10 days with 4 kids and the grandparents! Need planning help!

I feel Venice, with all its nice campos and no vehicle traffic, is much more child-friendly than Milan. It won’t be too crowded in November. And they will love riding the vaporetti.

Consider using a child backpack carrier for the 1-year-old, especially in Venice, rather than lugging a stroller everywhere.

How many nights will you have on the ground IN Italy?

Can’t go wrong with Venice-Florence-Rome
3 nights each
I wouldn’t try to add any more locations

If your family isn’t big on art museums you could do 2 in Florence, 4 in Rome

Or split your time between Venice and Rome

All easily done by train

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How many nights will you be in Italy? Many people count the departure day from the US and departure day from Europe in their “days”. If this is the case, you usually really only have 8 days.

Have you (or any of your group) been to Europe before? Have you traveled by train before? Are there any mobility issues?

We traveled with our 9 month old, plus 5 adults to Paris, Venice, Florence and Rome over 12 nights many years ago. The logistics of traveling with a big group can be daunting. Know that hotels almost never sleep 4 in real beds (like two queens, which are common in the US). So the make up of your group will be a consideration: 2 grandparents (in one room); two adults + 2 kids on a sofa bed; two adults + 2 kids on a sofa bed will be easiest to manage. The 16 yo might not like that!

I definitely prefer Venice to Milan, but you will encounter lots and lots of stairs, so a stroller is difficult. Wearing the baby is the best option.

Try to add a couple of days. I lean toward longer trips. Your airfare is a fixed sunk cost, so try to amortize it over more days. Your “3 cities in 10 days” plan is really 3 cities in 8 days when you account for travel and mucking about. It's doable but I think it sounds stressful with that group. Alternatively, maybe eliminate a destination.

Pack light. Bring fewer changes of clothes than you think you need. Have the older two kids carry their own backpacks or roller bags. Get em used to it now every chance you have. You're gonna be stressed enough herding cats and carrying for the littles. Don't add the stress of lugging a lot of baggage.

Use public transit. Have the kids “help” navigate transit.

Plan down time

Maybe plan time for the adults to enjoy grownup time. Tag off w A dinner date or a “boring” museum while the kids play or chill with the other set of grownups.

No McDonald’s! - even the pickiest kid can find local food. Trust me, I have a (formerly) picky kid

Destinations:

I think Milan is kinda “meh” as a destination but it has an airport. Unless you need to see the Last Supper, maybe spend those days elsewhere. Venice - super amazing place and November might be a good time crowd-wise. It does take a bit of time getting in and out. Rome - So much to do. It can get exhausting so plan accordingly. Florence - Grownups will love it. I'm honestly not sure what the kids will think. You'd be the best judge.

I lived overseas when my kids were young and travelled with kids from age 5 to teens. I never had to travel with a baby or toddler, but that will be a factor that will require patience and extra planning.

1) With 10 persons traveling (two young ones), you will have a lot of luggage, so all adults will need to pickup the slack on carrying luggage and baby stuff. I traveled with my 5 year old son as my youngest and can warn you that after 15 minutes in a museum, your four year old will be ready to leave. Still, with good planning you can enjoy your trip.

2) With a large group, you need to reach a consensus as to what to do on your trip, as well as what to see. My kids loved the gondola ride in Venice and my son at age 7 was in awe of the amazing Sistine Chapel. Research what sites are agreeable to everyone and have someone plan the itinerary with where to go, leaving room for some flexibility. In some cases, like the Coliseum and Forum in Rome, you will need to buy advance tickets. Also, the Sistine Chapel.

3) Transportation will be a concern with 14 in your party. Many of the places that you plan to visit will make it hard to have a vehicle, due to heavy traffic and parking issues. Not sure that you can rent a bus large enough for that large group? Trains work better in Italy and many who rent cars in Italy come home with expensive tickets anyway.

4) Ten days is really not enough to see Venice, Florence, Rome and Milan. You need 3 days in Venice, 3 in Florence, 5 in Rome and 2 in Milan. Why not fly into Venice and out of Rome and skip Milan?

5) Pickpockets are apparent in Italy. I love that country, but it is a fact, so consider acquiring money belts for the men to carry most valuables. Women should have pack safe purses. Take care of your passports and spare cash. You can use credit cards for the vast majority of your spending, but you will need some Euros. Buy Euros at an ATM when you arrive in Italy. Use a BANK ATM, not the ATMS that are owned by the currency exchanges at the airports.

6) Buy a couple of travel guides. Rick Steves has a good one of Italy. Also, DK Eyewitness is great.

7) With 10 days you won't have to do laundry, but with such a large group, try to pack as light as possible.

8) When looking for lodging, you will likely need anywhere from 3-4 rooms, or find a large apartment. I have never looked at renting apartments in Europe, like AirBnB, since it is always just my wife and self. Be careful with apartment rental, I have read about some scams in that area. I love B&Bs, especially since they are cheaper than hotels and include free breakfasts, but do your research for both. Lodging is expensive in Venice, Florence and Rome. Especially Venice.

9) If you plan on taking day tours, consider Tours by Locals, with your large group, you could have your own tour group.

The 4 yr old can also carry a small backpack and roll a small bag-our four-year old did it.

We just got back from a family trip in Italy that included 7 nights in Venice and 4 nights in Rome. Four adults and two kids, 6 and 9. So, I am going to imagine four more people that include a baby/toddler and a preschooler.

You’ve already gotten some great advice here, especially from Chris.

The week in Venice was by far the most successful part of our trip. The most successful thing, kid-wise, that we did in Rome was to go to Ostia Antica. The kids did enjoy Castel Sant’Angelo, but it was extremely crowded in early January. If I were you, I would choose only Venice and Rome, with a day trip to Orvieto and Ostia Antica from Rome. We adore Florence, but your time is so short and your group is so large.

I really, really think you need two or possibly three apartments so that you have floor space for the younger kids, some common areas, couches that are not being used as sofa-beds, a dining room table for breakfasts and some dinners, and a washing machine. And everybody can eat what they want to for breakfast and eat early enough so that your group or part of your group can get out early. A hotel or B&B breakfast, while seemingly convenient, will slow you up in the morning and you’ll only get out and about in late morning just when everybody else is pouring into the city — plus, it’s much more fun to go grocery shopping or to a street market or deli shop or fruit stand or coffee bar. We have never had any trouble renting our 40+ Airbnb apartments in Italy, partly because I am very careful to read reviews, examine photos, and whenever possible choose a Super-host. The trouble you will have, because I did, is finding apartments for 10 people. I found my family two apartments within a 5 or 10 minute walk from each other, in both Venice and Rome, and you might need three.

Here’s what our 6 and 9-year-old grandchildren loved in Venice:

I made them scratch-off “I Spy” treasure hunt booklets with photos of things in Venice to look for. I got the scratch-off stickers on Amazon, but you could just print up photos and the kids could cross a photo out when they see the thing.

They adored discovering pizza with french fries and hotdog slices on top (sounds awful, doesn’t it?)

Get a vaporetto pass and the Che Bateo app — we all loved sitting in the outdoor front or back parts of the boats, and the kids enjoyed “beeping” our passes.

Visit to Torcello in the early morning, especially climbing the belltower, but even the mosaics in the church. Nobody else was there.

We found almost every playground in Venice.

Glass blowing demo at the Glass Cathedral was cool and had no sales pitch or attached scary glassware shop — you can all see plenty of little fragile glass goodies by window shopping from the sidewalk.

iPads and Boogie Boards were a blessing many times

The Bovolo staircase was a hit with both kids

Burano was great

Rialto fish market

Surprisingly, eating long lunches in restaurants, even though the 6-year-old is quite picky. We took plenty for them to do, such as coloring pages to color, mazes, I Spy games, etc. all printed up from the internet. Plus colored pencils. The restaurant owners and servers were just wonderful with the kids and there were no problems ordering plain pasta with butter and cheese for the picky eater.

We knew better than to take these two to museums or art galleries but they did like the Leonardo d Vinci interactive museum and brief visits inside San Marco and other churches. It depends on what your kids are like — our own two sons when they were kids would have been fine in museums, etc. for maybe 45 minutes.

Other things to consider:

You will really need to make advance reservations for lunches because of needing to seat 10 people. Big families are very welcome, but a restaurant may have to move small tables together.

Having to make timed reservations for almost everything is a real pain — there were many things we wanted to do and just couldn’t fit them in because of the timing.

Try not to get “trapped” anywhere, like on an expensive indoor art gallery tour when the kids (or adults) may get tired or hungry

Jet lag is a real thing and will almost certainly mean you can’t do everything you might want to do the first couple of days. The three youngest kids, in particular, will have their sleep and their eating patterns disrupted and not know how to cope with it — this is why Venice for at least your first 5 or 6 nights is a good idea.

The less you have to move this group around with luggage, the better. And the lighter and smaller the number of bags, the better. We liked having three roller bags and three carry-on-size backpacks (not counting the kids’ small backpacks for their stuffies, Boogie Boards, etc.) so that three adults could move the luggage and one could be in charge of the kids. You will probably need two airport transfer minivans to get to the Rome airport from Rome.

nancy, wurstel e patatine (hot dog and french fry) pizza is SO GOOD, its my second favorite behind diavola! Though I only get it in the south, I haven't checked any northern pizzerias for their quality ;) hahaah

I also agree the less moving locations/luggage the better for a big group.

Nancy’s suggestion of apartments is a great idea, especially for Venice. I can recommend a company (Venice Red House) and suggest a specific set of apartments. You could get a sleeps-6 apartment with canal view and a sleeps-4 apartment in the adjacent building:

https://veniceredhouse.com/apartments-in-venice/the-lions-apt-5-on-the-canal/

https://veniceredhouse.com/apartments-in-venice/the-lions-house-apartment-lion-1/

There are 4 apartments in The Lion’s house (Lion 1-4), and I believe Lion 5 is adjacent or very close. If you would rather be all in the same building, they should give you a group discount on 3 apartments in the Lion’s House (they will each be on a different floor). Just write them and ask. The company is owned and managed by Venetians Marco and Carolyn, and they are very responsive to questions and needs.

The location is excellent—-close to the Rialto Bridge on Campo San Lio, a tiny square. There is a good grocery store (Coop) just 2 blocks up the street. And good shopping streets lead to the San Marco area. We spent a month in Lion House 4 ten years ago, and were very pleased with the location, the apartment (very modern, not fussy), and the company. They will meet you at the vaporetto stop and escort you to the apartment to get you oriented and all set up.

Not only will you have more space, you will be able to return to the apartment for lunch each day, which will save you a lot of $$$ and hassle. This location is pretty central to whatever you choose to do in Venice. And this way you won’t have to worry about lunch reservations for your group. Save the restaurant experience for dinners, for whoever want to go out instead of dining”in”.

You've gotten a lot of great advice already, especially from other parents. We've taken our kiddo to Italy three times - in 2019 (when he was 2.5), in 2022 (when he was 5), and we just took a trip over Thanksgiving in 2023. He's been to Milan, Venice, Florence, and Rome; Venice was by far his favorite. He loved riding the vaporetti and it was great to not have to worry about cars and traffic. He's past the stroller age though, so if you'd need a stroller for the 1 and 4 year old...it might be rough. Be prepared to have other adults help you carry it up and down stairs to get across canals.

Specific activities my son loved:
In Venice, we did a tour in the Doge's Palace, which he LOVED and was incredibly affordable. We did the "Lion Hunt". He still talks about it, almost two years later.
https://www.visitmuve.it/en/educational-services/for-families/

In Florence, he loves the Mercato Centrale, Santa Maria Novella, and the Accademmia to see David. Palazzo Vecchio also offers guided tours geared at kids: https://musefirenze.it/en/musei/museo-di-palazzo-vecchio/ We did the "Life at Court" tour and our son enjoyed it. The 16 year old (and the adults) might enjoy the "Secret Passages". Again, I thought the price was very affordable for what it was.

This past visit, in Rome, we did the underground Coliseum tour with the Roman Guy. It was a great tour and the guide was SUPER engaging with my kiddo. It was on the long side (3.5 hours), but he stuck it out and only got bored at the very end when we were in the Forum. Otherwise, in Rome, he loved just walking around and popping into random churches. There are so many all over and you never know what you're going to find. Just around the corner from us was a tiny church with incredible 9th century frescoes.

Our son spent a lot of time being dragged around to museums and churches when he was younger, and now he enjoys them (for a 6 year old), but here are some tips we used when our son didn't have the stamina (or restraint) for long visits. Most museums have some sort of kids activity packet, just ask at the ticket counter. We also play a lot of scavenger hunt games: how many dogs can you count; how many crosses can you count; find a picture where it looks cold; go around the room and look at paintings, then go stand by your favorite. If all else fails, I have no problem handing my son my phone to sit on a bench or a church pew and play a game while I look around. It's all about balance.

For us, my kiddo needs a break in the afternoons to visit a playground, or just chill on the couch and watch a tv show. I don't need an afternoon rest, but my husband does :) So they plan to go back to the hotel or visit a playground or something low-key and non-touristy, and I sneak in another art museum. I'd discuss with your travel companions who has a go-go-go style versus who prefers to build in extra downtime to their day.

I love that you're traveling with kids, even at a young age. Have such a great trip!

Allow sub-groups to go their own way from time to time. I'm sure people will be happier if they get to hit the places they especially want to see, which could be difficult with 3 young kids, 1 teenager and 6 adults to accommodate.

There's a feral cat sanctuary, called "Feral Cat Colonies Torre Argentina", in Rome. You're likely to be near it once or twice. It's at the southwest corner of Largo Argentina. A charity takes care of the cats, which are free to wander. Some are quite friendly.

Actually, there's a cat sanctuary in Venice, too, but it's way out on the Lido, so not really convenient for the typical visitor to Venice.