Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - travelling with kids/ rome city apartments

not sure if this is the best place for this but here goes...

i'm constantly surprised to hear complaints of people traveling with kids and i really don't understand why. obviously the more you travel, the better they get at it (practice makes perfect), but for those who are still having problems i offer this piece of advice.

we travelled to rome last easter (2007) and had a wonderful visit. we underestimated the time we would have liked there, hey that's rome for you, we were there a week and it was way too short, so we'll be going back again soon.

i must say that we have cracked it traveling with kids; ours, both girls are 13 and 10. rather than choose a hotel where we have to eat out 3 times a day, plus typically the room is too small to spend any time in, we've been experimenting with apartment rentals.

we were lucky enough to find romecityapartments.com on google, they have a range of private apartments that they rent out by days/weeks. we rang to explain our needs and were recommended several options, and ended up going for an apartment in the middle of trastevere with a lovely balcony overlooking a typical roman lane, with just a few other neighbours in the block. there were 4 of us but we decided to play it safe and go for a place that sleeps 6 just to have that extra bit of space, and the prices are very reasonable so i didn't feel we were being "extravagant". (my wife, bless her, keeps a pretty close eye on our spending!)

we were able to have breakfast in each morning, stroll out into the street and be right in the middle of the action (all major sites are within walking distance). we'd see the sites stopping for the odd cappuccino, have lunch in a really nice restaurant, see more sights, then stop on our way home to pick up supplies for dinner. we had the evening to put our feet up ad play with the kids, then a quiet dinner in and an early night; essential if you're planning lots of sightseeing the next day.

we managed this pace for a week quite easily, and the kids had a ball. they are very good travelers but, like anyone, will get ratty if their needs are ignored.

so we had a great time, were very comfortable, and spent way less than we would have on a 4 star hotel, didn't have to think about using a car, and really relaxed while seeing the city.

(and many thanks to the folk at rome city apartments for their advice and good service. our apartment was called the 'eternity'.)

it's all about space, allowing for the kids' interests, breaking up activities, seeing the sights BUT still having time with them. sadly i think it's not far off that our 13 y.o. will prefer to spend more time with her pals than her parents, but we'll push on for the moment and keep our fingers crossed!

and good luck to all parents!