farmgirl04

I'm in the beginning stages of planning a 14 night-ish trip for June next year. We want to leave as soon as possible after the kids get out of school on June 16. We are a family of 6...mom, dad, three daughters (16,13,11) and one son (10). We, the parents, are interested in a little of everything, but are trying to avoid the worst of the summer crowds (assuming that will be the case next summer) and overdoing churches and museums. The kids main interests, from oldest to youngest, are food and history, shopping and beach time, people and adventures, and swimming and Greek mythology. They are all very interested in gelato. : )

All the kids are super excited to visit Rome, and my husband and I really want to go back to Bologna. We loved staying there when we went about 6 years ago. As hotels are difficult with a family of 6 in Europe, we are looking at apartments in Rome and Bologna for 5-7 nights each. In Rome we would probably stick around the city, with a trip to Ostia Antica. Bologna would be more of a base for day trips to Florence, Venice (maybe an overnight, but keeping our stuff at the apartment in Bologna), and whatever smaller towns appealed (Ferrara, Mantua, Modena, etc.) This tentative plan is missing the summertime essential of pool/beach time.

We would like to find a nice place by a decent beach to spend about 3 nights between Rome and Bologna. I am looking at Lerici, but am open to other suggestions. We would rather not rent a car. I understand that Lerici is reachable using a combination of train and bus. We would try to avoid the weekend to miss the worst of the summer crowds.

I'm also open to suggestions for lodging in Rome or Bologna with a pool that could accommodate a family of 6 without breaking the bank. We are trying to stay around $200 per night for the trip, but could pay more for a special place. I'm sure that's a long shot. I know some may say we are not giving ample time to Florence and Venice, and I don't disagree. But time in Bologna is non-negotiable for my husband, and I am trying to minimize the packing and unpacking.

Any suggestions or critiques are welcome. Thanks for reading!

yorkshire

Lerici was the first place I stayed in Italy, so I am very fond of it. We visited without a car as a young couple, and while I long to return with a car and explore the area more widely, since you plan to get there and just enjoy the immediate area, I think you would be fine without a car.
Once you find accommodation, I would sort out arranging a driver to pick you up from Sarzana train station (that's what we did). I am sure there is a bus, but it may not be very convenient.
You can take ferries to Portovenere and Cinque Terre, but there is also excellent hiking nearby at Tellaro and Montemarcello--both villages had great lunch spots. Be sure to get gelato in neighboring San Terenzo--our host's sister ran a gelateria there where I had a memorable fior di latte.
I'll go check if I still have any info on the place we booked from, as they had a number of rental properties.

I was just looking at the train routes also, and you might want to also look at Orbetello, another of my favorite coastal towns. There might not be a huge difference in the end, but it might save some backtracking. In either place, I'd feel great sitting in a cafe or on a beach and letting the kids roam.

ETA The place we rented from was http://www.liguriaguide.com/. They only do weekly rentals and don't have what I think would suit you anyway, but the site is a good source of info on the area. Note if you find a rental in La Serra, there is a path down to Lerici from there (and great views).

laurie_ann

Have you considered a more rural inland place with a pool in Tuscany or Umbria? There are many agriturismo properties in Italy where you can get rooms, apartment or entire villa, many with pool. Just as example and not any endorsement https://www.agriturismo.it/en/farmho...et,agriturismo. Some are actually farms or dairies or wineries, etc.

farmgirl04

yorkshire- Thanks for sharing your experience with Lerici. It's nice to hear from someone that has been there. I will look into Orbetello too. All my kids want to see the leaning tower of Pisa, so it seemed like we might be able to stop there fairly easily as we head from Lerici to Bologna.

Laurie-ann- I was actually originally looking at an agriturismo stay, possibly around Lucca so we could do Pisa and maybe a day trip to the beach. While I haven't ruled an agriturismo out, it seems that most agriturismos require a car to reach, which we are trying to avoid. We also live in a pretty rural area anyways, and visit the family farm often. While I would love to visit a farm in Italy, a beach with sparkling blue water (in contrast to the chilly gray Pacific Ocean here in Washington) holds more appeal to the kids.

TDudette

This is a little different, but have you checked Pisa? The entire Leaning Tower area is fascinating and once you travel a couple of blocks away, it is a great university town with good food. Hubs and I made it a base for train travel. We visited the beach town Viareggio briefly but do Google it for beach stay. Also, here's what googling 'beaches near Pisa' brought up:

inspirock.com/italy/pisa-beaches

I have no first-hand knowledge of the beaches mentioned in the link (and getting a train or bus to them) but I heartily recommend Pisa. We stayed twice at the Royal Victoria Hotel and loved it. You'd need to check how/if covid affected it.

​​​​​​We made Bologna a base also. Food was good, but I'd pick Pisa over it.

neckervd

Rome - Bologna is just 2 hrs by non stop train and 2 hrs 20 min by trains with a intermediate stop at Florence.
So, the easiest solution would be to look for a beach close to Rome (like Ostia, Anzio, Nettuno, etc.) or close to Bologna (like Marina di Ravenna, Cesenatico, etc.).
If you prefer to travel along the Tyrrenian Coast, you can check places like Giglio Island, Elba Island, Follonica, Marina di Pisa, etc.
A train ride from Rome along the coast up to Pisa and then to Bologna would take about 6 hrs, if you include Lerici (bus from La Spezia) about 10 hrs.

farmgirl04

Tdudette- I will look into Pisa a bit more. I have heard there is more to it than just the leaning tower. Thanks for the reply!

neckervd- Your suggestions do make sense. I will look at the towns you suggested. When I checked trenitalia, I thought I saw a few trains per day that went straight to la spezia that took just under four hours. And I read that the bus to lerici leaves every 15 minutes and take about half an hour. Perhaps I was mistaken or there is something I am missing, but I’m definitely not up for hours of travel. I appreciate your reply!

Edited: Upon re-reading I see that I misread your message, and the times you listed would be total travel time, not the travel time of one day.

nicolettanutrito2526

I totally agree with neckervd. Near Bologna, you can reach Riccione, Rimini, Cattolica by train. Wide sand beaches although the sea are not as clean and the landscape not as pretty as the Tyrrhenian side. My favorite place on that coast is Gabicce, a pretty town not as crowded as Rimini / Riccione.

annhig

<<I was just looking at the train routes also, and you might want to also look at Orbetello, another of my favorite coastal towns. There might not be a huge difference in the end, but it might save some backtracking. In either place, I'd feel great sitting in a cafe or on a beach and letting the kids roam.>>

Yorkshire - you stole my thunder by mentioning Orbetello - lots of safe bathing round the lagoon and easy to get around by hiring bikes so no car needed. And loads of history for those that way inclined.

farmgirl04

I have spent some time researching Orbetello, and it does seem very nice (outside of the smell?). I really enjoyed reading the trip reports by annhig and yorkshire. I am concerned with the ease of getting around without a car. It sounds like your bike rental, annhig, was not the best. Orbetello seems to be off the beaten foreign tourist path, which is wonderful, but also makes it hard to find information. How hard would it be to get from a lodging in Orbetello to a pretty beach without a car?

I have looked into beaches around Ravenna, Rimini, Cesenatico, etc. and I agree nicolettanutrito2526 that they are not as charming as some of the beaches on the Tyrhennian side. It just really doesn't appeal to me, although I agree it makes a lot of sense logistically.

I really appreciate the feedback. It is so difficult to narrow things down. I am wanting to add Bolzano too, to see the Otzi museum and experience the Tyrol region, but it seems a bit too secluded to fly out of if we ended our trip there. A stop at an agriturismo between Rome and Bologna is looking more appealing to save on travel time between locations.

annhig

<<I have spent some time researching Orbetello, and it does seem very nice (outside of the smell?). I really enjoyed reading the trip reports by annhig and yorkshire. I am concerned with the ease of getting around without a car. It sounds like your bike rental, annhig, was not the best. Orbetello seems to be off the beaten foreign tourist path, which is wonderful, but also makes it hard to find information. How hard would it be to get from a lodging in Orbetello to a pretty beach without a car? >>

Please don't be put off by my bike experience - i was only renting for a day and on spec - I'm sure that there are much better bikes [both the danish ladies on my course had excellent bikes] that you can hire through your hotel or on line before you go. in fact via google maps [search Orbetello -nearby - cycle hire] i found two places hiring out bikes in the centre of Orbetello with very modern looking machines to hire and websites in english:

https://lacasadelciclo.it

Girobike a Orbetello

Here's the itinerary for a tour of the lagoon from giro bike, complete with a very sweet video - in italian but I'm sure you'll get the idea.

itinerari per bici MTB o trekking | Giro Bike

I also looked for one of the beaches on the lagoon and did a search for how long it would take to cycle there from the centre of town - it's about 30 mins.

Hope that helps!

yorkshire

I did not notice any smell, but of course being on a brackish lagoon I suppose that could be a factor.
I was kind of assuming you planned to just stay put for this portion, though the driving in the area is completely easy and there are plenty of cool things on the mainland to check out (Saturnia, Etruscan tombs). I know you can get to Orbetello by train, and you will then need a driver to get to your accommodation, as the train station is well outside the new town. The sandy beach at Feniglia could be reached by a very long walk, so bikes would be preferable. You can take a bus to the Monte Argentario peninsula (or stay over there if sandy beach is less important), where you can explore its rocky beaches or take a ferry to Giglio. It is just tough to find a place on this stretch that is not better with a car!

farmgirl04

Thanks so much for the responses annhig and Yorkshire. They were both very helpful. Orbetello and the area around it sounds really wonderful.

My 13 year old is adamant that the thing she wants to see the most is a town that is like the town in the new Pixar movie, Luca. I read that this was based off the Cinque Terre area. I am thinking of trying to stretch to 19 or 20 nights, and rearranging things after seeing how expensive it is for a family of 6 to travel on the fast trains for a day trip in Italy.

I’m thinking:

Fly into Rome
Rome (5 nights)
Orvieto (2 nights)
Bologna (5 nights)
Florence (3 nights)
Pisa (1 night)
Levanto or Bonassola (3 nights)
Fly out of Genoa or Pisa, possibly arriving night before

Or
Rome (5-6 nights)
Florence (maybe in Fiesole w/pool? (3 nights))
Bologna (5-6 nights)
Pisa (1 night)
Levanto or Bonassola (3 nights)
Fly out of Genoa or Pisa

Orvieto is not a must-see for me, but I would like to break up the two cities of Rome and Bologna with a small town or place with a pool.

Still, that is a lot more locations than I originally wanted. It’s very difficult to narrow it down when you are trying to please everyone!

yorkshire

That is adorable because I just spent a week with my young niece and nephew and watched Luca multiple times--I especially love the soundtrack. It does indeed look just like a CT village, though I think it is based on a composite of Ligurian villages (and I read a sea monster fable inspired by the town of Tellaro, near Lerici!). Looks like it will be a great trip either way!