9 day Itinerary - Venice, Florence, Rome

I always take it easy the day of arrival, as I always am tired from the journey and time change. The arrival day and departure days on any trip are essentially wasted days. Unfortunately for you, your time is short in Venice.
I assume you're talking about buying tickets ahead of time for Doges Palace, etc., as St. Marks is free and walk in most times. I use the vaporetto's to get around in Venice, especially if going over to the islands of Murano/Burano. When I see prices they want for a gondola ride, it's something I've never chosen to take.
I would suggest skipping Pisa and taking a Tuscan beach trip as time would be better spent in Florence and/or the Tuscan countryside. We especially loved our visits by rental car to Siena, Volterra and San Gimignano. Tours of Tuscany are readily available out of Florence.
Rome is a city you can easily walk yourself to death in, and the best way to get around is on public transit--buses and the subway/underground. You will need to get reservations at the Vatican Museum, but not to see St. Peters and the Vatican itself. There are just so many "must sees" in Rome that it's a city worthy of at least 4 days.
With the time you have in Italy, Pompeii would be pushing your family too hard--160 miles south of Rome times 2.

Basilica San Marco is indeed free, but you can reserve a time and skip the line for €6 total ( the four-year-old is free). This might be a good idea to avoid standing in the long line with your children. If you wish to do this, use the link on the official website:

http://www.basilicasanmarco.it/informazioni-per-i-turisti/prenotazioni/?lang=en

Allow plenty of time to arrive, get to your hotel, and then walk to San Marco. Bring the confirmation voucher and follow instructions to the separate entrance for reserved entry-- it is to the left of the "line" entrance---and there won't be a line! ( Or maybe a very short one).

Pisa is for the kids, correct? Should take an hour plus travel time. If you have some more time, you could combine it with Lucca and walk/bike part of the walls.

No underground at the Pantheon, as far as I know. The Forum is really big, your kids may get tired of walking through it. Perhaps a walk-by would do. Take them to the cat sanctuary at Largo Argentina, which has some of the oldest buildings in Roma.

I would definitely consider a kid-friendly tour of the Vatican.

You're doing a lot in a relatively short period of time. But it is doable. My only suggestion concerns the day trip to Pompei. That is also doable, but it will be a loooong day. And after the eight prior days it might be a bit too much. Especially with the kids. Don't mean to be a downer, just food for thought.

Thank you everyone, I appreciate the feedback. With Pompeii being such a long day, we will likely skip it. I heard back from the company and the beach trip sounds lovely. We would make a short stop at Pisa on the way back and they mentioned we could switch to Lucca/Pisa if there was bad weather. I'll see what other options they have as well.

With such a short time in Venice I wouldn't schedule Murano or Burano. Keep your arrival afternoon free and perhapsride a vaporetto on the Grand Canal. Hit St Marks and the Doges Palace the following day.
Tuscany, for me at least, is all about the countryside and not the beach. But I also know how difficult it is to keep children of that age stimulated (and somewhat compliant).

I think skipping Pompeii is a good idea: it's a really long day and might be too much for your kids. If you'd like to see some interesting ruins, consider Ostia Antica instead? That one is much easier from Rome and can be done in 1/2 day.

http://www.ostiaantica.beniculturali.it/en/index.php

If you really need a beach day for the kiddos I would schedule it as a day trip from Rome (cittivecia). You can rent a car or take a tour which could also include Piza.

Florence has some public pools where you can get a half day pass. You could do a day trip (look for English only) from Florence to Siena which would include some smaller Tuscan town which would allow you to see Florence at night.

A day trip to Pompeii is totally doable if you plan it to the T. You can continue on to Sorrento in the afternoon and wade at the marina. Train time tables vary greatly from weekends to weekdays. Plus traveling with kids makes it tough to get up early and stay up late to do day trips.

Regarding the Vatican Museums: the last three times I've been there (last time was early autumn 2015) it was CRAZY PACKED with people. I mean: think Times Square at 10 pm on a Saturday night, or the New Orleans French Quarter on Mardi Gras Day. Even though I last went on a private "early morning, before the crowds arrive" tour, within an hour or so of our being in the museum, the crowds had entered and it was just everyone-move-like-cattle-shoulder-to-shoulder down the halls. I can't imagine how hard and even frightening that might be for a little person like a four-year old. Unless your tour is really and truly not during regular public hours, I strongly suggest you rethink whether this is something you want to do with your kids. Perhaps there are youtube videos that will show you how packed the place is, that might help you decide....

I am a little worried about this advice from mandyk01a

If you really need a beach day for the kiddos I would schedule it as a day trip from Rome (cittivecia). You can rent a car or take a tour which could also include Piza.

The better beach near Rome is probably Lido di Ostia or closer to Civitavecchia, Santa Marinella, but I would not recommend a car as the train is easy and driving here is nuts. Also, Pisa is too far for a day trip from Rome. Skip the long Pompeii day. You could, BTW, combine Lido di Ostia with a stop at Ostia Antica.

I understand wanting a beach day with kids and I think I would take that opportunity in Tuscany as your time in Rome is full already. You could skip the tour company and the cost of that for DIY day. Take an early train to Pisa for a quick look at the Campo dei Miracoli and then train on to Viareggio for the beach. It's a little bit of a hike from the train to the beach, but you can get a taxi.

That's where I was torn...take another train on our own or hire out. The trip to Pisa/beach may be something I leave up to decide at the last minute. Go by how tired they are at that point. I'd like to keep the beach in the middle so there's a small break from "sightseeing."

Thanks for the tip about Ostia Antica. I'll look it up.

If you decide to go to Ostia Antica, there is a beach a metro stop further (end of the metro line); that would make an all-day trip, but Ostia Antica would most likely take a full morning, anyway.

Also, there are a number of good restaurants and faster-food places near the ruins, outside the archeological site. There are also buses that go to the beach from there.

Our vacation is almost here! Thank you all again for your recommendations. I made a few changes to our itinerary and I think it will be more relaxing for us and allow us all to just enjoy. Here's what we've planned:

Day 1 - Arrive Venice, check in and walk to St. Mark's Basilica to view, dinner, hope to see some of the dueling orchestras in the square that Rick mentions.

Day 2 - Grand Canal Tour with lunch near Rialto Market area. After lunch continue along the Canal and end with Dode's Palace tour. Rest and do a gondola ride that evening at sunset.

Day 3 - Train to Florence (ticket purchased), check in at B&B. Walk to Accademia (reservation/ticket booked) in late afternoon.

Day 4 - Leonardo Di Vinci Machines Museum (looks really fun for the kids), Mercato lunch, Duomo in the afternoon if we're not tired. If so we'll move it to day 5.

Day 5 - Hoping to do a quick trip to Pisa but leaving it open for rest if needed. Enjoy Florence.

Day 6 - Train to Rome (ticket purchased), explore area near our hotel.

Day 7 - Colosseum in the morning, relax after. We've booked a pizza/gelato cooking class (Walks inside Rome) for the family for that evening.

Day 8 - Vatican Treasure Hunt Tour (booked through Walks inside Rome) in the afternoon. This is a new tour they've put together just for kids.

Day 9 - Wander around Rome, Trevi Fountain so we're sure to return :)

Day 10 - Fly home

We've notified our bank, bags are packed and weighed (taking only backpacks and they have strict weight allowances), and the only thing left to do is get a little Euro to have on hand to begin with....I think. I can't believe it's finally here!

Quick question --

Would the 48 hour Roma Pass be worth it for my husband and I? We plan to take the Metro/Bus around Rome and the kids are free. Not sure if it's worth just buying our Colosseum tickets and pay for the transportation tickets as needed or if it's more cost effective to have the Pass.

TIA!

Regarding the Roma Pass, no, if the only site you plan to see is the Colosseo. Do buy tickets in advance so you at least skip the ticket purchase line. You still have to go through security, so GO EARLY and maybe even line up before opening so you don't get in a brutal line.

I recommend buying individual bus tickets unless you will use the Metro a lot. Each BIT (individual trip ticket) is good for 100 minutes but you cannot transfer to or from the Metro, so if you need to use a bus/Metro combo, it takes two BITs. The passes, though, can be used for all types of transit continually for the period covered. You can buy 24, 48, and 72-hour passes. They seldom pencil out, IMO, as it takes at least 5 trips per day to make the BIT, which costs €7.00, to pay off. Info here. They are apparently selling a carnet now for €14.00 but I have not seen these at the tabaccaio nor in the ticket machines, so I suppose one must stand in line at an ATAC ticket window. Hardly worth it for a Euro discount as those lines can be long.

Great! Thanks, Laurel!