SusanhNY

There is so much helpful info in this forum. I have searched it with my parameters, but haven't exactly found the tips I need. Hope some patient, veteran travelers out there can advise a little. Thanks in advance to anyone with a sincere reply!

WE ARE:
All novice world travelers.

GOAL:
10 day trip around October 8, 2017. Family group consists of 2 married sisters, our husbands, one child under 2, and Mom & Dad. Mom celebrating "milestone" birthday, the reason for this adventure. Main interest in wine and good food, cultural attractions and being with one another in a memorable place. Love the offerings of world class cities, but lean toward the peace, pace and beauty of countryside. Willing to scale down itinerary and not run ragged, but work in the "don't miss" sights.

PLANS SO FAR:
Nights 1-2: Arrive Rome. We found a nice apartment near Coliseum, but so many posts say this is not central to the most visited sights and not best location to nearby restaurants and activities. Bad choice for us given time frame and small child in tow?

Nights 3-4: Florence. Reasonable inn or hotel. See a few major attractions, then rent car (2 cars?) and head to an agriturismo in Tuscan countryside to use as base and explore villages and wineries, scenery, history and food for remainder of trip.

Day 10: departure from Florence to NY.

QUESTIONS
1. Still too little time in Rome when our main interest is Tuscany?
2. Are Airbnb apartment options better choice than inns/hotels in the big cities due to small child, and general group comfort? We were also curious if later dinner time tradition meant it would be hard to find good restaurants open earlier for a 18 month old's dinner/bedtime needs.
3. Best choice for this group to travel to Florence from Rome? Train?
3. We did plan a long stretch of days for exploring countryside from a Tuscany agriturismo location. Too much? Can we fit a visit to Venice in somewhere, before renting cars?

ira

Hi S,

My suggestion is to fly into Venice - 4 nights.
It is much quieter and easier to acclimate to Italy than Rome.

Rent car and go to Agriturismo - 5 nights.
Visit FLR once or twice

Fly out of FLR (Florence) or PSA (Pisa).
See www.kayak.com

Enjoy your visit.

kybourbon

Yes, it's too little time in Rome. It only gives you one sightseeing day.

I would add to Rome, then visit Tuscany and end in Florence for your flight.

Dinner usually starts around 7:30, but you can find places in the touristy areas open earlier or even most of the afternoon.

>>>We found a nice apartment near Coliseum, but so many posts say this is not central to the most visited sights<<<

You need to post the actual location if you want an opinion. Near the Coliseum can mean a lot of things depending on where or which direction. It also depends on what you want to visit.

StCirq

It's virtually no time at all in Rome. First day will be lost to jetlag. Second day you'll just be getting your bearings if you're lucky. Add at least a couple of days, then head to the Tuscan countryside and make a daytrip into Florence. Fly home from Florence.

Leely2

Two nights is not nearly enough time for Rome. If you only want to go to Tuscany, why not just fly in and out of FLR or PSA and skip Rome altogether?

[I love Rome, my very favorite city, but it doesn't sound as if it is a priority for you all this time.]

SusanhNY

Airbnb description of apt near Coliseum says Rione Monti neighborhood, 50 meters from Coliseum and Fori Imperiali, 2 minute walk to Colisseo metro station. Exact address probably given when booked.

kybourbon

Post the link to the Airbnb, I might be able to tell by the apartment pics where it is. Monti has an area I don't like, but other areas that are nice. Two minute walk to the metro makes me think it might be on Via Cavour.

mjs

A few comments. First, you travel as fast as your slowest, which probably is your child. Second, you lose about a half day every time you move. Third, if you have 10 days to travel, this works out to 7 full days in Italy after discounting your first jet lagged day. Every time you move it eats into this time so you do not have as much time as you think. Fourth, generally the more people involved, the slower you move. Fifth,October is high season for Italy so you will face lots of crowds. I would schedule your first 4 nights in Rome than train to Florence where you will pick up your car and on to your Agritourismo for 4 nights. Fly home from Florence. You cannot do everything you want and this schedule shortchanges Rome about a day and you won't see Florence and you could spend a lot more time in Tuscany but it allows you to see two parts of Italy in a reasonable manner which is all the time you have.

mjs

Could you fly in/out of Florence and skip Rome? If so you could do 4 nights in Florence with a long day trip to Venice for one day. You might also find time to do Sienna or Pisa as a day trip from Florence. Spend 4 nights again in the country and fly home from Florence.

SusanhNY

Thanks kybourbon for your kind attention. Here is the post

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Vacation...ome_Lazio.html

Jean

Groups of any size, esp. those with any number of small children, are time-consuming to move around. I agree with mjs that the littlest one will probably determine how much you can see, how fast you can travel, etc. (I assume there are still daily naps.) You'll have lots of "kid stuff," and the person carrying/pushing the child will not be able to help much (if at all) with luggage. You'll definitely need two cars.

I'd probably spend all of the nights in Tuscany. (If that sounds like too long in one place, consider splitting the time with Umbria.) See how the kid adjusts to the time difference, sleeping in strange beds, surroundings, etc., and then decide which of the day trips you've planned (in advance before you leave home) are actually practical. A long day-trip to Venice might make sense for the adults, but may be totally unrealistic with a sleep-deprived, cranky toddler. And all those bridges! If you don't all have to be together every minute, perhaps the g-parents and the child-free couple could take that Venice day trip on their own.

Rome and Florence will both be very crowded, esp. on weekends. Sidewalks in Rome can feel very narrow when you're pushing a stroller.

kybourbon

From the link, if the pics looking towards outside are from the B&B, your apartment is around the block bordering Via Nicolo Salvi, Via delle Terme di Tito, Via del Monte Oppio. There is only one good size palm tree in the area and you can see it in your B&B pics. Domus Aurea is behind it.

While I don't care for the Parco Del Colle Oppio (it can attract some sketchy characters), just head the other direction for restaurants. If you go down Via Degli Annibaldi (there are 3 streets divided, one lower level and 2 upper level) towards Via Cavour (a very busy street with lots of restaurants, but touristy), cross Cavour (Annibaldi turns into Via Serpenti) and walk a short block you will find to the left a more pedestrian area with restaurants (around Piazza Della Madonna dei Monti, Via Leonina, Via Urbana). Maybe a 10 minute walk from your apartment.

I don't know what you want to visit in Rome so most things will be a distance except for the Colosseum/Forum. You can catch bus 87 near the Colosseum metro which you could take to Piazza Navona (Pantheon is in the area also). If you plan to taxi, it might take several as you have a large group. The Rome metro doesn't help you much because it's quite the trek underground (perhaps too much for your parents/child) and you would have to change at Termini to get anywhere (Spanish Steps, Vatican, Trevi).