[QUOTE=SusanP;17242339]I highly recommend flying into one airport and out of another close to your last destination if at all possible. Round-trip to Rome might be less expensive at first glance, but don't forget to add in the cost to travel back to Rome to get the flight home. Also consider the "cost" of the hassle of another train trip with a baby to get there, and I assume you will have to change trains in Rome to get to the airport. But, as mentioned, it's best to be in the city you're flying home from the night before.[/QUOTE

It would save us at least $3000 to fly out of Rome so as opposed to Bologna or Florence. Though I understand what you are saying here, I think we have to fly round-trip to Rome.

>If anyone else has any crucial tips for traveling abroad with a baby, spill! <

Take a spare change of clothes for both mum and bub aboard the plane, and also more nappies and baby food or powdered milk (if you use it) than you think you'll need. Some cabins have extra supplies but don't count on the crew having your exact size of nappies (diapers). The change of clothes is because there will always be something spilt or spat up. Try to keep to routine food, nothing new or unexpected.

How old will your baby be?

Lavandula

OK, it's hard to believe the difference is $3000, but if that's the case, then I completely understand the round-trip flight to Rome!

SusanP I know, I agree. One way flights from Florence or Bologna that are reasonable times are starting at $1500/each. Hard to believe! But we will come back to Rome a few days before the flight so we aren't feeling too frenzied.
lavandula thank you for the tips! appreciate that!

My husband as also thrown out another option that also sounds appealing. We will train from Rome to Tuscany, then rent a car then head to Italian Riviera or somewhere coastal near the riviera. We will be going in September so it does sound nice to have some beach time. Does anyone have any input on the Italian Riviera?

I might go to the Ligurian Riviera, lots of little bays, beech, nice gardens. Some of the town's are modern but some ancient. Genoa is a bit of an acquired taste but to the west pretty and to the far East the cinque Terra.

I had a nice visit to Camogli and towns in the vicinity almost three years ago, but I sandwiched that between Torino and Milano. Visited Cinque Terre many years ago and have no real desire to return.

For the coast, you might consider Maremma, which is in Tuscany, and would greatly shorten your drive times. Fodorite yorkshire visited and wrote a very helpful trip report a few years ago:
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...iagge-1405058/

Katezt2012 - when searching flights in and out of different cities, don’t look for two one way tickets; instead use the “multi-city” option. It will often yield results close to the same dollar amount as a RT, especially when you factor in the travel cost of returning to the original city.

Listen to tracilee! As soon as you mentioned one-way flights, I knew you weren't searching correctly!

SusanP tracilee I will try this! Thank you!! Would be much more convenient to fly out of Florence.

bilboburgler good to know. Will look up Ligurian Riviera1

Leely2 Would you suggest to not stay in Cinque Terra? Overly touristy?

Cinque Terra is an extremely hilly route to some of Italy's most beautiful towns. So touristy, yep, but there is a reason. Most people take the train into the towns and then hike from one to the next (basically gentle hikes) so high summer it is a scrum but your dates are more sensible.

The Ligurian riviera is the arc of coast from the French end to CT. Along the way it runs into Genoa (Genova) which is a bit like Naples only narrow as it fits between the sea and the mountains. But there are some cler gems rather than rough oysters amongst the towns.

Sanremo is basically a music festival with town attached so avoid. Imperia, Albenga, Savona etc and in May the path that joins these is littered with flowers. The sea off the coast is a marine protected area and most things are clean.

None of this is going to give you great holiday snaps to wow the parents. This is where the real (not crazy wealthy) Italians go on holiday. Small family towns with the basics all within a bay.

The benefit of going to the Riviera proper is you get to access Venice (which is extra-ordinary) but you tend to also have to visit a brassy tourist region. Liguria is a bit calmer. So really up to you and the kid.

No kid, then head to Venice. With kid think about time out, a bit of peace.

Some people love the Cinque Terre. I went twenty years ago and that was enough for me. A friend of mine visited in early June--her second visit--about five years ago and said never again--it was absolutely mobbed. In September, in a (post?) pandemic world, with tourism just beginning to recover, that may not be a problem, however. But if you're with a baby, is hiking a big draw?

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9a2feed619.jpg
Camogli

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e977946353.jpg
Hiking down to San Fruttuoso

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...76a192cb46.jpg
Camogli

bilboburgler great info to think about, thank you. I will look at both options (Riviera vs Ligurian). This may sound silly but I worry about baby making a go for the canals in Venice. She is obsessed with swimming and will want to jump right in given the opportunities. As stunning as it is, not sure that's the trip with her.

Leely2 thanks for the photos! Yes, we do hike with baby in the backpack so that sounds like a possibility. if we did this, I would prefer not to stay in a CT town but maybe make a day trip one day from somewhere nearby.

Leely2 yorkshire I'm looking into Maremma and it does seem lovely and off the beaten path. While we love the idea of a non touristy spot, we also would like to be near good food and prefer not to cook all of our meals at home. Is there a town in Maremma that is on (or near) the coast that you would suggest we stay? We currently live out in the country so we have all the peace and quiet at home :) so we'd love to be close in a charming town while on vacation.

When visiting Italy, my husband and I usually stay in apartments and cook breakfast at home, occasionally lunch, but we always go out to dinner every night.
We stayed in Massa Marittima, Pitigliano, and Orbetello in Maremma, and I would recommend any of them--all have plenty of restaurants. We stayed in Vetulonia also, but it would be smaller than what you are seeking.

What happened to Umbria and Tuscany?

yorkshire Wonderful, thank you! I will look into those spots. Did you venture off to Porto Ecole or Porto Santo Stefano at all?

scrb As of right now, we are flying into Rome staying for 3 or 4 nights then heading to Florence for 5 nights as a base to see Tuscany. After that, we've decided to do a coastal region instead of Emilia-Romagna. I'm still sad to miss that area but may have to save it for another time. We have decided we really don't want to move around more than 3 times with a baby. Open to any suggestions though! Our ideal trip would be 16 days.

I did go to Porto Ercole for lunch and to have a look around, it's gorgeous. We were venturing to the mainland every day, so we preferred Orbetello to shave off the extra 30 minute drive (the promontory has windy roads). I also had hoped to go to a specific seafood restaurant in Orbetello, but it ended up being closed while we were there. There are plenty of others though, and we had excellent seafood meals. Also, the promontory is rocky and the spits of land that connect to the mainland are flat and sandy. I'd gladly return to anywhere in the area.
There is an expensive resort near Porto Ercole, but you can find apartment rentals. Also there is the ferry to Giglio, which I believe departs from Porto Santo Stefano.

Cinque Terre would be very crowded but it is relatively close to Florence.

I don't know how Cinque Terre or the coast between Cinque Terre and Genoa is compared to Maremma. But you can stay just outside of the Cinque Terre towns and take the train into CT.

Or you can visit places like Camogli, Portofino, Santa Margherita Ligure, on trains which go up and down that coast, easy day trips. Nice long flat walk, all along the coast, from SML to Portofino. Of course that region attracts hikers of all kind. You will see a lot of people with hiking poles on the trains and in many areas. So you can do serious hikes climbing over hills, look down from above on the coast and the sea. Probably not with the kid in tow though. Bus as I said, there are some nice casual walks you can do along various waterfronts, which would be much easier with a baby carriage.

I don't know the Italian Riviera but it's a longer train trip from Florence/Tuscany.

With 16 days, you can spend half of it doing day trips around Tuscany. Car will be helpful, though typically, you will be parking outside of hill towns and then hiking to the centro storico, which means a hike, often up and down hard cobblestone or rock steps. Get comfortable walking or hiking shoes.

There are frequent buses to many towns if you're staying in Florence but you will be tied to bus schedules. You can't really stay near the Florence center with a car. If you want to keep a car, best to move to one of the smaller towns where you don't have to deal with a huge ZTL and bridges which may not be open on a given day.

Tuscany for many means Siena and points south, the Val d'Orcia with rolling hills, vineyards, etc. You don't want to drive down to Siena and further south from Florence anyways. Siena is beautiful, wonderful at night but it's again another one of the larger towns in the province not conducive to parking. You will hike a long way from the garage to the lodging if you choose to stay in the centro.

scrb Thank you for all this helpful info. We are actually looking into staying at Camogli if we go to Riviera. I saw that there are some nice walks in between the towns that look doable with the baby. I think this could be a good option for us! I'm not dying to see CT. I know it'll be packed and I'd rather have a leisurely holiday. If it seems like tourism is still not booming in September, perhaps we will change our mind and go see a CT town or two.

As for Florence, we were thinking that we would rent a car on the 3rd day we were there and take some scenic drives while the baby naps in the car. We do this on lots of our trips recently and its worked out nicely. The apartment we are thinking about renting does have parking but I didn't know about the other possible issues you mentioned. Is it really not worth having a car for half the time in Florence?

Good to know about Siena. I've been secretly sad that we aren't going there but that makes me feel better. Probably not the best with car and baby. What about Lucca? Thinking if we go to Camogli and we drive, we could stop in Lucca along the way? Is driving to Camogli even a good idea? Train times seem to take a little longer but I doubt we will be needing a car once we are in Camogli. Although it is WAY easier to get around with a car when you have a bambino, in my opinion!

Do you understand the ZTL system. Each town is different but have zones where non-local cars can't go. Florence is the worst, Lucca the parking is outside the walls, so easy. Etc.