rlc456

more advice needed
planning a family trip of 6 adults from 68-21 . not seasoned travelers or real fit but enjoy art,food,water( ocean -sea) beaches,small towns and local people and culture. Would prefer a house or apt , we are conflicted in our plans between the three "must see cities" of Rome- Venice and Florence or the south( Almalfi Coast -Sorrento) and maybe an island like Sardinia. Sept 5-14
also is there a car big enough for all of us to rent if needed or public transportation is enough?
and flights ?

Rubicund

You can probably rent an 8-seater people carrier and get luggage in the back and on the empty seats, if you rent from the airport. Check the major car hire companies.

Flights from where to where?

Sardinia is too much of a leap to include it in your plans with only 9 days and only your group can finally decide whether to do Rome-Florence-Venice or the South. You can't do both. Save time by booking open jaw.

mamcalice

For a first trip to Italy, I would recommend Venice, Florence and Rome. While the Amalfi Coast is absolutely breathtaking, we have visited only twice on our 8 trips to Italy but wouldn't miss Florence and Rome on almost every trip. You could combine Rome with the Amalfi Coast.

If you choose the three "must see" cities you neither need nor want a car. And a large van for the Amalfi Coast would be terrible to drive on those little winding roads. Consider 2 cars if you must drive.

bobthenavigator

You must choose first:
1. Rome and AC
2. Rome Florence, Tuscany
3. The big 3 art cities

In your limited time those are your feasible options.
The logisticss will vary depending in which you choose.
Time is moving---I would decide soon.

Improviser

I am 'conflicted' in my answer. Can you help me decide whether to suggest the big three or the Amalfi coast-Sorrento?

That makes as much sense as your question does rlc. I can't advise you on which is better for you. You are asking should I buy an apple or an orange?

Obviously, you can rent a vehicle for 6 people with no problem as Rubicund suggests and to comment on flights requires knowing where you plan to fly from/to.

kybourbon

>>>Sept 5-14

rlc456

So thank you already for the comments . i didn't mean to offend .. trying to organize 6 adults in varying ranges is a challenge. 5 of us will be coming from the NYC area so LGA JFK or EWR are usable airports /. one from Scotland ..that's another story
i understand the dilemma of deciding the Almalfi coast or the three art cities which is why i posted .. my personal concerns from reading was the winding roads and the biggest van.. being a city dweller no way would i want the car in the cities.. so this is great advice .. thank you and as for housing i think we would save and do well to rent a house or Apt to accommodate us all.
what about the ideas of staying in say Tuscany and commuting .. if one part wanted to stay over in Rome or Venice they could (?)or just explore Florence.. thinking of a base to work from and see and experience and relax (LOL )

nytraveler

Commuting from Tuscany to Rome and Venice is close to madness. Makes no sense at all. Like staying in Philly and commuting for the day to DC or Boston.

You need to stay where you want to be.

Yes, you can pick one town in Tuscany and visit others by car - but be aware that local roads are not fast and unless you want to spend the whole day in the car you should limit yourself to no more than 50/60 miles or so between the towns.

adrienne

I would keep it simple with 6 people and 10 days and visit Rome, Florence, and Venice. You have a very limited amount of time and a wide range of ages. Cities will give you lots of varied sights to explore and offer more options than small towns. I would never stay outside the cities and commute in with a car. Either forget the car and stay in the cities or stay in the countryside and so country activities.

If you stay in the cities then you can break up into smaller groups and the older ones can go back to the hotel and rest in the afternoon if they want to (or better yet, sit in a cafe and watch all the people). The 21 year old can go off on his/her own and explore.

I would organize a shuttle if you're flying into Rome and take trains between each location. Very easy to do. You can book the trains ahead or just buy the tickets when you arrive.

In Florence try for an apartment near the center where you can walk to most of the sights. In Venice between Rialto and San Marco will put you in the midst of the activity.

Pack light.

Improviser

Given your further comments I would say forget driving in that case and go for the 3 city choice. The only question then is whether you actually have enough time for all 3 cities. If your 5-14 includes your arrival and departure day I would say you do not.

If the 5-14 is 10 full days not inlcluding arrival/departure days then it is barely enough for 3 cities. Bearing in mind you will basically lose 2 days moving from one to the other, that only leaves you with 8 days for the 3 cities. Better to drop it to 2 cities and lose only 1 travel day. That would give you 9 days to split between two places. Decent for Rome and Florence or Rome and Venice.

travelmamana

Agree with Adrienne. If all you have is 9 nights, you can still have a fabulous trip in 3 bases. If you have a few more days to spare, tack on to those bases, don't add a 4th. We are doing a trip for 6 (ages 11-72). All bringing a carry-on and personal bag only.

rlc456

can i say these forums are so great ..thank you makes so much sense to be more focused .. i think one or two cities and return again
thank you

girlonthego

I also suggest going to just Florence and Rome. Venice is more out of the way.I would also use the train system to transport everyone. You can do a day trip out of Florence into Tuscany easily by train or by renting a car for the day. This way it is only two hotels or apartments to deal with. The first day, everyone will be jetlagged and you will lose the two travel days. Out of both places, I loved Florence more than Rome. It seemed more walkable and a little less touristy than Rome.

cathies

If you spend a fair bit of the time in Rome then Florence is an easy day trip. 90 mins each way on the train. It would save organising six people and luggage etc to move hotels and cities.

I'm not sure of the other city. Alternatively stay in Rome and do several day trips, Ostia antica and Assisi spring to mind. There are tons of gorgeous small towns to visit and those combined with Rome wu,d be a lovely holiday.

bendigo

We travelled Venice, Florence, Rome in 9.5 days in December 2012.

If you are all fit and energetic, I think this is long enough to give you a decent look at each city.

We also did a quick trip out to Pisa on the train from Florence - wandered around the Tower and Field of Miracles, had a relaxed lunch, and back to Florence with time to still enjoy the late afternoon and evening there.

We travelled to Venice on overnight train from Paris, had two nights there, three nights in Florence and four nights in Rome.

This gave us time to see and explore a little of Venice; the Academy and Ufizzi in Florence; Vatican Museum, St Peters and Papal Audience, Colosseum, Palatine Hill and Forum, as well as Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Piazza Navona and Campo de Fiori (stayed near here).

Also managed plenty of wandering, a little shopping, eating and generally enjoying each location.

We stayed centrally in each place - near Rialto Bridge in Venice; on via Tornabuoni in Forence; on via Monseratto in Rome, and most of our exploring was done on foot (plus vaporetto up and down the Grand Canal in Venice).

From other posters information, it seems most convenient to fly into Venice and out of Rome due to flight times - apparently flights out of Venice generally leave very early in the morning!)

The trip by fast train from Venice, if you leave early, will have you in Florence in plenty of time before lunch - arrive at Santa Maria Novella (SMN) station which is close to the centre.

Leave from here to Rome - trip is only around 100 minutes - worth being met by transport to take you to apartment. You can be there well before lunch on travel day, giving you the afternoon and evening to explore, which is quite easy if you are staying in the compact Historic Centre (Centro Storico).

Have fun - as a family we had the trip of a lifetime, and we talk about some aspect of it almost every day since!

travelmamana

Bendigo, your trip sound almost exactly like the one I'm taking soon, including staying on via Tournabuoni. Did you happen to stay at Hotel Tornabuoni Beacci. Any must go restaurants for lunch/dinner near that street?

rlc456

wow this is great
i'm now leaning towards Florence to base our stay ..renting an apt? hoping there are beaches for day trips . hiking in the 5 cities (terre cingue?) with an idea maybe a soccer game - wine- art architecture -food-day trips or maybe even an overnight to Rome or other small towns /villages with so many of us and the ages relying on more modes of transportation city gives seems wise and if we want one day or two we can rent a car ? opinions .. suggestions? i know it means we give up Almalfi / Sardinia and the south but we can come back right ? NY er's trying to shove everything in .. and the idea of corralling all of us and moving a few times seems far from fun
thanks

adrienne

>

It's Cinque Terre and they are five very small towns, not cities!

You can do day tours from Florence for wine or other trips into the Tuscan countryside with a nice lunch. With 6 people a private tour seems the best way to go. I've seen Luca recommended from Hills and Roads.

http://www.hillsandroads.com/

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...s-Tuscany.html

You can easily take the train to Pisa or the bus to Siena for other day trips.

And there's always the delightful Fiesole, a town in the hills above Florence. It's a short bus ride from the train station in Florence. The views of Florence from the bus are amazing.

Also good views of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo; you can walk there or take a local bus.

Jean

FYI, the train ride between Florence and the Cinque Terre takes about 3 hours each way.

Speaking from experience, don't underestimate how much time it takes to move 6 people from place to place. Resist the desire to stay together 24/7.

bendigo

travelmamana,

In Florence we stayed in the Hotel Scoti:

http://www.hotelscoti.com/

Have a look at the website - common lounge room hasn't been painted for about 300 years - you'll understand why when you see it - remarkable!
And a Giambologna bust of a Medici over the entrance doorway.

We travelled as a family (self, wife, 3 kids - daughters 20 & 18 and son 16). Left the food to serendipity, rather than hunting out specific venues - how food is depends a lot on how you are feeling, the company you are with - and how hungry you are!

So - the memorable meals were:

Upstairs in a British-style pub overlooking the Duomo - ate our lunch, sipped on pint-beers looking at the Duomo and the pre-Christmas crowds thinking how bloody lucky we were to be in Florence, as a family, having the time of our lives!

Sitting outside(freezing)at the German Christmas market in the big Piazza in front of Santa Croce, eating and drinking (and thinking how lucky we were, etc), and absolutely staggered by the beauty and history after visiting Santa Croce.

A little restaurant just beyond where the tourist crowds became exhausted in Pisa, a bit down the street from the Field of Miracles and the un-straight Tower. Wonderful pizza, a decent bottle of Chianti Classico (and thinking how, etc!)

Tasting cheeses and balsamic syrups in a brand new shop just near the Ponte Vecchio - and eating the bits and pieces we bought in our hotel room, with another decent bottle of red while we procrastinated about packing for the early train to Rome. There is a small bottle of balsamic syrup in our pantry on this side of the world still waiting to be consumed!

I am sure others here can give you a list of the "must-do" restaurant experiences, but, for better or worse, that's not how we have travelled so far.

Have a great time on your trip - Florence was magical!