Definitely take a car service/taxi to your VRBO.
You have a great location for walking. It's touristy, but I still like eating dinner in Piazza Navona (always live musicians/lots of action). Walk to the Trevi Fountain after dinner & get gelato on the way back.
For more authentic/better food, walk until you only hear Italian being spoken. We usually just check out the plates as we walk by & stop when we see something we like.
Book your Vatican tour first. It has more restrictions/days closed. I like the underground Colloseum Tour as it takes you down to the arena floor. It usually includes the Forum as well.

If you take an early train to Naples, I'd check in and hit Pompeii that same day. Archeology museum when you get back if you have time.
Day 2 in Naples: Hire a private driver to take your family down the Amalfi Coast. It's the only way to see it in one big day & he'll know where & how long to stop. It will be totally different than the rest of your trip!
My family did this, and my girls still name it as their #1 vacation day of all time! PM me if you want to know what company we used.

In Rome, fairly near your lodging, is the Gelateria del Teatro. Website: https://www.gelateriadelteatro.it/gdt_en/
DO NOT MISS IT. The flavors are totally exceptional.

Rome: Take a taxi or car service from FCO to your place. For your tourism trips, there is a taxi stand on the west side of the Pantheon where you can get a ride to either the Colosseum or the Vatican. If you do the Colosseum first, then the Forum and the Campidoglio, you will basically be walking back toward your place so you won't need a cab back. On the Vatican day there is a taxi stand right next to the museum entrance for your trip back. Definitely reserve tickets online in advance.

Do not eat in Piazza Navona (but do walk through). Best traditional Roman pizzeria near you is La Montecarlo. No credit cards, cheap and good. Full of locals. For traditional Roman trattoria food (pasta carbonara etc) I would walk to the Jewish Ghetto and dine in one of the lovely piazzas at either Piperno or Vecchia Roma. These places open for dinner at 8:00; Romans eat dinner around 9 or 10. More touristy places will open at 7, almost nothing except pizzerias before then. Always reserve for dinner by calling (except pizzerias which generally don't take reservations); don't trust online reservations, even if they offer them. They will speak English on the phone, no worries. Tipping is not necessary but if you are 4 people and they are helpful in English etc, go ahead and leave a few euro coins. (You can't put tips on the credit card bill in Europe.) The American concept of tipping 15-20 percent is unheard of. Service is generally quite fast especially compared to France, but be aware that the waiter will never bring your check until you ask for it. (It's considered rude to rush diners.)

The best coffee bar in all Rome is steps from the Pantheon: Sant'Eustachio. Also try the granita al caffè at Tazza d'Oro--great on a hot day. Ask for it with cream (panna).

jeffbowen9449 RE: London tube & peak times; Sadly, it's been since pre-covid since I've been, but maybe a local can chime in, but during peak week-day travel, certain lines can be hot and packed, and I don't think you'll want to try to crush your family into the train when it's like that. Just something to keep in mind. Could be very different now with covid. (Also, tripadvisor's forum has a robust forum and may have travellers who can help with what's happening nowadays.)

RE: LHR & jet lag; You're likely younger than me and may handle the overnight better, but my advice is to take your time at the airport after getting off the plane. Go to the bathroom before getting in line to border control (brush your teeth, put in your contacts, wife & daughters can apply/freshen makeup, etc.). That will help make you feel a bit more awake. The line in border control could be fast/slow, but you'll all feel better if bladders are empty. Then, once in the arrival terminal, take time to get your cash at the atm, sit down and have a coffee/split an egg sandwich or something. Diet and hydration are important to feel your best, so raw/fresh/protein, less sugar/pastries, etc.

RE: packing; As National Park travellers, you likely already know, but consider things like band-aids for any walking blisters, smartwool socks to protect your feet. Also medicine, backup glasses/contacts. Coffee will be different there; in Rome, it will be superior. :) But in London, you may find it's not as much to your taste. I always bring splenda with me, as sometimes I can't find it there. You may want to bring the sweetener/creamer you like if coffee is as important to you as it is to me. As a parent, your children likely have their own preferences, so something to think about if their favorites won't be available, and if they're persnickety about certain things. Maybe a back-up battery/power-bank for smart phones in case you're out all day and need a charge.

It's been too long since Rome and Paris for me so I'll let others chime in. Also, I've had 4 Chicago friends who've visited Pompeii on separate trips, and all said it was a huge highlight. I saw the exhibit at the British Museum and so much still lingers with me. Have a great time, and have fun planning!

Also, RE: Teen Girls & Shopping; Your girls may want to research some of the beauty products they can buy in each city, by looking at YouTube influencers suggestions. When I first land in a city, I like to buy a nice shampoo/conditioner and body wash to use while on vacation. Maybe leave a bit of room in the suitcase for those when you travel on.

What time can get get into your AirBnB? Some of ours have been 3 or 4 pm.
If later in the day, where do you plan to store your luggage?

Some hosts have a storage option.
We once arranged for our car service to keep all of our bags for 6 hours, then deliver them later. They only charged 25 euros, which worked great for us!

Rail stations will also have luggage storage.

The best advice, bar none, that I have read on Fodor's is to take carryon luggage only. It sounds impossible, but it will change your life!. I can well imagine teens who will want shoes to match each outfit, etc. etc. but what they need is shoes that they can walk in all day and they should wear them on the plane. I regularly go to Europe for a month with carry on only. In fact once I did two weeks in Europe and then two weeks on cruise the same way. You can wear your clothing more than one time. You will not see the same people twice. Take clothing that washes well and is low care. Plan on laundry once a week. It can be done while someone else is getting lunch for the group or while you are having lunch drop it off at the laundromat. (I sat down for lunch and drank prosecco in Rome while our laundry was being done.) You can keep up with underwear by hand washing it if you wish. I take one weeks worth of clothes and wear them four times for a month long trip. There are packing experts on Fodor's and if you Google something like "smart packing" you will get great tips. I hope you all have a wonderful trip.

Yes, 'some' airbnb hosts do, but it isn't all that typical. Not sure where you are talking about but not London since you mention € but . . . in London car services often use independent drivers. They drive for the car service, maybe for a ride share between car service bookings, and as couriers - they almost never return to a central office between assignments . There is no way I'd leave bags with a driver -- the chance s/he would be back in the neighborhood the same day would be pretty slim. And schlepping to a train station with Left Luggage (not all do) will only cause more hassle

Ditto everything jane1144 says. Length of trip doesn't really matter (and neither does weather/time of year). I've done everything from an Alaska Cruise to a 4 week trip through Scotland/England/the Channel Islands/London to a 6 week trip with both significant hiking and a formal event (true 'formal' with long gloves and the whole nine yards)

Traveling carry-on only is a life changer.

But even carry on bags are a pain to schelpp around waiting for self catering accommodation to be available.

I have already communicated with our London and Paris airbnb hosts and both said it would be fine to drop off our bags early. So that is helpful. We won't get into rome until the afternoon, so probably after our actual check in time. I will have to check with our Naples VRBO host to see if that is allowed.

As far as the packing goes, I hope we learned from our last trip. We did a week in California in October and we definitely overpacked. For this trip we were for sure planning for about a week and then washing them while we were in Paris. We have to be careful also, because i'm sure our girls will want to bring some souvenirs back and we'll need some extra space for that. We are probably going to need to get some new luggage for this trip. We've probably out grown our older set. Oh well. Gives us an excuse to upgrade, which the wife and I have wanted to do for a while.

My preference is always bags with 4 "spinner" wheels. Standing up on their own with your carry-bag on top comes in handy (and the baggage handlers don't abuse them as much during loading).

My favorite: Briggs & Riley Sympatico Expandable Spinner. I prefer the Medium over the large because you can pack it to the gills prior to compression & never go over the 50 lb weight limit. This and a small duffel as my carry-on is my preferred setup.
Love packing cubes for this kind of trip too.

Our last two trips, before the plague, were basic economy, one weight limited carry on only, and we did fine. I still shudder at our long ago trip where airlines allowed two checked and one carry on, where, after a three week trip, I had a week's clean clothes left when i got home. Now THAT"S overpacking. Now we do it with 8 kilos per person, bag included (get the lightest one you can).

My system now is mathematical, using the following days per item divided into the length of trip: Underwear two days, socks one day, tops 2-4 days depending on soilage and smell (average 3), bottoms 7 days, two pair of well broken in walking shoes, one of which is worn for travel. One spare bottom "just in case," and one sweater for layering for an unexpected cold evening.

Souvenir space is made by bringing some or all underwear and a few tops that are on their last wearing, to be discarded after wearing. Wear dirty clothes for the trip home. Toiletries etc are available in the hotel free or purchased on arrival and are discarded before returning home. Miscalculations are corrected in our favorite store, or the good old sink wash. Small electrics are carried in coat pockets and do not count in packed space or weight.

Many different ways of packing and preferred types of luggage, often depending on particular trip, mode of travel, past experience, age of traveler, etc. Rather than start giving lots of opinions and advice, here are a couple of links which are informative and helpful. There are probably others, but this is a start.

https://www.fodors.com/community/tra...1702506/page3/

https://www.fodors.com/community/tra...th-it-1698387/

I suppose it depends on your lifestyle. When we go to Paris (from Rome) for the weekend my girlfriend checks a bag: "I'm Italian. Where am I going to put my shoes?"

We have AT&T and Iphones. Any recommendations on sim cards that work best in Italy, France, and England? My phone is unlocked and will get my families phones unlocked also. When I called, ATT said an international plan was $10/day per phone. So probably not going to do that. We plan to use google maps and google translate a good amount, plus our socials. We'd like to get those before we go so we don't have to over pay at the airport.

I apologize if this has been mentioned already - you can use the e-gates at Heathrow as long as you have biometric passports. This has been going on for a few years so I am not sure why people still say you have to go through a long border control. Just follow the very well marked path to the e-gates, put your passport in the slot, look at the camera and you are through. It does not take very long and you do not talk to anybody. They also have e-gates in Rome unless something has changed.

I just went through Heathrow last week and I was through the e-gate in literally 30 seconds. Did have to wait 20 minutes for luggage though and of course that wait would be longer in summer.. if you do carry-on you won't even have to wait for that and you can be out of the airport pretty fast.

It is nice that you will have an airbnb in Paris, because maybe one or two evenings you will just want to chill at home and eat food from the most beautiful food stores you have ever seen. Not too far from your apartment is Rue de Martyrs, a famous food street but there are many others. I would not go to Disneyland, this is for sure, save that for some week off in January when you can visit Anaheim!

I don't have a problem with spending only three days in each city, but you do want to avoid making this trip all about standing in line waiting to get into monuments. That's the horror that can await you if your list of 'must-see- places' matches everyone else's. I don't know about crowds during the pandemic, but I believe that all the airlines are gearing up for a big season.

In terms of food, the most important thing to realize is that it can be expensive, and in the case of Paris it can be both expensive and pretty bad. Avoid anywhere with 'French Onion Soup' on the menu! So, yes, do go to Montmartre, but you can spend a lot eating some pretty lousy food in the cafes there. I think the term 'tourist trap' was first coined for such an experience. Make reservations in Paris, it is considered polite, and if the place is good, probably necessary. If I were to go for three nights I would book at Chez l';Ami Jean, Les Enfants du Marche, and Domain de Lintillac. All three very casual, with the first being expensive, the next is somewhat expensive, and the third is a bargain. At Domaine de Lintillac, go for the cassoulet, confit de canard, pate de monbazillac. The first two have menus that change frequently, but ask about the riz au lait (rice pudding) at Chez l'Ami Jean.

Great eating in Paris is not just about restaurants, though, go to a fromagerie and buy some cheese to have with baguettes in your hotel room. If you can score some Bordier butter (they have it in the food hall at Galeries Lafayette) so much the better. Also chocolate shops, boulangeries, and patisseries are all great experiences (there is a tea salon inside the chocolate shop of Jacques Genin on rue de Turenne.)


If your kids enjoy shopping, you can visit a depot-vente (consignment shop). I enjoyed this with my teens very much.

I always prefer easy, especially when switching countries.
Consider doing the international daily plan on ONE phone, and keep the rest on airplane (wifi only) mode.
Your girls can still take their selfies/snaps, and just transmit them once you're back to your apartment.
If have unlimited data, you could even use your phone as the hotspot for the others.

You are not staying close to a Circumvesuviana railway station, Piazza Cavour is served by metro line #2. Some suburban Trenitalia trains may still stop there, unfortunately the Trenitalia station in Pompeii is in the modern city. It is not close to the archaeological site.

To stay close to a station served by trains that go directly there, You should stay across from Porta Nolana or Porta Garibaldi stations. I'm afraid two of the most awful areas in downtown Naples.

Oh - I totally missed that. The Rome apartment is in a convenient location, all the others - not so much. (The Paris one 'could' be semi-OK but depends on the exact location)

You might consider buying an Ambassador from Waverly Labs. Great translation device, seamless, enables conversation!!!

Consider visiting Herculaneum/Ercolano instead of Pompei. Smaller, more “approachable”, closer to Naples.

Thank you for the advice. Staying in an area as you describe doesn't sound like a place we want to stay. Even though it may take a bit longer, perhaps if we take a taxi to the Circumvesuviana rail would make a reasonable alternative.

Planning places to stay, when we've never been to these cities is a complex puzzle to solve. Thank goodness for google maps. My main priority in reserving was that they were close to public transportation/metro/tube lines, reasonably close to places we want to visit, and good sleeping arrangements.

This actually sounds like a great idea. My daughters love finding unique items at thrift shops here. No doubt they would enjoy doing some shopping there. LOL... I would be worried we would need to pack an extra (empty) carry on bag for bringing it all home. :lol::lol:

Since you are staying in front of a metro station, the reasonable alternative would be taking the metro to Piazza Garibaldi and transfer to the Circumvesuviana rail.

Things that you knew if you purchased a guide book about the cities you are going to visit. On LonelyPlanet.com you can buy single chapters of their guides in PDF, you don't need to pay for the full book about Italy.

For instance, it seems you are visiting Pompeii and not Herculaneum because you have only heard about Pompeii, but most kids like Herculaneum more. A guide would provide a good description of both.

For your days in Rome I recommend doing a small group tour. When we took our then 14 yr old son we used Context travel and did their Ancient Rome tour one day and a Vatican tour another. Well worth the money spent, the guides were both PhDs and so knowledgeable. The young woman who guided the ancient Rome tour made the whole place come alive for us with her descriptions. contexttravel.com

I love to shop when I travel so my tip for your girls is to pack a small lightweight foldable duffel that they can use on the return journey.
I second the poster who said take off your expensive watch in Naples, also don't wear expensive jewellery on the street there, highly visible designer bags etc.
We loved the Archeological museum there and also did a walking tour there with a local woman which was a fantastic way to see things we would not have even known about.

We did Pompeii and Herculaneum on the same day, Pompeii as morning and a bit into the afternoon, luncha t a stand just outside its gates, then the Circumvesuviana to Herculaneum, two hours there, and the day was done. Pompeii has the parts of a city that can survive a volcano (the "bones"), Herculaneum was buried in ash preserving it, so there are buildings with wood and frescoes preserved (the "flesh"). The best recovered art is in the Archeological Museum in Naples (the "soul.") If there is any way to do all three, do so.

As for shopping for second hand clothes in Paris, one place saved the day for me when I had forgotten my raincoat and umbrella and ended up in Paris for a 10 day rain spell. I picked up a raincoat in my size for 20 euros. Here is a current list of thrift stores in Paris:
https://secretsofparis.com/shopping/...t-shops-paris/
The Secrets of Paris website is very useful, by the way.

"My main priority in reserving was that they were close to public transportation/metro/tube lines, reasonably close to places we want to visit. and good sleeping arrangements. "

Your London location does not really fit that criteria. Depending on where it is exactly in relation to the Oval, it could be reasonably close to one of two tube stations, each only on one tube line Vauxhall - the Victoria Line, or Oval - on a pretty far south section of the Northern Line. The oval isn't near/walkable to any sites. -- well 30 to 40+ minute walks could get you to Tate Britain, Buckingham Palace, or the Eye - those sorts of places.

Surely you could find the sleeping arrangements you need in more convenient locations.

According to google maps, kensington palace, tower of london, buckingham palace, the shard, big ben, the eye are all within 30 minutes by either bus or tube (that includes walking time). It also lists the vauxhall as a 10 min walk and oval tube station as a 4 min walk. The average price right now for an airbnb for the time we are there is over $600 per night. As mentioned in my first post, our stays, flights, and trains are booked. I am good with where we are staying. If we find it to be a bad location after our stay, we will make note of it for the next time we are fortunate enough to travel through these cities again.

I greatly appreciate all the many helpful suggestions. You guys have given me and my wife a lot to think about for this trip. Please keep them coming. Like I said before, the planning of this trip has been really enjoyable so far. I have learned so much about these cities already and can't wait to actually be there.

There is a stretch of cool vintage shops along the via Mezzocannone in Naples, across from the main university--centrally located.

OK -- you came for advice but have pushed back on most suggestions offered. This truly a dead horse so I'll just quit beating it.

(I've never paid anywhere near $600 per night for a 2 bdrm flat in London)

"According to google maps, kensington palace, tower of london, buckingham palace, the shard, big ben, the eye are all within 30 minutes by either bus or tube (that includes walking time). It also lists the vauxhall as a 10 min walk and oval tube station as a 4 min walk. "

Google may well tell you that but IME the reality can be very different (I live in London for part of the year). Google times for public transport are usually ok where there are no changes involved but where you need to change bus or tube lines I would allow some additional time when planning excursions where you do have to change. Especially where you have fixed entry times or want to avoid the queues e.g. Tower of London.

if you enjoy walking, rather than change lines, a longer walk, particularly when north of the river, will often be as quick or quicker and has the bonus of maybe taking you past stuff that you would otherwise miss.

A better way to gauge time and distances than google maps is the London transport planner. https://tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/

You can also put the citymapper app on your phone - very useful if you are in one part of town and want to get to another part of town..
https://citymapper.com

The obsession among many travelers with "packing light" mystifies me. Unless you are backpacking around the world and staying in youth hostels (with limited funds even for public transport), why would you straiten yourself to travel in dirty clothes and daily underwear washings in the bidet? Is it to save on checked baggage fees? Surely they are annoying, yet when you consider that airline tickets today are (adjusted for inflation) the cheapest they have ever been since the Wright Brothers, this can't be such a big concern for most travelers. At any rate many if not most airlines now also charge for a carry-on bag, the difference in price being marginal.

Is it to save on schlepping? Modern suitcases (especially bags with four rollers) are all pretty easy to push or pull along, whether small or large. Not a big difference.

Maybe it's about saving time at the carousel? If you're traveling internationally, by the time you get through the line at immigration control, your checked bag has likely descended from the bowels, so no time wasted there.

Maybe one worries about lost luggage? The electronic tracking of bags these days makes it highly unlikely that your bag could disappear for more than 12 hours.

Finally there is the more basic degradation of walking around in the same frumpy outfit every day. I will grant that many people these days (perhaps too many) don't give a whit about their personal appearance and what others may think of them. They are wrong, but I allow them the right. For me however, I try even when touring to spend at least a few moments in my room that morning considering how my appearance might bear on others. And after a day of tromping around, I look forward to putting on, at the very least, a fresh shirt (ironed) before going to dinner.

As for wearing dirty clothes on the return trip, I hope I shall never sit next to that person on the plane. Should he be wearing a sleeveless tank top in the middle seat on a transatlantic overnight flight, I shall be certain my bad karma has been paid for, in spades.

MaxAlexander, I won’t quote your whole post, just say that your thinking is exactly like mine. I do not pack heavy because I don’t need a lot, don’t want a lot to pull or push around if we take trains, or end up on a small plane with restrictions, etc. but I also don’t like sitting around in airports watching luggage or doing laundry if I do not have to, and I do not want to wear old, throw away clothes on vacation. I liked the times when porters were outside terminals and checked bags as we took them from the car. I like to feel free and unburdened with stuff.
I don’t like pulling luggage onto a plane or lifting it to the overhead. It always seems odd to me when people say they are taking only a backpack on a trip to Europe where they are planning to stay in hotels or apartments. In “olden” days when suitcases did not have wheels and young travelers were sleeping on trains or camping out, it made sense. If one is returning to a hotel room at night, no need to be a pack animal. All very personal though, and I don’t care if others wish to carry everything with them as long as they do not bang their stuff into me as they get it on and off planes. That is sometimes an issue with larger backpacks. People put them on and do not realize how big they are when they turn around and smack people around them.

One bit of advice for the OP. We have never had an issue with lost luggage going to Europe, but we always pack one change of clothing, plus, of course all medicines, in carry on. Just in case, we also put a few extra things in a packing cube or zip lock in the other person’s luggage. If one is delayed, we have enough for a couple of days.

The one carry on and one small personal item baggage limit allows stress-free travel later on trains and subways/metros during the trip. Rollers don't go up or down stairs easily, either. If you want to fly home in clean clothes, just pack one more shirt etc. I use the cleanest of the dirty clothes without odorous offenses being committed.

"Maybe one worries about lost luggage? The electronic tracking of bags these days makes it highly unlikely that your bag could disappear for more than 12 hours."

Ask the thousands and thousands of people who flew through LHR just after Eunice a couple of weeks age, or during the BA IT outage last week . . . Many of them STILL don't have their luggage. In fact there was one point where they weren't even letting anyone approach the carousels and they were told to just go home or continue their journey, and BA would contact them when they might expect to deliver the bags.

And I have never (ever) flown in dirty clothing -- give me a break (!)

I pack light is because it is sooooooo much easier. Easier in airports, easier on buses, easier on stairs, easier on trains . . . But mainly because I don't need more stuff. I travel a lot - trips that include hiking, and/or formal events and/or cruises and/or winter weather and/or summer weather . . . if one packs 'smart' with mix & match and layers, they can get 20+ unique outfits out of a rollaboard. Many people pack everything trying to cover every 'what if' situation. I don't play the what if game.

(As a hobby, I've taught packing classes for several years - to 15,000+ people so far - and I've received hundreds of cards and e-mails thanking me for the game changing help)

The Hotel Piazza Bellini, great location in the heart of the Centro Storico, offers a couple of apartments that might work for your family, https://www.hotelpiazzabellini.com/e...-studio-duplex. The hotel will call a taxi for you with a guaranteed rate.

We stayed there bon_voyage, good recommendation; we loved the neighbourhood and it's only a few minutes walk to the Archeological Museum, among other things.

I'm another one with MaxAlexander, there is no benefit to me to only travel with a carry on bag. Depending on my trip I check a 22 or 24 inch bag and have a small roll aboard (made by Knomo) which is slim enough to roll down the aisle between the seats, doesn't take up much room, can go under most seats if it has to, yet still has lots of room inside for a change of clothes, shoes, my iPad, chargers, jewellery etc. I like to dress well no matter where I am so a lot of thought goes into what to bring so I'm not overpacked but still have variety and different things to wear at night out for drinks and dinner.