zeppole

spotted this and thought it fit your situation

“What a Place!!!!!! Peace on Earth”
Reviewed February 27, 2010
I have never written one of these before, but I just had to write this time to let everyone know about Rezidenza Porta Guelfa. I stayed there last month with my husband and our two year old son. The hotel is walking distant from the beautiful and picturesque Bevagna. The hotel is comfortably furnished and the suites are huge. Within the suite there is the bedroom and a livingroom, so my husband and I had the privacy of our own room and our son, in the cribe that the hotel gave us, was confortably in the sapacios livingroom. Finally some privacy!!!! It is calm and relaxing. There are wonderful gardens to take strolls and there is a small wellness center that when you book you get all to yourself. No sharing with strangers!!!! And what to say about the fantastic Mikele. Anything you need, he's the one to go to, and so welcoming. I only wish I could have stayed longer. Recomended for romantic getaways, families....anyone the countryside around, the food and the wine are fantastic. Definetly recomend it.

Stayed January 2010, traveled with family

Honestly, I don't own stock in the company -- just thinking you might like to relax.

isabel

I see you said you've decided on Umbria but I'll just weigh in here with a few more thoughts. First- while every town in Italy is different, you have already been to a lot of places that are quite similar to the area you are considering for this trip. The Amalfi Coast will be quite different. Second, it's only going to get harder to travel with your son - at least for several more years. It's not like next year will be easier. I think the Amalfi Coast would be at least as interesting to him as the areas you are considering. At least there you'll have boat rides and beaches for him. I do agree driving will be harder but you could alternate some times taking public transportation and some days driving. As far as Pompeii goes, of course he won't understand it, but he can run around (no traffic obviously) and would probably be just as happy as if he were in some hilltown and you'd get to see Pompeii. He may be getting opinionated and saying no a lot, but at least at two they are easily distracted, try making an older child do something they don't want to.

Eight days in Sorrento sounds perfect (in fact that's what we did - albeit without kids). You can do day trips to Amalfi and POsitano, Capri, Pompeii, Naples. But Sorrento itself is a nice town, there's a little beach (big enough for a two year old).

The hotel we stayed at is in your price range and they had parking. Here's my trip report, I give contact info for the hotel in it. http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rful-weeks.cfm

uhoh_busted

Check out my trip report from Umbria this past fall..
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-in-umbria.cfm

We loved the place outside of Spoleto where we stayed, although a little research into the area may find you similar great deals with pool, etc also within your budget. It was so easy to make day trips to/from all kinds of places -- the drive to Norcia and on to the beach we made one day was gorgeous. Plus the beach was pretty nice itself, with lots of "clubs" where you could rent umbrellas, chairs, etc and be close to snacks, lunch, bathrooms, etc!

porkister

isabel, you make a good point about similar places. this is the reason I even brought up Amalfi. I know it will be more difficult, I hear it from my friends with older kids every day. Oh, dear, choices... maybe we should just do the Amalfi coast and skip Naples. For some reason I just have a feeling I will not enjoy that place (i.e Napoli). I spent enough time in the past in "colorful" (read dirty) cities.
And after all, our son is pretty stable on his feet, he will be 3 in August, he can't outrun me, so we have a pretty good chance to keep things under control for now.
It will take more reading and a long talk with my wife to see what fits us better. I need to read your trip report. Tonight. Beautiful pictures by the way.

Zepole, thanks for your enthusiasm. Honestly I don't care about flat or not. As I said, give me hills and steep climbs, I am so tired of the flats of NW Ohio. Your suggestions look tempting too.

zeppole

A toddler can't "run around" in Pompei. In most areas of the site, the underfoot surfaces are a hop-scotch of uneven boulders. Since there is no hope of using a stroller in the huge place, taking a toddler means carrying him or going at a toddler's walking speed. The Amalfi coast towns are mainly a maze of steep staircases, creating the same problems. As for Sorrento and beaches and boat rides across the open sea, there is a limit to how much you can let a toddler enjoy waterside activities in the fierce Mediterranean sun.

I think wherever porkister family goes, the main pleasure for the child will come from being given small toys and food treats, and not being asked to do difficult things (like climb stairs in the sun, be quiet for long periods, etc.) For the adults, minimizing how child unfriendly the environment is might be a consideration. A toddler will be welcomed everywhere but museums, but the physical environment of some places in Italy is pretty daunting with a toddler in tow.

zeppole

Hi porkister,

We were posting at the same time.

I hear you about wanting a change of scene, and if you and your wife don't mind carrying the toddler or moving at toddler speed, then I won't keep you from the hilltowns or Pompei. You can make your own call about how much of the sun of southern Italy your toddler can handle, but it is strong.

If you are flying in and out of Rome, here is another idea:

Go to Umbria, but before you fly back home, spend a few nights near Ostia Antica. Tour Ostia Antica, which has grassy pathways that actually are toddler friendly, plus it is shady, and you can spend a little time at nearby beaches.

Check out this article too:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/200...familyholidays

porkister

We visited Ostia in 2008, as a day trip from Rome. I really enjoyed it. Tivoli was another nice daytrip from Rome. i hope to go back sometime.

Cathski

I wouldn't even bother. We went to the Amalfi coast in October and hated it. Highly overrated and tacky all along the coastline. If you look out to see the views are lovely but inland there is nothing. A real lack of nice places to sit and eat or linger over a glass of wine and filthy, unattractive beaches. I had visions of lovely Italiante squares with people relaxing and enjoying themselves but far from it. Most of the time the bars are by the only coast road where you can listen to the hum of traffic and inhale the perfume of vehicle exhausts. Another thing, the Italians are only after your money. They don't care what they serve up on your plate or how friendly they are - they just want your money and preferably cash to avoid the tax man. When we were at the airport we were listening to other peoples conversations on their experiences on the Amalfi and I wasn't surprised to learn that we were not alone in our thoughts on Amalfi. Pompei was fabulous, but unbelievably tacky outside the old city and a lack of anything to tell you about the city. there were no artefacts left in situ which I found sup rising. Don't bother with Naples either. You have to hang onto your valuables and it is shockingly filthy. Don't waste your money when there are far nicer places to go.

Jean

Well, Cathski didn't hold back... but I don't expect too many here to agree.

porkister

hahaha. I appreciate your bitter honesty, Cathski.

I am trying to link the places we have not seen in Umbria Toscana/Marche and it's not that easy, with a base in Perugia.

Driving to Ascoli is close to 3h! And when I remember that a less than 3h drive from San Marino to Perugia ended up being more than 4 (stupid me took the narrow roads through the mountains, with the attached beautiful views and the inevitable toddler puke), that's not a day trip anymore.

Perugia to Urbino is another 120km trip each way, half of it on a winding road.
I might end up planning another circuit, like we did last year. My wife will definitely kill me.

isabel

Wow, never seen anyone trash the Amalfi Coast like that poster - oh well, at least one less tourist the rest of have to deal with when we go there - sounds like cathski probably shouldn't go back to Italy at all (all those pesky Italians after your money and all).

Anyway, porkister, don't know how much reading threads on this forum you've done but about 99% of people who go to Almafi Coast love it. Also feel I need to 'defend' my comment about a toddler being able to 'run around' Pompeii. Probably semantics and interpretation of 'running around' but I have three children and when they were toddlers they would have had a pretty good time walking the uneven cobbled surfaces, balancing on the the little boulders in the middle of the road, etc. Of course they wouldn't have understood what they were looking at at all but then toddlers aren't into wine or ceramics shopping or churches or museums either. My point being they would have just as much fun at Pompeii as anywhere else and at least you wouldn't have to worry about traffic. And you'd get to see Pompeii.

We did actually stay in Perugia as a base one trip, but only for a few days - we did day trips to Spoletto, Spello, Assisi, Gubbio,and Cortona. Some of those were combined as the towns are tiny and we would visit more than one on some days.

zeppole

porkister,

Perugia is really not a good base with a car or a toddler no matter how you slice it. If you want to see Urbino and Ascoli Piceno, stay on the Adriatic coast, somewhere near Ancona, and use the coastal road. In May, it won't have too much traffic. Here is a website for the beaches of Le Marche, and also take a look at the town of Jesi (where they make a very good white wine). Accommodations are super cheap over there.

http://www.le-marche.com/Marche/html/beaches.htm

http://www.le-marche.com/Marche/html/jesi.htm



isabel,

There are perhaps some parents somewhere who would be happy to pay an expensive entrance free to bring a toddler to a vast excavation site that takes a fit adult several hours of steady walking to see and watch the toddler toddle on the boulders, but not many I suspect. They wouldn't think they were "seeing Pompeii" (because they wouldn't have a chance.) My point is not that porkister's child wouldn't have fun or appreciate it. My point is that if porkister is going all that way to see Pompei, bringing a toddler means carrying the child or moving at a toddler's pace, which would mean giving up on seeing most of the site.

PollyputheKettleon

Your choices need to be a little more focused on 'what is easiest for my toddler?' Find a place not far from the east coast in a quiet town, or just outside. Pompeii can wait 20 years or so....even with the chronic underinvestment that plagues Italy, it will still be there.

porkister

Polly, easiest for my toddler is to stay home with grandma. But that is out of the question.
As far as Pompeii, I am not concerned that they will sunken in a new river of lava. i am more concerned of unforeseen financial, health and other considerations that may impact our ability to travel to Europe in the future. I always consider the worst scenario and plan trips as if I will never be able to return. I know, that's just wrong

Oh, and we live in such a quiet little boring town that my ears are popping from so much silence .

how about 4 days in Marche (wife got excited about rocky beaches) and 4 in Umbria? Yup, the Pompeii chapter is closed for this year. maybe in a few years. by theway, I just talked to some friends and their little ones had a blast with the 'excavation site'

zeppole

Sand beaches in Marche, if your wife doesn't mind. Ascoli Piceno is just wonderful, full of people chatting away, a din of noise, Urbino will be steep with a toddler, but is filled with lively students.

I read about people who take their toddlers to museums and have a blast.