Family of six traveling to Rome/Naples

I do not think a 3 day HOHO is a good idea. Maybe a one time HOHO around the city for an overview, but really, Rome is better seen on foot. Have you got Rick Steves' guide to Rome? Great advice there.

Basically plan a day for Ancient Rome (Colosseo, Foro Romano, Palatino) -- a 4-hour tour with a private guide like Sonia Tavoletta ([email protected]) will be more enjoyable and less expensive than buying into a group tour given there are 6 of you. She will make the places come alive. You'd still have time for shopping, relaxing, maybe seeing the Pantheon that day.

One day for the Vatican Museums and Basilica. Again I recommend a tour, but that will be expensive for 6. Going it alone can be confusing in the museums, although the basilica is easily done with Rick Steves' guide. He has an audio tour of the basilica, too, which is fun.

A couple of lesser known things-to-do that I mentioned in a reply recently here are Palazzo Valentini and the night "tours" in the forums of Caesar and Augustus.

Laurel's advice is spot on. If you are good walkers, you can see a lot on foot, or with a few well-chose buses.

What's the plan for Napoli?

I would do a one day for orientation. Tickets are good for 24 hours so buy around noon. Do a loop and then decide where and when you want explore more. And then you still have the next morning. The hop on/off in Rome is not as effective as other cities because of the many pedestrian zones makes it difficult for the buses to get close to major sights. But still a good orientation value. Involve the kids in the planning so they don't get bored.

If you're in the area for 7 days then DO venture to the catacombos along the Appian Way. You can get there via public transport, but the area is beautiful, peaceful and overwhelmingly historic.

Why not let your four daughers have some input into this trip. Surely the 20 and 18 year old might have some ideas or might even want some time on their own to explore. It might even give you and your younger daughers the chance to do something that more interest you - and not your older daughers.

Your older daughters would probably love the chance to contribute their thoughts to this trip and you wouldn't have to be concerned that they might get bored (and blame it on you). Same with your younger daughters, surely they will be bored if it's just going to be long walks and history.

Additionaly, this forum is an amazing resource. Just doing a quick search of past posts turns this up:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/traveling-with-teens-in-rome

there's lots more here and on the internet.

Also, why Naples? Sorrento might be a better choice.

Thank you everyone! This is awesome! I overheard my husband tell my sister that he "made all the flight and hotel reservations and she (me) is in charge of everything to do..." No pressure there...

Our Italy itinerary - fly into Rome on June 11 at 10:45am. Leave Rome for Solarno (with a rented van) the evening of the 14th. Stay there for three nights. Arrive in Naples on the 17th. Leave late on the 18th back to Rome. Fly out of Rome on the 19th for Barcelona.

We have never been to Europe. We do travel a lot - we are from the Seattle area so have traveled in Mexico and then have taken several Caribbean cruises. Our favorite thing to do no matter where we are is to meet locals and learn about their culture. Tops on the list usually is interacting with children from another country. We rarely (hardly ever!?) do organized tours, preferring instead to rent our own transportation and head out with a good map. The language barrier is quite intimidating though. Pretty sure, if I asked my teenagers, they will want to do beaches, eat gelato and meet handsome men.

If you are near Seattle, maybe you could check out the RS offices for some ideas?

Thank you! I signed up for a free class on Rome on June 2. The Barcelona/Madrid class on May 26 is full..but I'm going to call and beg, plead, beg some more...to try and get in.

You've posted separately for 3 days in Paris, about 7 each in Spain and Italy. Look at your overall itinerary. Are you allowing a day to get from Paris to Italy, from Italy to Spain? How long is your whole trip? 17 days in Europe or 20? I would worry less about the girls getting bored and more about them getting cranky with all the moving around (packing/unpacking, getting to/from trains/planes) and not having much "down" time to relax. I count a minimum of 7 hotel stays. Figure you'll lose an average of 1/2 day (a couple may be shorter, but a couple will be longer) for each move. This is really fast-paced, especially for a largish group. You will only move as fast as whoever is slowest at any given moment. Are the girls going to do hand laundry every couple of nights? Are you going to have to take time to shop for toiletries, other supplies?

Thank you everyone again! We will be in Europe for a total of 20 days. We fly into Rome, drive into the Naples/Solarno area, fly back out of Rome to Barcelona. Spend three days in Barcelona and drive to Valencia. Should we go there? Thinking about switching gears and flying to Seville and then taking the train to Madrid. Or just driving straight from Barcelona to Madrid and then driving to various sights around there. We fly out of Madrid on June 28. I probably need to post this under the Spain board...but open to everyone's opinion!!

On the Italy side, trying to talk my husband into taking the ferry from Naples to Capri for a day trip. Is that a good idea? Again, taking into consideration that we arrive in Solarno on June 14 evening, planning on arriving in Naples on June 17...although we could arrive sooner than that. Have to leave the Naples area on evening of June 18 to fly out of Rome on the 19th.

Do you mean Salerno? I can't find any town "Solarno." Why do you need to take a van and drive? There are frequent fast trains connecting Rome, Naples and Salerno. Also, I would try to streamline this. Why change hotels 3 times? If you really need to stay in both Naples and Salerno, at least spend your last night in Naples and take the train to Rome Termini, then the Leonardo Express to the airport. Don't go back to Rome for one night!

If you are planning to visit the Amalfi Coast, driving a van is not a good idea on the narrow, winding roads. Use the local buses/ferries or hire a local driver for a day.

Again, thank you everyone so much! I meant to say Salerno. Sorry. I'm not sure of our plan in Naples. We will do the RS self guided walk for sure. I think we are definitely going to run out of time. There's Ravello, Positano, Capri, Ischia, oh my...so much to see, so little time.

As to laundry, etc., we are encouraging our daughters to pack lightly. Good walking shoes and beach shoes only - no heels or "fancy" shoes. Our meals will all be casual, at the end of day dinners. We will have to do light laundry in the hotel rooms. I've told them...you must leave room in your suitcases for whatever you intend to buy!! On that though - my two oldest are college athletes (basketball and soccer). They would like to exchange t-shirts with locals...is that even done??

Not doing the three day HOHO. But considering the three day Roma pass...for convenience. Is it more convenient than buying individual passes? We were just in Mexico and finding the correct change for six of us getting on to a bus could be somewhat tedious.

you don't buy your tickets on the bus. They are available at Tabacchi (tobacco) stores, marked outside with a black and white letter T.

If you only need a pass for transportation, don't buy a RomaPass. Instead, buy a BTI, a 3 day transit ticket, at a tabacchi as Nigel says. Don't confuse this with a BIT - a single ticket good for one 75 minute trip on any combination of vehicles (only one Metro ride permitted, but multiple bus/tram rides permitted).

More information on Rome transit ticket options here: http://www.rome.info/transportation/tickets/

Of course, if you have a heavy sightseeing itinerary of covered items, the RomaPass can be a good deal. Remember that it doesn't cover any Vatican City sights.

How is this for an itinerary? Yes...I know we will be tired. But we can do it. We've pushed our girls harder on other vacations and they have always made it.

June 11 - arrive in Rome. Do the walking tour of Rome
June 12 - Colloseum and Ancient Rome
June 13 - various sites around Rome (on foot or train/metro)
June 14 - Vatican City, Sistine chapel and St. Peter's basilica
...leave by rental van late in the evening of June 14 for Salerno
June 15, 16 - Salerno area, Ravello, MAYBE Capri, MAYBE Positano. We would have a rental van during these days - leave for Naples evening of the 16th and drop off van
June 17 - Naples and surrounding area
June 18 - train at 4pm back to Rome. Arrive around 6 pm. Time to still see things we may have missed earlier
June 19 - fly out of Rome to Barcelona at 3:45pm

Again, I CANNOT talk my husband out of the rental van idea. Our hotel in the Salerno area is actually in Baronissi. Without transportation (for 6 of us), he is concerned about getting to the areas that we would like to see - taking into consideration cost, convenience (luggage, etc).

Just an off the wall question, please don't take it the wrong way.....

If you have six of you, how much luggage will you have? One carry-on size bag each and no checked luggage?

If so, where will you put it in the van, as you call it? If it is a 7 passenger MPV you will have very little room in the boot/trunk when the rear row of seats is in and in use.

You can't have loose luggage in the passenger area of the vehicle. It is far too dangerous in hopefully very unlikely case of an accident. Everybody will be strapped in or immobilised by an airbag and luggage will fly forward at head height with huge momentum.

Or has everybody got backpacks?

Sorry to bring it up.

June is a busy time in the Naples-Amalfi Coast area. You will face annoying traffic and expensive and time-consuming parking everywhere except at your Salerno hotel. Driving in Naples is considerably worse than driving in Los Angeles or New York City. I saw that your DH insists on the van, but you can always park it at the hotel and use other means of transportation. I don't know about Naples, though. He might have to park on the sidewalk and pay off someone to watch it, and get scratches on the side anyway! As you wrote, no need for organized toure. Get Rick's AC book, for example. It's got everything a first-time visitor needs.

I'm not trying to get you to embrace European public transportation, I'm trying to make your Southern Italy itinerary more pleasant. You think you are going to be footloose and free on the open road. Not so.

I wonder why you're going to Valencia instead of Granada? I really like Madrid, but I couldn't see if you'll be there. This is a "If it's Tuesday this must be Belgium" trip. I encourage you to think of another trip to Europe in the future.

IF at all possible, take 1 day from Rome, add it to Salerno.

Then rather then going back to Rome to catch a flight, fly out of Naples. Both Easyjet and Vueling Air have flights to Barcelona. 2hours.

This would save you another day to add to Naples. Drop the car at the airport. And take the Alibus into Naples for your last
2 nights.

Naples is NOT the place to drive!!!

Info on ferries and busses along the Amalfi Coast. Plus info on the towns.

http://www.positano.com

I posted separately...but thanks to almost all of you...I was able to talk my husband into a train from Rome to Salerno. Thank you! (Big sigh of relief). We plan to do the walking tour of arome our first afternoon. Ancient Rome on the second day. Vatican and basilica on the third day and the fourth day flexibility to see things we may have missed. Then train to Salerno. Thank you everyone!

And not having the van in Salerno means that you can ferry to all the wonderful places on the coast! Amalfi, Positano, and Capri (among others)....and not worrying about traffic! yay!

and I love Salerno :)