Learn Italian: Domani vado via. - Tomorrow I am going away.

Uscire specifically means to exit a physical space or to go out socially for the evening. Because this sentence is about departing on a trip or leaving a place completely, Italian uses andare via (to go away). That is why we use vado via instead of esco.

Vado is the present tense for I go, but the sentence is about tomorrow. Why aren't we using a future tense?

Italian frequently uses the present tense to talk about the future when an event is already planned or certain to happen soon. This is very similar to English, where we can say I am going away tomorrow instead of I will go away.

What exactly does the word via do in this sentence?

On its own, via often translates to street or road. However, when paired with verbs of motion like andare (to go), it acts like the English word away. Together, andare via means to go away or to leave.