Hi! As many of you know, I am going to take my husband and kids (8,6, and 3) to Italy at the end of may.

Current itinerary is Venice 3 nights (while longer than we need, it’s the first international trip with the whole gang and want to take it slow and give kiddos time to adjust).

So Venice sat - tues
Then on Tuesday am, we’ll drive to Lake District. Or can we take the train?!

Thoughts on Lake Como vs lake Garda or varenna or lake maggiore or others?

I’d like to be somewhere less touristy, but also stunningly beautiful. Great for us to hang at hotel for a little bit to relax but also need a good base to explore and be on the lake. Originally thought we would rent a car, but think getting a car big enough for us all might make narrow streets tough.

Would love thoughts on this. If you went with your family, please share any and all thoughts or if you just know the area and what makes each area different Andy convenient!

Then we’d go Saturday to Tuscany for a week so probably would rent a car first.

Likely staying in San gimignano but not sure if Missing out by not staying in Pienza. Would love thoughts here. Found agrutourismo in San gimingnano which makes it sound great.

Then Saturday morning drive to Rome for one night and back to NYC Sunday.

Thank you all in advance for your thoughts, ideas, feedback!

I think you should do some research on the lakes to see which appeals to you, has the sort of "exploring" you want to do, the lodging you prefer, the scenery of your dreams, etc. The lakes are not all alike. Towns that are less "touristy" are likely to be less served by public transportation (esp. trains but also ferries), so if you're going to drive you'll want to think about parking when choosing lodging.

The debate between San Gimignano and Pienza is somewhat the same. You need to compare what you could do while staying in either place. The agriturismo you found might tip the scales for SanG, and there is certainly no shortage of towns to explore in that area... Volterra, Monteriggioni, perhaps Siena, Castellina, Radda, Certaldo. It will be a long drive from any of the lakes to SanG and obviously longer to Pienza.

Argh. I thought I had it figured out. I didn’t realize the car trip was so long. I figured it made sense to fly into Venice and out of Rome but don’t really want a 5 hour car trip. The main point of the trip was Tuscany but didn’t want to fly into Rome and not see Rome (been there done that).


If we wanted to add something else between Venice and Tuscany, I guess I could do that. Just always wanted to go to como and Tuscany sonyhought is combine but not sure we have time.

I guess I’m back to the drawing board.

Maybe I'll phrase this differently.

We have 3 nights in venice and then have a Tuesday - Saturday to explore somewhere before going to Tuscany for a week and then leaving from Rome. We only want one more place as we don't want to move around so much. What place would make sense for those 4 nights and give us a relaxing beautiful experience?

Thanks so much!

Even large rental cars in Italy are not wider than the narrow streets that accept motor traffic -- although I expect to hear some howling about that from posters who will regale you with tales of how they got stuck in alleys. If you need an automatic transmission, your options will be more limited, but in general, with 3 kids, I would recommend renting a car for most of the trip.

There are not a lot of good scenic options between Venice & rural Tuscany if you are trying to avoid a 5 hour drive. If you are going in summer, you might consider a fun beach destination along the Adriatic coast, but these are not scenic, just wacky fun.

But if you haven't bought plane tickets yet, I would consider ditching Venice for this trip, especially if you are going in peak tourist months. Yes, it is fun for kids but it also packed to overflowing with tourists, and it is distorting everything else you want to do.

Either fly into MIlan and get a car transfer directly to Lago di Como -- spend a few days, rent a car, and then go someplace for a few nigths before bunking down in Tuscany (I might pick Lerici). Ultimately, after Tuscany, fly out of Rome

or

Fly into Rome, take a train directly to Orvieto, spend a night or two, head into Tuscan wine country, but after that, pick a Tuscan beach or Tuscan island, or head down to the beaches south of Rome (Sperlonga, etc) and then fly out of Rome.


Fly in and

Thanks so much for your ideas. The reason I was going to Venice is because I was worried after the long flight to then put my kids on a train to go some place else or to figure or how to rent a car or other transportation.

Maybe I could have a driver meet us in Rome to take us to Orvieto?! Can we then get a rental car there for the rest of our trip? How easy is it to get from flight/ baggage to train?

Venice may be packed with tourists, but it doesn't take more than two feet and 10 minutes to get to places that are relatively untrammeled. If you want to go to Venice, go.

As for the lakes, each has its charms, so I agree that you need to read up on them all and make your own decisions. All of them are easily reached by train from various places. Once there, you can decide whether you want a car to travel around to nearby places.

Honestly the drive from Lake Como was not difficult with children... but we broke up our journey with one night in Lucca.

We followed Stu Dudley’s itinerary car drive, and it was fantastic scenery, especially when we got to winding roads and cypress trees. I normally hate car rides, but this was the right decision for our trip.

Everyone has a different tolerance for long transfers between locations. You got great alternative itineraries.

If you want to see Venice, Como, Tuscany and Rome, it is very doable.

If you decide to travel from Venice to Como, taking the train is pleasant and easy. If your children are anything like mine, they will enjoy the whole experience. Varenna water front is mostly car free. We spend our evening meals there while our daughters would feed the ducks and play with Italian children. I loved how their new friends, like daughters, did not have iPads to stare at during their meal.

Thank you! Sounds like this could work. Andy yes my Kids would probably enjoy a 2 hour train ride. They love Amtrak here and this sounds more exciting.

Is that too many transfers? We are only there for two weeks.

Venice 3 nights
Como 3 nights
Lucca 1 night
SanG 7 nights
Rome 1 night

We are not interested in touring Rome, but simply think it makes sense to fly out of it...

Thoughts?

I think it works. We did something very similar.

The tricky day was transferring from Varenna (Como) to Lucca. We got up early (7am) and took the train to Como town. Next to the train station, there is a car rental. My husband went while I watch the children at the train station. He took a taxi but really he could have walked if we looked at the map closely. Check for operating hours for the car rental place; we rented on a Sunday and it closed at 12:30pm, so we aimed to be there by 11am at the latest, in case of delays.

My husband came back so quickly from the car rental that the kids did not have a chance to eat their lunch at the train station. We left immediately, having them eat in the car.

At the wall in Lucca, it took us a while to find the proper way to our rental because of the pedestrian zones only. Down the street from our rental, was a bicycle rental shop. We bicycled on top of Lucca's wall. Every so often, my girls would go and play in the numerous playgrounds along the way. In the evening we caught a performance: an opera by Puccini. The girls watched the whole performance with their eyes wide open of curiosity. There is a summer Puccini festival every year.

We took our time leaving the following morning with a long breakfast, before continuing on to our week in Pienza, Tuscany.

Hope it helps.

I wouldn't underestimate the challenge of getting three small children and all the luggage onto a train. The steps can be steep, and the two younger ones may have to be carried/lifted. That leaves dad schlepping all of the luggage in what is usually a slightly chaotic scene. Plus, the train ride from Venice to Lake Como is not two hours, nor is it a single ride (get on here, get off there). It's a 4-5 hour journey involving at least one change (usually the enormous Milano Centrale), which means repeating the carrying/lifting/schlepping.

If you go to Varenna, the train stops there less than 5 minutes for off-loading. If there is no taxi waiting, you'd have to walk the short distance to the village center. If you go to the Como station closest to the ferry dock (Como Nord Lago), there would be TWO connections in the train journey. If you go want to avoid that second train connection, you can go to the other Como station (Como S. Giovanni) but then would need to take a taxi to the ferry dock. Or rent a car near the S. Giovanni station, but the drive from there to the mid-lake area is at least an hour.

To make a long story short, I'd rent the car as you're leaving Venice. Load the luggage and kids once, drive, arrive, unload. You could reach Varenna in under 4 hours (not counting stops).

The answer to the question about the one night in Lucca is purely personal. I strongly dislike one-night stays, and I'm not a big fan of Lucca, so I would prefer the long drive to SanG or Pienza. You can break up the drive with stops for lunch, interesting sights or detours. I would add that single night to either Venice or Lake Como, depending on your plans in both places.

Skip Lucca.

I agree with Jean that her transport solution is less chaotic. It all comes down to how you are comfortable with trains and how much luggage you are planning on bringing. We usually have 2 carry-ons for the four of us plus day packs. I bring my daughters in the train while my husband deal easily with the two carry-ons.

One night stays are usually not liked, especially on this forum. I don’t mind them if it means traveling in the direction of my next destination and if it just an isolated one night stay.

If your 7 day stay in San Gimignano is in a place with a washing machine, you should be able to pack extremely lightly. Although I would prefer a car, especially in hot weather, you can get by with trains if you pack very very lightly.

If you rent a car I think there are easier places to stay than Varenna, and ones that are much less touristy. Just be sure to pick a town with a ferry dock if you want to take boats around the lake.

If Tuscany is the main focus, why not look at Lake Trasimeno rather than one of the northern lakes? It's not as beautiful, but it would be a lot more convenient, and is a good base for visits to Assisi and Perugia (by train if you stay on the northern shore).

Thanks for that other lake suggestion. I will look it up. Was thinking maybe I should combine a week in Tuscany with a week on the Riviera instead? Might be more convenient and still beautiful and lovely?

I appreciate everyone's help as I go back and forth on planning this. Everyone's ideas are super helpful.

Do you need/want to fly into Venice?? Do you still need to fly home from Rome?

Hi Jean! We can fly in or out of either.

If you want to go to the Riviera to make one of your airports Pisa or Milan.

If you can fly into Pisa it is less than an hour by train to the area of le Cinque Terre (although with very small kids, I would suggest someplace flatter, like Lerici (optimal) or Levanto (maybe surf is too strong for tiny swimmers. Try Moneglia or Bonassola.) If you pick Lerici, you can pick up a car in La Spezia to drve to San Gimignano. Drop it off in Tuscany or drive it to Venice. Fly out of Venice. Or do that trip in reverse.

Or fly into Milan, get a car transfer to Lago di Como, take a train from Lago di Como to Camogli or Rapallo or Santa Margherita Ligure, then rent a car in Rapallo and drive to San Gimignano. For that trip I would skip Venice and fly out of Rome. But if you would like to see Venice more than Lago di Como, then I suggest you fly into Milan, spend the night to rest up then take a 2pm train to Camogli (no changes). After enough days there, rent a car in Rapallo, drive to San Gimignano for a week's stay. Then either drop of the car in Tuscany and take the fast train to Venice or drive to Venice, fly home from there. You can do that trip in reverse.

Sestri Levante is also a great Riviera town for kids, and you can reach it easily without changing trains from either Pisa or Milan.