wendylyn

Hello Please anyone that can help with my Itinerary I would love some advise. WE are planning on going in early June to Rome, Tuscany and Sorrento
We have 14 days to spend. I want to drive not take the trains due to my daughter. BUT we both cannot be in the car for more then 2 or 2 1/2 hours at a time. From Pienza where can we stay over night on our way to Sorrento that we can enjoy for the evening . Any suggestions? Thanks Wendylyn

gramercy

wnedylyn, is it just you and your daughter, or someone else as well?
Just wondering how having your daughter with you influenced your decision not to take trains.

5alive

I am going with my children and we are the other way -- trying to avoid renting a car.

Here are some tips I received from this forum regarding Italy with kids. The season's wrong for you but still lots of info.

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34667541

ira

Hi W,

Check www.viamichelin.com and www.mappy.com for routes.

It's only about 4:30 hr by car on the highway.

wendylyn

I am sorry I forgot to explain it is myself my husband and my daughter Rachel who will be 9 . Why is the season wrong for us to go? I am wondering because Rachel gets out of school in June but we are going to take her out early June just wondering if you think that the month is totally wrong. Thanks for all the advise!
WEndy

ellenem

The season is wrong for you in the thread to which 5alive provided the link. That thread describes activities at Christmas time. You will be going in June, which is not wrong at all.

We're still wondering why you think a car will be better for your daughter than a train.

wendylyn

Hello , Well I am torn between car and train. We may drive to Tuscany area then take train to Naples get picked up and go to Sorrento. It is all up in the air. I have so many opinions. Some people say dragging your luggage around and all makes it harder and less flexible. With the car we can stop when we want , but on the other hand you can sleep on the train. I would love to hear your thoughts on the train vs. car . Thank you. Wendy

itsv

We took our two children (then ages 7 and 11) to Italy two years ago and we rented a car and were glad for it. The luggage was definitely an issue with them and having a car for it made it easier. We would drive the car into the city we were visiting and then park it and either walk, use public transportation or taxis. The only exception was Florence, where we were staying about 5-10 minutes outside of the main area of Florence. (by the way we stayed at place called Marigonalla-Charme (I am sure spelling is wrong but found in on karenbrown.com website-our kids loved it, they had a pool which they really needed at the time and place was beautiful and very under the tuscan sun like.) the car was creat because we could travel on kids' schedule, stop and see neat things along the way and have a place to contain our stuff. My husband and I found it to be no problem driving in Italy as long as you have a good map. You know your child better than us and how she is as a traveler so just follow your instinct on car vs. train issue.

For Rome I do recommend getting a private tour guide for some places, we used daniella hunt who took us for a day long tour of ancient rome and was good at gearing the tour for the kids' level. Also alway get your daughter the audio-guide for any place you visit. Our kids really liked them and it entertained them.

Also get your child books, movies, music about Italy, trust me your visit will be a lot more enjoyable on this one.
have fun, itsv

Ralstonlan

Hi Wendy,

We have taken our son to Italy twice and are going again in June also. We have rented a car on both occasions are are doing so again. We find it gives us more flexibility, and comforatble down time for our son. He was 9 the first time we went and had a great time. He spent the driving time either playing Game Boy, or watching movies. I highly recommend a portable DVD player for the car.

wendylyn

THIS SITE IS THE BEST AND HAS SAVED ME I CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH. I wanted to know the itinerary's of you both who had 7 and 11 year old children? Did you go to the Almafi area . How long were you in each city?
I think the car is the way I am going to go. I would like to know where you find the audio guides for the kids and also Daniella Hunt does she have a web site? Thanks again. This is heaven to me just feel so much more relaxed about this whole trip.
Wendy

jgg

We went to Italy with our two kids last March (ages 9 and 12 at the time) and never rented a car, only took the train. Just want to say the trains are very easy. I was a little worried about luggage, etc. but it was really simple, and frankly a very enjoyable way to travel.

While you are in Tuscany it will probably be a good idea to have a car to visit the different towns. However, to get from Tuscany to Naples/Sorrento I would definitely recommend taking the train. I suspect that your daughter will enjoy the train ride!!

wendylyn

I agree with you it is a long ride did you take the Eurostar?
Where can you pick up the train in Tuscany area? We don't know what town to stay in yet? Any suggestions. DOn't really want to stay in Florence.
Thank you.
Wendy

Henry

wendylyn,
My trip report may give you some ideas http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34494897 feel free to e-mail if you have questions

jgg

Yes, we took the Eurostar. We stayed in Florence and just did a daytrip to Siena. However, we are returning to Italy this June and plan on staying in Castellina in the Chianti region.

We have not been to Sorrento, however the train ride from Florence to Rome is about 1 1/2 hours, and I believe the train from Rome to Naples is about 2 1/2 hours. You will have to include time to the train in Tuscany and then to Sorrento from Naples. I am not that familiar with where the trains go in Tuscany, so others may have better info. on that. In June we will have a car while in Tuscany, then probably drive to Orivieto and drop off the rental car and train to Rome.

ira

Hi Wend,

Look at the train schedules at www.trenitalia.com for Montepulciano to Naples.

There is no train from Pienza.

From Naples, you take the Circumvesuviana commuter train (same train station) to Sorrento.

This may be a time when a car is better than a train, especially if you already have a car.

Melissa5

wendylyn, we had a wonderful first family trip to Italy June 2004 with hubby and I, 2 teen daughters and college-age son. We never rented a car. We took trains, sometimes buses, and hired a couple of private drivers twice for day-trips.

We pack light and plan laundry days into our itinerary. (A trip to the laundromat can be fun in a foreign country!) A 9-year-old is old enough to wheel a 21-inch carry-on size piece of luggage for a short distance.

WE found train travel on the eurostar very enjoyable. You must watch your luggage at all times in Italy (and actually anytime anywhere on vacation anyplace in the world) unless you don't mind taking the chance of having it stolen.

As long as you don't bring giant suitcases, you just put them overhead of your seats. First class eurostar is less crowded, second class is still nice but the seats tend to fill up since it's a bit cheaper, so more of a mad scramble to get your child and your luggagge on board. Getting into the first class car was more relaxing, cost a little more, I thought it was worth it.

WE visited Rome for 4 nights, then hired a private driver to go down to Sorrento, stopping at POmpeii and Mt. Vesuvius to make a day-trip out of it. Then the next day we had a different private driver take us on a day-tour of the Amalfi coast all the way to Ravello and back to sorrento hotel.

Then the next day we got a taxi to the Naples train station, and took the train from naples to florence where we spent 3 nights.

From florence we hired a driver for a half-day tour ending in siena where we spent the night. Then got a taxi ride the next day back to Florence, where we took the train to Venice. Flew home from Venice.

I researched the trip a lot and researched the transportation a lot. As long as you pack light (that means each person only gets a 21-inch wheeling carry-on size piece of luggage, plus either a back-pack or a small 18" duffle bag with a sleeve which allows it to rest over the handle of the wheeling piece of luggage.

Problem with backpacks: as even the museum guards will warn you, in a crowd a thief can unzip it and take something and you won't even notice. We preferred the small duffels as they are easier to keep an eye on, they're not on your back.

If you really want to pack light just bring the 21" rolling suitcase and forget about the duffle bag. However this might work for a small person, but for a 6 ft. male with large feet like my hubby, he needs the extra duffle for his extra shoes!

With everything that I experienced on the trip, and with remembering what it is like to have a 9-year old on a trip, I advise you to choose only 2 destinations for your 14 days, and spend 7 nights in each destination. Take day-trips from your 2 base destinations.

Take the Eurostar train (fast, and your daughter can get up and walk with you if she's restless, and it has a bathroom, and we took the 1st class eurostar train which had little tables to play cards and games on. My teens played cards.)

I recommend Rome for sure. Personally I recommend against driving along the Amalfi coast, it's a hairy drive, and I was glad someone else was driving, so was hubby! Plus children can be distracting when you are driving.

Trying to get down to Sorrento and beyond creates more transportation problems and I would recommend skipping it and saving it until your child is older and also until you have some experience in Italy.

Tuscany is the one place I would say a car would be nice and the driving in the countryside would be fine with your child. I just don't think you should try to drive along the Amalfi coast, nor in any cities like Rome, dont drive in Rome.

You will find lots of different opinions on fodors, lots of helpful people here. Good luck finding the best plan for you.

wendylyn

Thank you that helps alot. I was going to pick 2 cities I agree that 3 may be alot.
Where did you stay in Tuscany? I am confused there are so many towns. I hear Siena has a train station.
I may go to Rome and Tuscany do you think that is too short of a trip or should I add another city?
Is Chianti a convenient location to Stay or is San Gigminio (sorry for the spelling) I have 2 friends that stayed there with there kids and liked it but said Pienza is closer to site see? Very confusing so many little towns.
Thank you.
Wend

jgg

I do think it is possible to do 3 destinations in 14 days. We did 6 nights Rome, 4 nights Venice and 4 nights Florence. Here is the link to my trip report which you may find helpful: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34599242.

We loved Rome so were glad we spent the 6 nights there, but if you are interested in seeing more of Tuscany you could add more days there.

escargot

Car vs. train: we did a bit of both during our trip w/ two kids -around that age at time - but we drove the Tuscany/Sorrento area. I agree with Melissa about the 1st class cost being worth it for less hassle, worked for us w/ two kids - I too like the michelin web site, - we did request a car that could hold "american size luggage" so had to upgrade in those days to an auto w/ bigger trunk so our things would be out of site while touring. My daughter had terrible car sick problems as child, and I still experience some, - she used dramamine at the time, but if 2 hours is your max, in a car you can stop whenever. I am assuming this is the problem with the 2 hr limit in the car; if so, are you sure the train won't cause issues? it was the sometimes the same as a car for my kid but we couldn't stop and stretch,etc. Driving was so enjoyable in that area and you get to explore when and where you want.

This has nothing to do with your questions, but just something you might want to think of putting together for Rachel which I did for my daughter when she was that age and she loved doing it all along the trip: I made a "custom book" for her based on the places we would be visiting - I cut out and copied photos of places she would likely see in each area ( highlights in Rome/ Colosseum, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Vatican, a famous painting or building, main train/airport etc, even type of tree or landscaping, etc with a small description under) - photocopied two to a sheet, cut sheets in half, punched holes and put in small binder - she had to look for them and check them off when she saw them sort of an "I spy" while walking along the way....we didn't always give her a heads up when approaching something and she would get excited to have found it. Also a few questions with spaces to answer in each area: what was the food like, the train, my favorite thing, my least favorite thing, etc. First page was map of area of Italy we'd be traveling so she could highlight along the route we were taking - extra blank pages in back for her to write diary notes/ sketch photos/ paste train tickets - or museum stubs, etc - or insert between the pages if she wanted. It helped keep her involved and busy and sometimes she would do at night before bed or during lunches/dinners. I think helped her remember things and learn - and she came home with sort of an instant scrapbook to have and/or share with relatives/ friends. It may sound involved, but really didn't take more than a few hours total of copying and putting together. Just thought I'd pass idea along. Enjoy !

wendylyn

Great idea thanks for the tips , I was planning to make her a scrap book she will love that. She does get car sick that is the problem. I have never been on a train but I thought she could stretch and walk around would be better. Can you suggest a town in Tuscany to stay there are so many?
Thank you.
Wendy