Hi. I am considering a first time ever 8 day trip to Florence for my family (me, wife and 8 yo).

Should we plan and go with a company like Globus or Tralfagar? Or wing it on our own?

If we wing it...we would like to stay in a decent hotel and not a villa or B/B. I am looking for a place like a holiday inn or courtyard by marriott with a pool for our 8 yo.

Please let me know if anyone has a recommendation or think we're nuts to try it on our own.

Thanks.

Hi fk,

You have come to a place were the majority always do it on their own.

We do not wing it. We plan it.

>we would like to stay in a decent hotel and not a villa or B/B.

What's your budget?

>I am looking for a place like a holiday inn or courtyard by marriott with a pool for our 8 yo.<

Does it have to be a chain motel?

Well, first - tour companies usually don;t allow you to spend 8 days in one place. there are packages you can buy that do this - but I think you will do just as well on yuor own.

Ira has asked a couple of very important questions. Also, is there some reason you're focussing just on florence (not that it's a bad thing to do - just curious if you have any specific expectations)? Do you plan on taking any day trips? Car? Or train?

This will be a very easy trip - you can plan it - and for me, planning/anticipation is half the fun.

Swimming pools are not common in Florence hotels, but I do think there is at least one place that has a pool, although it will not be in the center of town.

Florence is a very ancient city and most hotels in the center are converted older buildings. There are some business class hotels to the west of the center and perhaps one of them may have a pool, but I can't recall seeing mention of any. Maybe someone here will know. Or try a Google search for a Florence hotel with a pool.

In any case, remember that the swimming pool requirement will take you away from the center where all the museums and sights are. You will need to take this into consideration, I think, when traveling with a child.

Good luck to you in your planning! Florence is such a compact easy city, that you can easily handle it on your own (and on foot!) You can always get a private tour for the half day if you want something special. My family stayed at the Relais Uffizi this summer in a suite for what I thought was a great price. Our kids had a seperate room, although it was within our locked door area. Location is great, right near the Arno and 5 minute walk from many sites. No pool however! Depending on budget, I also recommend spending the day with Divina Cucina, an American woman that offers private tour of the Central Market and cooking school to follow. Our whole family loved it and it was really something different.

Hi. Some answers to your questions...

I would like to spend around $4K for the entire trip. Am I being too cheap? Or should I wait until the Euro goes down?

Florence b/c I think is more beautiful and more charming as a smaller city or am I wrong? I also think there are more options for day trips than Rome.

I don't care if the hotel is a chain. Smaller hotels from older buildings may be very charming anf cute, but may lack in some creature comforts, like the pool for my daughter. I also would like to go during late June or late Augusr time period...any comments?

Finally, can we do it on our own even though we don;t speak a word of Italian (we're Asian-Americans). Thanks for all the great advice!

$4000 USD ought to secure you a nice trip, but you will have to do some careful shopping for air and hotels.

Eight days in Florence are not too many. Any number of small towns can be visited by car or bus. Lucca, Pisa, Arezzo and even Bologna can be done by train. Siena by bus, as well as some Chianti towns.

Can you go with award tickets or any discount on airfare? 3 plane tickets from the US could eat up a lot of your budget.

I just did a search on google for Florene Hotel Swimming Pool and it turned up Florenceby.com. I find the "by.com" sites very helpful. 3 or 4 hotels in Florence proper showed up, which surprised me. I don't think any of them are inexpensive, but if you are set on the pool, I would stay in Florence rather than the suburbs.

If you go outside the city to a villa type hotel with pool, you must add the expense of getting in and out of the city. That could amount to more, in money as well as inconvenience, than staying in one of these city hotels.

But then, on the other hand, you could stay outside the city, have a pool, probably for less, and rent a car for day trips. Oh the choices!

I'm glad I checked; I really didn't think a hotel with a pool was an option for a stay in Florence proper.

Good Luck, and planning is the love of most on this group and others like it. You won't be likely to hear anyone recommend a packaged visit or tour. And I personally would rather go traveling with my face painted purple than "wing it." I plan, and then I plan, and then I plan some more.

I would not recommend Florence as a base with an eight-year-old child. I think you'd be better off in Rome, where most of your sightseeing will take place within the city, and where you'll have a better chance of finding a decent hotel with pool close in to the major tourist attractions.

Florence is great if you''re an art buff or interested in serious shopping, but may not be so appealing to a young child. Because Florence is so small, you'd probably want to day trip to Siena, Pisa, and Lucca.

Siena and Lucca may not interest your child all that much, and all of these places are at least an hour away from Florence by car, train, or bus.

In terms of when to go, late June might be slightly better than August, which can be brutally hot in both Florence and Rome.

Good luck with your planning!