Two weeks in Italy with kids, which towns and direction?
Mar 24th, 2023, 01:22 PM
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Two weeks in Italy with kids, which towns and direction?
Hi:
We are trying to plan 2 weeks in Italy in early July. I know it will be super hot, but we have family that will be there at the same time. It will be me and my husband and 10-year-old son. For Tuscany and possibly Lake Como it will be 2 additional adults in their late 40s and 2 kids (10 & 12). Here are my initial ideas of where should we go (coming from California, so we will be pretty jet lagged for the first few days):
Fly into Rome 2-3 nights
Orvieto - 2 nights
Assisi - 1 night
Siena - 1 night
Florence/Tuscany region - villa with family 4-5 nights
Milan - 1
Lake Como 2-3 nights
Fly out of Milan
Or we flip it, fly into Milan, go to Lake Como first and then onto Florence/Tuscany and the rest and fly out of Rome. Does it matter which direction we go? Any places we should add or skip?Thanks!
We are trying to plan 2 weeks in Italy in early July. I know it will be super hot, but we have family that will be there at the same time. It will be me and my husband and 10-year-old son. For Tuscany and possibly Lake Como it will be 2 additional adults in their late 40s and 2 kids (10 & 12). Here are my initial ideas of where should we go (coming from California, so we will be pretty jet lagged for the first few days):
Fly into Rome 2-3 nights
Orvieto - 2 nights
Assisi - 1 night
Siena - 1 night
Florence/Tuscany region - villa with family 4-5 nights
Milan - 1
Lake Como 2-3 nights
Fly out of Milan
Or we flip it, fly into Milan, go to Lake Como first and then onto Florence/Tuscany and the rest and fly out of Rome. Does it matter which direction we go? Any places we should add or skip?Thanks!
Mar 24th, 2023, 06:07 PM
#2
Way, way too many short stays for my liking.
Other general comments/questions:
Have you been to Rome before? Only 1-2 days for a first-time visit is almost criminal.
Where/when will you have a car? I hope you're planning on two cars.
It's very easy to take a day trip to Orvieto from Rome. I wouldn't change hotels.
Assisi is a geographic/logistic outlier for just a single night. How will you do this?
If you want to spend a night in Milan, do it last before your departing flight.
What is the location of the "villa with family"? Could you visit Assisi and/or Siena from the villa?
I don't think the direction matters, but the options of flight arrival and departure times might make a difference.
Other general comments/questions:
Have you been to Rome before? Only 1-2 days for a first-time visit is almost criminal.
Where/when will you have a car? I hope you're planning on two cars.
It's very easy to take a day trip to Orvieto from Rome. I wouldn't change hotels.
Assisi is a geographic/logistic outlier for just a single night. How will you do this?
If you want to spend a night in Milan, do it last before your departing flight.
What is the location of the "villa with family"? Could you visit Assisi and/or Siena from the villa?
I don't think the direction matters, but the options of flight arrival and departure times might make a difference.
Mar 24th, 2023, 07:21 PM
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What lucky kids!
Our kids were in Italy about that age. Jean is right about Rome. There is so much there that the kids will enjoy.
We took ours to Pompei after Rome because they were or had studied it in school and they found it fascinating. We also too them to Florence to expose them to some of the world’s greatest art. Plus climbing the steps in the Duomo was fun for them.
On a different trip when they were young, they went to Florence again, Sienna, Orvieto, Pisa… but we based in Tuscany so we didn’t change hotels ever, except at the very end we went to Rome again.
Cinque Terre is an idea they might like. Walking between the towns is a bucket list!
Our kids were in Italy about that age. Jean is right about Rome. There is so much there that the kids will enjoy.
We took ours to Pompei after Rome because they were or had studied it in school and they found it fascinating. We also too them to Florence to expose them to some of the world’s greatest art. Plus climbing the steps in the Duomo was fun for them.
On a different trip when they were young, they went to Florence again, Sienna, Orvieto, Pisa… but we based in Tuscany so we didn’t change hotels ever, except at the very end we went to Rome again.
Cinque Terre is an idea they might like. Walking between the towns is a bucket list!
Mar 24th, 2023, 08:32 PM
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I agree with Jean. Too many destinations in too little time. You are spending more time traveling than exploring your destinations. Rome definitely needs more than a day or two. Florence needs at least two days. What do you plan to do while you are at your villa? I would cut down your stops to 4, maybe 5 at the most with Milan at the end. I would also prioritize AC as Europe has had some brutal heatwaves recently.
Mar 24th, 2023, 10:17 PM
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A few more details: We don't yet know where our villa will be, we will need to see what's available and affordable at this late date. My BIL and SIL and their kids are coming from France and said they want to get a villa with a pool somewhere in Tuscany. So we'll see what we can find. We live in a city so while I definitely want to see Rome, I would rather spend more time in the country and small towns and lakes or beaches. I love art and history but I don't imagine the kids will want to spend all their time seeing old churches and art museums. And since it will be hot, I don't know how much historical sightseeing anyone will want to do. We're from Northern California so we definitely don't have a lot of hot weather! If we spend a week in Tuscany, are day trips to Siena, Orvieto, Pisa, etc. doable? We are planning to have cars (once we leave Rome and maybe drop off in Milan) but that seems like a lot of driving in one day. Or maybe the train is better for those trips. I don't really want to stop in Milan but it seemed like a good spot to drop off the car and then take the train to Como. Unless it makes sense to have a car in Como? If anyone has suggestions for a better itinerary, please let me know! Thank you!
Mar 24th, 2023, 11:05 PM
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Pisa and Siena are in Tuscany . Both are provincial capitals. The ease of visiting either will depend on your starting point. Florence for example is an easy train ride to Pisa or bus to Siena. But it's a relatively large region. If you're staying in one end traveling to the extreme other end will end up longer.
Umbria is that much further away being the region next door.
Umbria is that much further away being the region next door.
Mar 24th, 2023, 11:07 PM
#8
Welcome to Fodors,
"We're from Northern California so we definitely don't have a lot of hot weather! I"
Must be the Bay area since most areas of northern California DEFINITELY get hot weather -- like over 100°F many days every summer.
Sorry but your current pan is pretty disjointed and helter skelter
I totally understand not wanting a lot of cities and wanting to chill in a villa and have a pool. So focus on what you want to do and forget about all the running around ticking boxes.
Let's look at some of the problems with the itinerary:
Fly into Rome 2-3 nights -- 3 nights would give you 2 usable days for Rome and some of you will likely be jet lagged. 2 nights only nets you one usable day.
Orvieto - 2 nights -- This equals 1 day --
Assisi - 1 night -- about half a day
Siena - 1 night -- about half a day
Why pack and move and check out/in 3 times when you can stay 4 nights in one place and do day trips?
Florence/Tuscany region - villa with family 4-5 nights -- This part is fine
Milan - 1 --
Lake Como 2-3 nights --
Fly out of Milan --
This whole section makes no sense: Why Milan > Como and then dash back to Milan to fly home?? You definitely need to be in Milan the night before your flight out. If you do end up with 2 nights at Lake Como -- that will net you one day.
"We're from Northern California so we definitely don't have a lot of hot weather! I"
Must be the Bay area since most areas of northern California DEFINITELY get hot weather -- like over 100°F many days every summer.
Sorry but your current pan is pretty disjointed and helter skelter
I totally understand not wanting a lot of cities and wanting to chill in a villa and have a pool. So focus on what you want to do and forget about all the running around ticking boxes.Let's look at some of the problems with the itinerary:
Fly into Rome 2-3 nights -- 3 nights would give you 2 usable days for Rome and some of you will likely be jet lagged. 2 nights only nets you one usable day.
Orvieto - 2 nights -- This equals 1 day --
Assisi - 1 night -- about half a day
Siena - 1 night -- about half a day
Why pack and move and check out/in 3 times when you can stay 4 nights in one place and do day trips?
Florence/Tuscany region - villa with family 4-5 nights -- This part is fine
Milan - 1 --
Lake Como 2-3 nights --
Fly out of Milan --
This whole section makes no sense: Why Milan > Como and then dash back to Milan to fly home?? You definitely need to be in Milan the night before your flight out. If you do end up with 2 nights at Lake Como -- that will net you one day.
Mar 24th, 2023, 11:15 PM
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Yes, Bay Area. Our summers are usually in the 70s! That was just a look on a map itinerary and try to figure out what towns we might like to see. None of it is planned yet, which is why I am here on these forums! Thank you all for pointing out that the above route makes no sense. Please tell me what will make sense instead! I am happy to just stay in 3-4 places but don't know the train or driving situation at all (never been to Italy) so would love to hear from all the experts as to what we should do.
Mar 25th, 2023, 09:06 AM
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I think you should do the Rome thing, then spend three nights in Spoleto - - stop in Orvieto on the way there. If I were 10 or 11 again, I would go to Spoleto, because it is built on a giant hill, and it is fun to go up and down the town. Orvieto has a spectacular situation, and the views from around it are stunning, yes, but really, in my heretical estimation, once you are up there in in the town on the plateau, it's not really an all that exciting place to actually BE. From Spoleto a day trip to Assisi, yes, which has the wonderful basilica, but which is otherwise a stink-boring town, with boring architecture. Then from Spoleto choose another day trip maybe covering a couple hill towns - - these are more dynamic places for active kids. Then maybe two nights in Siena, which gives you the run of the remarkable town when the daytrippers aren't there in the mornings and evenings.
Mar 25th, 2023, 09:31 AM
#11
I think until the villa is booked you can't know what possible day trips you can reasonably make, what order, etc. Depending on the location, you might end up with an entirely different sightseeing list. Who's in charge of finding the villa and what geographic parameters have been set? Tuscany covers more than 8800 square miles.
The heat (and humidity) is real. I live in SoCal, albeit near the ocean, and have a very hard time with high temps/humidity while sightseeing, esp. in the middle of the day. If I'm just relaxing around a pool, no problem. In my experience, the hotter the temps, the more frequently you have to deal with laundry. The more people, the more clothes, the more laundry. If the villa has facilities, bonus.
Driving and training require planning, so once the villa is picked you need to get busy researching what, where, how and when. What to do depends on your interests. Where are the destinations within a reasonable distance. (Up to you, but I prefer to keep day-trips within an hour's travel each way.) The how is car or train. When might be when things are open or which day of the week that makes the most sense, etc.
Driving in particular requires research and planning. Drivers on the rental agreements must have International Drivers Permits which you can get through AAA. You also need to learn about ZTLs (zona traffico limitato) which are areas within nearly every italian town/city that are closed to non-resident cars for many hours on most days of the week. If you drive into these zones at the wrong time by accident, you'll likely receive a citation in the mail after you get home. Multiple violations, multiple citations, so it pays to get familiar with signage and to develop a strategy for visiting different towns. For most small towns, it's fairly easy to just park at the first lot you see (usually well signed) and walk into and out of the center. Visiting larger towns by car is more complicated. The bigger the town/city, the more complicated.
https://mominitaly.com/ztl-in-italy/
Most of Tuscany is not well served by trains, although all of the towns on your initial list have train stations. Traveling by train between them and to smaller towns, however, can be a time-eater and is dictated by timetables. As an example, Assisi is 2-4 hours (one way) by train from the nearest towns on your initial list. You can search train timetables. Use Italian spellings (Roma, Firenze, Milano, etc.).
https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html
Random other comments:
A large-ish group of people (particularly if there are kids) takes longer to do everything. Sightseeing, meals, pit stops... everything.
You don't necessarily need to spend the last night in Milan. It depends on your flight time and where you'd be staying on Lake Como.
You couldn't pay me to visit the Cinque Terre in July. Just too dang crowded. But that's me.
The heat (and humidity) is real. I live in SoCal, albeit near the ocean, and have a very hard time with high temps/humidity while sightseeing, esp. in the middle of the day. If I'm just relaxing around a pool, no problem. In my experience, the hotter the temps, the more frequently you have to deal with laundry. The more people, the more clothes, the more laundry. If the villa has facilities, bonus.
Driving and training require planning, so once the villa is picked you need to get busy researching what, where, how and when. What to do depends on your interests. Where are the destinations within a reasonable distance. (Up to you, but I prefer to keep day-trips within an hour's travel each way.) The how is car or train. When might be when things are open or which day of the week that makes the most sense, etc.
Driving in particular requires research and planning. Drivers on the rental agreements must have International Drivers Permits which you can get through AAA. You also need to learn about ZTLs (zona traffico limitato) which are areas within nearly every italian town/city that are closed to non-resident cars for many hours on most days of the week. If you drive into these zones at the wrong time by accident, you'll likely receive a citation in the mail after you get home. Multiple violations, multiple citations, so it pays to get familiar with signage and to develop a strategy for visiting different towns. For most small towns, it's fairly easy to just park at the first lot you see (usually well signed) and walk into and out of the center. Visiting larger towns by car is more complicated. The bigger the town/city, the more complicated.
https://mominitaly.com/ztl-in-italy/
Most of Tuscany is not well served by trains, although all of the towns on your initial list have train stations. Traveling by train between them and to smaller towns, however, can be a time-eater and is dictated by timetables. As an example, Assisi is 2-4 hours (one way) by train from the nearest towns on your initial list. You can search train timetables. Use Italian spellings (Roma, Firenze, Milano, etc.).
https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html
Random other comments:
A large-ish group of people (particularly if there are kids) takes longer to do everything. Sightseeing, meals, pit stops... everything.
You don't necessarily need to spend the last night in Milan. It depends on your flight time and where you'd be staying on Lake Como.
You couldn't pay me to visit the Cinque Terre in July. Just too dang crowded. But that's me.
Last edited by Jean; Mar 25th, 2023 at 09:34 AM.
Mar 25th, 2023, 10:18 AM
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Originally Posted by Wander650
Hi:
We are trying to plan 2 weeks in Italy in early July. I know it will be super hot, but we have family that will be there at the same time. It will be me and my husband and 10-year-old son. For Tuscany and possibly Lake Como it will be 2 additional adults in their late 40s and 2 kids (10 & 12). Here are my initial ideas of where should we go (coming from California, so we will be pretty jet lagged for the first few days):
Fly into Rome 2-3 nights
Orvieto - 2 nights
Assisi - 1 night
Siena - 1 night
Florence/Tuscany region - villa with family 4-5 nights
Milan - 1
Lake Como 2-3 nights
Fly out of Milan
Or we flip it, fly into Milan, go to Lake Como first and then onto Florence/Tuscany and the rest and fly out of Rome. Does it matter which direction we go? Any places we should add or skip?Thanks!
We are trying to plan 2 weeks in Italy in early July. I know it will be super hot, but we have family that will be there at the same time. It will be me and my husband and 10-year-old son. For Tuscany and possibly Lake Como it will be 2 additional adults in their late 40s and 2 kids (10 & 12). Here are my initial ideas of where should we go (coming from California, so we will be pretty jet lagged for the first few days):
Fly into Rome 2-3 nights
Orvieto - 2 nights
Assisi - 1 night
Siena - 1 night
Florence/Tuscany region - villa with family 4-5 nights
Milan - 1
Lake Como 2-3 nights
Fly out of Milan
Or we flip it, fly into Milan, go to Lake Como first and then onto Florence/Tuscany and the rest and fly out of Rome. Does it matter which direction we go? Any places we should add or skip?Thanks!
Much of what you listed can be visited as a day trip from 1 central base in Tuscany.
10 & 12 is pretty young to appreciate a lot of the cultural stuff.
I'd plan to do it with only 3 lodging locations: Rome, Tuscany, & Como. You'll need a car for everything but the Rome phase of your trip.
Alternatively, look at the Adventures by Disney/Tauck Bridges itineraries. They do trips geared towards families. Mimic what they're doing.
Mar 25th, 2023, 10:36 AM
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I have always found it interesting that California is supposed to have a Mediterranean climate but while our coasts have moderate humidity like Italy it rarely gets hot. The Central Valley gets hot but the humidity is much lower than Italy at less than 30%. Last summer saw Rome at 40 in late June. (105F) and humidity was in the 60 range.
Recommend gelato! We love Grom which is a gelato chain
Recommend gelato! We love Grom which is a gelato chain
Mar 25th, 2023, 11:00 AM
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Since you mention Siena, which I adore, let me tell why I think it's so interesting for kids. It is made up of 17 contrade (neighborhoods) that compete in the very famous palio (bareback horse race) twice a year - both times in the summer. After each race there is a parade for the winner - probably the following weekend. Each neighborhood has its own museum, colors, traditional costume, music, flag, and mascot (eagle, snail, caterpillar, dragon, giraffe, etc). It is a great town to explore.
You are proposing too much moving around for my taste.
You are proposing too much moving around for my taste.
Mar 25th, 2023, 01:02 PM
#15
"Each neighborhood has its own museum, colors, traditional costume, music, flag, and mascot (eagle, snail, caterpillar, dragon, giraffe, etc)."
Ha. On my first visit, I decided I'm Team Giraffa. I got a kick out of the team motto: The higher the head, the bigger the glory. Cheers to tall people! Every time I visit, I pick up something representing my team...
Ha. On my first visit, I decided I'm Team Giraffa. I got a kick out of the team motto: The higher the head, the bigger the glory. Cheers to tall people! Every time I visit, I pick up something representing my team...
Mar 26th, 2023, 03:13 AM
#17
I think you should try and find out where the villa is. Once you know that you can plan what you want to see and then plan transport. Having a car is not always the right solution for Italy given the ZTL situation. I've cycled over a fair bit of Tuscany and the hills with the main roads along the valley bottoms can fill up with tourist traffic so, on the day, the plans can be tricky with a large crowd and benefit from early starts or late finishes.
Much as I can see the wish to visit Florence, if I was staying out in the countryside I might want to visit St Gimignano or Chiusi (for example) and each is in a different part with a fair drive in between.
Once you have a clue about that part of the holiday then work out the rest, Florence isn't going anywhere.
Much as I can see the wish to visit Florence, if I was staying out in the countryside I might want to visit St Gimignano or Chiusi (for example) and each is in a different part with a fair drive in between.
Once you have a clue about that part of the holiday then work out the rest, Florence isn't going anywhere.
Mar 26th, 2023, 05:10 AM
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Originally Posted by Jean
"Each neighborhood has its own museum, colors, traditional costume, music, flag, and mascot (eagle, snail, caterpillar, dragon, giraffe, etc)."
Ha. On my first visit, I decided I'm Team Giraffa. I got a kick out of the team motto: The higher the head, the bigger the glory. Cheers to tall people! Every time I visit, I pick up something representing my team...
Ha. On my first visit, I decided I'm Team Giraffa. I got a kick out of the team motto: The higher the head, the bigger the glory. Cheers to tall people! Every time I visit, I pick up something representing my team...
Mar 26th, 2023, 05:12 AM
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Hi there,
I am not an Italy expert but have been there twice with my kids (now 9 and 12) and I was just exhausted reading about your potential trip, changing hotels every night. I suggest picking one or two general areas (maybe Rome and Lake Como? Rome and Tuscany?) and then saving some of the other stuff for your next trip.
Jet Lag is a thing, and if you are coming from California, it's going to be rough. You are going to want to SLEEP for the the first day, and you are going to be hungry at weird times.
We took our sons to Rome when they were 4 and 6 and spent the week there. We never left the city. We also never took a bus or train or taxi/car except to go to and from the airport and one trip to the soccer stadium. We spent four days in Naples with the kids last summer, which was fine - we did a day trip to an island. We could have done a lot more if we had more time (which is why we are going back).
We are going back to Naples in a few weeks and decided to combine it with a little but of Northern Italy. We are going for ten days and three hotels. I think ten days and two hotels would have been preferable but it didn't work out:
Naples - 3 nights
On Day four, night train from Salerno - Milan , then day train (one hour) to Varenna (Lake Como)
Two nights in Varenna (we may do day trips or we may not)
Three nights in Turin
For you, I would spend four or five nights in the first location, then transfer to one or two other locations and base yourself there and do day trips if you want to see more towns. You can always go back!
I am not an Italy expert but have been there twice with my kids (now 9 and 12) and I was just exhausted reading about your potential trip, changing hotels every night. I suggest picking one or two general areas (maybe Rome and Lake Como? Rome and Tuscany?) and then saving some of the other stuff for your next trip.
Jet Lag is a thing, and if you are coming from California, it's going to be rough. You are going to want to SLEEP for the the first day, and you are going to be hungry at weird times.
We took our sons to Rome when they were 4 and 6 and spent the week there. We never left the city. We also never took a bus or train or taxi/car except to go to and from the airport and one trip to the soccer stadium. We spent four days in Naples with the kids last summer, which was fine - we did a day trip to an island. We could have done a lot more if we had more time (which is why we are going back).
We are going back to Naples in a few weeks and decided to combine it with a little but of Northern Italy. We are going for ten days and three hotels. I think ten days and two hotels would have been preferable but it didn't work out:
Naples - 3 nights
On Day four, night train from Salerno - Milan , then day train (one hour) to Varenna (Lake Como)
Two nights in Varenna (we may do day trips or we may not)
Three nights in Turin
For you, I would spend four or five nights in the first location, then transfer to one or two other locations and base yourself there and do day trips if you want to see more towns. You can always go back!
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