It has to be Italy, It has to be August

Old Jan 6th, 2018, 06:02 AM
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It has to be Italy, It has to be August

I know this isn't the correct forum to post this but I trust you all the most.

We are planning a summer trip. It has to be Italy due to a variety of factors and we have to travel in August. Not an ideal time to be in Italy. Our little group includes me, my husband and our three teenage sons whose crazy sports schedule only allows us the first two weeks in August to travel out of the entire year. How would you structure this type of trip? I am thinking of starting in Rome and maybe forgoing a cute apartment in Trastevere for a big hotel with a pool. Then maybe set up camp along the coast somewhere and spend a couple days at the beach with a side trip or two and finish in Venice (everyone wants to go to Venice even though everyone realizes it will be miserably crowded and hot). Does this sound doable? Any advice (other than not to go to Italy in August.....)?

Thanks
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Old Jan 6th, 2018, 06:35 AM
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I've been to Italy multiple times in August. In the cities, you might find cheaper hotel rates at that time. As for a hotel with a pool in Rome, there are some so you will have to search. Staying very central would be more important so you can go back to the hotel during the heat of the day and cool off or rest a bit.

FWIW - The hottest Italy trip I've had was in June 2003. That was the year of the infamous heatwave that killed a lot of people (most in August).

When I've traveled to the countryside in August (Tuscany/Umbria), I found many hill towns quite deserted. That wasn't true of the Amalfi coast as it was still crowded.
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Old Jan 6th, 2018, 08:07 AM
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Instead of Rome and the Beach -- in Auguest maybe consider the Dolomites and Lakes?

Ot if Rome is a must Rome/Dolomites/Lakes
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Old Jan 6th, 2018, 08:55 AM
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Beach resorts will be packed in August b/c that's when all of Italy goes on vacation, but they might be slightly better in the first half of August than in the second.

I like the idea of the lake area. The Dolomites are beautiful but they just didn't feel like Italy to me.
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Old Jan 6th, 2018, 10:05 AM
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There are very few hotels in Rome with swimming​ pools. The Aldrovandi Palace has an outside swimming pool but the hotel is in a bad location for touring Rome. Same goes for Cavalieri Hilton, bad location.

Exedra has a pool but it is really tiny.

I was in Rome and Orvieto from October 19-27, 2017.

I have been to Rome in August/September and it can be extremely hot at this time of year.

Thin
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Old Jan 6th, 2018, 10:08 AM
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PS
Look at Forte dei Marmi for a beach holiday.


Thin
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Old Jan 6th, 2018, 10:15 AM
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ok. it has to be italy, it has to be August, it has to be Venice. but I very strongly suggest that you jettison Rome.

Venice, though it might be hot, would fit very nicely into an itinerary for a sports-mad family. There are campsites very near Venice [in fact a friend of mine has stayed at one which is right next to a vaporetto stop] or you could stay on the Lido and get beach time as well.

You could split your time between Venice and/or the Dolomites and/or the north of Lake Garda which is heaven for wind surfers.

Honestly, I would leave Rome for another time when it doesn't have to be August.
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Old Jan 6th, 2018, 10:31 AM
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Venice will be PACKED with cruise ship tourists in August. Venice will resemble the Burning-of-Atlanta scene from Gone with the Wind. I am not exaggerating.

Better find a hotel or apartment away from Rialto Bridge or Piazza San Marco.

I would stay near the Jewish Ghetto or Arsenale, where it is quiet.

Thin
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Old Jan 6th, 2018, 10:46 AM
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My DD and SIL went to Rome for a week at the end of August 2017. It was hot but they coped okay. Had a great time.
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Old Jan 6th, 2018, 01:07 PM
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nelsonian - honestly I think that 2 adults travelling to Rome at that time of year is a bit different to a family with 3 teenage lads who are going to want to be active a lot of the time. Venice may be hot and crowded but we all know that there are ways of getting away from the crowds and there is always the lido for swimming, or even staying at the Hilton Stucky on the Giudecca which has a pool I believe:

http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/ita...nericx6VCEHIHI
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Old Jan 6th, 2018, 04:34 PM
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Thank you for all the replies. I hadn't thought of the distance to a hotel with a pool in Rome and how being closer without one might make more sense. I also appreciate those who suggest no Rome. It will be hard to get people excited for an Italian Lake as we live on a lake in a state full of them. The ocean has more appeal.

Thin, I will look into your beach suggestion as well as the section of Venice to find a place to stay.

I wonder, as much as I dislike them, if a cruise might make more sense. I hate the idea of going someplace amazing and being stuck on an impersonal boat eating generic food but there is something to be said for the comforts and amenities in terms of the guys.

Thank you again!
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Old Jan 6th, 2018, 04:43 PM
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Before you jettison Rome (especially for a cruise) - consider this -
http://waldorfastoria3.hilton.com/en...IWA/index.html
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...ome_Lazio.html

Fabulous pool. Panoramic views of the city. Fly in. Enjoy days at the pool. Go into the city for a night tour. Get a taste of Rome before you move on.

Get it some thought...
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Old Jan 6th, 2018, 04:45 PM
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GIVE it some thought...

Also agree about looking at the Hilton Stucky in Venice -
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...ce_Veneto.html
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Old Jan 6th, 2018, 04:47 PM
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This may be too quiet for your family, but for a base for a week in Tuscany -
http://www.letorri.com/villa.php
You must rent for a week but it is magical. Again, a great pool and you could explore the surroundings for a week. We loved it. Actually we LOVED it!
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Old Jan 6th, 2018, 04:51 PM
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I was booked at the Aldrovandi Residence City Suites once. It had a pool and is centrally located just north of the Villa Borghese gardens and Bioparco zoo.

Hotel was nice and the staff very efficient.
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Old Jan 6th, 2018, 05:01 PM
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I took my teen daughters to Rome in late spring once and we really struggled with the heat. Thankfully our hotel had good AC as the girls spent every afternoon there watching movies while I went out to art museums. We did our “touring” early in the day. But YMMV. Venice in the heat might be better? Are the boys wanting Italy?? I don’t think of Rome and Venice as an “active” vacation place - more art and history and shopping - but some families do better trekking around in 90+ degree heat than others. (Ours wouldn’t do well admittedly.) I think a cruise might be a better plan for an active family. TBH, I had plenty of meals in Italy that were just okay. I’ve been to Italy many times...But remember you can still eat out even when taking a cruise. IIRC, Seetheworld stayed at a new Marriott in Venice in the summer that had a pool and she had a good time??
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Old Jan 6th, 2018, 06:58 PM
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The Aldrovandi is NOT centrally located in Rome.

Thin
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Old Jan 6th, 2018, 07:24 PM
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I go to Italy often, and the past few years I have had no choice but to go in July because of work. Is it hot? Yes. Is it crowded? Yes (although some cities and sites in Italy are pretty much always crowded--it is Italy, after all, not Des Moines). I wilt in hot weather but have managed to enjoy all of these vacations. I book hotels or apartments with good a/c, keep my sense of humor and stay flexible. Granted, I have seen all the major sights in the major cities many times over by now, so that makes things a bit easier.

But I still think you can do it if everyone stays loose and you avoid forced marches in the afternoons. You know your family personalities best--keep those in mind when planning the pace.

If for whatever reason you find yourself in Bolzano, I can recommend the Parkhotel Laurin, which is a classic hotel right in the city near the train station with a beautiful garden and pool. I stayed there last summer on my way down to Tuscany from the Dolomites.
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Old Jan 6th, 2018, 08:54 PM
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I have a pretty fabulous memory from my youth of getting off a train in Rome at dawn with my backpack & grubby clothes from train-sleeping & hosteling around Europe with a pal and finding ourselves a few hours later lounging by that gorgeous Cavalieri Hilton pool (rendezvousing with parents; Dad worked for an airline and that was our "airline discount" digs when in Rome). It's not a convenient location as Thin says, but a darn nice pool!
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Old Jan 6th, 2018, 09:22 PM
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I really wouldn't stay at the Rome Cavalieri in your situation. I've stayed there and it is a fantastic hotel with a beautiful view but just not central. Instead I'd stay at the Albergo Del Senato, where we've stayed a few times with our boys. It's on the square with the Pantheon, completely central and so "Roman". Having access to a pool in Rome wasn't important to us though.

We also had to go at the end of August due to the kids' schedules. It was just fine. It was warm but not as bad as the 100+ degrees in Seville. The only thing I really noticed was the clerks, waiters, etc in town seemed to be a bit cranky in a few cases.
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