jamikins

But you have four locations plus day trips above Venice, Lucca, potentially Orvieto and Rome.

Can you cancel your existing reservations and spend the time in two locations with maybe a day trip from each?

adventures6

I only have two locations. I can't cancel because I'd have to lose deposits. We really don't mind changing locations. I worry more about crowds. We are taking very little with us just carry-on backpacks. We are an on the go kind of family.

JaxandCo

Hi - we are doing a similar trip with our 5 kids - 16 down to 7 years - although in mid August. I feel your pain by the way - all that planning for Israel Anyway we have a few more days in our holiday than you but we have gone for this combo: Fly to Rome - 4 nights / train to Naples - 5 nights / train to Florence - 5 nights / train to Venice - 4 nights and then to Milan to fly home...

Although I haven't been yet...I am finding all my research regarding Florence that it will be quite suitable for our family and therefore maybe for your family? We have an apartment booked in the centre through airbnb (which I recommend) and are planning on the following activities over the 4 full days we have in Florence. 2 full days in the city - visiting museums / churches etc in the AM / lunch back at the apartment / rest and then as we know it will be hot - the afternoon time at one of the local public swimming pools which look lovely, then evenings out in the centre, strolling and eating ice cream! One day visiting Siena by bus (youngest child is called Sienna - so we have to go!) and one day visiting Pisa by train in AM and then afternoon early evening Lucca - to stroll and ride bikes.

My kids are pretty good with museums etc but I know that I have to be reasonable with my expectations and plan accordingly - aim to just see a few key pieces and get there early. Plus I also know that there are many other interesting things to look at / explore and experience than just the most popular attractions. We have also bought the Firenze Card which allows us 'free' entry and no waiting lines for 72 museums etc for €72 - over 72 hours! With this the kids are free - although they are EU citizens which I think is necessary. Our kids are especially keen to see the Museo Galileo - with its 1000 scientific objects including Galileo’s telescope!

It is just an idea and I might be proved wrong (as in yes Florence will be too hot and crowded) but after all the research I feel we can combine all the lovely things to see and still carve out some downtime in the city and surrounding areas...

Good luck

JaxandCo

And yes we too are only taking small carry on backpacks, don't like crowds (although who does!) and are definitely get and go sort of travellers!

adventures6

Thank you so much for writing. I really appreciate you sharing your plans with me. I just got a Rick Steve's Florence & Tuscany book. The Museo Galileo intrigued me. I think we should be able to handle the Accademia also. Thanks for letting me know about the public swimming pools! If you have any more info on those please share that with me also. I'd love to get a VBRO close to a pool.

adventures6

JaxandCo - Did you buy a railpass? have you bought all your train tickets in advance?

JaxandCo

Hi, yes the Museo look interesting and I think our trip to the Accademia will be short and sweet! Here is a link to a website with pools
http://www.venere.com/blog/florence-...g-pools-10090/

I am not sure if they are within walkable distance of the centre...I haven't quite researched all that yet! However they look lovely and will be very welcomed by the kids!

By the way we looked at staying in Lucca instead of Florence but struggled to find an apartment and with 7 of us - hotels are too pricy. We also couldn't find any public swimming pools there which really made our mind up! I am sure like anywhere, once the day trippers have left, the city becomes a lovely place to wander with kids (fingers crossed!)

No, I pre booked our rail ticket through this website - http://www.italiarail.com which I found the easiest to use. We booked well in advance so I am not sure what the prices / availability is now. The general advice seem to be that railcards were not the best option...

I use a combination of books but I have to say that the DK Eyewitness Travel - Family Italy has been the most helpful with regard to choosing places with kids in mind. I also have other books that expand on the places but that book really has been great!

sandralist

Hi,

Florence will be very crowded, so if you are worried about crowds, I don't think you want to be spending all your time there.

Lucca is better. So is Pisa. Other places with good train access to Florence (and Pisa and Lucca) are Pistoia and Montecatini.

You could try looking on booking.com for your dates and see what you come up with in Pisa, Lucca, Pistoia and Montecatini. You can also look for apartments there.

You could also look in Bologna. From Bologna, you can visit Florence in 45 minutes, or enroute to Rome. From Bologna, you can visit Modena, Ravenna, Ferrara and Parma -- none of them crowded with tourists.

One person's experience of booking a "remote" agriturismo in October should not be the determining factor if you would prefer to rent a car and visit the Tuscan countryside and have access to a swimming pool. Again, you can find these places on booking.com or venere.com, and book them online.

sandralist

Also, just for the record:

There is no need to travel through Verona to get to Venice from the Dolomiti. If you stay on the eastern side of the Dolomiti -- near Cortina d'Ampezzo -- you can just go to and from Venice through the mountains.

Castelrotto is a nice town but it is extremely far west in the Dolomiti range, so far west it is almost not in the Dolomiti national park. For people who want to see the Dolomiti, it is just as beautiful to be on the eastern side as the western side.

The problem with dropping off a car in Verona and taking the train to Rome is that it is much longer than dropping off a car in Venice and taking the train from there.

But I am not re-opening the idea of going to the Dolomiti. I just didn't want that misinformation to go uncorrected for future travelers to the area.

sandralist

One more PS:

If the post about Florence that Jax&Co has provided has made you more comfortable about being in Florence for a week, I am not trying to talk you out of it. It is likely to be crowded, but you might find it doesn't really bother you, and you might be more interested in just drawing a line under this and getting on with planning other details.

cheryl_b

good job, adventure mom, you are listening and adjusting well! i have done several trips with my 3 kids. first tip: limit the art museums. let's just say, my children are ruined for life and even in their 20s, our trip last summer was pretty much museum-free.

i highly advocate limiting your hotel/home changes. a good base with day trips is much easier on everyone than constantly repacking and switching. pompeii (or perhaps herculaneum) is a perfect day trip from rome.

i want to put in my vote for siena, my favorite tuscan town. it is charming, unique, delicious and accessible. check the dates for the Palio, an incredible horse race, festival and pageant important to the locals and fascinating for visitors. when we went, my kids were 12, 13 and 16. one of our best travel memories anywhere. even if it's not palio time, i prefer it to orvieto, which i think has less of interest for the kids.

cinque terre was part of last summer's trip. incredibly scenic, really outstanding...but not easy to get to (only served by train, or a hike) and one day would not feel like enough, plus you'll get your hiking fix in the dolomites.

so, venice (be sure to visit murano!)...dolomites...siena then train or there's a good motorcoach between siena and roma...day trip to pompeii. happy kids, happy family!

(p.s. members of my family were supposed to go to israel today...postponed until next tuesday, but we'll see. sorry your plans got, well, bombed. what a world...)

cheryl_b

btw, it was not worth it to pre-purchase train tickets or a eurailpass. and, without the dolomites, i think our plan might work for you: we traveled from venice to siena by train (you could also take a half day from siena and go to pisa) and motorcoach to rome. 3 cities with 2 day trips sounds just right, IMHO.

good luck!

adventures6

I would really love to stay in Siena. Any recommendations to where to stay? How would you do the trip from Siena to Pisa? My kids really want to go see the leaning tower

sandralist

Doesn't Rick Steves cover how to get to Pisa in his book? And how to get to Siena and where to stay? It is largely because of Rick Steves promoting Siena as a destination that it has become so crowded, but also the town so hypes the Palio in August.

sandralist

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTop...a_Tuscany.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowTo...a_Tuscany.html

sandralist

adventures6,

I can't tell if you have now given up on the idea of trying to avoid crowds in Italy in August. Crowds will be a problem in Siena, but even if you are willing to put up with that, Siena is quite far from Pisa. It is 2 hours each way for a day trip (train or car).

If you are planning on including Pisa in this trip, you should stay someplace more convenient to Pisa. If you do not want to rent a car, that needs to be somewhere along the train line that runs between Florence and Pisa. The least crowded option, and the one that is the most kid-friendly (loads of swimming pools and a funicular ride up to a sweet town) is Montecatini Terme. You can get there from Venice with a train switch in Florence. Booking.com truly is the best way to go shopping for lodgings, especially under time pressure. Read reviews.

Otherwise, if you want to go to both Siena and Pisa, staying in Florence makes the most sense if you don't have a car.

Or, rent a car and find a place to stay somewhere in the vicinity of Certaldo/San Casciano/Tavarnelle. Probaby the simplest place to rent a car is the Florence airport. Take a train to Florence from Venice and take a bus or taxi to the airport.

But if you dearly want Siena, before you book anywhere in Siena, work out the logistics of visiting Pisa AND getting to Rome. If you decide to book in Siena and want to take the 3-hour bus trip to Rome, I think you should try to secure all the tickets you need in advance, online. (Don't know how to do that. Maybe someone does.) Otherwise you will need to work out the train route.

adventures6

Sandralist - I appreciate your help in finding locations away from the crowds. My concerns about those places is that the town will be closed down due to the Italians taking their holdiay vacations.

sandralist

Montecatini Terme will certainly not be closed down. It is where italians go in summer to swim and listen to music. The Tuscan area around Certaldo is prime Tuscan territory for villa rentals and small-town hopping, plus visiting Siena and Florence and Pisa. It is second home territory and popular with tourists. It just not slammed out wall to wall with tourists like Siena.

Your fear is totally unfounded.

You can read up on these places if you are interested. You can find them easily on the web.

sandralist

With a car:

http://www.certaldo-info.com/

ttp://www.lifeinitaly.com/tourism/tuscany/certaldo

Without a car:

http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/allt...to-see-and-do/

http://goitaly.about.com/od/montecat...ini-travel.htm

http://mytuscanwedding.com/blog/tusc...ntecatini.html

adventures6

OK, so we decided on a day trip through Florence on our way to Lucca. In Lucca we will spend four nights. We will then train to Pompeii area for the 5th night so we can see Pompeii early in the morning.

On the day we train to Pompeii, I threw around the idea of stopping in Orvieto for a day trip. Since it makes the train so complicated I think we will just skip Orvieto. Now, I need to figure out our Pompeii part of our trip. I have heard the CV train is jam packed and full of pickpockets so we should leave our luggage in check in Naples. Should we just stay in Naples for the night? We can arrive by 5pm, check-in and have dinner(I heard the pizza is fantastic). Then early the next morning visit Pompeii without having to take our stuff on the CV train. If we do this option where is a good place to stay in Naples. We'd visit the museum after Pompeii then head up to Rome.