Planning Summer Trip for 7: Rome, Venice & Florence
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Planning Summer Trip for 7: Rome, Venice & Florence
We are a group of 7 (including four teenagers) planning our first trip to Italy. We would like to go to Rome, Venice, and Florence/Tuscany area. We have 13 days to travel. Thought of going to Ve
We are a group of 7 (including four teenagers) planning our first trip to Italy. We would like to go to Rome, Venice, and Florence/Tuscany area.
We have 13 days to travel. Thought of going to Venice for three days, Rome for three days, and then to Tuscany for a week.
Just wondering if it is possible to do days trips from Tuscany without a car as I am thinking it would be hard to find a car/van to hold 7 people. Also, looking for villa rental suggestions in the area. Is the Amalfi Coast and Capri a must-see, especially with kids?
Taking your questions backwards, much of the Amalfi coast is extremely steep with lots of staircases, so everybody in the group has to be cheerful about doing a lot of climbing in the hot sun. There are some parts of the Amalfi that are geared toward posh relaxtion -- lounging about and eating a lot and shopping a lot -- and that might bore your kids. It is possible to take lots of boat rides to sightsee, and hike, but if you are thinking of seeing Pompei, then it is better to stay in Sorrento and visit the Amalfi rather than sleep in the Amalfi, because it is very time consuming to get to Pompei from the Amalfi coast.
But with 13 days of travel, you cannot see Venice, Tuscany, Rome and the Amalfi. The logistics of group travel inside Italy make that impossible unless you get on a tour bus (which I don't advise with 4 teenagers).
For a week in Tuscany, it is hard to rent a villa without a car and still get around to more than one place to do sightseeing. You might try to find a rental big enough in Siena or walkable to it. From Siena, you could take buses to Florence, San Gimignano, Greve in Chianti. You could flip it and stay near San Gimignano without a car, and visit Florence and Siena by bus, and also Volterra (and perhaps Pisa), but you are looking at some fairly long bus rides each way.
For most people, the appeal and fame of "Tuscany" is very much about renting a car and doing scenic drives. Without a car, it begins to make more sense to look at another location with better train connections, or renting a large apartment inside a Tuscan town/city like Lucca or Florence, which have lots of trains going in all directions, to places large and small. But you are not in the countryside.
All kids are different, but I often hear parents say that teens visiting Italy find life at a Tuscan villa somewhat boring, and that the cities are popular, as are swimming/beach destinations.
Would you omit Florence/Tuscany from your trip and focus more on Capri?
We want to enjoy what each area has to offer, and not feel like we are trying to do too much in our time frame. Any suggestions on itinerary
and places to stay greatly appreciated. We want to soak up what each area has to offer and not feel like we were too busy traveling and we didn't get to enjoy our trip.
If you feel that way, then please realize that Venice, Florence and Rome are simply overflowing with attractions of a certain sort (history and art). Many people want to flee the sightseeing they involve and prefer Italian destinations that are more about relaxing and "soaking". To visit Rome and not feel you are on a forced march of sightseeing, spending 4 nights there is a bare minimum.
People vary greatly in where they want to go and what they want to do in Italy, making the notion of a "must-see' determined by whom you talked to last. Unlike Sherribaby, I could care less about seeing Capri, especially in summer, when it will simply be overrun with tourists if you go for a day-trip (and I doubt teenagers will want nights on Capri). I've been to Pompei twice -- but if your family's eyes will glaze over looking at the remains of an ancient city destroyed by a volcano, why go? -- especially when it is likely to near 90 degrees.
How much have you consulted with your teenagers? I live in Italy, and many people come to visit me, some bringing teen-aged kids, and I'm surprised by how little some of the teens are in seeing the sights of Italy. It is hard to know how to keep them interested, although I've generally found that if they are interested in fashion or music or sports at home -- or science or Hebrew studies or you name it -- they are thrilled to find these things in Italy.
But the easiest mistake to make in Italy is spending too much time hauling luggage and yourselves around hot train stations to jam in as many destinations as you can during 13 days. Italian cities, especially the smaller ones, are remarkably safe places. In summer, the piazza and gelateria really come alive at night when it is cool. There is history and art everywhere you turn, so you might think of fewer destinations and more having fun together. Were I taking kids, I might pair Rome and Sorrento and leave it at that. Or Venice and Verona (including a nighttime opera outdoors in the grand Roman arena) and maybe a bit of time on Lago di Garda (are any of your kids fans of amusement parks? Try "Gardalanda" for a silly goof.)
Some kids are absolutely wowed by Italy itself. Others end up liking Italy because they had a great time there, not because they ticked off a lot of famous sights.
The wild card here is what your teens will enjoy. It's a good guess that they will have a good time in the cities, but if you want to venture to smaller places, all bets are off. I suggest involving them in the trip-planning. Hand them the guidebooks and require each of them to come up with somewhere they really want to go or something they really want to do that you can work into the trip, or give them some options and let them vote. If they have an investment in the trip through participating in the planning, they'll likely be more enthusiastic and have a better time.
Capri is lovely but I think it would be boring to teens. My 12-year-old was completely unimpressed and we were only there a few hours.
Thank you Mushrooom, Road Crazy, and Sherribaby for your thoughts, they are much appreciated. After conversing with the kids, they definitely want to see Rome and Venice. The last part of the trip we would like to visit a winery(for the grown ups) , do a little shopping for the teenage girls (clothes /shoes), a pool to relax by, and be within walking distance to local transportation for day trips. Maybe near a cute little town that offers that and has some open air markets and some cute little restaurants as well. At least we are narrowing it down, I think!
Any further thoughts and suggesstions are welome. Thanks!
I agree with Mushroom,you wantto narrow your trip to maybe two areas and stick with that. Italy has so much to see and it cannot be done in one trip. My husband and I went for two weeks, we stayed in Florence the first week(open air markets all around) and went on day trips from there. Such as San Germigimano, Chianti ,Pompeii and Lucca. We used either the public busses or signed up for day tours. It was not only more reasonable taht way, I would have never drove in the city, crazy, crazy drivers!! They don't stop for people to cross the street either, I was amazed I did not see more accidents or pedestrians lying all over the ground. I absolutely LOVE Italy, but they can keep their drivers. We then took the train to the Almalfi Coast and stayed in Sorrento for the second week. But that is not something you can do on a day trip from Tuscany, it is too far. Personally, Almalfi & Capri are on my 'must see' list,it is the most breathtaking place I have ever seen, but having teenagers with you changes alot of the sightseeing you may do. We also went to Positano, another must see for me. I saved Rome & Venice to make sure I visit again. Have fun!
Have you considered the Cinque Terre/Genoa areas? Our teenagers loved the CT, the small towns where they met and played soccer with a group of kids in Corniglia til late at night. They hiked with us along the trails, swam at the beach in Monterossa. From the CT you could also go to Pisa by train, then take the bus to Lucca, a wonderful walled city with great shopping and fantastic restaurants. Rent bikes and ride the wall surrounding the town, climb the tower...all sorts of things to keep a bunch of teenagers busy. The train transportation is easy. We came to CT from Milan via train. Milan, by the way, offers some of the best shopping in Italy. Milan is also a short train ride from Lake Como. We took the boat ride to Bellagio for a day trip...wonderful!
Italian trains are lovely, frequernt and cheap. If you want to go to Sienna or San Gemignano (highly recommended) from Florence, however, you must take a bus from the central bus station.
Just read the blog from Arbaspaa (http://www.arbaspaa.com) a local agency for rentals, tours, etc in the Cinque Terre and they were promoting a fishing trip and a wine tour in the CT. We used them to rent 2 apratments there and they were great to deal with. Just another option for your group.
Cinque Terre with teens is a great idea (hiking, beaches) but keep in mind that the floods a few months ago created great devastation. The small towns could surely use tourists but not sure how ready they are to receive visitors.
Only 2 of the 5 towns were affected, Monterosso and Vernazza, and both are hard at work getting the towns ready for Spring tourists. Most of the upper trails are open and the trails around Manarola, Corniglia, Riomaggiore are pretty much all open. The train station in Vernazza opened this week so people can travel there. And you're right, the towns and the shops need the tourist dollars to survive!
If you spend time in Tuscany, consider day trips by van large enough for your family, with a driver/guide to get you to interesting towns, wineries, retaurants, etc. There are tour companies than can arrange this for you and have vehicles large enough to accomodate seven. In cities like Florence, Venice and Rome there are local walking tours that often get you into interesting and unusual parts of te city, or cover special topics, and are experienced in entertaining tourists, even teens that may not be inclined to go on such tours Check some of the numerous major tour guides and the internet for sources.
Thanks for all the great advice. We are going to start in Venice, end in Rome, and find a nice coastal area with beaches, bicycles and fun stuff for the kids inbetween. The Cinque Terre/Genoa areas sounds nice. Any other suggestions are greatly appreciate - thank you!
