My son and I travel alot. This summer it's Italy for his first time (my third). Any suggestions for a 13 yr old boy, loves nature, science and history? We thought of doing Rome, then hiring a car to go to pompeii. I've never been south of Rome, so I am looking for suggestions. Budgeting isn't an issue. Thanks much!

With three weeks, you could spend one in Rome and really see it well, including a half day trip to Ostia Antica. Pompeii should also interest him and you could spend another week on the Amalfi Coast, seeing it and also Herculaneum and even Paestum. Since he enjoys nature, hiking above Positano might be fun. Your other week could be spent in Florence or a smaller Tuscan hilltown. For a boy that likes science, be sure to take him to the Science musuem in Florence and also La Specola musuem there. San Gimignano has a Musuem of Torture that he might find interesting. Half day trips to Lucca (a bike ride on top of the walls might be good) and Pisa. If you could manage to be in Siena during the Palio, I'm sure the medieval pagentry would interest him.

You must have an extraordinarily mature 13-year-old, trs! We took our 13 yo son to Italy & he literally "disappeared" for a few hours. (When we took him at 8, he was a perfect traveller!)

That said, Pompeii seems to trigger the interest of kids/adolescents; our kid loved it, despite his parents' constant complaining about the heat!

All the historical sites in Rome were a huge turn-on for our son ... even those about which he wasn't terribly educated. The Colisseum, the Pantheon & the Forum really captivated him. Museums are my & dh's thing -- kid was less than enthused.

Enjoy your trip!

Pompeii is a must. Take the train there from Rome. Get there early so you won't have as much heat..altho you will have crowds. OR, go at the end of the day. If he's into reading, he might like the novel Pompeii which talks about volcano's....but is a good read. Stay in Sorrento... lots of night life and people walking in the streets...young people! See Herculaneum too as a contrast to Pompeii. You can take a bus down the scary coast route to Amalfi and then a boat back up to Sorrento.

Your son is 13 yrs old. I would suggest that you ge a few good guide books from the library and have him help in designing the itinerary. You might also rent some movies for him to see set in locals he might find interesting. If he is involved you will get a lot more buy in an ownership of the trip.

Ginisia,

Thanks for all the tips! You mentioned a number of things I never heard of..I love that!! We will look into all of them. And LucieV...yes he is quite mature..knows all about volcanos already...has seen many. There are lots here on the west coast from N. Ca all the way to Canada...plus the one in Hawaii. Been to them all.
We only plan to spend about 10 days in Italy, then to UK as he has a course in Falconry there (he did a course at Gleneagles when he was 7..used a hawk..loved it). Anyone been to BRUGE? I have ALWAYS wanted to go and would like to take a couple of days (including the travel time) to see it real quick before we head to Britain. Can it be done in a say...travel there one day, stay the next, leave the next?
I know that's fast, but I just want to see it. Isn't there a ferry from Bruge to Britain? We'd pick up a car somewhere in the UK (I went to school there so driving is no problem).
Any suggestions?

ONe last thing...yes, he loves the idea of the torture museum. We've seen the ones in Edinburgh and London (the last one about 5 times!).

Isn't there something mom wants to see? You should not just center your wonderful trip around your son's interests!

Hmmm !
Summertime--13 year old boy--loves nature. I would stay north and see the spectacular Dolomites, Lake Garda[Gardaland], and Venice.

Hire a private guide at Pomei, not cheap but so much better than a group.They are available by the entrance. Above all GO EARLY

flybob, I have to laugh a little bit. We hired a private guide at Pompeii -- and boy did we ever get treated to a "private" tour. Our son got an eyeful of erotic frescoes ... either he didn't understand or he was too embarrassed to admit that he understood. We were ok with the whole thing, but I can understand how some people might not appreciate it!

Point being: if you're a protective parent, make sure your Pompeiian private guide has a PG rating.

The Bruge side trip is for me. I love seeing things I've seen before through his eyes. It's a totally different experience! How I saw Rome as a 21 yr old(many years ago) I am sure will be all new with Travis. He sees things I never looked at...OK, I admit I saw more stores...but he gets dragged to those also! But I have seen more wonder through him than I ever thought was possible.
I've also never been South of Rome...anything new is great with me. I love to see how people live, I hit all the markets...just to see what people actually eat..not resturant stuff. I try to stay in flats..hotels are fine if you make friends with the staff! The best advice on what to see and where to eat always has come from hotel staff (not neccessarily concierge) and taxi drivers. That advice DOES NOT hold true for traveling in the US! So, I'm looking for the unusual, the interesting, the local!

I would split your time in Italy between Rome and Sorrento. Maybe 5 nights in each? As suggested, I would take the train from Rome to Sorrento (changing in Naples). I have done this and it really is very easy, the train to Sorrento leaves from a different part of the same station that the Rome train arrives at.
While in Rome there is obviously a lot to see. I spent 5 nights there with my family and visited the Vatican and Sistine Chappel, The Pantheon, The Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona, the Colloseum and spent some time shopping and just wandering around. We could have fitted in more, but we travel frequently and don't like rushing from one place to another.
From Sorrento, you can easily visit a lot of places. Pompeii, Herculaneum, Mount Vesuvious, Capri, Ischia and the Amalphi Coast are all easy to get to. Also, Naples is closeby if you are interested in the Archaeological Museum which houses the finds from Pompeii.
If staying in Sorrento, I would suggest that you choose a large hotel as there is likely for more for your son to do. A hotel with a swimming pool is a good idea as the beaches in that area are not much to speak of and it is nice to have a pool to relax in after a day of sightseeing. A fairly central hotel would be best for getting around.
I arrived at Pompeii late morning and stayed for a few hours. As I don't like early mornings (and neither do the rest of the family), this worked for us. I don't see any particular advantage in arriving very early as the crowds aren't that bad anyway. From Sorrento, Pompeii is so easy to get to that you could easily visit twice if you want to.
Hope you have a good trip,
Carolena

Carolena,
Thanks so much for all the great info. I've received such super info from many of you. I will follow up on much of it! Thanks again.

trsmom, my son read a few books in the "Horrible History" series that are published in the UK. Lots of material in the ones about Romans and Italy presented in a very lively way, almost like a manga. He was 13; the books were a bit below his educational level but he enjoyed them anyway. The ancient history teacher at his boarding school loves them.

Also, I continue to recommend the Time Elevator for people with kids visiting Rome. It provides a decent overview of Roman history in an entertaining manner. They have a website, and show the movie pretty continuously year-round.

Hi trsmom.

We have a 13 year old daughter and spent 14 months in Europe in 2004-2005. Our trip included 11 weeks in Italy. We normally travel using vacation rentals. Our daughter has interests similar to your son's. We actually let her take the lead to plan our week in Rome. This was a great experience for her-- and a nice break for me!

We spent four days in Florence and were able to rent an apartment there for less than a week. (I can give you info if you like.) Our daughter really enjoyed the Leonardo DaVinci museum in Florence, which focuses on his inventions. http://www.mostredileonardo.com/eng/firenze.htm

We spent a week based in Ravello (absolutely beautiful!) but decided not to visit Pompeii on this trip since we had seen so many Roman ruins. Instead we did a trip to Mont Vesuvius, though I understand that may not be as unique for you.

I can also help with Bruges. Our trip began with 11 weeks in England. We took an overnight ferry from Hull in northern England to Zeebrugge, which was then a 30 minute cab ride to Bruges. We stayed two nights in Bruges (in a fabulous B&B-- one of the best we've ever stayed in), which gave us plenty of time to see the pretty town-- we ended up with almost two full days since we arrived so early on the first morning. The ferry was a fun experience too.

My blog of our long trip may be of interest/help to you. www.slowtrav.com/blog/kaydee or feel free to e-mail me!

Kathy