Go Back  Fodor's Travel Talk Forums > Destinations > Europe
Reload this Page >

14 days in Italy in late June with 6 adults + 6 little kids

14 days in Italy in late June with 6 adults + 6 little kids

Old Feb 25th, 2017, 06:30 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
14 days in Italy in late June with 6 adults + 6 little kids

Hi all,

I would love to receive advice & recommendations for a 12-14 day itinerary in Italy this summer between June 24th until July 8th.

Our gang:
4 adults (the young parents) - all 38-43 yrs old
2 older adults (the grand parents) - 68-70 yrs old
4 little kids (the brats) - all between 4 to 7 yrs old

A bit about us:
This trip is coming together this way because it may be the only opportunity to take such a trip with our aging parents, and so this trip is about enjoying Italy's charm with our parents while keeping the itinerary "real" since we'll have 6 little kids on our hands! Our mom is 68 yrs old and not been keeping too well so our goal is to create some happy & inspiring memories. Luckily the kids get along real well, and will be relatively easy to "influence" as long as we cater our plan around their daily needs. I imagine 2-4 miles a day is do-able on foot by our gang, and we'll definitely be keen to rent villas or large apartments with access to swimming pools, nature or within easy hitting distance of town squares that aren't too crazy busy. We're definitely not in a race to "do" a ton of Italy in these 2 weeks. Instead we want to maximize on the charm and history and hopefully inspire the adults to fall in love with Italy so we can come back time & time again as our kids get older and more amenable to absorbing history.

Broad preferences (all flexible):
Our older parents would enjoy charming mountain town/cities, with a definite focus on food The younger parents would enjoy history and inspiration of all kinds. The brats would enjoy walking adventures with the chance to take plenty breaks and enjoy delights like gelato, or just muck around in nature. I would think we would need to keep our time in super busy town squares and large museums down for the kids...perhaps it would make sense for us to split our group so a couple younger parents can entertain the kids and let the older gang go out and experience the towns & cities.

With so many people renting cars doesn't seem to make much sense, that said...we have plenty confident drivers in our gang with experience driving outside the US (in south asia). Also worth calling out - none of us speak any Italian.

Expenses/budget:
Out side of flights the total budget for 2 weeks is probably in the $15,000 range. This is a broad guess since I haven't been to Italy before. We are thrifty but definitely open to investing in the right experience.

Our high level plan (so far..):
1) A few days in Rome...rent an apartment in a part of town with great access to Rome's charms and a swimming pool?
2) A few days in Umbra...rent a villa with more of the same...swimming pool, lots of nature, and easy access to town?

Again, I'd like to thank ya'll for reading &/or responding to this request for advice. Sample itineraries & advice would be wonderful.

Yours sincerely,
Udai
zulumaster is offline  
Old Feb 25th, 2017, 07:09 AM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 36,776
Likes: 0
Received 14 Likes on 11 Posts
What is $15,000 to include? That sounds like a low budget with that many people.

Are you flying in/out of Rome. If so, you should end your trip in Rome. You won't find much pool access, but there are a few. You wouldn't want a car in Rome (center is restricted to permits as are most Italian towns even small ones) and I wouldn't want to trek far on public transport with kids (very crowded transport). I would stay in a walkable area of Rome in the historic center. There are parks you can amuse the children with (rent a surrey, etc.) instead of worrying about a pool for these few days.
kybourbon is offline  
Old Feb 25th, 2017, 07:12 AM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 473
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
First, I don't know if it is 4 kids or 6. You aren't consistent. Second, are all the adults couples? Again, you don't make it clear. These factors will determine how many bedrooms/beds you will need.

I would not plan any 'itenerary' beyond 2 week long locations at most and staying in one place for the entire time would be better. Any kind of planning for a diverse group is a nightmare of conflicting interests. So my advice is find a place, go there and then everyone does their own thing each day.

You may be able to get away with public transport if you stay in a city but if you rent a villa with a pool in the country, it may not be very convenient if you rely on public transportation.

Last, if renting privately, make sure it is a legal rental.
Dogeared is offline  
Old Feb 25th, 2017, 07:35 AM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 25,426
Received 4 Likes on 4 Posts
If it were me I'd look at a small city in Umbria or Tuscany.

I'd look at an appartment, try "james villas"

I might also look at agriturismo.it these tend not to be based in a city, but on the outskirts, with rooms and food on site. For this sort of holiday you will need a car

Not speaking Italian, should be ok, you can certainly book car hire using autoeurope from Rome airport, which saves you from the fun of driving in Rome.
bilboburgler is online now  
Old Feb 25th, 2017, 08:13 AM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 297
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I'd agree with bilboburger.

Perhaps an agriturismo near a city, with a pool. The kids might enjoy seeing the animals, and enjoy a dunk in the pool.
If you choose one near a city, such as Rome, Siena,(Tuscany) Perugia, or other town, you could take public transportation into the city for sightseeing, and return to your agri at the end of the day. That would give an additional option of kids staying at "home" with adults, while others go off to do something else. Take note, if you stay in an agriturismo, you'll likely need a car, but I've searched and I think I saw a few near Siena where a car wasn't needed. (I'm planning something similiar, myself)

However, you did say you preferred Umbria, so take a look there.

When staying in Rome, look on a Rome map for locations near parks. If renting an apt., you can be near some green space.

Remember to get AC in your accommodations.
Calabria62 is offline  
Old Feb 25th, 2017, 08:55 AM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 624
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
It is not easy to shop in Italy because stores close in the middle of the day, and it is often not easy to find supermarkets, so if you are cooking for a lot of people you end up needing to go to a lot of different shops to get everything you need. If you rent a villa, it is not likely to be within walking distance of restaurants, so if you get tired of cooking 2 or 3 meals per day for your group, you are going to need to get everybody into cars to go to restaurants that can seat your big group.

There are 3 ways to solve this problem:

One is to stay in cities or towns with restauratns, but then you probably need to give up the idea of a pool, given your budget.

Or you could rent apartments on a farm that also has a restaurant. That way you can cook sometimes but eat at the restaurant the other times. Most farms with apartments to rent have pools.

Or, if you want to all be sleeping in one big villa, you can hire a cook. The cook will shop for you, prepare meals, and clean up. Usually cooks are only available to make dinner, not lunch and dinner. The prices are usually fair, cheaper than what you would pay in a restaurant.

Sounds to me like this trip should be geared around your mother's needs. Late July in Italy is very hot. Even though you are traveling from South Asia, you still might find it nice to go someplace cool.

If you haven't bought air tickets, consider going to the mountains and lakes of Northern Italy rather than areas further south. Given your descripton, I would give serious consideration to Merano, in far nothern Italy, or areas around Trento or Bolzano.

If you already have air tickets in and out of Rome, I don't think you need to go as far as Umbria, and Umbria is so full of art attractions, I'm wondering if the mid-aged group will feel a bit frustrated that it is spending most of its time catering to the needs of other people and doing so little sightseeing. In late July, midday sightseeing to frescoed churches in steep hilltowns is likely not to be a winner with most of your group. You can the get the same experience of pretty farm scenery & ancient hilltowns closer to Rome.

How would you feel about an island? Or places with easier access to the coast?
frencharmoire is offline  
Old Feb 26th, 2017, 08:06 AM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 7,919
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
It sounds as though you would need an apartment with at least four bedrooms, which wouldn't be terribly easy to find in Rome.

Umbria is one of the more reasonably priced regions in Italy, so that would help your budget. You don't have to climb steep hills and visit frescoed churches if that doesn't appeal to you.

Most towns, even small ones, in Italy now have supermarkets. Larger supermarkets tend to have "orario continuato", which means they don't close for lunch. However, smaller supermarkets do usually close between 1 and 4 PM, and they also close on Sundays and one afternoon a week, usually Thursday. The larger supermarkets need big parking lots, so they are rarely right in the town center. Even large supermarkets tend to be closed on Sundays, except in tourist areas and for special occasions, such as just before a holiday.

Supermarkets in Italy often have excellent local produce. Several supermarkets in our town have professional butchers who buy meat from local farmers. You'll usually see a sign saying whose cow or lamb is being sold right now. In my favorite supermarket, there is a fishmonger who sells the fish his father catches in the Adriatic. If the weather is stormy, the next day the fish counter will be closed, with a sign explaining that the boats couldn't go out yesterday.

If staying outside of town, you'll be much better off with a car. It can be very limiting to stay in the countryside without a car. If you have only four kids in the group, you could rent two cars, which would also allow you to occasionally split up based on differing ideas about how best to spend the day. If the number of kids is in fact six, you would need either two 7-passenger cars or vans, or three cars.
bvlenci is offline  
Old Feb 26th, 2017, 09:07 AM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 473
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Speaking of supermarkets and cooking, how does everyone feel about that?

I can tell you that my wife certainly does not consider cooking meals to be part of a vacation. That subject is not even open to discussion when we travel.

If a place we stay in has a kitchen, it is used only for making a cup of coffee in the morning and nothing else. LOL
Dogeared is offline  
Old Feb 26th, 2017, 09:47 AM
  #9  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 49,560
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
We love to cook no matter where we are, whether on vacation or not. Cooking is a pleasure, not a chore, for us. When we rent apartments, we always make it part of our trip to visit markets and cook at least some (usually most) of our own meals.
StCirq is offline  
Old Feb 26th, 2017, 09:56 AM
  #10  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,321
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Agree, my hubby loves cooking on vacation. Having access to local foods is one of the things we love.
jamikins is offline  
Old Feb 27th, 2017, 05:12 AM
  #11  
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 473
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I can see the attraction to someone who loves to cook, of visiting local markets and trying local ingredients.

I hope you can see the other side of the coin as well.

Would you really want to shop and cook for 12 people(including the kids) every day for 2 weeks? When would you have time to do anythng else? LOL

Then there is the question of if one person is not saddled with all the cooking, do you really want to eat what your Sister-in-law cooks given that she is possibly the worst cook you have ever met! LOL
Dogeared is offline  
Old Feb 27th, 2017, 05:36 AM
  #12  
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 624
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I make meals in apartments I rent, partly because I find it difficult to eat in restaurants twice a day in some European countries. Italy and Spain are two countries where the restaurant culture is such that I'd rather eat some meals outside of restuarants.

I don't mind cooking as much as I mind washing up and, to some extent, shopping. It's fun to shop in the markets, but I don't find it fun to shop for staples just to be able to make a meal.

Hence, the meals I make in rental apartments are almost always don't require any cooking. In Italy that is really easy to do because you raid the shops for great cheeses and prepared foods and baked goods -- although I generally find that easier to do when I'm staying in a town or a city, not in the acutal countryside. I've shopped in italian supermarkets and don't dispute the food is fine, but I still find them as off-putting as any supermarket anywhere, and my personal experience of the vegetables is Italian supermarkets makes me pass them up in favor of local tiny vendors. I never cease to be amazed at the number of vendors in Italy in small towns who sorted through their produce for me to make sure I get stuff without any bad spots. The logic of the thing would be to give the tourist the dodgy produce, since I'm probably not coming back, right? But no, the strawberries are picked through, examined, replaced with better berries, until I've got a box filled only with perfect fruit.

I confess I also will often simply unwrap all my market purchases and eat cheese and meats off their wrapping paper, so I don't have to wash anything after. I do pour my wine out of the bottle into a glass, however.
frencharmoire is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
crazyfamilyof4
Europe
22
Jan 10th, 2013 04:36 AM
Jennifer_Hand
Europe
4
Dec 23rd, 2011 02:55 PM
Travelkip
Europe
8
Aug 14th, 2011 05:03 PM
dimondgirl
Europe
7
May 11th, 2010 07:02 PM
plumtree
Europe
17
Oct 10th, 2006 12:48 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -