Your post is hard to read with the lack of spacing between paragraphs and some words. I take it the sad faces happened by mistake becuse of your use of : and )?

You might want to try www.venere.com. As far as I can see, you did not mention what type of hotels you like or your nightly budget in euros but I think that info might be helpful to others.

Do the teenagers intend to share a bed?

If you locate at the top of CT there is a reasonable, comfortable hotel in Levanto..Garden Hotel. The hoho train will take you to whichever village you want to hike from, near or around. You can go to them all or not as you choose. There is a nice beach in Lev., good reasonable restaurants and parking at this hotels lot (a few minutes walk). We stayed 2 nights and in a downpour did 2 villages and the walk Via del amour, but that was all. On a later trip (off a cruise) we came from the South(La Spezia) again by train and did all the villages. Several trails were closed due to mud slides but then DH and I are not hikers. It's a lovely place for sure. With a car in florence (a major paih) you might consider the Hilton ( I believe it's the Garden Hilton but google will tell you)...free parking, free shuttles to Florence, Generally speaking a nice place to stay.

First, time in Rome is about right for first trip.

Second, I'd base in Florence--expensive, but if purpose is for your husband to see art, then he's going to want to be right in the City. You certainly don't want to have a car near there. I'd think about spending more time there.

Third, if it were me, I'd take day trips to Pisa and Lucca and cut out the Cinque Terre unless you are hikers. Instead, spend the time going slowly up to Venice seeing Bologna, Ferrara, Ravenna. All wonderful art places and each is different from the others. Bologna is a university town so your teens should like it. You can do all this by train.

I'll think about where you should stay.

I agree, we need a bit more info. about you lodging requirements. What is the cost per night your hoping to spend for all 4 of you? Are you hoping for quads or two double rooms? Quads might be hard with only one bathroom and two teenage girls! You might also want to consider apts. particularly for Rome.

We have traveled with our 2 kids many times, and stayed in Castellina in Chianti at Fattoria Tregole (http://www.fattoria-tregole.com/) in the Aia villa which had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and a kitchen as well as a pool. We really liked staying there and found it well located for visiting other hill towns in Tuscany. We had already been to Florence so did not spend any time there on that trip.

We stayed in Lerici at the Hotel Florida (http://www.hotelflorida.it/it/Default.aspx) when we visited CT. We really liked staying in Lerici enjoyed the small town a lot. Just a different idea, but if you want to do a lot of hiking everyday, probably beset to stay in one of the CT villages.

In two previous trips to Rome we have stayed in the quad room at the Albergo Cesari. We love the location of the hotel (near the Pantheon), and they have since done some renovation to the hotel, so I'm sure it's even better. Our kids were younger when we stayed in the quad room (9 and 12 and then 10 and 13). If your kids are older teens I'd probably get two rooms there.

Overall I would say your itinerary looks good. If you don't already have a car at CT, I wouldn't bother renting one just to get from CT to Venice I would take the train.

We have been to all those places, except for Amsterdam, with our kids. Here are some links to my trip reports along with pictures you may find helpful.

Rome/Venice/Florence - http://www.fromhometoroam.com/category/travels/europe/romeveniceflorence2005/

Piedmont/Lerici(CT)/Tuscany/Rome - http://www.fromhometoroam.com/category/travels/europe/piedmont-lerici-tuscany-rome/

P.S. We are also from Oregon (Southern Oregon) flying PDX to Amsterdam is the best!!

Wontok,
This will give you some ideas for Tuscany http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/hs_planning.htm

Nice trip!
I would train to Florence first from Rome and then get the car and drive to Tuscany. I would then drive to Pisa as you transition to the CT and drop the car in La Spezia.

Your itinerary looks good, with a good number of days in each location. Our teens like visiting cities more than the countryside, because there's more for them to do there. But your teens may be different.

Generally, let us know your price range for hotels. And whether you'll be looking for two double rooms, or the more rare (in Europe) quad rooms that sleep 4 people. When we've travelled with our teen kids, we've done both, mostly depending on the prices of the rooms and availability of quad rooms.

For example, in Amsterdam I couldn't locate any quad rooms in our price range and desired location. We stayed in two double rooms at Maes B&B, located on the edge of the Jordaan area; at 135 Euros/night/room. I highly recommend staying in the Jordaan, even if you dont' stay there. It's a gorgeous part of a beautiful city.

If your husband is an art and museum buff, as is our entire family, then he will be in heaven with the Rijksmuseum, which will have just re-opened. Lucky him. The Van Gogh museum also should have just re-opened, with a new entrace. Also fabulous. All four of us were also fascinated by the Resistance Museum; it's very well-done.

Price out the various attractions available on the Rome Pass to see if it's worth your money; it's never worked out that way for us. The area around Piazza Navona is central and fun. We've stayed a number of times at Residenza Canali ai Coronari; we only had one kid on that trip, so I don't know if that room would work as a quad (though it was definitely big enough to fit another bed).

In rural Tuscany, we like staying in San Gimignano. Full of tourists during the day, but quiet at night. And two great gelaterias right on the main piazza. If you stay somewhere like an agriturismo, outside of a town, and eat anywhere other than the agriturismo, keep in mind that someone will have to drive after drink, after dinner, and won't be able to have much wine.

In Florence, we stayed at Casa dei Tintori, near Santa Croce. They have a room that works as a quad, but the two foldout beds are small, so it depends on the size of your teens. The owners are absolutely wonderful and the place is gorgeous, too.

We've driven from Tuscany to the Cinque Terre and parked there; we found it easier than navigating rental car dropoff and trains. Some hotels (Villa Steno in Monterosso) have some parking, or you can park in the public lot. Keep in mind, as noted, the Cinque Terre is a bit out of the way of all of your other destinations. Poll your group to decide if the travel time is worth it.

I would also drive from there to Venice. You could also take the train, but personally I find it more efficient to get in the car and drive. No places to recommend to stay - the place we stayed at last with kids has closed, sad to say - the location was great.

Also, just FYI, depending on the age of your kids, they may be legal to drink there. Decide as a family, before you go, how you want to handle. (We let our kids drink wine ocassionally at home dinners with us, so IMHO it's nice to be able to do that while on vacation.)

I appreciate all of the responses. We are healthy, love to hike, and enjoy history. Coming from Portland, Oregon we love the outdoors to hike,bike, ski and are foodies. Two summers ago, we did a 3 week trip to London, Paris,Loire Valley, Provence & Cote d'Azur. Stayed exclusively in apts/condos which worked well.

We are looking for apts/condos not hotel rooms. Budget $200-300/night. In Tuscany, we want a pool.Of course, we prefer to not spend too much, but realize it is summer. We aren't looking for plush quarters, but value with a great location.
Hope that additional information helps. Not sure why those sad faces showed up, it was not intentional. I will look at the suggested accommodations.

>>>Hope that additional information helps. Not sure why those sad faces showed up, it was not intentional.<<<

If you type certain things, you get smileys.

http://www.fodors.com/community/smileys/

I would train to Florence and stay a couple of days so you husband can visit the museums. Pick up a car as you leave Florence, visit Tuscany, visit Pisa/Lucca on way to CT,drop car in La Spezia (close to CT).

There are lots of places in the countryside with pools, but many want a weeks rental in summer. You would need to check which ones will rent for fewer days.

Near Siena:

http://www.mulinodiquercegrossa.it/

Near Florence:
http://www.letorri.com/

I stayed at this place outside Pienza a couple of years ago. They had a pool, but no AC. Stayed in a double room, not one of the apartments and paid 80€.
http://www.agriturismobonellinovecchio.it/thefarmhouse/thefarmhouse.html

I am from the Portland area also and spent a week last August in Rome with my husband and 18 and 21 year old nieces. We rented this apartment and loved it. Great location, fabulous air conditioning, 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms so plenty of space and privacy. It looks like it is available for your dates and is in your price range, albeit the top end at 250 euros/night.

http://romecapitalapartments.com/apartment-dettagli/Boccaccio-140

Have a great trip!