We are in the beginning stages of planning a trip to Italy for Summer 2012. Thinking that flying into Venice, staying a few days, train to Florence, rent a car in Florence to drive to a rental in Tuscany, then drop the car (where I don't know) and taking the train from Florence (or somewhere else where we can drop the car) to Rome for a few days and flying home from there. Is this feasible? Or should we start in Rome and fly home from Venice? Most Tuscan rentals are only from a Saturday to a Saturday and we need to leave near a weekend for work purposes. Family of $ including a n 11 year old boy and 14 year old girls - both good travellers.

Thanks!

well, jamierin,

you've already done such a good job you hardly need any help. personally I like the start in Venice, end in Rome plan - arrival in Venice is such a thrill, plus it gives time to adjust to the italian way of life without having to deal with the traffic!

were you planning to stay in Florence at all? if you only have 2 weeks, you might like to think of just going there for a day trip, and staying in the Tuscan countryside for a bit longer, giving you just three bases. cities can get very hot and of the three "biggies", Florence perhaps has the least to interest kids.

you could start in Venice, rent a car when you leave to use in Tuscany, and return it on your way to Rome - Orvieto is the standard suggestion, and it makes a very good 1/2 day trip too.

and whatever you do, make sure that the place you stay in Tuscany has a pool.

have a great trip!

Looks like you are from the U.S.? The Venice departure is usually more troublesome than the Rome departure for U.S. bound passengers because 1) the departures from Venice are often very early and 2) getting to the Marco Polo airport is often time consuming unless you are staying at places where you don't have to take a boat. Look at the flights in/out of Venice vs. Rome.

Before considering renting/returning a car in Florence, make you sure understand how to avoid the ZTL. Here is a current thread on this subject:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...de-the-ztl.cfm

One way to avoid getting anywhere near the core of Florence is to get a car in Venice as noted above, go to the Tuscany rental first, return car somewhere convenient in Tuscany or even the Florence airport, train to Florence, train to Rome.

jamierin,

You will receive many opinions on your post. I am not nearly as experianced a traveler as some of the ppeople who will reply here. That said, I like your plan.

My first trip to Italy, two years ago had a "flow" very similar to what you have outlined. My Wife and I flew from the Pacific N.W, to Venice. Spent 2.5 days there. Took a train to Florence for 2 days to see the "highlights" of Ufizzi, Academia, the Duomo, etc. We then took a train to Rome for 4 days of wonderful learning, site seeing and experiances. We left Rome taking a train to FCO, rented a car and drove back up A1 to stay in a villa (7 days, Saturday to Saturday) in the beautiful hills of Montisi (a small Tuscan hill town) With Motisi as a "base" we did day trips that included Sienna, and Cortona to name a few of the many Tuscan Hill towns we saw. At the end we drove south west from Montisi to the coast and back to FCO to return the car and fly home the next day. We had a fabulous trip.

I think your "overview" of a plan is just fine. The educational value for your kids will be priceless. Check out the book "Venice for Pleasure" by J.G. Links. I wish I had read it before I went.

I am happy and excited for you. Have a great time planning your trip.

Rolo

jamierin,
I like your plan. I would rather fly into than out of Venice.
Another possibility is to train to Chiusi and rent a car for the Tuscany stay, you can also return the car there. For ideas in Tuscany see http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/hs_planning.htm

Good plan---I would drop the car in Orvieto and train into Rome.

Wow! You are all wonderful. The comments and suggestions are great.

I think I like the idea of not travelling to Florence from Venice but either renting the car there, or somewhere in Tuscany (as per Henry above). If we don't do a car from Florence, we can do it as a day trip from our rental, which is perfect.

And yes, I am looking at places with a pool - for sure.

Does anyone have any favourite places to stay in Venice and Rome? We would need a larger suite or "family room".

Oh - I am Canadian - guess that I gave it away with my spelling of "favourite" above.

It sounds like a nice trip, I'm sure you will enjoy it. Especially since the CAD/Eur exchange is better than the USD/Eur exchange (I too live in Canada).

A couple of logistical suggestions:
1) don't drive to Florence, take the train. It's 4-5 hours from Venice to Florence. In this case, if your budget allows, get 1st class tickets. This will mean you will have reserved seats and space for your luggage. There are no reserved seats in 2nd class an sometimes no room for luggage except near the doors, and then someone will need to stay near the luggage.

2)Book a hotel near the train station in Venice (check out venere.com) There are several in alleyways off of the main "street" which are nice but economical and quiet at night. Be aware that many hotels in Venice do not have elevators. You want to book here because then you can easily roll your bags to the train station when you leave, it's the best option.

3)On the first day in Venice, my suggestion would be to do the obvious tourist route, however since you have children, do it in reverse...meaning take a boat out to San Marco first thing in the morning and then work your way back (walking) to the train station. Be aware that the "tours" arrive at San Marco just before 9am. If you want to get into the cathedral, you need to be in line before them. Spend the next day or two going to lesser seen areas of Venice, into the back neighborhoods, it's an experience not to be missed.

4) If you intend to drop off a rental car at any location other than an airport be aware that they will be closed on Sunday. You can get around this by dropping it off at an airport. Many airport locations also have a train station nearby so this isn't as inconvenient as it sounds.

5)The Orviento-Rome train trip is a well traveled one and Orvieto is lovely....however, Orvieto IS NOT IN TUSCANY. Orvieto is a town in Umbria (region to the east of Tuscany).

6) Whatever you do, do not make your trip for AUGUST. Mid to late July isn't much better either. I realize the timing is due to children's vaction, but August is the absolutely worse time to go to Italy! Italians take vacations in August, so lots of things will be closed (shops, restaurants, etc), and the sights, roads, trains will be overflowing with tourists. High season is in the summer, July especially you will get the highest costs. In August some things will be high, others will be less. Large cities will offer discounts because everyone else has left the city. Vacation rentals will be at their price peak.

Hope this helps.

Just so you know, the travel time from Venice to Florence by train is 2:03, not 4 or 5 hours. They run hourly.

Great trip! I'm not a big fan of the car option but it's a personal preference to stick to trains.

In Florence, our kids (similar ages) loved the Rick Steeves audio tour of the Uffizi that can be downloaded for free. Hotel Alessandra has quad rooms and was perfectly located next to the Ponte Vecchio, close to the Uffizi and walkable from the train station. Also close to Carapina gelato location!!!!

For Rome, see the listings for recommended quad and family rooms for four at www.4inEurope.com . It may have listings for Florence and Venice as well.

Also- not that I need a gelato fix or anything- but make sure you hit one or more of San Crispino (by Trevi ftn), Old Bridge (Vatican wall), Flor (Colosseum) or Giolitti (Piazza Navona).

In Venice and Rome I am sure you can find apartments for rent for less than a week. Check sleepinitaly.com which is an agency we have used several times.

Sleep in Italy looks like a great site. Thanks.

I have been researching non-stop for our vacation and yes, unfortunately we will have to travel in August to Italy due to work and social commitments.

I have come up with a "loose" schedule as followsloose becasue depending on prices we may leave out Lake Garda completely):

Fly into Venice.
Stay 3 nights in Venice.
Pick up car and drive to Lake Garda.
Stay 2 nights in Lake Garda.
Drive to Tuscany (Chianti area).
Stay 7 nights at villa (already have a couple possibilites here).
Drive to Rome.
Drop car in Rome.
Stay 2 nights in Rome.
Fly home from Rome.

I need some help with where to stay for a family of four in Venice, Lake Garda (thinking east side - Torri del Benaco possibly) and Rome (thinking Trastevere area).

Any help with accomodation suggestions that are 3* or 4* (with pool in Lake Garda) and around 200 Euros per night would be great.

Thanks.

Oops - forgot to preview:

"I have come up with a "loose" schedule as followsloose becasue depending on prices we may leave out Lake Garda completely):"

should read:

I have come up with a "loose" schedule as follows: (loose because depending on prices we may leave out Lake Garda completely):

Apologies

By the way, Orvieto is right at the southern edge of Tuscany, and only an hour by train from Rome. That's why people drop their cars off there. However, the rental agencies there are closed on Sunday. I wold also inquire about whether they close at noon on Saturday, as do many other businesses.