We will be traveling to Italy the end of Sept with our (then) 2 year old son for my sister's wedding. We will be staying part of the time outside of Florence (San Gimignano) and are thinking about either heading to Venice or to the Cinque Terra region. Not sure if it is best to rely on train or rental car to get around....and if it would be best to take our own carseat? Are they allowed on trains? Can you rent one with car rental agencies in Italy? Do they have any safety laws/standards as we do in the US? I'd hate for us to find out we cannot use it and end up lugging it everywhere! Also, how child-friendly would one say Venice is? With so much water, I'm not sure how easy it is to get around. One last question--does it make more sense to fly in/out of Milan or Rome if we'll be spending all our time in the Tuscany region/Venice or the western coast? Any advice on traveling with toddlers is much appreciated! Thanks!

I'm fairly certain carseats are mandatory in Italy - at least they were when our kids were young enough to need them.
The car rental companies I've dealt with will "reserve" one for you (for a fee), but they will not be held responsible if, upon arival, one isn't available for whatever reason. Same thing with roof racks.
You can take just about anything onto a train that you can get onto it, with the exception, of, say, weapons or large livestock.

I would definitely take your own. On our very first trip traveling with a baby we thought it would be less trouble to rent a car seat from a rental car agency...The car seat they provided was very old - a model I had not seen in years (and this was in a US city from a major agency). Plus, with the fee they charged us, we could have bought a new one!

StCirq - I'm chuckling out loud from your reply, imagining a family getting on the train with all their luggage, and a cow! Thanks for the laugh!

Don't laugh, Iregeo, I've been on buses in North Africa and boats in Greece that were packed with livestock! I don't think it was ALL that long ago that one might have encountered the same in parts of Italy.

I have traveled numerous times to Italy with my toddler and have never brought my car seat. Besides not wanting to lug it around everywhere, we did not find it necessary. Both in January 2003 (she was 2-3/4) and in August/September 2003 (3-1/2) we did not bring our car seat. We found train travel to be best -- the kids are free through age 4 and she had her own seat. A car seat was not necessary on the train.

If you end up renting a car and want a carseat, the car agencies should be able to accommodate you. However, I would notify them in advance (via fax or telephone) so they can procure one for you in time when you pick up your rental -- if that is the route you decide to go.

Lastly, it would be best and most convenient to fly out of Milan as it is the airport closest to Tuscany/Venice regions.

Traveling with a toddler is challenging at times, but all in all, a very rewarding experience. My little one speaks Italian and loves pasta of all varieties. Thanks to the wonderful cuisine, it has really expanded her palate and she eats anything with garlic, seasoning, rosemary, basil, etc. that most toddlers would not be interested in. I feel very fortunate to have my adorable little traveling companion! We are off again in 2 weeks - this time for France!

Hmm, heard some mixed opinions on taking the carseat over to Italy. I'll have to do some more research on rental car companies it looks like. Thanks for all the helpful posts. I'd love any additional info on Venice with kids.....

StCirq, you remind me of the story my sister tells about her trip to Crete. She and her friend were on a bus, and they were the only tourists, or so it seemed to her. My sister said one woman sat, clutching her squawking chicken, praying loudly during a particularly treacherous bit of driving. What a mental picture!

We have always taken their seats, because they seem to do better with them on the airplane as well. They sleep longer in them because they are use to them. I also think it is safer to have it with you.

We have traveled several times with our toddlers. The last time we were in Venice, we just had one child, just under 2 years. I think Venice still works, but forget a stroller because of all of the steps and bridges. A good backpack carrier (possibly the one that can convert to a stroller) would be a good idea. Our daughter just napped in the backpack while we kept exploring.

Personally, I would choose Venice over the Cinque Terra region, mainly from a safety standpoint. We are saving Cinque Terra until our girls are a little older and more sure footed.

Good luck, and enjoy. We have wonderful memories of traveling with our daughters. We are heading back in April again. This will be the 4th trip with our 5 year old, and the 2nd with our 3 year old. Just take a lot of pictures and hopefully video. The kids love looking back through everything. It really helps them remember the trips.

It might depend on the airline you are going with as to whether or not this is worthwhile. My understanding is that European airlines won't let you take a child in a car seat on the plane, so you'd have to add it to your baggage being checked on board.

One other thing to note - I think that Europe has a different standard for car seats. If you do bring your own, I'd check with the rental company that this will be OK as you wouldn't want to invaldate any insurance.

Hi nm,

Look for flights in/out of Florence, Pisa and Venice as well as Milan.

We have always used car seats provided by the rental company - the last time we were in Italy we picked up a car seat from our car rental agency - we had to take it out of the box - it was brand new...that was great! Reserve one ahead of time...you should have no problem. We felt the small charge was worth not having to lug it all around Europe.

I find the train question odd - I don't ever remember seeing seat belts on a train so how would you secure the car seat to the seat?

Also true - some airlines don't allow them.
Good luck and enjoy!

We rented a van from Sixt Car rentals (got a good deal) at the Rome airport last summer. We requested and received 2 car seats (for a 2 year old and an 18 month old). One car seat was exactly like those we had in Canada and one was a bit different but we managed to install them both and we felt they were safe (car seat safety is a big issue with both of the families). It didn't even occur to me that there might not have been car seats available. That WOULD have been a problem. However, I think if you talk to the rental agency ahead of time, you should not have any issues. I don't recall the charge for the car seats but it was worth it to us NOT to lug ours on the plane and elsewhere.

We were in Tuscany (near San Gimignano, in fact)(by car) and Rome (on foot)and took three train trips (to Florence and back from our base in Tuscany and from Florence to Rome). I don't think a car seat would be that usable on the trains. The boys just sat on our laps or in their strollers on the shorter rides and had their own seats (no charge) on the Eurostar to Rome. We did end up taking the kids in two cabs without car seats which was nerve racking and could have been avoided if we had our own car seats (we took a taxi from the Rome Termini to our apartment in Trastevere and from our apartment in Trastevere to the airport).

Basically you need to consider when and where you'll need a car seat to determine whether or not its worth lugging yours. Also, I saw a thread awhile ago on an airline not allowing a couple to use their car seat on the plane ... if you can find that thread it might contribute to your decision-making process.

Have fun! It will be wonderful. We didn't make it to Venice or Cinque Terre so I can't comment on child-friendliness but Tuscany and Rome were great!

Tory

Thanks for all the great advice ont he issue of taking/not taking car seats. I'll probably have more posts before Sept. on additional questions/opinions on lodging, etc. I really appreciate hearing about your experiences with young children--it gives me a little more "confidence" thinking about traveling to Italy with our child! I'm really getting excited about our trip now!