lesvince05

My family and I will be traveling to Italy in June 2010. There will be 4 adults and 2 small children (ages 2 and 3 1/2). We have started to get ideas together for things that we would like to see and do while we are there. We have come up with a preliminary itinerary for 12 days (plus 2 travel days to and from US) We plan on flying into Rome, renting an apartment in the heart of the city and spending 4 days. From there we plan on taking the Eurostar to Venice for a very short, 1 night stay in a Hotel, then the Eurostar to Florence for 2 nights in a hotel. In Florence we plan on renting a car and driving to Tuscany for 4 days in the countryside, probably the Chianti region. Hopefully we can find a farmhouse or an apartment on an estate that rents for less than a week. We plan on driving back to Rome, staying a night in a hotel near the airport in order to fly home the next day.

Is this trip doable? I know that we will have to limit our sightseeing due to the children, but I am hoping that the apartment in Rome and the train rides as well as the countryside rental (with a pool) will not stress them and us too much.

If any of you have suggestions and or ideas of things to see, places to eat, places to stay, I would love to hear them.

Thanks....Leslie

cmeyer54

For a very nice and kid friendly agritourismo near montacino, try la crociona. Barbara and her mother run the place, they have several apartments, an on-site restaurant, pool, etc. Its a fairly easy drive from Florence to Montalcino. Why spend just one day in Venice? I'd probably skip venice this trip and spend the time between rome, florence and tuscany. with the ages of your children, you have to consider that in Rome and Florence, you have the option of public transportation or cabs when sightseeing. In Venice, the option is a gondola or the water buses - that would be a potential deal breaker with two children under 5 - but that's just me.

Dayle

Les,

I agree, going all the way to Venice just for one night is a big mistake. Not a good use of your time and too stressful. Stick to 3 destinations for this trip. Considering the age of your kids, I think the apt in Rome and longer time in Tuscan countryside is the best idea!



Buon viaggio

daveesl

Your itinerary is ok, but you might want to reconsider parts of it. Are you able to do an open jaw flight, into Rome-out of Venice or the other way around. This saves you a full day and back tracking.

I wouldn't waste the travel time and expense for just 1 day in Venice. Instead, do a 4/4/4 trip. On your arrival day, if you can't do the open jaw, train to Florence. It is an easy trip. Spend 3-4 days there. Then move the group to the Tuscany area, 3-4 days there. Finally, do Rome, you now have between 4-6 days in the city and you can easily get to the airport for a morning departure.

If you really want to do Venice, then fly up on day 1, spend at least 2 days there and adjust your time accordingly.

One of the big problems with moving around alot is the check-in/check-out hassles. You easily spend 1/2 to 1 day each time you change locations. This lessens time and increases costs.

lesvince05

Thank you all for your responses. Our plans are not set in stone, so some adjusting will take place. It is great to get feedback from people who have been there. The problem with the open jaw is that going from the US to Italy, the only direct flights that I have found are into Rome. Having another connection in Paris or London, etc is the only way to get into Venice or Florence which may be a problem with the kids.
I appreciate the opinions on the short stay in Venice. It is certainly something to consider.

Leslie

lesvince05

julieg122.....thanks for the website. Great information!! There are quite a few rental possibilities there,hopefully I can find one that rents for less than a week. I think that will be our biggest problem with the Tuscany portion of our trip.

Leslie

jamikins

Hi Leslie,

Check out www.slowtrav.com for tonnes of info on renting an apartment etc in Italy.

LJ

We have traveled extensively (and lived) in Italy with children and I think you still have to slim down your itinerary for little ones.

How about simply splitting your 12 days between Rome and that magical place in Tuscany? With apt/villa in both places you are experiencing the best of Italy, with the least stress. Children that age take a night or two to settle into new surroundings, but this way that open-jaw thing is not an issue.

If you fly into Rome and do your Rome stint first, then move on to Tuscany, with a car, of even by train, you can still do a day-trip or two into Florence (San G, Siena) without the added pressure of three sets of accomodation.

Depending on the time of day of your departure from Rome, you may even get away without spending the final night there, but if you do have an early departure you can always do an airport hotel/shuttle.

When ours were little, it was the best feeling in the world, knowing that at the end of a day packed with tired small feet, the stickiness of gelato and drooping eyelids, we were going back to a kitchen, groceries, bottle of wine and feet-up time for Mom and Dad in a comfortable setting with kids in a seperate room.

zoecat

I agree with LJ's suggestions.

Here is a link to agriturismos located in the most beautiful area of southern Tuscany, as well as additional information for the area-

http://www.cretedisiena.com/english/

kfusto

Delta offers flight directly into VCE so you might look into that. If you cannot do an open jaw, I agree with the advice to skip Venice this time around, too much effort for a one night stay.

ira

Hi les,

Have you checked for open-jaw flights with www.kayak.com, www.1800flyeurope.com, www.mobissimo.com, http://www.flycheapabroad.com/default.aspx ?

lesvince05

Thanks so much for all of this information. The idea of dividing time between Rome and Tuscany apeals to me. If we stay at an agriturismo closer to Florence, maybe Greve, we can do day trips to Florence as well as other towns like San Gim, Siena, etc.

Would you recommend driving from Rome or train to Florence and renting a car there?

Leslie

Dayle

Les,

Two good places to pick up cars: Orvieto and Chiusi. Depends on what day of the week and which company you use how convenient these will be.

Orvieto is just an hour train out of Rome and Chiusi a bit longer. Then you can enjoy the drive up to the Chianti area if that's where you decide to stay.

LJ

Either of those options are easier for rental pick-up than either Rome or Florence (although the airport at either also works well.)

What you don't want is a hot day, cranky kids, inner city-rush hour traffic, an unfamiliar car and your first time driving in Italy!

Jean

I think travelling with such young children dictates you keep it simple. I would definitely look a little more into flying into one city and out of another. Delta also has flights between Pisa and some U.S. cities. If that works for you, I'd fly into Pisa and drive immediately to your Tuscany base which should take less than 2 hours.

From a base in Chianti, you could drive less than 30 minutes to train stations (Figline Valdarno or Poggibonsi) for day trip(s) to Florence. Greve or Castellina would work, and you'd still be within an hour's drive to Siena, San Gim, etc.

By the end of your time in Tuscany, hopefully everyone will be over jetlag and ready for the challenge of Rome. Without kids, I'd say drive to Orvieto, return the car and take the train into Rome. But with little kids and lots of luggage, that's a lot of schlepping. I think I'd be more inclined to drive all the way to Rome. Drop the car at the rental agency and taxi to your hotel. If you use Europcar, their office on via Ludovisi is in a less trafficky area than their office near Termini. But have good turn-by-turn directions because there are many one-way streets.

Jean

I meant to add that the train from Orvieto to Rome stops for just a couple of minutes. Trying to board your family and luggage while keeping an eye on everything would be very hectic.

Jean

I looked at the trains again, and there are a few trains a day that originate in Orvieto, so no frantic boarding issues with those trains. Just select the correct train, the slow regional one.

The same situation applies at Arezzo. You could drop the car there and take a regional train originating at Arezzo. However, the rental agency at Orvieto is closer to the train station.

lesvince05

Jean, LJ and Dayle,
You have given me more options to consider. I had not thought of flying into Pisa. We planned on going to Rome first because it was a direct flight, but saving Rome for after we are rested may make more sense. I'll check on the option of dropping the car in Orvieto/Arezzo and taking the train into Rome.

Leslie