2 week itinerary - 1st timers with kids

I personally think the best way to see Siena is to spend a few days and nights there. I think it is worthy of more than a day trip if you have time, which I think you do. You an rent a car in Siena for a day or two to get out into the countryside and visit some of the hilltowns.

All the hilltowns, and Siena as well, have one major drawback: they fill up with day-tripping tourists during the day and then empty out at night. So the question to consider is where do you want to spend your evenings after the crowds have gone back to Florence (or wherever they are day-tripping from)? I think Siena is the best choice, because there is simply a lot more to see and do there than in any of the smaller villages. And then you can easily take a bus from Rome to Siena and from Siena to Florence.

It would be fine to spend a few days in the countryside instead, if that's your preference, but then you're more likely to want to have a car for more days. And maybe with the little ones, that would be more convenient for you. Plus, if you want some time for relaxing, that might work better for you.

I think four cities in 14 nights is very reasonable. If I were doing this, I'd do 4 nights Rome, 3 nights Siena (or Tuscan countryside), 3 nights Florence, and 4 nights Venice. Or you could add a day to Florence and take it away from Venice, depending on your interests.

Hope you have a great trip!

Well, we went with our grand-kids last year, you will have fun.
Villa Arnilu (google it) near San Gimignano would be good. Also, you can get accommodations in any of the Tuscan areas either agriturismo or hotels. A stay in Siena for two nights would be fun too, but you can day trip. The evenings are nice after everyone else leaves. Cortona is a good location to see Tuscany and even Umbria (Assis for example).
We had four kids with us and wanted to be sure we did things for them. First on the list was a swimming pool. They are cold and you are going at a time when this may not be important. Second experiences. In Rome we ran into Centurions that the kids had pictures with. There is a gladiator class in Rome for kids. Our 8 year olds enjoyed the forum and Colosseum. They had fun on train rides too.
In Bomarzo we visited the Monster Park, they loved it. We also spent time on the beach. We had 14 days and spent three of them doing things they wanted to do and two days simply crashing at the villa's to take a day off. Consider that.
A car is a great way to see things in Tuscany and Umbria but you do not need it, or want it, in a city. City driving is crazy.
Don't forget to give the kids gelato and pizza, as I am sure you won't!!! They won't let you.

Consider www.rowvenice.org when you get to Venice, instead of a gondola ride. Your 7 year old will love it.

I second row venice! So fun!!!

Day 1 Arrive Rome (3)
Day 2 Rome sights
Day 3 Rome sights
Day 4 Train to Orvieto (1)
Day 5 Pick up hire car, then drive to Siena (3) via Montepulciano/Montalcino.
Day 6 Siena sights/Chianti drive
Day 7 Excursion to San Gimignano/Volterra
Day 8 Drive to Lucca (1) via Pisa
Day 9 Drop off hire car, then train to Florence (3)
Day 10 Florence sights
Day 11 Florence sights
Day 12 Train to Venice (3)
Day 13 Venice sights
Day 14 Venice sights
Day 15 Depart Venice

The single night stays in Orvieto and Lucca could be cumbersome with a 2 year old - you could consolidate them with Florence or Siena. If you want to avoid a rental car altogether, then find accommodation in Florence for a week and make day excursions into Tuscany.

I suggest you reverse your itinerary, starting in Venice and ending in Rome for 2 reasons. First, Venice is the best place to get over jetlag and lack of sleep. You can relax and soak up the atmosphere - ride the vaporetto down the Grand Canal, wander the back canals on foot. The best of Venice is simply seeing the city. Rome is the opposite, a noisy, bustling big city with major sights. Second, most international flights depart from Venice in the early morning hours. Getting to the airport can be difficult and/or expensive then. You are more likely to get a later flight out from Rome and it's easier and cheaper to get to the airport there.

More important, though, is knowing what your exact dates are. Easter Sunday is March 27 and Rome will be super-crowded with tourists then. You wrote 2 weeks, the last week of March. Did you mean the last two weeks of March or beginning with the last week of March? I'd try to avoid being in Rome between Palm Sunday and Easter Monday.

I think you have a good plan, but agree with Chani: start in Venezia if at all possible. Departures from Venezia are notoriously early if you are flying to the U.S., a challenge even for adults. Departures from Roma are more sensibly late morning.

You only need a car for Tuscan countryside if you want to go to the small hilltowns. You can easily stay in Siena and make it a base for trips via bus (San Gimignano, Volterra) or tour company if you want to see some other towns, but a better bet with small children would be to stay in a location such as an agriturismo and have a car for flexibility for those 4 nights between Roma and Firenze. This type of lodging is on a farm (check to make sure they have something of interest to your children like goats, sheep, etc. and not just olives and grapes) and it often quite affordable with breakfast provided. It's also easier to park at an agriturismo than in a hill town, including Siena.

Having traveled with 2 and 6 year-olds in Italy last year (great niece and nephew) we found they LOVED the trains and buses or any form of public transportation.

Great ideas for travel with children can be found at Ciao Bambino.

Agree with Chani and Laurel...Start in Venice. Some things to consider, Venice is not friendly to

wandering around with 2 yr. olds. Are you taking a stroller? 10 years ago we had my 3 year

old granddaughter there. We had a light weight stroller and while it worked fine, it did take

us longer to navigate, lots of cobbles and bridges. We picked up the front and back to cross the bridges.

You may want to look carefully at these sites for info.

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice_airport_boat.htm lots of critical information here.

This may be your best option for getting from the airport into the city.

While its more expensive it will save you an immense amount of time and frustration.

http://www.venicelink.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=000flypage_escursioni.tpl&product_id=54&category_id=10&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=43&lang=english&vmcchk=1&Itemid=43

If you're confident travelers consider renting apartments. with a family these will give you

a lot more room and most likely be less expensive than a quad hotel room. here is one in Venice

that meets your needs, is centrally located and easily reached by water taxi.

http://www.cross-pollinate.com/venice/apartment/3458/Ca-Morea.

They also have apartments in Florence and Rome. Great to work with.

For Tuscany check out this agriturismo. Centrally located and things for the kids.

You will need a car. Rent it in Florence.

http://www.poderivalverde.it/farmhouse-chianti-1.html.

In Florence and Rome take a taxi from the train station to your lodging.

You may want to use the TripAdvisor Cities app to your phone. Once loaded it works offline.

Hope some of this helps. Have a great trip.

For minimum number of hotels, transfers with luggage, and ease of logistics with kids...
Day 1 Arrive Venice (4 nights)
Day 2 Venice sights
Day 3 Excursion to Padua
Day 4 Venice sights
Day 5 Train to Florence (6 nights)
Day 6 Excursion to Siena
Day 7 Florence sights
Day 8 Excursion to Lucca & Pisa
Day 9 Florence sights
Day 10 Excursion to San Gimignano & Volterra
Day 11 Train to Rome (4 nights)
Day 12 Rome sights
Day 13 Rome sights
Day 14 Rome sights
Day 15 Depart Rome

Thank you, forum members!! Your comments were very helpful.

Based on your feedback, I will start in Venice and end in Rome.
Evaluating options to stay in Tuscany.

You will have a great time on your trip. I was there in may/june this year and my two kids (13 &10) loved it. I loved Rome as an introduction to Italy but that just suited us and Venice would be a relaxing intro (as opposed to a lot of walking in rome). We stayed in San Gimignano in Tuscany. We stayed in the town at Hotel Bel Saggiorno (or something like that). It was awesome. I wasn't sure that the kids would like Tuscany but all the medieval stuff and the towers was a huge hit. Walked to a local winery for a tour/tasting with lunch which was great. We did a drive to Volterra but wasn't impressed, only walk around for an hour then left. In venice you could just walk and enjoy it, but we got the vaporetto pass so we could hop on and off which was fun. Have fun.