traccall

I am planning a trip for my family to Rome, Florence, and Venice at the end of June. This will be our 1st trip to Europe. My husband and I have 3 children (23, 20, & 16) who will be traveling with us. Does anyone have any suggestions on a schedule and how to get from region to region. Is it too hot to travel there at that time of the year? Any suggestions are very much appreciated.

Jojonana

How long? What are your interests? A bit more info would be useful...

adrienne

<< Does anyone have any suggestions on a schedule >>

Do you mean how long in each city? Rome - a week; Florence - 4 or 5 days; Venice - 5 days.

<< how to get from region to region >>

Since you're only going to 3 cities I would take the train. You won't have need of a car in the cities (and Venice doesn't have any roads so there's definitely no need for a car).

<< Is it too hot to travel there at that time of the year >>

Way too hot for me but you should know if it would be too hot for you. Everyone's idea of hot and cold is different.

raincitygirl

We took our then 14 year old son to Italy at the end of June in 2008. We started in Rome, it was quite warm but not unbearable. Our strategy was to start early then come back to the hotel after lunch, around mid-afternoon, take a nap, then get up, shower and go out to dinner later like 8 or 9 o'clock. That worked for us during the six days in Rome.
We then moved on to a villa hotel in Chianti (Tuscany) for a week, taking the train to Arezzo, picking up a rental car and using that for all of our day trips. The hotel had a pool which was fantastic as the weather was pretty warm, but again, not unbearable. We had a day at a beach too which was great, my son loved that.

From there we drove to Venice and got rid of the car, had two nights there and Venice was really really hot, and very crowded. We looked for out of the way museums and such to avoid the crowds and as well as doing that we found the little less populated streets and alleys were cooler. One day we took a vaporetto to Murano and being on the water was very refreshing.

Of course your schedule will depend on your family and what your interests are. The trains in Italy are very good as a way of getting around but if that is your mode of travel don't take huge suitcases.

It will be crowded and it will be pretty warm but if you want to go at that time, just go being prepared for that. You will have a great time! And probably become an Italy addict like some of the rest of us on Fodor's!

Also I suggest flying into one city and out of the other. (usually called multi-city when you are looking for flights). If you are coming from North America I suggest starting in Venice and ending in Rome, only because most flights to North America from Venice leave early in the morning. Last year when I was in Venice we splurged on a water taxi to the airport as it was such an early start.

jgg

We did a similar trip a few years ago (it was also our first trip to Europe - been back several times now), but we had two weeks and did 6 nights Rome, 4 nights Venice and 4 nights Florence at thought it was perfect. I agree with adrienne that best to just take a train from location to location. This trip was in March, but went back to Italy 15 months later in June, and must admit that Rome was VERY hot, and I wonder if I would have loved it so much the first time if it had been so hot. That being said we loved the hotel we stayed at the first time so booked it again, and they didn't have individual room controlled air conditioning (we didn't need it in March). It was just completely inadequate, and I do think that contributed to it being so uncomfortable - there was just no relief from the heat. Since then the hotel has remodeled and added air conditioning that you can monitor yourself.

Here is a link to my trip report, http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...or-2-weeks.cfm. Our kids were a bit younger than yours when we went, but they are closer to your kids ages now (19 & 16) and I wouldn't do anything different (although I would probably stay in a different place in Florence).

luvtogotoo

Are you flying in and out of the same city? Rome? I did that a couple of years ago & went straight to Venice on the train after arriving at the airport...it worked out very well...though a long day! Then you can work your way back and visit Rome at the end of your trip & it might be easier to head back to the airport. Be sure to go to Murano and Burano when in Venice.

traccall

Thank you everyone for your replies. Has anyone ever gone to Italy through Globus/Monogram Tours? If so, how were they?

kybourbon

The majority of people on this board are DIY. You'll find a few people that use tour companies. If you don't get responses, try entering Globus or Monogram in the search function.

adrienne

An escorted tour for 5 people is going to cost a lot of money (much more than planning on your own). If your budget allows for tours then book with a higher end company than Globus. I would never take another Globus tour because of bad food, bad tour guide, bad hotel locations.

Tours will take you to additional places which will cut back on the time you spend in Rome, Florence, and Venice - your primary focus.

Before booking a tour read the itineray thoroughly and understand the location of the hotels, some hotels are away from the main sights and city center.

If you want comments on a specific tour then include the link here so people can view the itinerary and help you decide.