Hello! My husband, 1 yr old baby and I will be flying into Rome for a 2 week vacation in Feb 2017. We plan on staying in Rome for the first half and are unsure where else to travel for the second half of the trip. Would appreciate suggestions on other cities to visit - we are willing to travel by train, bus, or car if need be. Also, if there are any lodgings in Rome that you would suggest that has a kitchen/kitchenette (so I can store food for the bambina) please let me know.
Thank you!
Jeanette
Posted by
Boston, MA
1832 posts
Normally I would probably say South to the Amalfi Coast but in Feb. thinking I would go:
North to Florence
If North you could in addition do a couple of days in either southern Tuscany hill towns or in Venice depending on your interest.
Car is only useful/good in the Tuscany countryside, rest of your possible destinations train or bus is better.
See if you can book an open jaw flight, fly into Rome and out of either Florence or Pisa (either one for Florence is fine) or Venice
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you for your response! Florence and Tuscany are at the top of the list. Would like to travel south to the Amalfi, but worried that there won't be much to do in the off season. I think while we're there Carnavale will be going on in Venice. I'm not sure if it will be family friendly.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area
5697 posts
In Rome we stayed at Colosseo Dreams, B&Bwhich had 3 individual bedrooms and 3 private bathrooms (you went across the hall, but your locked bathroom was yours alone) and a shared kitchen area with refrigerator and microwave. At least one night of our stay we had no neighbors. Great location, good price, safe neighborhood with restaurants and grocery stores. (Breakfasts were coffee, juice, roll at a bar down the street.)
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15798 posts
What are your interests? If you love Renaissance art and architecture, 3 days in Florence is the minimum. If not, you can see the highlights in a day. How long is your trip?
Venice is crowded but manageable during Carnevale, especially if you are there during the first week rather than the second, and midweek is less crowded than weekends (when there are more public events scheduled). I was there last year for the first (of 3) weekends of Carnevale, and once away from the main areas around St. Mark's and the Rialto Bridge, it wasn't at all crowded.
I usually recommend starting in Venice and ending in Rome.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15798 posts
Carnevale is very child-friendly. You'll see lots of little ones dressed up in costumes, many with face painting.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16235 posts
February is cold. Stick to the cities, which offer a lot to do and see even with bad weather.
Fly to Venice then return home from Rome. Flights from North America generally arrive in the morning or afternoon. Flights back to North America depart in the early mornings and reaching Venice airport (in the mainland) from the city center (on the water) requires you to wake up at 3 am to make the flight. Much easier to depart from Rome.
The ideal minimum allocation is:
Venice 3 nights
Florence 3 nights
Rome 4 nights.
Florence however is a great base to visit Tuscany (Pisa, Siena, Lucca, etc.) on day trips, therefore you should allocate more nights to Florence since you have the time.
Posted by
Boston, MA
1832 posts
If you want to do Florence and also see more of Tuscany than save Venice for another trip.
You have time for Rome, Florence and Venice OR
Rome, Tuscany Countryside/Hill Towns and Florence
Even without a baby you are rushing too much if you go with more than 3 places to lay your heads.
Other than needing to bring a whole bunch of excess stuff with you and earlier evenings which matters less in Feb. traveling with such a young child is not bad, have traveled with our young daughter each year and 1 year old was easy as pie. 3.5 years old as on our recent Europe trip, well that was not so easy.
The locals and store owners will fawn all over your baby so you can expect better service and attention!