First time to Italy need help!

You would be a little less clueless if you spent some time reading guidebooks and viewing some DVDs, especially the Steves' Italy series. There just isn't enough room here to answer your questions. Start with your local library and check out the material. Send some time watching the DVDs and determine what appeals to the group. Maybe give each of the older girls a day for them to plan. With the wide age range the interests are going to be very different. What you suggest is reasonable for nine days. All well serviced via train. I personal favor rail but for five people, a car might be little cheaper.

One mistake, in my opinion, is the idea "to cover as much as possible." When you do that you spend a lot of time checking in/out of hotels, and seeing the inside of a lot trains. You need to focus on see each area very well and in relaxing manner so that it is enjoyable for everyone including the 4 year old who is going to have that much total interest in seeing another old building.

Also read some of the other postings on the exact same question on this page.

You could do Rome (3 days), Cinque Terre (2 days), Florence (2 days), and Venice (2 days) in that order. I have done something similar and this is plenty of time. You can take the train to each location between when you must check out of your hotel and when you can check into your next hotel. It usually is about a 2-4 hour gap anyway. Pack light if you are using the trains. The girls will like Cinque Terre and the rest of the stops are great.

One thing to think about is do Pisa as a day trip while you are staying in Florence. There really isn't much else to see, but the 'tower' area and it would cut down on checking in and out.

Thanks..for all help! I infact bought a guidebook of Rick Steve's Italy 2010 during lunch. I will definatley read it up. As for DVD, does library have them?

Any suggestion for lodging with five people? I would rather stay in room rather than two. Is downtown area better?

The suggested iterinary looks good..!

Desi,

My suggestion is along the same line as Evan's, however given the short time frame you might consider dropping the Cinque Terre this time. With the ages of your girls, I'm not sure there would be enough there to keep them entertained for two days, and the travel time from there to other destinations will be a concern also. I don't imagine your four year old daughter will be too anxious to hike the trails between the five villages? I would also drop Pisa on this visit (one exception noted below).

Would something like this work.....

> Days 1-4: Rome (plan your touring carefully - the Italy 2010 Guidebook that you've just purchased will give you lots of ideas. You might consider staying in the Termini area, as it's very convenient for transportation (I'll be staying in that area again this year).

> Days 5-7: Florence Take the EuroStar Italia / Alta Velocita from Roma Termini to Firenze SMN (your girls will probably find the fast train quite a novel experience). You can buy the tickets a day or so before you'll be travelling at Termini (these will include the compulsory reservation fees). The trip is only about 1H:35M via the fast train.

Depending on how much touring you want to do in Florence, you should have time for a day trip to perhaps Siena (or maybe even Pisa if that's important to your group). Travel by Bus to Siena would be the best method (rail to Pisa). The Bus station is next to the rail station.

> Days 8-9: Venice Take the train from Florence to Venice. The trip to Venezia Santa Lucia is 2H:03M via fast train (second class fare 42€ PP, not sure if there's a discount for children?). Depending on what time you leave Florence, this should provide about 1.5 days for touring in Venice. Don't arrive too early as your Hotel may not be ready for check-in until about 13:00 or so.

This is only one suggestion, but this is the way I'd structure a trip of that length.

Happy travels!

Desi, I agree with Ken's recommendations. I think if you try to do more than 3 cities in 9 days, you will wear yourselves & especially the kids out. I would travel via train between each destination. In my opinion, it would be a headache to have a car in the cities tht you're considering visiting. Trains are easy & the kids will probably think they're fun. Have a great trip.

Desi,

I can send you my Italy Tips that I put together for our friends if you send me your email address. My last trip was almost identical and was roughly:

3 days in Rome - Colisseum, Vatican, Borghese museums and various landmarks

1/2 day in Orvieto on the way from Rome to Florence (you can store your luggage at a hotel for a few euros) - underground caves and a beautiful church (with a great history)

3-4 days in Florence - with day trips to Siena and San Gimignano (same day), maybe Pisa

1 day in Cinque Terre

2 days in Venice

We actually also did a day trip to Lucca from Florence.

I recommend renting an apartment in most places, especially Rome as you can have a kitchen, frig, and often times wifi and laundry which is very convenient when you're traveling with your family. It's more cost-effective and fun.

My notes are way more detailed on what to do in each city, transportation, what to pack, where to stay, eat, shop, etc. Send me your email and I'll send them to you. Maybe they'll be helpful.

3 cities - definitely enough. Pisa is best as a day trip from Florence. If you want to climb the tower, you need to reserve in advance.

Hi, Desi,

What a fun trip - Italy and a cruise! Your family must be very excited. We traveled to Europe several times when our children were teenagers. A couple of tips:

1. I second the advice to have each teen plan a day, or part of a day. This makes the trip more real for them and they may choose something you might never think to see. Plus they learn valuble skills - map reading, deciphering transportation schedules, research techniques, etc. Give them the guidebooks and tell them they are responsible for planning transportation to/from and activities for the day. Give them a budget and time perameters.

2. For the 4 year old, have her involved with the planning and have her help choose something to look forward to. You might look for some books at the library or find fairy tales that are set in/from/about Italy. Then help her "see" those places when you get there.

3. Don't let your time get eaten up with transportation and logistics. This makes for tired, cranky moms and dads and kids. Choose no more than 3 cities to stay in and use as hubs from which to explore.

4. You mentioned luggage in your post. If you are a regular reader of this website, you will know that one of the mantras of those who give advice here is, "pack light, pack light, pack light". Even with the cruise, try to take only one carry-on size suitcase per person and one smaller bag. Even the 4 year old can wheel her own suitcase in the train terminals. It is not difficult to pack this light. You will be so happy that you did when you are checking in and out of hotels, hopping on trains, etc. There are plenty of places to do laundry, your teens are old enough to manage washing out their own undies and sox. If you need something you can buy it there and bring it home as a souvenir. There are zillions of posts on the helpline with advice about how to do this if you have questions.

5. You will go back again.

Have a wonderful trip!

We just got home with our 12 year old son, 10 days. I'll tell you what worked for us.

1. A promise of minimal art. For our son, this was a major relief. The thought of hours being "bored" was horrifying to him--the thought of dragging him, cajoling him, was horrifying to me. Here's the deal, it's EVERYWHERE, you're not going to miss anything by skipping the major art museums. We didn't go to ANY of the art museums. We'll save that for our solo trips or when our son is taking his doddering elderly parents to meet his Italian wife's family! For this reason, Florence was cut from our itinerary.

2. Be extremely flexible. We didn't get to do a lot of our must dos, so what? We'll go back. I would rather have a good time than drag a reluctant kid somewhere.

3. It is possible to completely relax while seeing Italy. We watched many frantic travelers swoop in and out of Vernazza and Venice. We had planned for enough time to just be settled. It was worth it-with kids:mandatory

4. The travel days are enjoyable, but tiring and it's best to plan to just wander and relax when you get to your destination. I wouldn't plan to check ANYTHING off the list that day!

5. The train is easy. I WOULD NOT DRIVE. Make sure your kids can all carry their own luggage. Give the four year old a light day pack with nothing of value in it and squeeze her clothes in 2 of the other packs.

6. Allow for time at the tacky tourist shops. They love it and they should get to buy what catches their attention no matter if it is a purple sparkling Leaning Tower of Pisa. (Yes, we now have one of those.)

We did Rome (4 nights), Vernazza (2 nights) and Venice (3 nights) and it was perfect. We could have stayed in Vernazza one more night, but we'll go back. Our son loved to climb on the rocks. He loved the regional trains, the trails, and the quiet, easier pace of the Cinque Terre.

You will go back too, I guarantee it! So, don't think you have to do it all