donnit

Heading to Italy late March/early April with kids (will be 12 and almost 15). Thinking Rome, Venice, Florence, Pompeii. I assume flying in and out of Rome. We could be in Rome on Easter Sunday -- which would be insane but lifelong memorable. Kids can walk for hours, and are VERY excited. The kids technically have 11 days, but I am willing to add a day or two if needed. What do you think? Advice?

nytraveler

Add as many days as you can. Avoid a wasted day returning to Rome by fling into Venice - then doing Florence, rome and a day trip to Pompeii (to avoid wasting another day moving hotels). Even with a couple of extra days this is covering a lot of territory in little time - esp if you plan on being in rome for Ester. For that I would reco getting a hotel room NOW - and expect to pay a large premium.

wayfinder45

It's a lot of ground to cover in 10 days so I agree with nytraveler -- add a couple of days if you can. We did those four, plus a day trip to Pisa in two weeks over the Christmas holidays. It was do-able, not too too rushed, but we certainly missed quite a bit by taking on as much as we did. However, the kids loved every place we went and we did have some forced down time because of the holidays. We traveled around easily by train and the kids really enjoyed that. We took a day trip to Pompeii from Rome and that was a really long day, but brilliant.

We flew in and out of Rome and although that meant cutting short our time in Venice, it actually worked well for us, since for a variety of reasons Venice didn't capture our hearts the way Rome did, and we were all glad to return and spend our final day in Rome. But in general, it is very sensible to think about flying into one city and out of another. These days, the flights are not that much different price-wise. I think most people suggest flying into Venice because the flights out tend to be very early in the morning. Check flights into or out of Pisa as well; there are sometimes good deals to be had there depending on where you are flying from.

Enjoy your trip planning!

donnit

Great idea flying into Venice and out of Rome -- flights are actually better, and that would save a lot of driving! I added a day on either end -- we'd arrive late afternoon in Venice on Thurs Mar 29, leave Rome midday Mon Apr 9. That gives us 10 non-flying days -- so what do you think: Venice 29-1st, Florence 1st-4th, Rome & Pompeii 4th-9th?

ellenem

Driving? If you plan to visit just the places you've listed, you don't need a car. In fact, a car will cause difficulties in these cities--limited traffic zones for residents only and the associated g=high-priced tickets for violating the zones; high fuel and parking costs.

jgg

We did a similar trip with our kids when they were 9 and 12. Rome, Florence, Venice (debated on incl. Pompeii but in the end didn't make it). We also did a similar time of year to you, but flew home the day before Easter.
Here is a link to the trip report:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...or-2-weeks.cfm

charnees

I'd give an extra day to Venice, and one less in Florence. You will be stunned and jet-lagged on the 1st, and another day in Venice to see things and adapt to italy will help. Then to Florence, and finally to Rome. Agree now that you may not make it to Pompeii if things don't work out. However, there's a very similar Roman ruin just outside of Rome, called Ostia Antica. The difference is it was not buried in volcanic ash, so it isn't as romantic. there's also Villa d'Este in Tivoli, which has hundreds of amazing fountains in the gardens (if it is open that early in spring). Also Hadrian's Villa (actually a many-acre complex of ruins) in Tivoli.

Don't drive. You can't in the cities, anyway.

LauraLF

bookmarking

We are planning a very similar trip in June with sons 17 and 14. Will read with interest others' input.

donnit

Thanks all -- great idea about an extra day in Venice. And I had already decided to take trains between Venice-Florence & Rome. Like the non-Pompeii options, too, although it is a dream of mine. But if it doesn't happen, oh well! Am also thinking of renting apartments instead of hotels. Anybody had experieence with that?

nytraveler

Driving on a trip like that would be a big error (and we have done numerous road trips in europe and love driving there - but only in countryside and between smaller towns). Parking is impossible in any of the places you are going and Florence and Rome have pedestrian only centers. So, as well as paying every day for a car you cannot use you will be paying $40 or so per night to park it.

IMHO the best transit IN any of those cities is foot (or cab if your feet have given out). Easiest between cities is train - unless you are going to try to fit a countryside tour i nto an already packed itinerary.

charnees

Renting an apartment is feasible if you are staying somewhere for three or more nights. Look at sleepinitaly.com and vrbo.com. You can also look for B&bs. ( search for B&B Rome or B&B Florence)

donnit

We are 2 weeks from departure -- so excited! Will do Venice 3 nights (apartment), Florence 2 nights (hotel), and Rome 6 nights (apartment). Kids are starting to get excited (although DS, almost 15, is a bit too cool to admit it). Our venice contact has promised a list of the best pastry shops she can find for him, so that will make him happy! He is bummed I won't let him bring his electric guitar on the trip, but I just cant imagine schlepping it around.

I have compiled so many recommendations for restaurants/bars/gelato shops, etc, I am overwhelmed. Might print out a map and mark them all. I dont want to overplan, but it always seems we end up eating wherever we drop, and miss out on all the wonderful suggestions we receve prior to travel.

I will try to keep a journal of our trip so I can share any travel wealth we acquire!

wayfinder45

I ran into the same problem -- I collected so much great input, but I didn't have enough time to organize it in a way that was really useful while we were on the go! For an upcoming trip, I've printed out maps and marked the locations of specific restaurants/shops near sights we are planning to visit as well as key bus routes, etc. I'm keeping it simple, so the maps aren't cluttered, but I hope they'll be a handy way to see what's in the area when we are ready to "drop." I also have a small notebook with more detailed logistical info that I'll carry with me all the time. Last trip I wrote everything in a composition size notebook, but it didn't easily fit in my day pack, so I ended up leaving it in the hotel room and, of course, never ended up having it on me when I really needed it.

Good luck with those last minute planning and packing tasks, and have a GREAT trip!!