Hello everyone,

Week one of our first visit to Italy is set. We've booked an apartment in Rome the second week of July and I have many thanks to extend for those of you who helped.

Now I'm planning week two. I would love any and all suggestions as to where we should go. We have a family of five--3 children ages 11, 15 and 17--I have a feeling that the kids will have had their fill of culture and will need a reprieve. We do want to work in one full day in Florence sometime the second week. We are open to renting a car for the week. Everyplace sounds wonderful--Tuscany, the Dolomites, Cinque De Terre, the Italian Riveria--plus we don't mind the travel time it will take to get to a place that we all would enjoy.

We plan to end our trip in Venice.

Thanks for any help.

P.S. I hope the this makes it to the working Fodorites (see post re: Blocking Fodors)! I KNOW you only come here during down time! LOL

FYI, we plan to end our time in Italy in Venice.

With two teenagers and an eleven year old, I'd consider the area around Rimini/Riccione. Lots to do for young people, a beach for the eleven year old, and within easy distance by autostrada to Florence, Bologna, Ferrara, Ravenna, San Marino, Ancona, Gubbio, Perugia and Arezzo for daytrips.

topping for Jayne

Jayne - How do you want to spend your time and what are your children's interests? Another possibility might be Lake Garda if you are into water sports, mountains ...

Steve

Thanks Eileen.

Steve-

It's going to be hot and they all love swimming and boating (we're Floridians). Living in the flat-lands, all of us really love a change of scenery. On vacations we love driving in places where landscapes are dramatic such as jagged cliffs over the ocean, mountains etc. Many of their other interests won't be available in Italy so we're looking for something different that will be engaging.

If you decide on Dolomites there are a network of ski lifts that you can take to hike to different towns. Rick Steves Italy tourbook has info on the Alpe di Suisse hike taking chairlift from Kastleruth. (in his Bolzano section)

In July being by the water would be great for the kids either Lake Guarda or Monterosso in Cinque Terre. If the latter try for Hotel Swiss Bellevue only if you can get a room with the view (#20 is best). Also this year stayed in Tuscany at Hotel Belvedere di San Leonino in Castellina di Chianti at the Fodorites recommendation. Loved it! Only stay if you can get a room with views of vineyards or pool. Great location and very charming. Book well in advance. 45 minutes to Florence and close to Chianti road loop. Cortina in the Dolomites has beautiful scenery and is great for hiking. Though the town is very modern and lacks charm. Kastleruth near Bolzano is small, charming and close to hiking the Ape di Suisse. Dolomites are beautiful. Easy to do Kastleruth along with Lake Guarda.

I'm leaning toward Cinque Terre (at least I am today!). The Dolomites sound wonderful, but we do the Carolina mountains alot (not that the two can be compared, just pointing out that we can do mountains in the US!) Aren't there beacheds in Cinque Terre? Will my 15-year-old son suffer from eye strain (gawking at topless women)?

Too many wonderful places--too little time!!! Please, please keep your ideas coming!

Jayne - The only beach in the Cinque Terre is at Monterosso, so would be your best choice if that's important.

You don't really need a car in this area - the CT are all within 2-3 mins of each other by train - or you can hike.

Another scenic area is the Portofino peninsular (SML, Camogli, Rapallo ...)an hour further north.

Hope this helps ...

Steve

The sea is one solution. If you really want the seashore for 1 week, then your choice is immense...
Google on Viareggio, lovely seaside, sandy beach, biking possibilities, close to some towns such as Lucca, Pisa, and Florence at about 100 km. Monterosso is nice, but a week is maybe a bit long.
Portofino is very expensive.

Another possibility is agriturismo; lodging in refurbished farms. The following websites could help you find a place to stay. You have all kinds of places, from 1-star to 5-star with swimming pool, catering or self-catering, with local olive oil or wine producing, and so on. It gives you the opportunity to have a very calm and quiet stay in an interesting area with some things to visit. (Tuscany, Umbria).
http://www.agriturismoitalia.com/ita...gine/index.asp
http://www.agriturismoitaly.it/
http://www.agriturismo-italia.net/

Topping and hoping to hear from the Fodorite office crowd!

Thanks.

I kept getting pushed to the bottom so I was waiting for all the silliness from this morning to end before I brought this ttt again.

Thanks to Fodors for ending it. Or maybe his mother just came home.

What silliness? What did I miss?