Rome police fined six tourists - two Australians, two Americans, one Italian and a man from Dubai - a total of 3,300 euros for becoming the latest to take a dip in one of Rome’s monumental fountains. The fines are hefty.

Local leaders around Italy are bringing in new rules around “decorum” to clamp down on turisti cafoni (rude tourists) of all nationalities.

The Cinque Terre has become stricter, hitting improperly-clad hikers with fines of up to 2,500 euros, which includes not wearing closed shoes.

This season, Varenna, a fishing village that we visit on Lake Como, will impose fines of up to 200 euros for those found shirtless or in bathing suits in the town. Varenna is also taking a cue from Capri, capping tour group sizes and banning guides from using loudspeakers.

Gallipoli in Puglia has expanded its existing ban on swimsuits and shirtless walking in the centre to the entire urban area.

Sorrento was among the first places to crack down on improper dressing during the summer months, enforcing its strict rules in 2022. And they follow through, fining an American tourist last summer for being shirtless in Piazza Torquato Tasso, the main square in Sorrento.

Drive shirtless in Portofino in the region of Liguria and you can expect a fine of up to 500 euros!

Tropea, in the region of Calabria, also has a swimwear ban in place, including fining those walking in the city without shoes, with penalties of up to 500 euros.

There is no doubt that more and more places in Italy will introduce strict dress codes, but as always, common sense prevails. Keep your shirt on and only wear swimwear at the beach!

Ci vediamo la prossima settimana.

Deb