Italy/Europe with three kids
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Anonymous
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Thanks, PP - that is very helpful. I have had good luck with Rick Steeves in the past and I will need to grab a copy of his Italy book.
We have loved VRBO in th4 states so I am psyched to hear it's good abroad. Our only issue with your plan re: stay north of Rome is Pompeii...we HAVE to do Pompeii or our oldest daughter may just die of disappointment. Is it a feasible day trip from Rome? I read it's a couple of hours via 2 trains each way...is that right? Would it be worth it to stay a night in Naples? We hope to be there at least 14 days. If we're spending the $ on airfare we'd better make good use of it. Hence the very long planning/saving period. 
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Anonymous
| If you HAVE to do Pompeii, I would go and stay 2-3 nights. Naples is a 3 hour (drive, not sure on trains) trip from Rome. It's not something to do in a day. In 14 days, you have enough time to spend a few days in the Naples area which I would do Pompeii, then head straight down to the Amalfi coast (Sorrento and Positano) for 2 nights, then back up to Naples to head back north towards Rome. That will give you a taste of Southern Italy but be aware that it's a good distance south of Rome. |
Anonymous
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ok. So I'm thinking Naples/Amalfi/Pompeii - Rome - Florence - Venice.
Too much? If we had to drop anything, I guess we'd skip Florence (though I'd hate to.) In college, I lived for 5 months in Fiesole right outside Florence, so I'd love to stay up there and just bus into town. If we do the Amalfi coast, I feel like we can skip the Cinque Terre for this trip. What am I missing? What should I be dropping? I think the kids would love Rome and Venice. |
Anonymous
How long is your trip? |
Anonymous
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Another suggestion from different poster:
Rome--include day trip to Pompeii Florence-take excursion to Pisa--kids would like it. Venice-do not skip. Good for kids and good place to just hang out and wander. |
Anonymous
Your question is very big so let's focus on Italy. I've been four times now and we have two more trips planned in Italy this year (we live in Austria so from here these are not extravagant trips!!) Having been to both Venice and Rome in the Dec/Jan timeframe, I would say definitely don't go in winter if you can avoid it. We found Venice quite cold and Rome cold and rainy. We haven't been in summer but I've heard that's when it's hit and crowds are worst. We have made two trips in the spring and had good weather - both around spring break. The only thing here is again, crowds. Rome is popular for Easter (obviously) and Venice and Florence were pretty crowded as well. That said, the weather was a bit cool at times but generally sunny. If possible try to avoid the car - we had a bad rental car experience. Or at least take out their insurance. And if you get hit by someone, make sure you get a police report (all lessons learned). Depending on your itinerary you may not need one. Trains are easy and relatively inexpensive. I book everything myself so can't answer the travel agency question. I guess if you were doing a complicated itinerary and didn't feel comfortable doing it yourself you could use one, but most places let you book online or send an email and then they will book it for you without having to call or talk to anyone. For a family of five, I would definitely look into apartment or house rentals. Your hotel room options for five people will be limited and you would probably end up having to book two rooms most places. We are four people and that can also be a challenge. My kids are 10 and 6 and loved Venice - riding on gondolas, vaporettos, exploring the alleyways, Murano, Burano, and lots of gelato. My daughter also really liked Florence but I didn't think there was as much interesting there for kids. They both loved Lucca - especially renting bikes and riding around the city wall. They also liked Siena. This summer we go to Rome and Positano and we are going to Sicily for spring break. Italy is great for kids because Italians love kids - they are friendly and kind to them and you feel comfortable eating out as a family, although some places don't serve dinner until 7:30 or 8:00. Ballpark budget - aiming high here - $250/night for lodging, $40/person/day for food, plus flight, rental car, and admission to attractions. It ain't cheap, but if you find apartments you may be able to economize on the meals by eating breakfast and some lunches at home. Oh, and by $ I mean euros - almost equal for now but I think the euro will rise again in the course of a year or too. Last tip - wait as long as you can. The older they are, the more everyone will enjoy it - the sights, the food, the experience. Older kids just get it more, they can stay up later and do more things. Two of our trips were with my daughter as a toddler and although we enjoyed them, they weren't ideal. Our trip last year with the older kids was fantastic. |
Anonymous
Just FYI about Pisa - you have to be 8 to go up the Leaning Tower. Learned this the hard way when my daughter was 3; finally took her up at age 9 but had to leave my 5 year old son behind 
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Anonymous
Good advice. Rome was okay for me in December, but Venice was flooded. HOtel lobby was totally flooded, we could not eat breakfast. were on a tour and left as soon as tide went out. |
Anonymous
| Am I the only one who found Pompeii a huge disappointment? Sure it was nice to see but for my first trip to Italy I'd much rather spend time in Rome, Vience, Florence etc. |
Anonymous
My DH and I thought it was great. And I think kids would really like running around the outdoors, and touching things. The people and animal frozen by ash is really surreal. |
Anonymous
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OP here over a year later. Finally ready to pull the trigger on this...considering an April 2017 trip to Italy.
Any prior visitors to Rome/Italy in general around Easter have any feedback for me? Anyone have any particular tips or tricks I should consider while booking flights/hotels/cars? |
Anonymous
We lived in Europe for 3 years when kids were roughly the ages of your kids. In that time, we made several trips to Italy: 1) Venice, Florence, Lucca, Pisa, Siena The kids were 9 and 5 on this trip. We went for spring break which is a very busy time for Italy. We avoided Rome for that reason but Florence was also very crowded. That said, the weather was good and smaller towns were not overcrowded. Venice was also pretty busy but Florence was insane. The kids enjoyed Venice and Lucca the most. Rent bikes in Lucca and ride around the city walls. Of course do a gondola ride in Venice, but kids also enjoyed wandering the alleys. Be aware children must be 8 to ascend the Leaning Tower. 2) Sicily - Catania, Taormina, Mt. Etna, Agrigento, Siracusa Kids were 10 and 6 in this trip and we also went for spring break. Weather was good and it was not at all crowded. Sicily is a bit rough around the edges but we enjoyed it. Taormina is very lovely and must see the amphitheater. We also had a private guide take us around Mt. Etna. Still covered with snow in April FYI - people were skiing so we couldn't do hiking. The temples in Agrigento are very impressive but not much else to do in that area (although we loved the Scala dei Turchi -- google it). Siracusa is also a lovely town - kids enjoyed this trip. 3) Rome, Positano, Pompeii Kids were 10and 6 and we made this trip in late June to meet up with my in laws. I do NOT recommend Rome in June. Obscenely hot and crowded. It was not relaxing as the streets were packed from 10 am through the day. To see anything really for heat and crowds you had to be up and out very early. We did enjoy the colosseum which we visited early and bought tickets in advance. The other hit was four person bike in the big park. All those famous landmarks? Not interesting to my kids. Flip side - they LOVED Positano. Natural beauty, relaxing atmosphere, great food. We were only there 2-3 days but it was amazing. We stopped by Pompeii on our way back to Naples - again, late June it was way too hot and crowded. Shame as I think it was f as imaging. 4) Naples, Capri, Positano Kids were 7 and 11. Went late June/early July. We made this trip to spend more time in Positano since we all loved it so much. Spent one night in Naples which was a waste of time. Capri is also amazing but super crowded during the day with day trippers. Stay on the island to enjoy it in the evenings - there is also great dining. We spent 3 nights. Took the ferry to Positano and spent 5 more nights. We all love it so much. Beach is so relaxing. Italy is such a great country for families because the Italians like kids. Also the food is great and most kids like it. We stayed in hotels but with 3 kids you might do better with apartments. Some hotels have suites or large enough rooms for two double beds and a rollaway. I always email directly and ask about beds if it's not clear or if I want something different. Many will accommodate if you arrange it in advance. We have almost always rented cars in Italy but you must be a confident driver. I also strongly recommend taking the rental company insurance. Just trust me on this one.  There of course are trains and buses etc. but we have always liked the freedom of having our own car.
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Anonymous
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Thanks, PP. Very helpful!
We are not frequent overseas travelers, so I feel like we unfortunately need to cover a lot of ground in one trip. If you had to drop one of these, which would you skip and why for an Easter time trip? I can't come up with a great reason to skip any of them. Rome Florence Venice |
Anonymous
Rome is crowded enough. The thought of being there at Easter makes me feel queasy. Only need a day in Venice. |
Anonymous
| I did Florence (no car) with my parents in 2004 (we were all adults) and then used a train to go to Cinque Terre (LOVED) and a car to do Tuscan hill towns eventually making our way to Sienna. Found our hotels on trip advisor and they were all pretty much as described. Used "weekend in Florence" website to get timed tickets to Uffizi and the Academy (David). |