Hi all--

I have gotten great advice here so far, so here goes... another question as I plan this family trip to Italy.

13 day trip to Italy: family with 2 kids, ages 11 and 16

arriving Rome 6/25, Departing Venice 7/7

Itinerary so far:

Day 1: Arrive Rome
Days 1-4: Enjoy Rome, see sights
Day 5: Train Rome to Florence (or Drive Rome to Tuscany?)
Days 5-9 Florence/Tuscany
Day 10: Train Florence to Venice (or Drive Tuscany to Venice?)
Day 11-12 Enjoy Venice
Day 13: Fly Home

My question is: In late June/early July it will be HOT, and I am worried about breaking up the sightseeing with kids and pacing the trip to experience seeing major cities as well as Tuscan countryside for a few days (Siena? CinqueTerra? San Gimignano? Forte di Marme? a vinyard? other suggestion in Tuscany?).

In this respect, I was trying to figure out the best way to visit the Florence/Tuscany area with my family, sandwiched in between Rome and Venice. After 4 days in Rome, should I rent a car and drive to Tusdany, possibly staying in a nice villa with pool, or some scenic small town? Or should I head directly to Florence, and after 2-3 days of sightseeing in Florence do day trips outside (eg Siena, etc.) using Florence as a base?

any suggestions on my tentative itinerary would be appreciated, re:where to go/stay in Tuscany and how to sequence it?

thank you again...this forum has been amazingly helpful

Rhonda

Hi R,

May I suggest adding a day to Rome?

You first day will be lost to getting there, checking in and jet lagged.

You could take a daytrip to Orvieto for a hill town experience.

I also suggest adding a day to Venice.

This leaves you 3 days in Florence. You can daytrip to Siena by bus.

>... it will be HOT, ....

Do as the Romans do:

Go out in the morning. Have a long lunch. Visit museums in the afternoon. Go out in the evening and stay up late.

Have a nice visit.

Ronnie,
You're traveling with your kids, right? I actually think it might be nice to have a couple of days at someplace rural with a pool if you all are sensitive to the heat. I've never done this, but I'm sure many people on this board could make recommendations.

As Ira suggests, take Rome really easy. It is the best way to enjoy it. Don't schedule too much--you'll never see everything in Rome anyway. My last trip to Rome was my sister's first (in May) and they were having a heatwave. Our best memories are of sitting in little piazze--I'm thinking especially of Piazza San Salvatore in Lauro but of course there are too many to name--relaxing with a cool drink in the shade.

So maybe during days 5-9 you could break up into Florence two days and do two days in the Tuscan countryside with a POOL.

Cinque Terre would also be nice for your kids but it's a bit out of your way.

Too much time in Florence--take a day away and add it to Venice and another to Rome; unless your family are some sort of Renaissance groupies. Plus Florence is one of the real hot spots of Italy in the summer.

Thanks for your suggestions. I have decided to limit Florence to two days and spend two nights in Tuscany with my family. I will do some research first, then start a new thread about ideas for staying in Tuscany with my family, either villa/pool or small town, and whether Orvieto is a good stopover on the way (it seems to be on the way looking at a map, and sounds lovely).

Thanks again for your comments

Also I have some questions about transportation. Does one have to rent a car to travel to Orvieto and some towns in Tuscany inbetween Rome and Florence, or can one do this by train?

If