abrj99

We are planning a trip to Italy in June for 2.5 to 3 weeks. This will be the first trip for us with our kids 14, 16. I have never been but hubby has. Not sure what places to visit and stay. We like to travel slow and the less touristy the better. However with that said we love history and know that Italy is full of it. So we don't want to rule out all the amazing historic sites. Originally we were thinking about flying into Milan and starting at Lake Como with renting an apartment. Then moving south flying out of Rome. Or flipping that and flying into Rome leaving out of Milan. Hoping to visit AC along the way too. Any help would be awesome.

Thanks!

Whathello

When we choose a destination, we buy some paperguide books.
We read them and knowing what we like we form a first idea of what we want to do.

I suggest you start like that and come to us when you havr ideas a little clearer.

sandralist

If you prefer less touristy places, then Lago di Como and the Amalfi coast in June are exactly the opposite of that. Lago di Como has a history like anyplace else in the world, but now it is overwhelmingly an elite vacation destination with some impressive villas and gardens, so compared to what else in on offer in terms of sights -- less than an hour away -- you might want to consider Lago di Garda, with access to Verona.

Again, the Amalfi and Capri have historic features, and there are fantastic sights en route -- Pompei and Paestum and the city of Naples - but once you are on the Amalfi coast, you face very long trips through intense traffic to get to them.

Traveling with teens, it makes great sense to give them the most enjoyable introduction to European travel as the priority, and for many teens that means recreation first and history in digestible doses. With a carefully planned itinerary, you could actually have both in the same destination -- crazy fun at Lago di Garda with the amazing history of Verona 30 minutes away, or swimming at a scenic beach just south of Rome -- Sperlonga -- with not many tourists at all.

Peter_S_Aus

You might consider Venice, a great place for teenagers - you can set them loose to discover Venice on their own. An apartment would work well there.

We have taken kayak tours around Venice a couple of times, and this gave us a completely different view of Venice.

Venicekayak.com finds them, and the tour leaders are great.

I wrote a trip report, and you would find it here:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...g-kayaking.cfm

nytraveler

Be sure to get your kids involved in planning right away. Have them check out the Let's Go student Guides to get info from other teens about sights and activities they like - as well as clubs/places where kids hang out.

We did this since we took out DDs to London and Paris the first time at 11 and 14 and they picked a bunch of sights, some restaurants and activities. Also be sure there are things kids can do by themselves so you are not all joined at the hip the entire time (can get very stressful after a couple of weeks of 24/7).