Hi,

My wife and I will be traveling for two weeks in Italy in mid-October (flying out from San Francisco). Our baby boy will be about 8 months old at that time. We are thinking about flying into Venice and out of Rome (or vice versa) or just Rome.

We know we want to spend 4-5 nights in Rome, most likely in a rental apartment rather than a hotel room, and another 4-5 nights in an agriturismo in Tuscany - we'll rent a car and do day trips from that "home base."

And I guess we'll do a couple nights in Venice either at the beginning or the end of the trip. We've heard and read great things about Cinque Terre -- it sounds amazing and would be a great change of pace from Rome/Tuscany, but I'm not sure how "baby-friendly" it would be.

Any advice/suggestions re: Cinque Terre with a baby and/or other places to visit outside of Rome/Tuscany/Venice would be much appreciated!

jd

I would just go where ever you would opt to go with out your son. I assure you, people have babies all over the world, including every town and village in Italy. Anything you need for your baby you will find. Plus, Italians love bambinos

I would skip the 5 terre because the best part is hiking the 15 odd km from one to the other and with an 8 month old this may not be much fun! Otherwise agree with previous poster.

Thanks for your good advice. We may still decide to CT. But I'm also looking for any suggestions of places that are very different from what we will see and do in Rome, Tuscany and Venice -- maybe involving a body of water (lake, ocean) -- but that is in the vicinity, i.e., not to far north or south.

Just to let you know that you'll be crossing LOTS of bridges just walking around Venice, and this means steps going up and down. I presume you'll be bringing a buggie/stroller? If possible, a backpack makes navigating so much easier in Venice.

Yes, we plan to bring our Baby Bjorn (front carrier) and also a stroller. Not sure yet whether it will be our heavier-duty "all-terrain stroller" or a lighter umbrella-type stroller. Seems there are plenty of votes in favor of each... I guess it's possible that by the time he's 8 months old, he'd rather be in a backpack carrier than the Bjorn. But the Bjorn would obviously be much easier to pack.

By mid-October you may be more limited in the non-city destinations than you would be in warmer months. The seaside resorts are pretty much closed up by then. I think I would save CT for another trip...while you might get lucky with weather, there is an equal chance that maritime climate could dish up some chilly rain.

Personally, I would lean toward Venice. I don't think you will find it repetitive as an experience.

But if you thirst for VERY different scenery, you might consider the Abruzzo; only 90 minutes from Rome and lots of agritourismo and villas to rent there and the countryside is fabulous at harvest time. This is the region of real mountains as opposed to the rolling hills of Tuscany (the Appeninni-the Miele) and it is breathtaking at harvest time. There is also the Adriatic seashore if you are lucky with weather.

I've mentioned this before on other threads, however if you do a fair amount of traveling and/or hiking and are considering getting a backpack carrier, I would strongly recommend taking a look at this convertible backpack/stroller by Kelty K.I.D.S.:
http://www.kelty.com/kelty/kids.php?...=48&id=196

It completely solves the whole backpack carrier/stroller dilemma. It is perfect for Europe (Venice in particular). An added benefit is that it can also be used as a high chair in restaurants which comes in handy since high chairs can be scarce in many European restaurants.

The only place I regret going with my young children was Venice. They were not light enough (or I am not strong enough) to enjoy carrying them all day on a backpack and the bridges with stairs are constant and make a stroller a no-go. I would save that city for later when your son is walking. The rest of Italy was great with a baby.