tomct

I am planning our first european vacation and need some advice. I have 2 boys ages 10 & 12 who love to travel. We would like to go to Italy next summer for about 7/8 days. Friends have suggested that we spend the time in Rome and Venice for our first trip. Does that sound like a good plan. I would fly in and out of Rome since I want to use American Airlines (due to points available for upgrade seats and they don't fly to Venice). As such, I guess that we would travel by train from Rome to Venice and then back again. Does this sound like a good plan for our first visit? Is July or August better for the trip? Should I use a travel agent or is it feasible to plan the trip on our own? We do travel alot domestically, in Mexico and the caribbean and plan our own trips. I would really appreciate any feedback. Thank you in advance.

KathrynT

Congratulations on your travel plans! Your boys are perfect ages for such a trip and it sounds like they are great travellers already. I think your plan sounds good but you might want to see if American flies out of another city closer to Venice so you don't have to backtrack.

July and August are both very warm in Italy so you'll want to be sure you'll have hotels with good air conditioning. You can definitely plan this trip on your own if you enjoy travel planning.

Rome and Venice are great choices for a first trip. I suggest you stop by your local library or bookstore and pick up some travel books to start browsing through. Also, doing a search on this forum for hotels and sights will bring up a wealth of information. I'm sure many others will offer their advice shortly.

Happy planning!

fun4all4

Hi!
We are taking our boys, ages 11 and 14, to Europe for the first time next week. We will be spending 3 nights in Wengen, Switzerland (Swiss Alps hiking and such), then 10 nights in Northern Italy, including Milan, Lake Garda and Venice. My only regret is not taking them to Rome as they would love it, but it just doesn't work for this trip. So far, my only recommendation is to see if you can fly out of Venice or somewhere closer instead of going back to Rome.We also decided to divide time between big city sightseeing which is fascinating, but exahausting and smaller town places where they could hike and swim while still experiencing the culture. However, if you only have 7-8 days, you may not have time. I would not go to more than 2 places in that time. Otherwise, I will be happy to give you some of our impressions of travelling with boys that age upon return (feel free to email me directly at [email protected] ). Good luck with the planning - I'm sure it will be a great trip.

suze

I would definitely self-plan, since you are experienced travelers and this is not a complicated trip. I think Rome and Venice are great for a first time. Too bad about having to return to Rome for your flight, that will take an extra day from an already short vacation having to backtrack.

suze

While I am a big fan of Venice, knowing this is a round trip in and out of Rome, I might skip it this trip. 7/8 days is not a very long time and you'll use most of your first and last day with airport, transport, hotel check in and out, etc.

You might consider an apartment for a week in Rome and take day trips from there?

fun4all4

I think Suze might be on to something. A week (or 5-6 days) is not too long in Rome. Perhaps if you wanted to see something else you could do a couple of days "sidetrip" to Pompeii and/or Amalfi Coast?

lesliec1

I vote for seeing both cities, but you know your kids best. In my experience, kids like variety. It will be better if you can fly home from Venice, however. A eurostar train from Rome to Venice will be fun for the kids, and if not, they will probably fall asleep if you wear them out enough in Rome. You can definitely plan this on your own, using travel books and advice on this forum. If you can afford it, do some walking tours and make sure the tour company knows there will be children. Kids often will listen to "experts" more enthusiastically than to their parents. Put a kid-fun activity in each day, such as catacombs in Rome or vaporetto rides in Venice. If possible, do an organized day trip from Rome to Pompeii. The kids will find it meaningful because they will have already heard about Pompeii in school, movies, or books. Two full days in Venice will probably be enough for a first visit. Don't miss the Doge's Palace Secret Itinerary tour. (reserve in advance). If each kid has his own inexpensive digital camera (and spare batteries), they can happily amuse themselves for hours. Take plastic water bottles and refill them at every opportunity or you will go broke buying drinks. You can also take drink mix powder and make sweetened beverages right in the water bottles. If your kids like sweetened drinks, this strategy alone will save you at least $20 in a week. Have fun!

tomct

Thanks for the feedback. It's a drag returning to Rome but i want to upgrade our tickets to business class and American Airlines will not let you use your miles to upgrade on companion airlines. So I really need to fly American and Rome is the only city in Italy that they service.

tomct

How long is the train ride from rome to venice?

fun4all4

I think the train time is about 4 1/2 hours from Rome to Venice. It depends on which type of train, but I think that is about the fastest.

ira

Hi tom,

Of course you can plan this on your own.

In 7-8 days you can do Rome and Venice, but as much as I love Venice, I suggest that you stay in Rome and vicinity.

You can do daytrips to the ruins at Ostia Antica and to the hill town of Orvieto.

Train schedules and prices are at www.trenitalia.com.

Also see Helpful Information: Italy 2
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34568596

Enjoy your visit.

Tiff

Hi tomct,

Remember you lose a day going over, so let's just say you have 7 days.

I would stay in Rome. I am of the opinion that if you had ten days you could do two cities, but I am a bit of a "slow, take it all in" traveler.

As suggested above, I would then take a couple day trips out of Rome. Pompeii is an excellent suggestion and one that I think boys your age would love. There is so mush to see and do in Rome, you can easily (EASILY) spend a week there, more even, with getting "bored".

I wish I could see the look on their faces when they see the Forum and the Colloseum.

Bear in mind how hot it will be in July and/or August, pack light.

Enjoy! Tiff

tomct

Thanks again for the advice. What is the minimum days that you would suggest to visit 2 cities such as Rome and Venice. Maybe I should increase our number of days if possible.

kenderina

Why not Rome and Florence ? They are only one hour and a half by train.
It could be 4 days in Rome and 3 in Florence. Anyway, if you can add some days..do it, you won't regret

jgg

Yes, try to add some days if you could. With only seven I agree with Ira and others, suggesting you stay in Rome and do side trips.

Florence is closer to Rome than Venice (only about a 1 1/2 train ride), but if I could only do 2 cities I would pick Rome and Venice.

We were in Rome, Venice and Florence for 14 days in March with our kids age 9 and 12. Here is the link to my trip report which you may find helpful.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34599242.

Here is a link to travel notes written by Grinisa, she posts here as well as on Slow Travel. It is called "Thrills and Chills in the Eternal City" . Aside from our Tours to the Vatican and Forum/Colesseum, I used this as our guide for what else to see in Rome. It is excellent!
http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/rome/chills_thrills.htm

Finally, you can definitely plan this on your own. It also makes the trip more meaningful. This site as well as SlowTravel.com and their message board SlowTalk.com were extremely helpful in helping me plan our trip.

mjs

I think your children are at a perfect age to travel to Europe but agree with others that a week is not much time for multiple locations in Italy. Rome by itself deserves at least 4 full days. Venice would be a great second location to visit but with your time limitations you would lose a travel day just between the two cities. I think your options include getting more time for your trip, or just staying in Rome with day trips or just flying economy and open jaw it Rome/Venice.

eliztrav

If you could extend your vacation to allow 10 days - not including your travel dates into and out of Italy, I think you could do both Rome and Venice comfortably. I agree that your boys probably would enjoy the variety of Rome and Venice rather than Rome and Florence, even though Florence is closer. But, you know them & we don't.

peggi

We loved going to Italy with our kids, but I vote with the posters who say skip Venice this trip...just too much geography to cover. Rome is HOT, HOT, HOT in the summer and I can't even comprehend what Pompeii would be and there is NO shade. I would do 3/4 days in Rome (Forum, Colliseum, Pantheon, Vatican, etc.), make sure hotel has A/C (and be aware most turn off automatically when you leave your room and their idea of A/C is not like the US idea of it!! Why not spend time in Tuscany??? We stayed at a wonderful agriturismo near Montipulciano (the web site is www.metin.it). They had a pool which our kids loved. Much cooler in Tuscany. My kids really liked Montalcino and Orvieto...there are so many villages...we also did a day trip to the beach. Make sure the boys read books about Italy, Roman Empire, etc. before you go. So many great books for their ages!

MRand

tomct - My wife, kids (17 year old daughter and 15 and 11 year old sons), and I just returned from two weeks in Italy. We included stops in Rome and Venice. You can find my trip report at:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34645606 I also recommend jgg's trip report, as it was very helpful to me.

tomct

Thanks so much again for the advice. After reading feedback, I think that I will increase the number of days as we really want to see Venice. We are really excited about going to Italy.