Italy for a Family of 3

All are within easy travel by train. http://www.italiarail.com/timetable You do NOT need a rail pass for Italy. Point to Point tickets are less than what you would spend on rail passes.

http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=ad1ce14114bc9110VgnVCM10000080a3e90aRCRD

Hi Barb. Suggest you get the Rick Steves Italy book. It will answer all of these questions, plus hundreds of others, and will make planning your trip fun. Enjoy your trip!

Keep in mind that two of your days are travel days from/to the US. I would spend at least 3 nights in each of Venice, Florence and Rome. I would spend extra nights in Rome and do day trips to Tuscan hill towns or Ostia Antica or Pompeii. Here is a sample itinerary: Day 1 - Depart for Venice Day 2 - arrive in Venice, walk around to try to eliminate jet lag and get oriented. Days 3-4 - Venice (3 nights spent in Venice) Day 5 - morning in Venice, train to Florence (2 hours)and afternoon in Florence Days 6-8 - Florence (4 nights spent in Florence) Day 9 - morning in Florence, train to Rome (1-1/2 hours), afternoon in Rome Days 10-13 - Rome (5 nights spent in Rome) with side trips to your choice of destinations
Day 14 - fly home from Rome If you want to spend some time in the hill country, you can that between Florence and Rome and then finish up in Rome. All of this is easily accessible by train. If you plan ahead, you can buy train tickets cheaply. For example, I have tickets from Venice to Florence for November travel that cost me 18 euros for 2 people (total cost). We are booked on a specific train, so we are not flexible as to when we depart Venice without forfeiting the tickets. Trains rarely sell out, so you can buy spur of the moment, but the prices will be much higher (as much as 96 euros for two). Book hotels as far in advance as possible, especially if you are travelling during the summer months. As others have mentioned, definitely get the RS Italy guide book and start reading! Good luck!

Thanks to Stephen for the itinerary info. and purchase of train ticket info. That helps a lot. I am finding some good information online and talking to people who have been there. Ralph - Why Wait? I agree with you. We took a "Why Wait" trip to Scotland a couple of months ago. Had a wonderful trip. I was simply watching the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun" - now I have an Italy itch. For us, it's a chance to plan, save money, and maybe go for 3 weeks instead of two. After seeing so much online - I am thinking 3 weeks would be ideal if we can swing it. In the meantime, I will drink chianti and pinot grigio at home and enjoy my dreams. Ciao!

Family of 3...is that 3 adults, or is one of them a child? If one is a kid, provide an age and we can make recommendations for fun kid things to do.

That is one child - age 9. I should have included that.

Barb. If you can swing three weeks do it. Its worth the wait. I've been planning my trip for three and half years because this year I started getting three weeks of vacation. Three years to save didn't hurt either. Now the trip is in just 11 days. The time will fly.

Barb, We just got back from 3 weeks in Italy with our 13 year old son. Here's what I learned: The best thing I had done in my planning was to schedule a "recreation" destination between "sight-seeing cities". So we spent a few nights in Monterosso (the one Cinque Terre town with a swimable beach) and also in Sorrento. Kids don't really care about "views". Most kids can handle a couple of hours at any given museum, but that's about it. And that's one per day, every other day. My son says the best single thing about our trip was getting to paint a Venetian mask (in Venice, of course!) at a shop that caters to kids. He packed it very carefully for the trip home. And he has it on the computer desk where he can show all his friends. Try to book a hotel with a pool whenever possible. (Not easy in many cities.) Venice-Florence - CT -Rome might be a good way to go, or Rome- Sorrento-Florence-CT - Venice if you can stretch to 17 days. I'd leave off the Tuscan countryside (booorrrring!) and save it for when you and your husband return to Italy - which you will, someday. (At least that's what I've heard - and I hope it's true!) Just my 2 cents! Dave

Keep an eye on what your child wants to learn more about (love the Venetian mask idea, or a glass-blowing demonstration). There is lots of information for children's travel experiences on the web - science museums can be an interesting break from walls of artwork; most children seem to enjoy archeological sites. Siena has a torture museum, there are a few Leonardo da Vinci museums. In Rome, there's an electric minibus (actually I think there are two or three routes) that makes a loop around the major sites in the historic center, this might be a good orientation. There are also some guided tours that are geared toward children (I've heard about them but perhaps someone else on this board has better information). If you base yourself in the three cities you named for 5-6 days each, you can do daytrips to other places as well. I suggest looking into apartments rather than hotels (the fridge and laundry facilities will make the trip more comfortable for all of you, plus you can go to the grocery store and stock up on things your child likes to eat besides pizza and gelato). Enjoy!

thanks for the kind advice. I am taking notes. I like the Venetian mask idea for my daughter. She will be 9 in two years. I will look into Sorrento - never considered it before. I laughed at the pizza/gelato comment for children and eating. My husband and I will probably eat lots of pizza and gelato as well. --Barb