family holiday Rome&Venice

Old Jan 18th, 2017, 01:11 PM
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family holiday Rome&Venice

We're doing a family trip to Italy this summer, a week on the Amalfi Coast then 2 weeks travelling. We have a 5yr old and an 8yr old, will def do Pompeii/Herculaneum while in Sorrento, def want to do Rome and I think have enough thoughts and recommendations from a friend who used to live there to spend at least 5 nights.

We want to go to Venice too - the children are obsessed thanks to a story cd they have, the only half decent music they actually like is Vivaldi and I know it will be hot and smelly and busy but it's unlikely we'll get back to Italy in the forseeable future so we have to go. So I wondered if anyone had thoughts on whether we should do the whole second week in Venice and do day trips from there, explore the islands, visit Verona and Padua (I'm a Shakespeare nut), or should we do somewhere else en route and just 3 nights in Venice? Thinking particularly with the children in mind, who are good travellers so the 5 hour train journeys won't be a massive issue

We're at the beginning planning stages so any leftfield ideas also gratefully received. I've been to Florence and loved it, is there enough to entertain the children too? Although so long as they get regular run around in a park or a pool they seem to be generally happy to be dragged along the odd adult thing....
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Old Jan 18th, 2017, 02:10 PM
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I would do the entire week in Venice. You can day trip if you want to, but there's certainly plenty to do there to fill 7 days.
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Old Jan 18th, 2017, 02:12 PM
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I did 4 nights in Venice and wanted more. So I agree with Suze. At least 4-6 nights!
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Old Jan 18th, 2017, 04:09 PM
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oh good! I was worried maybe with the children particularly we'd start wanting to leave the city....any specific recommendations to start looking at?
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Old Jan 18th, 2017, 05:54 PM
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Do the whole week in Venice, and you will not run out of things to do. See if you can stay near Campo san Giacomo - the campo is alive with kids in the afternoon and evening, riding scooters, playing soccer.

Onsider taking a picnic to Certosa. There is not a whole lot to see there (the hotel on Certosa has a bar), but there are cares of grassed open space for your kids to enjoy.
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Old Jan 18th, 2017, 06:55 PM
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that's exactly the kind of specific info I really appreciate, thanks Peter_S_Aus
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Old Jan 18th, 2017, 07:21 PM
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Definitely Venice . . . and if the kids get cabin fever/stir crazy/tired of too much city -- spend a day on the Lido Beach.
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Old Jan 18th, 2017, 07:47 PM
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There are also plenty of possible day trips from Venice, within an hour's train ride.

There is a park in Venice, out past Castello from memory, where my son founds some local kids to play football (soccer) with. (We took a ball with us.)

If staying in Sorrento rather than Amalfi coast, consider what you plan to do while in the area. It's well positioned to visit some places and not for others.
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Old Jan 18th, 2017, 08:11 PM
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We just spent 9 nights in Venice over Christmas and New Years and loved it! We rented an apartment which may give you more space for the kids and you could eat breakfast or cook some dinners in.
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Old Jan 19th, 2017, 02:46 AM
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I would also aim for a week in Venice, but I would not go to the Lido Beach, which is about the only place in Venice you are likely to find "smelly" and unpleasant. Venice is really enjoyable at night, maybe most enjoyable at night, so think about avoiding the hottest and most crowded part of the day with naps so you can stay up late and dance the night away in the piazza San Marco.

It's fun to hear that your kids are obsessed with visiting Venice. It's a good place for young kids anyway, and I hope they like it.
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Old Jan 19th, 2017, 05:42 AM
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Nobody here mentioned how crowded Venice is in the summer months. You will encounter a tsunami of tourists.

Many forget that Venice is stop on the cruise-ship circuit.

I always inform novices that Piazza
San Marco will remind one of the Burning-of-Atlanta scene from Gone With the Wind.

Be prepared. Try to find a hotel away from the summer madness.

Thin
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Old Jan 19th, 2017, 05:49 AM
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I mentioned it was crowded during the day. It is much less crowded in the evenings, which is a great time to enjoy piazza San Marco with kids because the orchestras are playing. Just be sure to get mosquito protection. You will need it in Rome too. It's easy to buy anti-mosquito sprays in the Italian pharmacies.
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Old Jan 19th, 2017, 07:35 AM
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I'll venture to say that I don't think Venice is the best place to spend 7 days in the summer with small children. They may not even stay up late enough to enjoy Piazza San Marco in the evening after the hordes have decamped. And seven nights of orchestra music might be a big bore for kids their age.

Venice is not my favorite place in Italy. First of all, the huge number of tourists has had a deleterious effect on the quality (and price) of the restaurants. However, I must also say that I've been there in the summer several times and never noticed any bad smells.

I also doubt that the Lido is smelly. The following people who visited in August didn't mention it at all.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...o.html#REVIEWS

In fact, if I were to spend a week in Venice with little children, that's where I would stay. As long as it's not during the film festival at the end of August. (By the way, if it were so smelly, I don't think they'd hold the film festival there.)

There are other places you might want to spend at least part of your time. Verona is a very nice small city, with plenty of day trip possibilities. Someplace on Lake Garda would probably be fun for the kids. The Adriatic coast has some nice beach towns, with nearby amusement parks. I'm trying to look at this with the eyes of an eight-year-old child.
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Old Jan 19th, 2017, 08:51 AM
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You have not said what time in summer you want to go.. it can make a difference in the crowds in Venice. In July there is the Redentore festival one weekend, that will be very crowded (also really fun, but maybe not so much for a five year old.) The film festival does not affect things too much in Venice because most everything happens out at Lido now. I was there last year during the film festival and it was not really that crowded in Venice.

The beach at Lido is not exactly beautiful, but you can swim there. You can also rent bikes or those family pedal wagon things and ride around the island.

In July, there is a 10 day neighborhood festival in Campo San Giacomo dell' Orio. This also is a lot of fun but if you choose to come in July, it may be the kids won't be playing there because the campo gets filled up with tables and stuff. However the local kids just go play in another nearby campo.

An apartment is a great idea, another area to ponder would be around Campo SS Apostoli as it is very central and lots of kids play in that one. Campo SS Giovanni & Paolo & Campo Santa Maria Formosa, ditto. It is good to be central so that if you can avoid a crowded vaporetto, you can.

There are lots of family friendly places to eat in Venice, I am sure you can get lots of tips here once you settle on a location.
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Old Jan 19th, 2017, 11:08 AM
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Thanks so much for all the replies so far, much appreciated.

I know it's going to be busy, but we don't have a choice in when we go and the children want to go so badly (we're travelling from the States though we're British) and it's unlikely we'll get to go again in the forseeable future.

I think it's more than likely we'll hire an apartment, I've looked in AirBnB so far, we're big AirBnB travellers and I find apartments so much better for flexibility with small children, as well as usually having at least one seperate bedroom. Any other organisations we ought to look at?

So it looks like area wise it's good to be near a Campo generally. Would anyone care to recommend particular areas in addition to or adding to suggestions above?

We will be there in July. exact dates to be decided but roughly 12th-19th July, the week before in Rome .... unless it's worth us going to Bologna or Florence en route? in which case I'd probably eat into Venice rather than Rome time I think.

bvlenci thanks for the day trip recommendations, I'm really keen to visit Verona and Padua (purely Shakespeare connection, I know nothing else about them!). I' assuming it will be more cost effective and easier for us to base ourselves in Venice and do trips out, but is Verona worth an overnight stay? I'll look at Lake Garda. We'd like to avoid renting a car so maybe some closer towns on the coast which we can et to using public transport would work.

Again, I really appreciate all the feedback!
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Old Jan 19th, 2017, 11:10 AM
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Actually I'm wondering if it's worth us doing a night or two in Lake Garda before or after we do Venice? We'll be getting the high speed train probably back to Naples, unless we can fly into Naples and fly out of Venice
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Old Jan 19th, 2017, 12:11 PM
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Hello mymatemarmite We are big fans of Italy, we have visited every year for the last 6 years. My daughter will be 6 in April so traveling to Italy with a child is pretty much all I know. First thing is, I would not worry about visiting every place there is in Italy. Pick a few spots and really enjoy them. On one trip we started in Sorrento for a few days, then Capri, then Rome, then Florence, then Venice and finally Verona. We were there for 4 weeks. I can tell you I would never do that again. To much moving around. We use to go with a big suitcase, 2 carry ons and a Backpack. Last year we went with 2 carry ons and 2 back packs for a 2 week trip and it was perfect, especially for relocating a few times. My wife, daughter and myself like staying in Sorrento, from there it is easy to catch a boat to Capri for the day, go to see Pompei, take a bus or taxi to Positano for a few hours or just walk around Sorrento for some shopping and eating. There is a playground that is really pretty cool in Sorrento located at Via Aniello Califano, 5, 80067 Sorrento N. I believe it doesn't open until 4:00 PM but your kids will like it.
As far as spending time in Rome or Venice goes. I would do a bit of research on Rome before you go. Some pre planing will make your stay so much more fun. My suggestion would be to stay nearer to the Piazza Navona. The Piazza Navona is very near to the center of all the attractions. If you plan things correctly you can walk to several different sites in the same day. From the Piazza Navona you are pretty much within 15 to 20 minutes from all attractions. There are many playgrounds in Rome and you have the Villa Borghese Gardens which have swing sets that the kids can play on. When you are going to visit an attraction, buy the tickets in advance, it will save you time from long lines. In Venice my suggestion would be to stay over near the train, not saying you have to be right next to the train but within 10 minute walk would be good. The reason I say this is Venice's most popular attraction is St Marks Square. This is the most crowded part of Venice at all times of day. This is where everyone from the cruise ships come to visit (Honestly, it is worth a 10 minute visit unless you want to go to the Dodges Palace which is good). The food at the restaurants also seems to be cheaper and to us seems to be better quality. This is still the center of Venice, it is just away from the huge crowds (you are still going to be in the middle of huge crowds over by the train station). There is also a playground called Parco Savorgnan which is over in the area I think is good to stay at. Sorry for the rambling, we just really like Italy. We like it enough that we made a hobby site, TravelThroughItaly.com Hope this helps. Enjoy your vacation and after you go once, you will find a way to go back. It is cheaper for us to travel in Italy than it is for us to travel in the US.

You are going to love it.
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Old Jan 19th, 2017, 12:44 PM
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Well, it sounds like you will be in Venice for the Redentore festival, which is July 15 & 16.

If you can wake up the kids for the fireworks, they are pretty spectacular. But they don't start until 11:30 or midnight.

Venice will be really crowded especially after the fireworks end. Like, "can't move" crowded. If you can choose an apartment down in the eastern part of town, you can walk to the Riva Schiavoni to see the fireworks. Or if you can get a place with an altana (a roof terrace) you might be able to see them from there.

Another fun thing that the kids might enjoy during this weekend, is there is a pontoon bridge built over the Giudecca canal, so you can actually walk across that canal to the other side (its a pretty big canal.)

You can see more info and some photos here:
http://events.veneziaunica.it/conten...ore-feast-2017

The neighborhood fiesta in Campo San Giacomo dell Orio can also be around these dates. If it is going on it is fun for the whole family, there is food and drink and every night there is a band.

It is one of my favorite times to be in Venice.
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Old Jan 19th, 2017, 12:44 PM
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A suggestion - fly into Venice and out of Naples (assuming that you come from the USA). Flights headed west from Venice to the USA mostly leave early morning.
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Old Jan 19th, 2017, 01:25 PM
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We once had a month long family holiday to Europe and included Italy in our itinerary primarily because the kids wanted to visit Venice. We spent 5 nights in Venice, staying in an apartment. In the end, one child loved Venice (loved the water, bridges everywhere, lack of cars, shopping for glass beads) and the other did not (found it mildly claustrophobic and too busy).

I absolutely love Venice and have been there many times. But I am becoming increasingly aware of the impact of the pressure of tourism upon it.

I think spending a few days somewhere else not far away makes some sense (as well as or instead of Venice). I'd choose from Verona, Padua, Vicenza or Bassano del Grappa. I haven't been to lake Garda for a very long time but it was great too. trenitalia.com has train timetables.

Particularly when staying in Venice, I recommend that you slip a piece of paper in the kids' pocket or backpack with your contact details and those of where you are staying. It is incredibly easy to get separated in Venice, with all the narrow twisting streets and beautiful distractions on every corner. I don't say this to alarm you but to just make life easier if you do get separated.
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