Rome plus what else with 15 year old DS?

[Anonymous]

We have 9 days for spring break (it starts 2 weeks before Easter for us) and want to go to Italy for the first time for any of us. Where should we go in addition to Rome? Maybe somewhere outdoorsy or a smaller town instead of another city? Anything your teens loved in Italy?

[Anonymous]

We took our 16 and 14 yr old last year. We went to Florence, Tuscany, Rome and Amalfi. They loved Italy for the most part, here are some thoughts:
- Dont drag them to too many churches/museums. Vatican is a must do but the museum can be tedious.
- My kids fave part of Tuscany was riding bikes, and climbing the towers in the old towns.
- Do something hands on like a cooking class or walking food tour.
- Get a hotel with a pool, its a nice break in the warm weather before dinner or in the evening.
- Pompeii was cool for the kids. Explore on your own, let them explore freely. My kid did a report on it at school this year.
- They liked the coast the best, being on the water, chartering a boat, hiking, etc. and just doing active things instead of museum after museum.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, where in Tuscany did you stay?

[Anonymous]

Do they like soccer? Try to get tickets to a game. That was fun.
If they ride bikes you can rent bikes to ride th appian way out to the catacombs. My kids liked the catacombs a lot.
We just do Rome and Pompeii. Naples has a cool archaeological museum and lots of pizza so could be a good additional stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks, where in Tuscany did you stay?

We stayed in Volterra here but there are SO many good options! https://www.relaischateaux.com/us/hotel/borgo-pignano-volterra-tuscany/

We really enjoyed visiting Sienna and San Gimignano.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do they like soccer? Try to get tickets to a game. That was fun.
If they ride bikes you can rent bikes to ride th appian way out to the catacombs. My kids liked the catacombs a lot.
We just do Rome and Pompeii. Naples has a cool archaeological museum and lots of pizza so could be a good additional stop.

Our teens really liked Naples. We did a food tour there, it had more of a distinct vibe/personality than some of the other cities and the pizza can't be beat.

[Anonymous]

My teens really enjoyed Rome (catacombs, colosseum, ruins were favorites) but they LOVED Tuscany. We stayed in a beautiful resort with pools, golf, tennis, hiking trails, horseback riding etc. We did a mix of resort time and exploring nearby towns. Agree with pp suggestion of a cooking class. Eat lots of good food and get gelato daily

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My teens really enjoyed Rome (catacombs, colosseum, ruins were favorites) but they LOVED Tuscany. We stayed in a beautiful resort with pools, golf, tennis, hiking trails, horseback riding etc. We did a mix of resort time and exploring nearby towns. Agree with pp suggestion of a cooking class. Eat lots of good food and get gelato daily

Which resort?

[Anonymous]

Our teen boys loved Siena, which we did in conjunction with Rome. Yes we did an obligatory stop at the cheesy yet iconic Leaning Tower. We did a food tour in Siena and that was a highlight for all of us plus the views from the Duomo are spectacular. We did a cooking class, but in the Rome portion of the trip, and the cooking class was very much a hit as well so consider that in whatever location you end up. If we had the time we would have added in some hiking or similar from a base of Siena. Good luck whatever you choose!

[Anonymous]

There are really lots of good options, fortunately. I loved both Florence and Pompeii, for instance.

Definitely get some Suppli.

[Anonymous]

A suggestion for Rome is a bicycle tour. When my sister did this, she got the e-bike and her boys and DH got the regular ones and it worked better for all.