Hello

I would love some guidance with an upcoming trip to Italy. We ( 2 adults and 2 teens) arrive into Venice June 17th and need to fly home June 30th.(return flight will most likely be out of Rome) Venice is the arrival city mainly because I was able to use miles We do not arrive until 4pm. I have several scenarios running through my head and now I am getting very confused!! This is our second trip with the kids. Last visit we did Florence, Cinque and Rome. No car and stayed in hotels. This trip we are wanting to stay in Tuscany ( Pienza, Val Di Orcia, Montepulciano area) and also visit Sorrento. I do not have accommodations yet because I am still deciding on the best travel plan. Here are a few options that I am thinking.

Option one:
Arrive into Venice and just stay at an airport hotel for one night . Fly into Naples the next day. ( wondering if airport would be a pain ) Private car to Sorrento. Use Sorrento for home base for 5 nights. From Sorrento have a driver return us to the Naples train station and take the train to Chiusi. Get rental car here for our time in Tuscany. After time in Tuscany return car and take the train , most likely to Rome, for our return flight. We would do this the night before our departure.

Option two:
Arrive to Venice and stay 2 nights at Gritti Palace. ( yeah points!) Then train to Chiusi and pick up rental car. ( looks like travel time is 4 hours. Direct train possible but not sure you can get reserved seats?) After time in Tuscany return the car and take the train to Naples. Again looks like 4 hours. Private car to Sorrento and back to Naples when we depart. Be in Rome the night before our return flight.

Option three:
Skip Sorrento. Do 2 nights in Venice. 3 nights somewhere else and then do a full week in Tuscany.

Option four:
Open to ideas and or suggestions. Trying to keep accommodation moves to a minimum. I know it will be hot and crowded but we are hoping for a relaxing vacation! We could also return home out of Naples but so far I am only seeing 6:20 am flights and that would be tough but not off the table! also if you have accommodation suggestions please let me know. Need 2-3 bedrooms, great view, breakfast, possible evening meal. Pool and AC would be a bonus and appreciated!

Thank you!
Sally

Option 2 would limit you to 3 accommodations, and would work if you would fly out of Naples. I would.

It would include two nights that you're not putting cash out for, in a quite nice place, and the kids haven't been to Venice. A nice place with a pool in Tuscany and on to Sorrento sounds pretty good to me.

In Option 1, you wonder if the airport to catch a flight to Naples would be a pain. For me, airports are always a pain. And one night in a hotel at the airport doesn't feel attractive. Certainly not compared to two nights at the Gritti Palace!

Option 3 could easily include a stay on one of the Italian lakes. If you would like that, I would suggest a more touristy town, to give the kids a little action. Sirmione on Garda is appealing and easy to get to, but there are any number of places that could fill that slot.

These are nice problems to have!

One vote for Option #3.

You have 12 days not impacted by arrival and departure, and you're only giving yourselves one full day and an evening in Venice. I would pick up the rental car on leaving Venice and drive to the next destination, perhaps in Emilia Romagna or Umbria. I'd return the car at FCO and spend the last night near the airport. FWIW, my favorite town in the Val d'Orcia is Montepulciano, but I don't think there's a bad choice.

Option 3 would be nice - Venice - Florence for a few days bus to Siena get car drive thru hill towns to Chiusi for train to Rome last few days. Anyway about trains - be sure to book anything but regional trains (yes if marked regional train no seat reservations possible but dirt cheap fare) you can get neat discounts if booking far enough in advance to nab those limited in number discounted seats - Acquista il biglietto con le nostre offerte - Trenitalia or www.italotreno.com - two competing rail companies using same tracks and same stations and similar trains - take whatever is cheapest. Easy to book own online. www.seat61.com has lots on doing that yourselves online - general info trains and what to expect www.ricksteves.com and BETS-European Rail Experts.

13 days I'd really look at option 3 - minimized time of trains or planes and lets you see big three and a bit of Tuscany as well.

Thanks!

In any case if not been to Venice before 2 nights there is a must to appreciate it and get off touristed routes.

And even for Naples trains can be nearly as quick - about 5 hours I think - of course if stay at airport that would be different but otherwise hop trains from Venice itself and end at Naples train station where trains to Sorrento leave from.

Fastest timing Venice-Naples is 5 hrs 4 minutes. That's from Santa Lucia; from Mestre (nearer the airport) a few minutes faster. Most timings involve one connection (Rome) but there are a couple every day which are direct. I would not rent a car just to get from this particular A to B.

What are your teens’ interests? I would think many in that age range would find Vesuvius, Herculaneum, and Naples interesting (Paestum, too, though farther off). If your family enjoys hikes, the Path of the Gods (Il Sentiero Degli Dei) is stunning and other routes equally pleasant. Sorrento/Amalfi will be crowded, although sometimes just walking further up a town away from the easy main streets gives you a respite.

The hill towns of Tuscany are enchanting, of course, but will they hold your family’s interests?

I vote Option 2, but maybe fast train to Naples.

I vote option 2 as well. You land in Venice, and if you never have seen it, would recommend that you do. I like the Venice-Tuscany-Amalfi itinerary.