Having been inspired by so much helpful advice here, I am now looking for your feedback on our preliminary plans.

We are finally taking the dream trip!!Three weeks in Italy with husband and five children (19,18, 18, 14 and 11). It is our first (and possibly last, given ages of children) European sojourn as a family.

The only set parameter is our flight from Montreal to Rome, arriving June 24th (Tuesday)at 7:30 am; and home again (from Rome)on July 14th at 9:25 am.

Thoughts so far:
Rome for 4 nights - apartment
Pick up car and drive to Tuscany
Tuscany for 7 nights - villa debating Chianti (for easy trips to Florence and Siena - Palio!) or Val d'Orcia
Two nights in Cinque Terre
Drop off car in Florence train to Venice
Venice for 1 night
Verona for 1 night (opera at the coleseum!)
Night train from Venice to Naples
Amalfi Coast 3 nights
Back to Rome area for last night.

We could drop Cinque Terre in favour of an extra night in Venice and Amalfi, but I think the kids would get a kick out of it.

Alternatively, we could reverse order and go south from Rome to Amalfi, up to Venice and loop back through Tuscany.

I would appreciate your thoughts and experience as I feel like time is slipping by very quickly while I try to sort through this on my own -- booking accomodation for seven people will not be easy, so more lead time is needed.

Thank you in advance!

Because the Amalfi Coast is outside your 'loop', I'd consider more nights in the Cinque Terre in lieu of the AC. (The two have many similarities and visiting each on this trip would be redundant IMO.)

Staying close to Siena would give you both options - Florence and the Val d'Orcia (and Siena of course).

I'd also add to the Venice stay.

I recommend eliminating your Amalfi Coast visit and adding two nights to Venice, and one night to Rome. With 7 people, it will take a little longer to see everything, and there will be more people with "must sees."

Your trip sounds great!!! Enjoy the planning!

I completely agree with KatieL, really.

Vincenzo

Hi TC - Personally I much prefer the Amalfi Coast to the CT - so I'd drop the Cinque Terre ... and add at least one extra day in Venice.

Are your flights already booked? It seems to me that backtracking to Rome isn't ideal.

Flying open-jaw - into Rome (- or Naples) and out of Venice - or vice versa - would be better with your itinerary.

Steve

Too much back tracking. I would drop either of the coast destinations, and if you must fly home from Rome then save Rome for the last. Start at the AC from day one then drive from Sorrento to Tuscany. Skip Venice unles you can plan for at least 2 nites---3 is better. The opera may not get out until past midnite so plan for it. And, unless you get 2 cars, you will need a large van which will be a manual shift. Good luck !

Hi traveling,

I pretty much agree with the others. You have plenty of countryside/seaside time and not enough for Rome and Venice.

Unless your kids like to relax and hang at the pool, 7 days in Tuscany might be 1 or 2 too many for them.
Although, if you are planning to include day trips to the Palio in Siena and Florence in your Tuscany week, then 7 days is good.

I would drop either the Cinque Terre or the Amalfi Coast on this trip and add those days to Rome and Venice. No point in going our of your way for Venice if it's only for 1 day during peak season.

Second Bob's recommendation for an open jaw flight!

Rethink the Amalfi Coast, especially for 3 days, with your family. My husband & I were there several years ago and remembered it very fondly. We returned this past summer with my 17 year old son and used it as a base to see Pompeii and just relax. Two nights were more than enough. It seemed that the majority of people there (we stayed in Ravello) were either part of a destination wedding or on their honeymooon. It was not a great spot to be hanging out with my teenage son.

Italy is his favorite county - he's been there twice. He loved Tuscany both times (including a full week when he was younger) and loved Venice. I'd give at least one more night to Venice, keep a night in Naples/Sorrento in order to see Pompeii and add more on your return to Rome.

Thank you for all this wonderful feedback!

We booked the flights on points (and had to move quickly before the itinerary was really thought out in order to secure the seven seats). I don't think open-jaw is an option but I will confirm with our knowledgable travel agent friend tomorrow whether this is a possibility. If so, we will decide whether we can swallow the change fees on seven tickets -- ouch...

I thought I might be advised to drop one of our coastal stops! I think between the two I would keep the AC though, to be able to see Pompeii (my 11 year old when asked for his "must see" in Italy said: "Bombay," to the amusement of his sibs) and drink in the views that 10 years ago kept me watching an insipid Marisa Tomei/Robert Downey Jr. movie all the way to the credits just so I could see where that jaw-droppingly beautiful place they went was! We were thinking of being there for a few days so that we could do a boat tour, take the ferry over to Capri, and relax after Verona and Venice. If the CT is dropped, are three nights in AC too many?

Bob, I get your point about keeping Rome until last to avoid doubling back so much (and will definitely look into changing flights to open jaw if possible). That said, my thought process was that Rome would only get hotter and more crowded as the calendar moved towards July and that it might be best for us to approach that whirlwind of beauty, culture, history, crowds, etc. when we are at our freshest. Your thoughts?

Dayle, the kids are certainly not averse to hanging out by the pool, but we can do that at home. We'll definitely use our base in Tuscany (I'm looking at a place near Tavernelle, amongst others) to visit Florence for a couple of days, take in Siena during the
Palio, visit San Gimignano, etc. We'll be glad of the pool too though, to unwind at end of day. We live in the country and generally spend our vacations on Cape Cod, so this is a big departure for us!

So, to sum it up: I'll get an answer about changing the departure flight, and, in any case drop the CT in favour of either an extra two days in Venice or one extra day in Venice and another in Rome at the end of the trip.

Thanks again for sharing your wisdom. I'll let you know whether we get to change the flights.

One of the lawyers I work with has stayed at Le Torri near Tavernelle the past two years.
www.letorri.com

Traveling Circus-why in the world with all those people would you want to spend all that time on an overnight train to Naples from Venice, when you can fly out of Verona or Venice Airport airport to Naples on Meridiana or Alpie Eagles airlines, and be in Naples in one hour? You can't book this far in advance for July flights, but after the first of the year you can. You could see the opera in Verona, then the next day go to Verona's airport and fly Meridiana to Naples-I did this in September 2006, and it was great, very easy, got my bags immediately, and was in a taxi in no time. I too, would drop the CT and add two days to Venice, drop one day from Tuscany, and add a day to Rome and the AC.

<i>Are three nights in the AC too many?</i> Too many? No, definitely not. Especially if you plan to spend a day visiting Pompeii and another day visiting Capri. I spent three nights in Positano and wanted to stay another week, it was so beautiful!

Stay in Positano or Amalfi, though, not Ravello - as noted above, I also found it filled mostly with couples and honeymooners, and it's probably too quiet for your teens. (I'm sure Sorrento would be a good choice also, but I've never been there, except to pass through.)

And I've seen that Marisa Tomei/Robert Downey Jr. movie, also, and yes, it inspired me to visit too!

I think if you can change to open jaw, this would be good:

Fly into Venice, stay 4 nights.
7 nights Tuscany
6 nights Rome
3 nights Sorrento or Positano
Fly home from Naples

If you have to keep your flight in and out of Rome, leave Rome for last to cut out that extra hotel change to spend the last night there:
Fly into Rome, get your car and spend the first 7 nights in Tuscany.
Drop the car in Florence and train to Venice for 4 nights.
Fly to Naples for 3 nights in Sorrento or Positano.
Train to Rome for 6 nights.