letsgo3

I am planning on taking 3 kids (ages 14,12,11) on our first trip to italy. We have travelled to Europe before but this is our first time to italy. We plan on flying into Milan and out of Venice this spring for a week. Do you have any itinerary suggestions along with tours and places to stay? I look forward to your recommendations! Thanks do much!

socaltraveler

Perhaps if you could provide a bit more information, like actual days on the ground, dates of trip, budget, your interests, etc., it would help. Have you used the search function on this site? I would also recommend www,SlowTravel.com which has a very active Italy forum.

StCirq

Nobody can help you without info on what you plan to get out of this trip, what your budget is in euros per day, and why you want to go to this region and what your interests are.

letsgo3

Thank you. We will be 5 nights/6 days on the ground. We are looking to see museums and the city of Milan the first night then venture to a relaxing adventure through Tuscany while ending up in Venice where we want to see the city and take a gondola ride. Our budget is low to moderate. Really looking at experiencing italy and it's beauty. Would be interested in cooking lessons, tours and renting a bike to explore. Thank you for you suggestions!

HappyTrvlr

From Milan you should stop off in Bologna. I don't know if you have enough time for Tuscany.
Or train from Milan to Lucca, fent bikes and along the walls.
Or Milan to Verona to Venice.

socaltraveler

You do not have enough time in 5 nights to spend one in Milan, and then go to Venice and meander through Tuscany. Are you going this spring, as in it is a busy season in Italy, and it is already March. Budget accommodations will be scarce, and you will need two rooms or a hard to find quad/family room. Cooking classes and gondola rides are expensive. Do you have plane reservations? I ask, because depending on when you arrive in Milan, and with jet lag, a day of museums may be hard to pull off.

I really do not want to be negative but your low to moderate budget, and last minute planning, is going to make this difficult. Choose two destinations at most for this short trip. Every time you move to a new place, you easily spend 1/2 day getting from A to B. Every train you take is another expense, X4.

StCirq

Low to moderate doesn't tell us much. What is your daily budget, in euros? And how do you plan to get around Tuscany? Rental car?

You barely have time for 2 destinations, never mind 3, so something has to go. I'd get out of Milan immediately and head into Tuscany. One jetlagged day/night in Milan will be forgettable anyway.

bilboburgler

You are going to have to cut somethings with so little time.

My best ideas

I'd fly into Milan but don't go there.
First 2 nights Lucca (walled city, bikes on wall, ancient place and crowded with Italians, great way to hit the culture shock. Stay 2 nights, assume the first day is ruined with jet lag and getting there. If you are up to it catch the train to Pisa to see the tourist trap that is the tower, if not those who can walk about get out and enjoy the city.

third and fourth night move either to
Siena, Florence or Ferrara/Bologna, the first two are in Tuscany, one a valley city the other a mountain top city. Both have enough for people to do. Ferrara/Bologna are both very different from the other two, both flat cities on the Po, lots of bicycles, some great food and stuff for the kids to do.

Last two nights Venice.

All this can be done by public transport or by car (train is best)

Still good advice above as well. You need to think how much you want to be out in the country and how much in a city. if it were summer I'd say country but this spring, city.

bvlenci

It's really a long haul from Milan's Malpensa airport to Lucca. It would take about five hours, with two changes of train. Venice is a little closer, about four hours, and with only one change of train. If it's possible to get there on your first day, I'd go straight there instead of staying in Milan the first night. If your flight doesn't arrive in the morning, you may have no choice but to stay in Milan the first night.

By the way, five nights is not six days, it's four full days and bits of two other days. You really don't have time to see all the things you want to see. I would start off in Venice, and get there as quickly as possible after arrival. If you just want to see the city, and maybe ride a gondola, one night might be enough. Then you can go to someplace relaxing. The countryside might not be the most fun for the three kids. Lucca is a good idea, but it's not easily reachable from either Venice or Milan. I assume you have to go back to Milan the night before your flight home. If I'm counting right, you'd have only two nights (one full day) left at this point, so you'd want to visit a place that will occupy you for about a day and a half.

What time of year will you be taking this trip? If it's in the late spring or in summer, Lake Garda might be a good choice. It's easy to get to from both Milan and Venice; it has great natural beauty, and your kids might enjoy it more than Tuscany, especially if you take them to Gardaland, the big amusement park at the southern end of the lake. The northern end of the lake is the most scenic, but there are things to do and see everywhere.

Another possibility would be Verona, with a beautiful city center, and a very intact ancient Roman amphitheatre.

Ferrara is a nice small city, with a beautiful ducal palace; the city is full of bikes, and I assume it would be easy to rent one.

You could also just stay in Venice the whole time, and take a day trip to Verona, and spend another day visiting the islands in the lagoon. If it's summer, you might want to stay on the Lido (but near a vaporetto stop) so your kids could enjoy the beach.

StCirq

The OP says "we plan on flying into Milan and out of Venice." I sure hope those tickets haven't been purchased, because it would make this whirlwind fly-by trip a lot easier if they weren't stuck with that routing.

bvlenci

Sorry, I missed that. I would suggest then going to Lake Garda or Verona at the earliest possibility and ending in Venice, or else going straight to Venice and staying there, with some day trips. It doesn't make much difference whether Venice is first or last.

I would tend to rule out Tuscany, as time is short and it would take time to get there and back, unless you stay in Florence, which doesn't sound like what you're looking for.

It would help to know what time of year this would be.

socaltraveler

The OP implies this trip is for this spring, which is fast upon us in terms of finding hotels or apartments. She has 5 nights on the ground, so 3 places for 2 nights each is out. All the day trips mentioned above also sound like a lot considering the time frame. But the real question is what is the highest priority? Determine that and pick two places. Or if the flights are already booked for in and out of two locations, then split the 5 nights between the two. Moving 4 people around takes time, why waste any part of a short trip in train or bus stations. Move soon, we are in the middle of March.

Jean

"Spring" arrives a week from today.

If flights are booked, I wouldn't bother with anything but 1-2 nights in Milan and the rest in Venice. One night in Milan may be enough if your flight arrives in the morning; you can train from Milan to Venice at 3:00p the next day and arrive in time to settle in before dinner. If you want to see The Last Supper, you must buy tickets in advance but may already be too late.

Is it one adult and 3 kids, or 2 adults and 3 kids?

letsgo3

Thank you all for your ideas.. I really appreciate it.. Yes, two adults, three kids