I'm considering a trip to Italy in July (I know, too hot, too crowded) with two families with kids from 7-10 years old. I know they would be bored with too many museums or cities. We are considering a villa or farm in Tuscany as a base, with day trips to Rome, Venice , the beach etc. Maybe even a few days where one couple keeps the kids and the other go somewhere for a couple of days. Any suggestions?

You can't day trip to Rome or Venice from Tuscany, or even the beach, really, from most farms in the tourist parts of Tuscany.

So do you want to skip those cities entirely or see one or both of them?

Hi; zeppole is right, we need to know more. But, here are a few web sites that may interest you. www.slowtravel.com/italy and www.doorwaysltd.com We used Doorways and were very happy with them. iris1745/dick

We are staying near Castellina in Chianti in July with two families (22 y.o. kid plus 3 teenagers). We are planning a long day trip (2 hour drive) to Lucca for walking the walls, climbing the tower and bike riding. Then it is a half hour drive to Forte dei Marmi, which is a popular beach resort for Florentine and Milanese locals, to experience the Italian style of beach going. We are from Australia so it will be a vastly different for us. It is then only a two hour drive back to Castellina. We don't feel that it's too much. I am very aware of mixing up the activities for our group to keep everybody happy, hopefully!

Toni,

Don't be surprised if you hear a lot of Russian in Forte dei Marmi!

You can ride bikes on the walls, but even so, you will have to leave quite early in the morning to accomplish all you have said you want to do in Lucca and still get to the beach. You definitely plan that as a weekday trip in July.

If you park at the Lucca train station (highly recommended by me), and enter through the walls that way, you will find a very nice place to eat lunch or get a gelato called the Caffeteria San Colombano if you find yourselves needing a bite before you leave town for the beach.

http://www.caffetteriasancolombano.it/caffetteria.asp

We did a multi-family trip to Tuscany and Rome last summer with kids in that age range. I wouldn't try to do day trips to Rome or Venice, but there are plenty of interesting options within closer range. My 7 and 9 year old nephews weren't the least bit bored in Rome, by the way. Here is our trip report, in case this is helpful:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...d-daughter.cfm

Thanks Zeppole for the recommendations. I had also heard about the Russian presence but hey we're all tourists after all! We will be dragging everyone out of bed super early to start our day, no blowdrying or hairstraightening allowed. We have not been to Lucca before so I am really looking forward to that bit as well as chuckling at an entire beach with lined up sunbeds and umbrellas, bizarre for us!

By the way Crickmd, make sure you rent a place with a pool, otherwise you will not be happy.

Ok, toni, but don't burn 500 euro notes to light your cigars in restaurants in Forte dei Marmi. The locals have gotten annoyed when the Russians do it. As F. Scott Fitzgerald almost said, the rich tourists are different from you and me.

Oh, now I'm disappointed, we've been saving our euros for that very reason. What else do bored teenagers do with their money in Europe... However, we may not get even get in as our heritage rises from that other famous Mafia region, Sicily/Calabria!

No, actually I was just reading that some people in Forte dei Marmi feel that Italians should understand better the prejudice against the Russian rich because everybody always thinks Italians are all mafioso when they travel.

Thanks for all the info from everyone. ms-go I read all of your report and it sounds like you had a great trip. We will be traveling for two weeks and I'm still concerned about keeping the 7-10 year old boys occupied for that long. All of the adults have travelled to Italy several times, so we don't have to do all the usual tourist things, but I also don't want to travel all the way to Tuscany just to have the kids use the pool the whole time. I've considered spliting the two weeks between Tuscany, Rome, Sorrento. Any thoughts?

I think splitting the time is the right idea. A one week villa rental with pool in an area with a one or more interesting towns to explore, then dividing the second week between Rome and Sorrento.

To me there are 3 distinctly different areas for a villa rental with a pool: One would be Northern Tuscany, with visits to Pisa, Lucca (for bike rides) or San Gimignano -- and even the beach. Another would be just outside Siena, so people could go to Siena. (Maybe than go to lots of different towns, the kids would just like to get to know one.) And then I would suggest considering the Maremma, where you could find horseback riding and hot springs and less conventional fun, as well as some unusual but artistically rich hilltowns like Orvieto or Pitigliano, or Etruscan tombs.

You might also do well to consider Umbria, with trips to Assisi and Gubbio and Orvieto.