Looking at a traveling to Italy with grand daughters 15 & 17 yo. Looking for advice on the top 3 locations to go to. We are all very active (4), love anything water but open to learning new things. Definitely would like a pizza/pasta lesson, but would like very much to have the girls learn some history from ww2. Thx
June 2026
7-10 days
Budget conscious.
There are numerous locations to go to in Italy, with your 10 day limit, you are right in not wanting more than three. If 7 days (hopefully in Italy and not in transit), then 2 is the most. You will have to decide for yourselves where you want to go, though many people default to Rome, Venice, and Florence.
If you do that, y'all might love a gondola lesson from Row Venice.
Water locations, Campania (with the Amalfi Coast, Ischia, Capri, Salerno), Cinque Terre (with ferries and hiking), even Puglia has some great waterfronts.
I have no idea what to suggest with a cooking class, I have never done one.
Sadly, I am not aware of amazing WW2 history in Italy, beyond the building I used to live in that had cracks from the invasion of Salerno. Hopefully someone can chime in. What do you WANT them to learn about?
Our teen daughter loved Venice and being on the Amalfi Coast (stayed in Maori). We didn't do lessons anywhere, but had a pretty active vacation with walking and then swimming/water sports on the coast. We did not do anything WW2 related, sorry.
Just got back from a 2 week trip with 2 teens. I would definitely include Venice. My kids didn’t love Row Venice like I expected them to, but I think that was partially fatigue bc it was the end of a busy day/evening lesson. Their favorite thing we did the whole trip was a “hidden gems” tour with Lucrezia. She offers food tours and others as well. Can’t recommend her highly enough - I’m sure any tour with her would be great. Perfect pace and amount of detail for teens. https://www.secretvenicetour.com/. Other than that, they really enjoyed just wandering or finding a square where locals were playing with their little kids, walking their pets, etc and people watching.
Florence they also loved, but preferred our time there exploring on our own vs with a guide.
For Rome, I would recommend a guide for St. Peter’s and the Colosseum, and a visit to the Capitoline on your own. They also loved Torre Argentina, but that might mostly be bc they’re cat people:).
Happy to answer any questions you have. We spent about a week in the countryside outside of Lucca as well, and a day in Bologna.
Echoing the above, if you've only 7 days - and especially if any of those 7 days include travel to/from Italy - then I wouldn't try to do more than 2 locations. With 10 days you could do 3 with maybe 1 day trip. You do need to be in your departure city the night before your flight home (USA?)
WWII sites: you might find this previous thread helpful:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/wwii-museum-in-rome
And this blog (not mine but by a respected, frequent poster on TA):
https://blog.spanishstepsapartment.com/2020/06/15/world-war-ii-sights-in-rome/
As mentioned, the classic first-timer's trip tends to be the "Holy Trinity" of Rome, Venice and Florence. Venice would be your 'water' spot; Florence is the cradle of the Italian Renaissance, with more priceless treasures of those periods than you can get your head around; Rome, of course, contains a wealth of ancient history and is a pilgrimage destination for Roman Catholics. Seen one of these cities and you've seen Italy? Far from it! Italy wasn't a unified country until 1861; the three cities listed, along with others, were once regional city-states with their own unique governments, cultures, ruling families, etc; history, architecture, art, regional cuisine and dialects vary between them.
It's not difficult at all to fill 3 days in each, keeping in mind that 3 FULL days = 4 nights. 3 nights = approximately 2.5 days in each. You could consider arriving in Venice for 3 nights; Florence for 3 nights; Rome for 4 nights and flying home from there.
Your active group might enjoy a long hike on the Appia Antica in Rome. More on that if you're interested?
Alternately you could split your trip between Rome and a base in Sorrento or Amalfi Coast. Fly into Rome, go directly to the coast, head back to Rome for the balance of time and fly home from there. You might look at Salerno as a base as it has good rail between Rome (and Pompeii, if interested) and ferry/bus services around the coast. It is also probably less pricey than some other locations in the regions, and has seen some love on the RS forums. While very pretty, getting around the coast can be a challenge as it's very busy and their overloaded transport system can be slow (road) and packed (buses & ferries).
Budget: you will be traveling during high season, all are very popular destinations, and are not particularly inexpensive. Some forum posters are fond of monastery stays: they offer little in amenities but are budget-friendly, safe, clean, quiet and usually include breakfast. You could also consider apartments; good for saving on meals eaten 'in', and more room to move around although they can have their drawbacks regarding check-in times, cleaning fees, no desk staff for help, etc.
Just a start?
I would take a look at Sicily. There are several sights relevant to WWII, including a museum in Catania. It's an island, so there is lots of water. You would need a car.
Second the suggestion of Sicily!! Sicily has it all — water/beaches, Mt. Etna, amazing Greek and Roman antiquities, WWII history, great food, lovely people, and more. I think our young adult granddaughters would enjoy Sicily much more than the classical Italy itinerary.
