2 week vacation with 4 kids : Southern Italy Ideas.

What do the kids like to do? Have you considered Pompei? I was there solo, but seemed like a great place to have taken the kids. Capri also seemed child friendly - walks, beaches, boats, maybe the chairlift...depending on how your kids, and your nerves, are with that type of thing. Depending on how you do it, there were budget options for sure in terms of food and lodging...

Q: Should we make an effort to see Sicily?
A: No

With your time limits and other locations on your agenda and flying home from Naples, you really do not have time for Sicily.

Definitely not Sicily; it would call for just about every day you have allotted to this trip. Rome (3 days is way short there), Puglia, Matera and a bit of time around Naples will totally fill your time. A car would be very, very handy in Puglia. I've always based in Lecce (a lovely Baroque city), but with a car you could choose a smaller place and branch out. Definitely include a stop in the Alberobello area for the trulli.

Don't try to drive in Rome or Naples.

I don't know how much time you'll have for the Naples area after figuring out what you want to do in Puglia and around Matera. You'll probably want to spend your last night in Naples itself, for proximity to the airport. If you decide to spend additional time in that area and are uncertain about the intensity of Naples, you might consider Salerno for the rest of your time in Campania. It has an attractive historic area and is generally quite an inexpensive city. It's on the fast rail line from Naples.

If you want to go to Pompeii, it's a somewhat easier day trip from Naples than from Salerno.

I know of a great 3 bedroom apartment in Naples. It has a 2 night minumum. Let me know if you want the details. It’s already booked for some of next April.

Pretty sure you mean April 2024 ;)

So- 4 nights in Rome- that’s a good start.
Be sure you reserve whatever sights you need to reserve.
You will need to be IN Naples the night before your departure flight. You could give Naples 1-2 nights. So you really have 8-9 nights to spend in Puglia.

I have not been to Bari/Matera/Puglia yet but have been working on a 2 week trip in that area.

I would fast train from Rome to Bari- 4 hr. I like my feet on the ground- hate flying, especially short distances. Train is so much easier. Flight from Rome to Bari is a bit over an hour but need to add the time/expense/hassle getting to/from airports on each end. Train takes you center to center.
Take a picnic lunch on the train.

Spend 3-4 nights In Bari- you can visit Monopoli, Polignano a Mare by train from Bari.
As you leave Bari- pick up car
With 6 you will need to rent a larger car/small van/SUV make sure there is room for all of you and luggage. Travel light. Check AutoEurope.com for your options.
Stay in a trulli for the next 3-4 nights- Locorotondo, Martina Franca, anywhere in that area.
Day trips to Matera, Alberobello, Ostuni…

You only need a car for those few days- that keeps the cost down.

Return car to Bari and take fast train to Naples. About 4 hr.
Spend last 1-2 nights in Naples. That’s only 1.5 days at most. Eat pizza.
If Pompeii is of interest- I would take a night from Bari and add to Naples to visit Pompeii.

With just 14 nights I’d keep the number of location changes to 3-4.

We like to travel with our kids, too, and we have 4 that are about the same ages as yours. In other words, we’re crazy too.

Sicily is a great destination, but with the time you have, I suggest you can either do Rome, Puglia, Naples OR Sicily, not all.

What do your kids like to do?

Bari is about 4.5 hours away by train. The flight is much shorter, I’m sure but when you consider arriving early, luggage, getting to city, etc not sure if a flight is faster. I don’t know this because I’ve never flown this route but you may want to consider.

Look at Lecce. Consider Paestum. If your kids like Star Wars, the Royal Palace in Caserta might be appealing (they’ll recognize it as the palace of Queen Amidala). Naples search for the best pizza. Might be a little early for beach in April but Puglia, in particular has many great beaches. As does Calabria, next region over. Let me know if you want to go to the beach and I can recommend many options. You should also consider finding a way to hike the Path of Gods (Amalfi area) if you’ll be in that area. Many many options. You just have to choose which you want to do.

A way to save money, especially in Puglia is to go to panifici (bakeries) for breakfast and lunch. Super cheap fresh bread and pastries. Get the bread and then go to the grocery store to get meat and cheese and picnic. And you won’t have to worry about fitting your family of 6 into a restaurant or worry about how the kids might behave in a restaurant

Also, don’t sleep on Rome, either. You could spend your full two weeks there and not run out of things to do. I’ve been there many times and still have things I haven’t had a chance to do.

Italian law requires that all children, 4ft 11 inches or shorter, must ride in a booster seat in the back seat of the car.
https://www.aviano.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/280318/car-seat-safety/

In Italy, children under 150cm (59.05 in) must use the appropriate car seat or booster seat for their height or weight (article 172 of the Italian road code – codice della strada).
https://mominitaly.com/car-seats-in-italy/

Suspect at least the twins will need car seats and possibly the 10 year old. Finding a car that has room for 2-3 car seats, & bags may be a challenge and not a lot of fun to drive except on freeway like highways. Parking will be a problem just about everywhere.

You may want to look at constructing your trip to not need a rental car.

EDItED- To add source citations

I get the desire to rent a car for flexibility and freedom to travel where and when you want, but having a van will actually lead to the opposite. Sure, people drive vans in Italy but they know where they’re going, know local laws, and are familiar with the road systems.

You’ll have a more relaxing vacation without a van.

Italian law requires that all children, 4 ft 11 inches or shorter, must ride in a booster seat in the back seat of the car.

4 feet 11 inches...Really? Italian kids must be getting a LOT bigger than I remember them, if anyone just an inch shy of 5 feet tall is riding in a booster seat.

4 feet 11 inches is pretty tall (that's like, middle school students, no?). I've never seen a "booster seat" for someone anywhere near that big, and I suspect that number is way, way off. I'd check the source for the real number!

OK, this suggested itinerary is a mash-up of several of our trips to Puglia, the latest one being in March and April with six of us.

Train to Bari and rent a van or two cars with carseats included. We drove a 9-passenger van all over Puglia with no trouble, but it is much more expensive than two cars.

Stay in a trullo in the countryside such as this one that we loved for six people (5 night minimum for this trullo): https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/14569303?eal_exp=1525056625&eal_sig=a8d46c308ccb18d2b9d92c638cc6c641e8ed81c13900abd8a6943bf3d923e8ca&eal_uid=13418357&eluid=0&euid=bbcf02a4-d7b3-462b-d06f-ab6adf6fe931&source_impression_id=p3_1699533613_DP%2FE2E9TYnhalSzr&check_in=2024-04-14&guests=6&adults=2&check_out=2024-04-19&children=4

Or stay in an apartment in a town or in a masseria (farm-stay B&B) such as Masseria Aprile. When it was six of us we stayed in adjoining apartments with a rooftop terrace in the historic center of Ostuni.

Do day trips around Puglia. Trani, Ostuni, Lecce, Alberobello, Cisternino, etc.

Drive to Matera and stay there at least 2 nights in a cave.

Drive to Naples airport and drop off car. Stay in Naples for at least two nights --- more nights if you want to visit Pompeii by train.

Taxi to Naples airport and fly home.

You are not crazy at all, although I admit that when we are six it's with four adults and only two kids. Those two are a handful, however, so we are glad we have them outnumbered for our trip to Italy with them in December.

Renting a car for six persons will almost require you rent an expensive van.

Also, driving in Italy, many people that rent cars get very expensive tickets upon returning home. It is easy, since some towns and cities have restrictive entry and other tricks that will earn you a ticket.

The Naples area, with Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri and the Amalfi coast are great.

Still, Northern Italy has much more quality places to see, especially Tuscany.

Further, staying in Rome for a week would give you much to see. I took my pre-teen kids all over Europe and they loved it.

Museums will bore kids under 10 after about half an hour. Still, I can still remember my 8 year old Son's reaction to entering the Sistine Chapel. He was WOWED and wanted me to explain all the frescoes, so we sat on the floor and I took out my guidebook and we spent half an hour on that.