Car seat and stroller help Italy

Something we saw families in Venice using was a small child's scooter. For younger kids (some appearing to be no older than 2 or 3) the adult would pull the scooter, with child aboard, with a short rope. Older children, many your son's age, rode independently. I don't know if it's possible to get a small, inexpensive scooter in Italy, or if that would be less (or more!) convenient than the stroller. If you have time before you travel, you might want to try out both for a close-to-home excursion to see which is best for your child.

Just want to add: don't shortcut on safety. Use a car seat/booster! Hopefully someone will chime in with suggestions to help you keep things simple yet safe.

Safety is very important to me but I think in Italy the child has to be 48lbs to ride in a backless booster. There is no way we can carry around a booster with a back on it. So if tours are like taxis and don't require a safety seat we can use the backless booster without risking a fine. At home he will stay in a harness seat a few more years. Thanks for your post. I will look into the scooters.

We just travelled in Italy with our almost 6 year old who is of similar height and weight to your child. For the two days we had a private driver we requested a car seat with the car. It was no problem and then we didn’t need to carry the seat around for the rest of the trip. When we first booked, the guide said the car seat wasn’t required by law. However, safety is very important to us too and we still use a car seat at home.

I wouldn’t use the stroller. We didn’t and many days the child had more energy than everyone else put together by the end of the day. We did sometimes need to carry kiddo in museums, but not on the street. The promise of gelato can generate a lot of good behavior.

Have fun.

I wouldn’t use the stroller. We didn’t and many days the child had
more energy than everyone else put together by the end of the day.

I'll vote for no stroller too, and for just resting your child as needed. Much of Italy involves navigating steps and uneven, bumpy surfaces so not having to deal with wheels will be a plus. Every child is different but of our own nieces, nephews and friends' children, I don't know any who would have swallowed their "I'm not a baby anymore!" pride for a stroller at 5! :O)

We just got back with our 5 and 9 year old. I would not bother with the stroller. Way too much trouble. The booster is certainly optional. We didn’t use one and we felt “safe”. Looked into the portable boosters but I wasn’t convinced they would be much safer.