Family vacay for 6 weeks with 2 Toddlers
 

Ideas please for best locations to visit/stay with a 1 year old and a 3.5 year old from April - mid-May. We are thinking of renting a place in Tuscany for 3-4 weeks, planning some day trips and overnight trips but want to relax and not rush around as tourists. Not planning on visiting many museums/galleries, etc with young kids. Definitely renting a car and may also use the train. Also looking for ideas for after Italy...maybe head to France? Switzerland? We are looking for some activities for the kids, also neat villages/markets/Walks/biking and possibly boat rides. Any ideas would be very much appreciated.

The things you're looking for are easily found all over central Italy, and also in France and Switzerland. You might consider also Umbria, Le Marche, and Abruzzo, as well as Tuscany. These are regions equally beautiful, and less expensive and overrun with tourists than Tuscany is.

In Tuscany, I would suggest staying near Arezzo, which is a nice small city, with good train connections to Florence and Assisi (in Umbria).

We had friends who rented a villa near Todi, in Umbria, for a month, and loved it. I don't remember the name of the villa, but maybe I can find it. There is a little regional railway in Todi, but I don't know much about it. There are also several very nice areas in Umbria that are near the main-line Rome-Ancona train line. Some of these are Terni, Assisi, and Spoleto. In Le Marche, there are villa rentals near Fabriano and Jesi, both of which are in beautiful areas. If the weather is warm in early May (which is never guaranteed), there are some family beach areas in Le Marche that would be accessible from a villa near Jesi.

In Abruzzo, Sulmona is a very nice little city, on a train line, although in Abruzzo (like Tuscany) buses are often more useful than trains.

I don't know Switzerland very well, but we really enjoyed a short stay in Lucerne, which is on a lake with boat rides. It's a beautiful town, with access to mountain excursions.

France is a big country. Do you have an idea of where you might want to go? In southern France, we really liked Nîmes, as well as Avignon.

You would probably want to turn in the rental car before leaving Italy, because there are large surcharges for cross-border dropoff. Wherever you go next, you could rent another car. Switzerland is easily reached from Milan, and you can also go to destinations in France from there, usually with at least one change of train.

Instead of going to another country, you might consider staying on one of the great lakes of Italy, such as Garda, Maggiore, Como, or Lugano. Lake Maggiore is partly in Switzerland, and Lugano is mostly in Switzerland. If you stay on the Italian side of the border, you could keep the car and make excursions into Switzerland. All of the lakes have boat excursions, great scenery, and lots of things to see and do. It might still be a bit chilly in the higher altitudes.

With a car, after Tuscany, you could make your way up to Como and use it as a base to tour N. Italy and Switzerland (as suggested above). I'd suggest looking for an apartment in Varenna. That part of Italy is almost like a separate country from Tuscany.

We stayed at this castle for a week when our daughter was 13 months old.
http://www.booking.com/hotel/it/cast...t_room=1308104

It was a fairly easy drive to Sienna, San Gimignano, Florence, and we even drove to Pisa. There is a little playground which my daughter loved. Also its very reasonably priced. Everyone agreed it was the best part of the trip. We went to Rome and Venice also but I had to put my daughter in one of those little harnesses when she wanted out of her backpack so she would be safe. Overall those cities were stressful. If I had a do-over I would just pick countryside residences with little ones, like you are planning.

That link was supposed to go to Castel Pietraio. We stayed in the tower.I just remembered we also drove to Perugia from here.

I think Lago Maggiore would be a better base for visiting Switzerland than Lake Como, which is not really terribly close to the border. I could be wrong; I've never tried to plan a route from there to Switzerland.

Lake Maggiore is partly within Switzerland.

I mentioned the lakes because of the possibility of boat rides, which seem to interest RThomson. If the boat rides aren't important, the Val D'Aosta would be another possibility. The Swiss, French, and Italian borders all meet in the vicinity of Monte Bianco/Mont Blanc. It's a very beautiful Alpine region; we have relatives that often go there with their young children.

Thank you all for your responses. I think we would enjoy visiting the lakes for sure. We still aren't sure whether we will venture outside of Italy or not,but with 6 weeks we should be able to see a good amount within the areas we choose. As I continue my research I'm sure I will have more questions. I also think our son (3.5 years old ) will enjoy it if we can visit a castle or cave as well. Thanks again.

I'm not sure about France right now, but it is still a consideration. I would love to see Paris but how much would young kids be able to do? Any route suggestions if we start in Italy? Or would it be better to fly into Paris and stay there and around the area for a little bit and then drive south and settle in to Italy? Thanks again.

I think the tough part about Paris will be getting around. It really isn't a place where touring by car. Parking and traffic are both difficult. You will need two umbrella strollers, one for each child, one pushed by you, one by your husband. Because of stairs in the Metro, you are going to wind up taking the strollers on buses. Buses are a great way to get around Paris and it's how hundreds of thousands of Parisian women get their kids around, but if you aren't used to public transportation, it is work. It may be a temptation to take a tandem stroller. A fore-and-aft might work but a side-by-side won't because the sidewalks are too crowded.

On the other hand, Paris is full of play lots (usually behind churches) and playgrounds. The Luxembourg Gardens has the best places for children that you will ever sees, though you will have to explore a bit to find them. Paris has incredible toy shops everywhere, and France and Italy both have the most beautiful children's clothing you can imagine.

I would want an apartment rather than a hotel room. Hotel rooms are notoriously small, like where-do-I-put-the-suitcase small, and in an apartment you could have breakfast and dinner at home. Paris has fabulous take-out food at delis (traiteurs) or you can get food to cook at a supermarket or in a street market. Supermarkets close at 1 on Sundays, so you need to make sure you have everything you need to make it to Monday morning.

In general, people in Italy seem crazy about babies. I honestly haven't noticed that in Paris, but if you are urban residents you know that anything that breaks up the flow of traffic on the sidewalk or the process of serving in a restaurant, for example, is not handled really well. People aren't mean, just busy.

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bv: >>I think Lago Maggiore would be a better base for visiting Switzerland than Lake Como, which is not really terribly close to the border.<<

No argument about Maggiore being closer to Switzerland. But my advice about staying in Como wasn't just about being the closest proximity to Switzerland. I just happen to like Varenna, and getting to Switzerland from Como, while a longer trip than from Lugano, really isn't difficult.

Thank you for your responses. After a bit more consideration, we have decided to stay in Italy for the entire trip. Definitely want to spend some time at a lake...not sure which one yet. After Christmas we will be doing more research.

What a great trip. I can only speak about the Paris part, as we have taken our daughter from age 11 months to 3 years told to Paris every year. It's a phenomenal city for young ones. The park are an outstanding way to interact with families.

The point about the strollers is well taken: you will be collapsing them at every Metro station to trudge them both up and down the stairs to enter/exit the Metro. These minor inconveniences are worth every memory you will make during this holiday.

I would save Paris for when the kids are a little older and will have their own memories of the trip. It's different if you think you would be back on nearly an annual basis.

Ok so we have decided to stay somewhere in tuscany for 2 weeks, another location for 2 weeks and in the north, probably near a lake for another 10 days to 2 weeks. Possibly include Rome, possibly the Amalfi coast but not set on those. We would like to see Venice as well. We are open to the odd overnight trip, train and car travel. We will have 2 umbrella strollers for the kids. Want to relax and stay somewhere with a pool, especially in Tuscany. Want to do day trips and short drives to see other towns, markets, parks, playgrounds for the kids, maybe a castle or 2, boat rides, walks/light hikes. I appreciate all the feedback so far, just need some more ideas please. We do want to enjoy Italy and see a good amount but don't want to push it with such young kids.

And we have decided to push the dates to May to mid-June2015.

We spent 3 weeks in southern Tuscany last year in May/June. Our youngest son was 16 months old, and our older son was 3.5 years old. I will be honest - there were definitely some rough spots. But there were many, many, MANY more wonderful moments. Our older son still talks about some of his favorite things/people/food from the trip.

We stayed in Maremma for a week (Pitigliano - Casa degli Archi apartment). Maybe it was the time of year we were there, but we literally saw zero fellow Americans during our stay. There were many Italian tourists, German tourists, etc. so there is enough in the way of tourist infrastructure (restaurants, shops, etc).

Our sons loved playing in the piazza in the old area of town. There are a few large fountains and a beautiful bronze statue of a donkey that both boys liked playing on.

We then spent a week in Montepulciano in the Politian apartments. There is a small playground just up the hill from the apartments and there is a larger playground across town. Pienza is very nearby (and also has a playground). We daytripped to Cortona as well (and yes, there is a playground there too).

In general, we found that we could see 1 or maybe 2 sights per day. Then it was time for playtime in the piazza or a playground. We kept to nap schedules as much as possible. We chucked their usually nutritious diet and let them have pizza every day and usually cookies from the bakery too. And all in all, they did really really well.

We loaded a ton of movies and apps onto the iPad right before the trip and that helped our 3.5 year old make it through the 1 or 2 sightseeing things we did every day. He also loved choosing in advance what fun thing we were going to do later (playground, park, etc.).

P.S. A stroller was a must for the 3.5 year old. He wanted to walk everywhere by himself but his little legs got tired quickly.
We found that our Beco Butterfly carrier was much better for the 16-month old. I had him on the front carry option much of the time. Moved him to the back carry option for Venice and he loved that.

@TexasAggie: Ssshhh! about Pit....ano! For heaven's sakes don't tell Rick Steves about it! We don't want another Cinque Terre in Southern Tuscany, do we?
But you are right, it's a delightful spot and very few tourists apart from Italians at any time of the year. It is "saved" by the fact that it's hard to get to that remote corner of Tuscany by public transport.
I hope you visited the tiny Jewish ghetto.

@TexasAggie, thanks for that info. Just wondering, what did your 16 month old sleep in? Our daughter will be 15-16 months old on our trip and I'm just wondering what she will be safe sleeping in. She usually sleeps in a travel crib/packand play when we aren't at home. Did you bring a car seat of your own, or rent from the car rental company?
We have just booked our flights, in and out of Rome, as flights were booking up and we used miles. Any recommendations for apartment rentals that would be close to main attractions, parks, train station (so we can take the train from the airport). Any suggestions on itinerary, as we were thinking of staying in Rome for 5 nights, then renting a car and either heading to tuscany, then Venice area, then lake area, then back down to Florence and train to Rome for a night or 2 before flying home. Any good suggestions on where to stay around Venice so we can train in to Venice or a day trip or 2? We have 6 weeks altogether and definitely plan on 2 weeks in tuscany. We are changing our minds a bit and want to get the most out of our time, but are travelling with 2 young kids so don't want to overdo it. Thanks again.

Hi Rthomson,

We used the pack-n-play / portable cribs provided by all of our apartments for the 16-month-old. When we traveled with our older son at that age, we brought the Baby Bjorn Travel Crib Lite on one trip. It is light, but it is bulky. On another trip, we used the Kidco Peapod Plus and that worked great. It's very light. It fits in most suitcases or you can sling it over your shoulder. He loved having his own little "tent". The only thing is that the padding is a bit thin. We just used extra blankets and towels underneath to provide extra cushion because the floors are often tile/stone in Italy.
For our younger son on the trip I referenced above (the one we took to southern Tuscany this past summer), we considered hauling along the two portable beds mentioned above. Our kiddo is a "sleep anywhere" type of kid though. So in the end, we opted to just use what the apartments provided. It was always completely acceptable.

We did not bring car seats of our own on this trip. Again, we've done it in the past. We have a strap (purchased at Amazon for around $15) that allows you to attach the car seat to your rolling carry-on suitcase to help minimize the inconvenience of hauling it through the airport. Still, it's honestly a huge pain. We used the CARES harness to keep the boys in their seats on the airplane (bought seats for both kids). Then we arranged car seat rental before we left the US (as part of our rental through AutoEurope). We had two strollers with us on this trip, luggage for 4, etc... it was just too much to try to bring our own car seats too.

I will think on your other questions. The length of your trip is great. It takes kids several days to really adjust to the time change and newness of everything. Plus it is nice to be able to just take a day here and there to do nothing but relax and take them to grocery store, gelato stand, and playground. When you've only got a total trip of 2 weeks, it's often hard to slow down to the pace that's sustainable for little ones.

P.S. If you are wanting to bring a portable crib, definitely check out the PeaPod Plus. Our 4 year old son can still sleep in ours, and he's a tall kid. Amazon.com sells them for about as good of a price as you can find anywhere. It can double as a play tent at home so you get more use out of it aside from just the trip

Thanks so much for your info. We were thinking of bringing some sort of travel pod for her so will definitely check out the pea pod plus. our son can sleep in a bed with pillows on the sides. She is going to be on a lap for the flights, eek. Hope she does well. We figured it would be too much to lug around our own car seats and pack play, so glad it sounds like we won't need to. I'm a bit of a control freak with safety in vehicles for my little ones, but will have to trust the ones we rent. We plan on bringing 1 umbrella stroller with a sunshade, and either buy a second one, or see how the kids do. I am bringing our MEC backpack carrier for our little one, even though it's bulky - just plan on sky checking it so I can have free hands walking around the airport. I also have a wrap and a baby born but don't use those at home anymore so not sure how she would do. Also, from Maremma, was it much of a distance to drive to Siena, San Gimignano? Really appreciate your help. We have travelled around Europe a bit in the past, but as 2 active and easy going adults, now with kids I find myself stressing a bit about all the logistics.

The umbrella stroller with sunshade really came in handy for our older son, the one who was 3.5 years old. He would walk as long as he wanted to, then ask to ride. Or we would notice he was getting cranky and offer him a ride ;-). We use a MacLaren and it is lightweight, sturdy enough for cobblestones and uneven dirt paths, and folds easily. It has a shoulder strap for slinging over your shoulder too.

We did the following daytrips from Pitigliano in Maremma:

Tarquinia (about 1.5 hours) - excellent Etruscan museum, necropolis (100% outdoors) with painted tombs. This was a hit with the kids.

Parco Archeologico Citta del Tufo (between Sovana and Sorano) - this was about 15 minutes via car although we got a bit turned around trying to find the entrance so it took us longer. It's all outdoors and the kids had fun seeing the tombs, walking the trails, and getting piggyback rides in the Via Cave.

Villa Lante garden (8:30am - 7:30pm, 5E, closed Mondays) - about 80 minutes from Pitigliano. This is a gigantic garden complex with a ton of water features. The kids absolutely LOVED it. We spent the entire afternoon there. There's a nice playground by the parking lot too, as a head's up.

Roselle (Parco Archeologico di Roselle) - open 9am-7:30pm, 4E. This is a well preserved Roman ruin. The kids loved playing outside and running in the stadium. I don't recall exactly how far away it was, but I am guessing it was 1-1.5 hours. We didn't do any daytrips further away than that.

Other things we considered but didn't do: Saturnia, La Feniglia beach, Grosseto, Civita di Bagnoregio, and the Orsini Fortress of Sorano. We ended up spending a few days in Pitigliano itself (alternating daytrip days with "stay there" days) and we just ran out of time.

Pitigliano ideas: town itself (including ghetto), Alberto Manzi Open-Air Archaeology Museum (closed Monday.  Open 11am - 7pm) 4pm, Museo Civico Archeologico della Civiltà Etrusca, and the many via cave around the town.

As a head's up - while we did see a few fellow tourists at the places I mentioned above, we really seemed to be pretty off the beaten path. I speak a little Italian and am pretty good at reading signs/menus. Some of the folks we encountered spoke some English. But in general, you needed to be pretty comfortable and autonomous as travelers because the ubiquitous English-everywhere infrastructure of other areas of Tuscany (Siena, etc) has not found its way to Maremma yet. Which we absolutely loved :-).
The people we encountered were among the most welcoming we've met anywhere, ever. They loved on the boys. The coffee bar ladies would make our older son his own "café latte" every morning (steamed milk with a drizzle of chocolate). We were invited to visit an elderly gentleman's wine cellar in an old cistern underneath his house. A waitress had a son who was the same age as our older son and arranged a play date on the piazza where they raced circles around the donkey statue for hours.

Also, I wouldn't try to do a lot of daytripping from Maremma to Siena, San Gim, etc. I'd switch bases to do those things. If you don't want to stay in overrun (because it really, really is) San Gim itself, consider staying in Volterra. It's still touristy, but it's not mobbed.

Montepulciano makes a good base for seeing Pienza, Montalcino, Cortona, etc.

You could easily spend 10 days in Maremma, 10 days in the Val d'Orcia region of southern Tuscany, and another several days in Volterra/San Gim region.

Happy planning!

Depending on whether Spring comes early or late this year (and who knows these days?) April to mid-May could be somewhat early for places like Pitigliano. You may be better finding somewhere with more indoor activity. As TexasAggie has said, Pitigliano is rather isolated in that respect. A day trip to Orvieto in nearby Umbria (60km) would be nice, but larger centres like Siena are too far away. Pitigliano is at the foot of Monte Amiata (1,740 metres - don't ask me to convert that to feet) and I would have suggested a hike to the top (very very easy, you can get to within 300 metres of the summit with a car) but it would need a really fine day. I've been up at the end of April and all the trees were bare and it was quite chilly. People are skiing there right now.

Ok, so we have booked a place in Peccioli for 3 weeks. Just wondering ideas for a good area to stay by Venice? We are most likely going to have a rental car so are thinking of staying outside of Venice and maybe just taking the train for a day trip in to Venice...thoughts? We fly in to Rome on April 30th, then don't plan on being in Tuscany until may 16th. We were maybe thinking of 4-5 nights in an apt. In Rome to give us a bit of time to get over jet lag and then see some sights, parks/playgrounds, etc., then maybe train to Florence for 2-3 nights, pick up a rental car and drive to Lake area (still undecided which one). Then head East...not sure where to visit or stay, but definitely want to see Venice. We thought about staying in Venice, but we aren't sure about extra cost of dropping the rental car and then getting another one to head down to Tuscany. We may shorten our current tuscany booking to 2 weeks and then stay in another Tuscan area for a week before heading back to Rome for a night before flying home on June 11th. Thoughts? We have thought about heading South of Rome, but not sure. Still ironing things out.

Venice was the last leg of our trip last summer (DH and I wanted to return since it was our 10th anniversary and we visited Venice on our honeymoon). We dropped the rental car in Venice (Piazalle Roma) and took a water taxi to our apartment. We rented Apartment Rizz which is owned by Pensione Guerrato. It is not featured on their website for some reason. It has 3 bedrooms, one of which is absolutely huge and is set up like a triple room. One of the other rooms is a nice size as well, and the third room doesn't have much room after the double bed, wardrobe, and night table is in. There's only 1 bathroom and there is a nice and well equipped kitchen. There's also a dining room (not spacious, but adequate for a group of 4 or 5). It's air conditioned and was very quiet. We rented the entire apartment for 230E/night which included breakfast in the hotel breakfast room. It is plain, definitely. The hotel rooms are much prettier. The furniture was mismatched and the chairs were not comfortable. But, it is a large 3 bedroom apartment w/ AC and breakfast steps away from Ponte Rialto for 230E/night!
Just something to consider if you don't wish to stay on the mainland and schlep back and forth daily.

Ok, so we are getting most of our accommodations booked, but would love some more suggestions on a couple of things...we are starting out in Rome for 4 nights, staying near the Piazza Navona, then possibly taking the train to Milan for 1 night and renting a car to drive to Lake Como. We have booked a place in Osseccio. We were originally thinking of 3 nights in Florence and then driving to Lake Como, but trying to decrease travel time as this est. drive time would be over 4 hours, and with my 2 little ones I thought this would be too long. Thoughts? After Lake Como, we have booked a place between Venice and Verona, so we can visit both, but also to decrease a bit of driving time from Lake Como. After this, we plan on heading to Tuscany for the remainder of our time. So, we just would love some ideas for things to do and see during our Northern time...we want to enjoy a boat ride, and some relaxing at Lake Como, but also want to do some touring that won't mean long travel time. Also, is Padua a long day trip to visit, or can a couple hours with a lunch break be enough? Any places/sites/recommendations for places to visit outside of Venice (other than those mentioned)? We had thought of staying 1 night in Bologna after Florence and then get a rental car to drive to Lake Como, but just not sure if this is too much jumping around with the kids. Thoughts? Thanks again.

Hello again, just wondering on your thoughts about travelling from Rome to Lake Como...we are either going to take the train to Milan, spend 1 night in a hotel before picking up a rental car and driving to Ossuccio. Or...we may pick up the rental car in Rome and drive to Lake Como...probably making a stop for an overnight maybe in Bologna to break up the drive for the kids. Any ideas on this? Or another good location to stop?

Quick question...carseat regulations in Italy, we are probably bringing our own car seats, are they acceptable in Italy? We have the Britax Boulevard and Britax Marathon car seats. They are top ones here in N. America so I am assuming they will be fine. Do cars in Italy have the car seat clips or do they just use seat belts to secure car seats?