Over the past 9 months this forum has been an incredibly valuable resource in the planning of my family trip to Italy in June. I cannot thank you all enough.

It all started as an idea for a gift for my parents for their 50th wedding anniversary in April. I'd never researched much about the country before and the more I read, the more I fell in love. Our itinerary and dates changed sometime before the holidays when my mom admitted that she was feeling that, as much as she would love to see Italy, she felt that an overseas trip was too much, too far and too unpredictable. I realized that her worries were causing more stress than happiness. After all, this trip was for them, so we decided to celebrate their anniversary closer to home. Footnote: We celebrated over Easter with a long weekend in Santa Fe which they loved to bits so all is well on that front.

Well, to make a long story....less long, after we decided to change the plans I found myself mourning the loss of our first trip to Italy trip. It took all of 30 seconds to convince my husband to change the trip to June with just the 4 of us. Since the kids will be out of school we were able to add another week. So here is the itinerary:

-June 9- Boston to London/ London to Milan on British Air.

-June 10-13- Albergo Firenze in Bellagio

-June 13-16- Train to Venice Hotel Marconi

-June 16- (this is the part where you'll say we are nuts but I cannot, cannot, cannot go to Italy and not at least get a precious glimpse of Florence.) Earliest morning train from Venice to Florence. Rent a car and stow our luggage in the car. Explore Florence for....sniff...1/2 day only. In the afternoon, drive from Florence to Pienza for 1 night at Antica Locanda.

June 17- Explore Val D'Orcia a bit then head to Orvieto for lunch and a glimpse of the city. Late afternoon, drop off the car in Orvieto and take the train to Rome.

June 17-20- Rome Albergo del Senato. Highlight is Vatican tour with Prof. Enrico Bruschini.

June 20-23- Hire a driver to Positano, or Amalfi and boat to Positano- Hotel Poseidon

June 23- Driver to Naples Airport- fly to London Gatwick. Spend night in London to see The Lord of the Rings on stage. Covent Gardens Hotel.

June 24- Heathrow to Boston...blubber, snort, sniff.

Unfinished details:
Train travel- I feel relatively comfortable arranging the train from Como to Venice, Venice to Florence and Orvieto to Rome when we get there, or is that a mistake? Should I pre book? I find that Trenitalia website frightfully intimidating.

Car rental: I feel that I must do this immediately. I've read that a car rental agency is located right near the Florence train station. Would anyone have contact info?

Driver from Rome to Positano: I would appreciate advice on the best route. Rome to Amalfi then boat, or Rome to Sorrento or elsewhere then boat, or just drive straight to Positano?

Driver from Positano to Naples Airport: I think it makes sense to drive the whole way there. Should I ask the hotel to book or can someone recommend a reliable driver?

Gatwick to Covent Gardens: Considering there are 4 of us, luggage and undoubtably packages, a driver seems to make sense. Right? We arrive at 4:00pm on a Saturday so there shouldn't be a rush hour.

Any and all suggestions are most welcome. Thank you all again for your generous help in planning this trip.

Since you asked for any and all suggestions, I will suggest that you have too many stops! With 14 nights, changing hotels 6 times, including 1 change of country, is too much time on trains, etc. Especially with a couple of kids along, that's a lot of packing, unpacking, getting to stations, getting to new hotel, etc. I think you will end up with two very cranky kids...

If you can change your hotel reservations, for your 13 nights in Italy, I would:

3 nights Venice
Stop in Florence as planned, you should have until late afternoon before leaving.
3 nights Pienza (you will arrive early evening, so even with this itinerary, really only 2 days to "explore Val d'Orcia)
4 nights Rome
3 nights Positano

Even this is a lot of moving around, but not quite so frantic.
Of course, it may be too late to make these changes, but in any event, I wish you a great trip!

Thanks so much for the reply Susan. It is too late to change, especially since we changed dates once already. My boys will be 9 and 16 by June and they are both good travelers. We tend to have high energy vacations, most especially when are exploring a place that is new to us. We pack light, too, and never really unpack. I know that our traveling style would never appeal to those who vacation seeking peace and quiet, but for some strange reason, it works for us! Thank you for your good wishes as we prepare for a whirlwind splash o'Italy.

MarciaMarciaMarcia,

A private driver from Rome to Positano is way too expensive now. It could cost more than $400 US. So I'd recommend taking the Eurostar from Rome to Naples, then getting picked up there by private driver for the trip to Positano.

For this, I can highly recommend Giovanni Gargiulo of Tourofitaly.com, a personal favorite we've used many times. You can also get a quote from him for the drive back to Naples from Positano.

If you'd like to get a second quote, also try Franceso Marrapese who can be reached at [email protected]. I don't know him personally, but have been in touch with him, and he is often recommended here on the forum.

To backtrack for a minute, I would strongly recommend booking your train travel ahead. You are going during the busiest tourist season, and the trains can be quite full.

Marcia, I thought that was probably the case. I agree about buying your train tickets ahead of time, especially if you want a specific train. I know a lot people here on Fodors always say, no problem, buy them when you get there, but as Weadles points out, you'll be there at a very busy time, and you'll need four tickets, not just one. I wouldn't want to take the chance of the train being full, but that's just me. Also, leaving Venice, I want a train where I don't have to change trains in Mestre, and only some times offer that option. I know it's probably not a big deal to change trains in Mestre, but it's one more thing I don't want to have to do. Just something to think about.

You can't book online with Trenitalia more than 60 days in advance. You can purchase all your tickets in Milan on arrival, if you don't want to book online.

Have you and your family been to Europe before? Is everyone prepared for the lack of sleep on the plane and how tired they will be the first day (or two)? You may be underestimating how long it takes to do everything, such as train travel, checking in and out of hotels, or simply eating a meal in a country where things aren't rushed. Many places close in the afternoon(12:30 or 1 until 3:30 or 4) so you might have to wait for something you want to see to reopen. It can be very hot in Italy in June which makes you want to rest and take breaks more often. You will find many sights and restaurants aren't air conditioned and all the heat just zaps everyone's energy.

I'm not sure it's a good idea to store your luggage in the rental car while you tour Florence. Your luggage might be safer in the luggage storage in the train station.

It also doesn't make sense to hire a driver from Rome to Positano and be dropped in Amalfi to catch a ferry. If you are hiring a driver to Positano, have him take you to Positano. If not, and you decide to train, it will probably be easier to book a train to Salerno (instead of Naples) and then get a driver the rest of the way to Positano.

Why not pick up your car after your half of day in Florence Marcia? When you arrive at the train station in Florence when you are standing with your back to the rails go to your left and you can check your luggage there. After your half day in Florence you can collect your luggage and then get your rental car. That would be so much easier IMHO.

Weadles, you are a gem. I will brave the Trenitalia web site and book those train legs adding one from Rome to Naples since we are within the 60 days of travel. (Dear God, can you make me a little more Sophia Loren and a little less house frau in 60 days, per favore?) Also, I will contact Giovanni today and if he is booked will contact Francesco.

Susan, thanks for the tip about the train changing in Mestre between Venice and Florence. We'll be driven more by how early the train leaves, than the convenience of the connection but it is something I will watch for. We'd like to be on our way by 7:00 am.
I will book online then confirm once we arrive. Perhaps I'll contact the concierge at the Florence Hotel (our first stop) to help me confirm things.

Ky, we have been to Ireland and and a fair amount of flights that seem to go on forever. We are aware that it is an overnight flight. My guys, all three of them, we'll call them Doctare, Scott and Mini-me, have the "I can sleep anywhere gene". I don't but sheer excitement would keep me awake anyway. However, I do have a boatload of Amex points accumulated over the years and I am moving them to a corresponding BA affiliate. Our British Air rep is working on upgrading us to business class from the second level seats we now have. If by a miracle, she can pull that off then that will help. Even if not, the reason we chose to begin with the lake is to stay put for 3 days and rejuvenate. I would like to visit some of the beautiful gardens and the Villa Carlotta, but other than that we will just chill.

Love Italy, I wasn't aware that we could store our luggage at the train station. That is the perfect solution. Thank you all!!

MarciaMarciaMarcia,

Have you made arrangements to get to Bellagio from Milan? If you're looking for the name of a company, we used BestViaggi.com last year. Antonello was our driver, and the ride took about two hours. It was expensive- I want to say about $200+, but it might be worth it to you since you will have had such a long travel day.

For pickups at Gatwick, I can highly recommend Ray Skinner of London-Transfers.com. He's a former BA employee and world traveler, very reliable and hilarious! We've used him many times over the years, and always look forward to spending time with him, even in London traffic!

Tell me about the Vatican Tour with Prof Enrico Bruschini???

You are a treasure trove of info Weadles. Our hotel (Hotel Florence) said that they could arrange to pick us up at the airport, but I may compare the charges, so thanks for that tip. I will definitely call Ray Skinner because the London leg is the one that I am most unsure about.

If you would indulge me just a little bit more, I am reeling with confusion over the train info and wondering if you or others can help. I have read the advice here suggesting that Rail Europe's booking prices are higher than Trenitalia's. I've compared the price from Milan to Venice and although it is about $3 American more per ticket, it seems to be so much easier to navigate. Further, on the Venice to Florence leg, Trenitalia does not offer an early morning option but Rail Europe does. Aren't they booking the same trains?

To be specific, Rail Europe shows a 6:32 am train from Venice to Florence on 6/13 arriving in Florence at 9:23am. That is perfect. Trenitalia does not show me that option, only trains that leave after 10. I did request morning trains but still the early morning option does not appear. Does Rail Europe have access to trains that Trenitalia does not or is it possible that that particular time is sold out and Rail Europe has not figured it out yet? Am I making sense?

Is there any advantage to using Trenitalia over Rail Europe in booking online other than, in our case, about $12 per trip?

Queener, I read about him in Dream of Italy magazine. I wrote to him and he is still available for private tours. Here is his website and there is mucho info on him if you google his name. Good luck!

http://www.profenrico.com/

About trenitalia not showing some train runs. I have noticed that although you can purchase tickets online 60 days out, they do not have all the runs up. It seems they don't have them all after about 30 days out. This is mostly on early morning and late evening trains. Don't know why this is other than the fact it's trenitalia.

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia - what is the cost of the Enrico tour?

Sorry, noticed a typo, we are traveling from Venice to Florence on the 16th, not the 13th.

Thanks Mimi, that might explain it. I'll wait a little while to see if anyone else has a compelling reason not to book through Rail Europe. It seems pretty idiot proof, but if anyone can challenge that title, it is moi.

Queener, the 4 hour tour for the four of us is €510

I checked the Venice to Florence route. Trenitalia doesn't show it on 6/16 but it's up on 6/2. So check in a few weeks. I know this because of a train I take very often. It's regular service, but isn't posted too early.

Perhaps Trenitalia is not showing all your options because it's too early (not within the 60 day window - April 14 days+ May 31+ June13 = 58). Enter a date a week earlier and you will see the same train exists.

I'm not sure where you got the 3E price difference. RailEurope charge is $172 for 4 tickets(what they call economy which is 2nd cl standard fare)tickets for this train + $18(=$190) to mail the tickets. They say tickets are paper only, but that's really not the case. If you buy on Trenitalia, you just print the ticket code yourself. The same tickets on Trenitalia will be 105E (2nd cl standard) which equals $140. Trenitalia takes into account the age of your youngest child and gives a discount. RailEurope does not. Difference for 4 tickets is $50.

Well there you go, I did not take into consideration the kid's fare and the extra fee. The first half of the trip is within the 60 day window so I'll wait a week and book the rest. By the way Ky....it's April 16.

Yes, it's April 16, which means there are 14 days left in the month as I posted above.

Many people like to use RailEurope because they like the peace of mind that comes with having tickets in hand (especially if you have to be on a certain train), which is fine if they want to pay the extra money. Many people don't realise how much extra it costs or how easy it is to buy your tickets in Italy.