Hi, we are planning Easter break with our daughters 16 & 11. Flying into Venice -2 nights and out of Rome 3 nights. Looking for suggestions on stops between Venice & Rome 4-5 nights. We are fine with driving. Also, is it true most hotels in Italy won't allow 4 people to a room? Thanks for the help.

Florence is smack between Venice and Rome and can be a base from which to hop to proverbial gorgeous Tuscan hilltowns like Siena or San Gimignano or to Pisa to see and climb the Leaning Tower.

Cars are a complete liability in Italian cities like Florence and Rome where wide swathes of towns are off limits to private vehicles - there have been many posts from Fodorites who were shocked to get tickets in the mail after returning home after they inadvertantly drove into no drive zones and had their license plate number captured by a camera - the zones are marked so if driving be sure to know which signs to look for.

Anyway parking can be impossible and very expensive when found - many hotels do not offer parking - things in cars may be stolen - all in all cars are a poor idea IMO if mainly going to Venice, Florence or Rome.

Trains are great though - right to city centres and Trenitalia has launched many really nice trains that speed hourly or more between city centres - for lots on Italian trains - check out these fab IMO sites - www.trenitalia.com - official site of Trenitalia or the Italian State Railways - and also www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com. Trains are always available so you can just buy your tickets as you go along - ask for family tickets if available - anyway no worry about not being able to get on a train anytime IME.

You can sleep four in a room if it's a quad room and meant to sleep three or four people; you can't sleep four people in a double room. You might consider staying in apartments.

You have many, many options between Venice and Rome. What are your interests?

Where do Palm Sunday and Easter fall in your itinerary?

www.booking.com good prices on family rooms

sleepinitaly.com another good more expensive way to go...

eurocheapo.com/venice

eurocheapo.com/florence

eurocheapo.com/rome

great tips www.osita-antica.org great with my kids

seat61.com train between on family rates to save.

insuremytrip.com wise Italy in fianacial exptremis now

Risk for strikes bank runs etc. next year...

Have fun!

Florence is a possibility, depending on your interests. If you like cities, then the "Big Three" of Venice, Florence and Rome is the obvious choice. Florence has some of the world's best museums, so if you like museums and art, particularly Renaissance art, then you should include Florence. If you would like some time in rural areas, then consider skipping Florence for this trip, and spend some nights in rural Tuscany, such as Siena or San Gimignano.

Also, I would suggest more nights in each of Venice and Rome. With two nights in Venice, that's really only a little more than a day (depending on your arrival time).

We took our daughter to Italy several years ago, when she was 10yo, and she loved it. (We spent time in Venice, Florence, Bologna, the region of Le Marche and Rome.) If asked, even now, she'll say she loved it all, but what she says she wants to go back to is Venice and Rome. (But she loves art and museums.)

Hi jill,

at the risk of being shot down in flames for suggesting you do something other than what you have planned for, can I suggest that you think again about trying to shoe-horn 3 places into this trip? our most successful trips with our kids have been the ones where we haven't moved around too much, and with 10 days, you only really have 9 nights. knock off a day either end for travelling, and 1/2 day every time you move, and you've only got about 8 days at the most for actually doing stuff.

oops- i see that Lexma says the same thing - I'm not so off beam then. one year we were lucky enough to be able to do three separate trips to Italy, each a week long, and not being very original people, we did Rome, florence and Venice. They and we loved it all, but most of all they loved Venice and Rome.

I suggest flying into venice, spending 4 nights there, then getting the train to Rome, and spending 5 nights there.

as you will then be spending more than 3 nights in each place, you could look at renting apartments instead of hotels. you will get more room, and the chance to eat at least some meals in, which should save you some money. out kids really enjoyed shopping in markets for what we were going to eat that night. you might not want to do that every night, but once or twice is fun and educational.

you can always do a day trip from Rome if you want a bit of variety.

I agree with all of annhig's suggests.

This might amuse your teenagers in Venice:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-teenagers.cfm

And I agree with Ann - do a couple of places only in the ten days.

A couple of points:

You can certainly put 4 people in a hotel room - but you must reserve a family room (since most rooms have one double bed and no room for folding beds - even if your kids were willing to spend 10 days on them. When we started traveling with daughters 11 and 14 we got them their own room - since there is no way I am sharing a bath with a teen and a tween. If you prefer to share a bath - ask hotels about family rooms - but make sure they know it is for 4 adults - not infants or toddlers. (In British English a "cot" is a baby crib - not a folding camp bed.)

If you haven;t involved your kids in the planning of this trip I would do so now. they might like the countryside - but might be more interested in cities.

And I would stick with two destinations - but that is your preference for a quick or slower paced, more relaxed trip.

Yes a day trip from Rome to say Ostia Antica or Hadrian's Villa and Tivoli for the Bishop's Water Gardens fab fountains would delight anyone of any age - have kids do some reading about Ostia Antica, ancient Rome's port and a primo archeaological site and Hadrian's Villa, similarly a primo classical Roman dig - both are very easy day trips from Rome - but have kids do some research and they will love it even more. Much better IMo than staying in Rome proper.

I found quad rooms on 4ineurope.com
Had rooms in Rome and Florence(and I think Venice as well) It's an easy website and has hotels broken down by area and w/ Trip advisor reviews linked.
It was really helpful.
Italyby.com is another really helpful site w/listings for hotels.
We're taking our teen sons to Italy next June, so will follow your planning as well!
Good Luck!

For quad rooms you can also check www.venere.com and www.booking.com. Both sites allow you to put 4 people in a room and sometimes the "family rooms" are actually 2 adjoining rooms.

Hi, thank you all so much for the recommendations. We are going to fly into Venice then take the train to Rome. We will be in Venice for Easter any suggestions on a must do or avoid? Also, we may still make one stop between Venice & Rome if it is on the train line, any suggestions? Thanks again!

jillrun,

we spent a week in venice a few Easters ago with our teens so if you click on my screen name, you can see my trip report.

have a great time!

If you really want to add another destination, you might want to consider Bologna, which is on the train line between Venice and Rome.

We included one night in Bologna when we took our 10yo daughter on her first visit to Italy (we'd been to Bologna previously). She really enjoyed our time there, and liked the feel of the smaller, quieter and less-touristy Italian city.

Orvieto, I believe, is also on that same line. You could spend an overnight there, for another choice of an experience in a small Italian city. You could even rent a car for a day, and drive around the countryside to get a small taste of rural Italy. I would say, generally, that Orvieto would have more tourists than would Bologna.