My family and I are returning to Italy this year. We are visiting Rome. Three of 4 have seen it, but my youngest has not. So we will be there 4 nights. Then we will spend two nights in Venice, which was enough for us last year. We would like to return to the Amalfi Coast and I hope to stay in same lodging. My youngest will leave us, I'm thinking, from Venice with her friend and travel to France since her friend is supposed to be spending a few weeks with her family in France and have invited my daughter. What a lucky girl to see Italy and France! While she is entertained, I would like to discover some other place to spend about a week. I don't know what I want to see or where to go. Something in-between Venice and Amalfi I should think. I can't see us spending a week in Florence though. I'd love ideas.
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5250 posts
Are you open to car rental or did you want to stick to trains?
I'm going to tell you just what I would tell a friend if they asked me--consider somewhere other than the AC. I like to return to the same places too, but sometimes it can be heartbreaking, and the AC is just so overwhelmingly popular right now, I would consider something else. There are a lot of options!
If the AC is a must, I'd check now if that accommodation you had in mind is available and book it early.
Please let us know exactly how much time will be left after Venice and if you have a preference on where you fly home.
We need to know if you are looking for cities or rural/nature stuff.
Posted by
OP
13 posts
Valadelphia, thanks for response. We have RT tickets LAX to FCO. 5/26-6/17 is total trip. After 2 nights in Venice, I have from 6/2–6/15 (14 days).
We return to Rome on 15th to fly home on 6/17 planning to see just a few things we didn’t at start of trip. I am trying to accommodate making sure my daughter who is leaving us for France gets to see what we want her to and that’s #1 Rome and #2 Venice. We will be in AC during the same time as last year which turned out fine. I realize that it’s Jubilee and that I have to book Amalfi asap. That’s where we want to end up at end of trip. But my dates for AC are not yet set in stone. So I was considering seeing what I didn’t in Florence and maybe see/stay in Tuscany. *Prefer trains. Unless drive is easy my husband doesn’t prefer to drive avoiding stress involved. We did some Uber last year. Ferry from Salerno to AC and Maiori was perfect.
Posted by
5250 posts
Gotcha, and Florence is pretty ideal for breaking up the trek south, and you could split it with some time in a smaller place. There are lots of posts here about Tuscany without a car, so I would peruse some of the options and see what looks appealing. I have been in Tuscany in late May three times and my partner drove on the second two. If you plan carefully, it is not stressful--and is the only way to get many places on a short timeline. People love Lucca and that is on the train line.
How old is the youngest? Maybe that could help inspire some suggestions for the Tuscany stay.
Posted by
OP
13 posts
My youngest (who draws almost every single day) paints and enjoys photography too. She is 19. My oldest is 21 and was so fortunate to go to Italy for 3 weeks via the university and got 6 credits. She wants to show us everything and says a week isn’t enough. I believe her. I’m in but my husband isn’t as much a history buff and can only see so much. We are interested in small charming villages off the beaten tourist track.
Posted by
5250 posts
Are you referring to Florence specifically with the week not being enough?
Since they are old enough, I'd have the girls help select, but off the beaten path will mean car.
I do think for a family seeking culture as you sound like you embrace, that Florence and Siena would be nice (I'm more of a nature nut but others will chime in soon).