Summertime in Italy
 

Trying to plan family trip with 2 children (ages 6&8). Any suggestions where to, or not to go with children. Also, need some suggestions on best places to visit considering weather (heat) in summer months <BR>late June - August. Thanks in advance! <BR>

My suggestion would be to stay north. The lakes are very nice in summer. Also, there is the Italian answer to Disney, called Gardaland, near Lake Garda just off the autostrada. So, would suggest flying to Milan then heading toward Bergama, Lake Como,Lake Garda, and ending in Verona, especially if they are girls and know anything about Romeo and Juliet. I might be tempted to go on to Venice, but it will be crowded. Plan on swimming pools along the way, lots of gelato and avoid going during August!

Hi Nique, <BR>We spent May-June 99 in Italy and it was very hot. Como was beautiful but equally so was the south - the pristine waters of Calabria were wonderful to swim in. Our children, 8 &11, loved the beach, but found all the pebbles very different to our sandy beaches in Australia.Milan, Florence & Rome were very hot at times. Public transport was stifling so I'd start sightseeing early morning or early evening, with plenty of gelato stops!

In principle, how long do you plan to stay? Do you plan on driving at least part of the way? <BR>Paulo <BR> <BR>

Paulo, <BR>Thank you for your responses, you also answered my posting of "Children in Venice?". What we are trying to accomplish is two fold; 1.) Meet up with my brother & his family & my mother who all live in Paris 2.) Experiance Italy. We are looking at 10-14 days. We are not set on one particular destination, however I like the sounds of Venice. One concern is the heat and another the children. I expect that 1-2 <BR>destinations would be all we could handle. Driving is not out of the question but never having driven in Eupope leaves me apprehensive. Any information you can share is greatly appreciated. <BR>

Once you're still in the plan drafting step, I'll throw in some "disconnected" thoughts which may eventually help you on decidion making. <BR> <BR>Considering the season you're travelling and the "interests" of your kids, there's no way you'll manage to avoid the heat. On the plus side, you should see very little (or no whatsoever) rain in northern Italy (strangely enough, in July it rains much more on the other side of the Alps than in the Italian one). Because of work constraints we have been travelling during all of July the last 10 years ... <BR> <BR>For a number of reasons, travelling in July is better than in August (specially mid-August). <BR> <BR>For us, at least, this means hotels with a/c (it's at night that the heat troubles us most). During daytime, it's ok till about noon, and after 4pm. The exception are the Dolomites (and the Lakes to some extent). Even though days may also get pretty hot, nights are usually quite cool. <BR> <BR>Kids usually love to travel by train ... but in many circumstances a car comes handy specially when one's travelling with kids. You're free to stop whenever it pleases you, make detours, visit small places, etc. An a/c car is a must, and whenever possible the best travelling hours are from 1 to 4 pm (when it's the hottest). A car would be a must in case you decide to visit the Dolomites ... kids sure love it! <BR> <BR>Kam's suggestion of the lakes and Gardaland, and Verona is sound, but ... <BR>Lake Garda and Verona should be completely crowded because of the Opera Festival. This would be an unfurgetable experience if your girls were 4 years or more older :-( I would guess that by now you should have difficulties booking for some days. If you decide to visit the area, you should plan to be there during the following days (opera performances are not held): July 3 to 6, 10 to 13, 17 to 20, 24 and 31. Best days regarding lodging are July 4, 5, 11, 12, 18 and 19. <BR> <BR>You like the sounds of Venice ... but it's the most expensive city in Italy! You'll want to limit your stay there for 3 or 4 days. I play in the team that plays according the following rule: if you want to visit Venice, stay in Venice ... but when travelling with kids one may do some exceptions, mainly because young kids don't stay up till late at night. The first time I took my girls to Venice I didn't stay in the city. We used a hotel in Montegrotto Terme. <BR> <BR>This has an array of advantages: <BR>a) thermal resort hotels are fully a/c (not only the room ... everything); <BR>b) they've got pools for and early morning or night swim; <BR>c) July is comletely out of season, meaning that I doubt you would have to pay more Lit 300,000 for the 4 of you in a 3-star hotel, including a very substantial breakfast; <BR>d) there are convenient and frequent trains to Padua (8 min); Venice (50 min); Vicenza (45 min total with a change in Padua) and even Verona (80 min with a change in Padua); <BR>e) should you have a car, parking is free <BR> <BR>Driving in northern Italy is a piece of cake ... Italians drive fast but they know what they're doing. If you're driving slowly, just keep your right and let them pass. Driving on a two way highway in summer is no problem. You won't be able to drive fast anyways because of the traffic. <BR> <BR>Being with kids in Paris, I would guess that spending a couple of days in the Loire Valley would be a must ... but that's another story! <BR> <BR>In your shoes, I would probably plan about 3 nights in Montegrotto, 2 nights in Venice, 2 nights in the Dolomites, 2 or 3 nights at Lake Garda, 2 nights in Lake Como and head home. I would take the night train from Paris to Montegrotto (leaving at 8:06pm, arriving in Padua at 8:03am; change to another one leaving at 8:08am, arriving at 8:16am). I would leave wife and children in the train station and walk to the first hotel (exiting to the right, on the right side of the street) and NEGOTIATE the rate for a 3-night stay. If I couldn't get a good deal I would go to the next hotel :-) After checking in, I would take the train to my first visit to Venice. During the 2nd day I would visit Padua and Vicenza. A 2nd visit to Venice would follow on the 3rd day and on the 4th day I would transfer to the Venice hotel for the 2 nights. I would arrange (Autoeurope) for a 7+ day car rental to be picked up at Piazzale Roma in the morning of the 6th day and leave to visit Cortina and spend a couple of nights in Val Gardena or elsewhere. From Val Gardena I would drive south to Lake Garda for 3 nights (visits to Gardaland, Verona and around the lake). From there to Bellagio or elsewhere for a couple of nights, planning to deliver the car in Milan and to take a train back to Paris. <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR> <BR>PS. Of course, my 3 days in Verona would be among the ones listed above. I would try to reserve at the hotel Gardesana, in Torri del Benaco, a lovely city on the eastern shore (ferry right in front of the hotel), not far from Gardaland and Verona. <BR> <BR>

Paulo, <BR>Wow, A whirlwind 12 days. I have a feeling you have done this before. Our plan is to have my family meet us somewhere in Italy (Mother few days, Brother & family after her departure). <BR>With that in mind, if we were to spend first few nights in Montegrotto and so forth as you suggested what is the best place to fly in and out of? Is it wise to show up in a town with no hotel reservation (we are non-Italian speaking)? Can these reservations be placed in advance through travel agents in US or would I be better off having Paris family take care of lodging. <BR>

The best place to fly in is certainly Venice's Marco Polo (a taxi may leave you at the train station in Mestre and from there on you're home in 35 minutes). If you can't find a convenient flight to Venice, a 2nd choice would be Milan's Malpensa (unfortunately overseas aircraft don't land at Linate) although in this case I would probably turn my itinerary around. <BR>If you indeed plan to spend a couple of days in Lake Como, the best place to fly out would be Milan (if your flight is not too early you may deliver the car at the airport). In case you've switched your itinerary around, I would fly out from Venice if possible. <BR>If you have to fly in and out from the same city, I would choose Venice instead of Milan. <BR>Regarding hotel reservations, in Venice and Verona/Lake Garda they're a must. You may go about doing it yourself (or use a travel agent if you wish). In the Dolomites, you could eventually get one on the run. If you're able to make up your mind where to stay, though, you should also reserve. I assure you that Montegrotto will be empty ... no problems whatsoever finding rooms as you get there and hotels will be willing to bargain. If you feel more relaxed fixing your room in advance do the reservation by yourself. You may inquire and book quite a few hotels online (or by fax). I don't remember the name of the hotel we stayed at. Anyways, as a reference, there are several hotels on Viale Stazione. Lower the number, closer to the train station. A friend of mine who used the same scheme stayed at the ***Eliseo and was very pleased with it, though spending Lit 15,000/person more than we did. <BR> <BR>For fax numbers, try this site: <BR>http://cgi.venere.it/ihr/ihr_search2...tegrotto+Terme <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR>