Italy trip in September - is our itenarary baby safe?

Your baby will be a rock star in Italy.

Roads are good, be sure both drivers have an International Drivers Permit and your state license. Parking is tough on the Amalfi Coast. You may prefer buses and ferries between towns.

Yes go for it just remember plenty of sun cream and water and she will have a great time

Q1- Presumably she is not yet potty trained, so that creates a logistics issue with diapers/// She is not going to have any recollection of the trip--- I would not recommend it.

Maratea ( Marathea is in Greece) is not on what is commonly referred to as the Amalfi coast

I drove from Naples to Salerno ( and eventually to Milan) and found Italian roads to be as good, and usually better than comparable roads in the US. The pavement is not the issue, its all the other drivers, that make driving challenging, as well as ZTLs

Your math does not agree. You start out stating "a 10 day trip" , but outline 2 days Florence, 7 days Maratea and 2 nights in Rome. And mixing 'days' and 'nights' creates some confusion. You really should count nights What day do you arrive in Italy and what day do you depart?

Bring the baby if you want to.

She will be welcomed all over - Italians love babies. I can't stand the "they won't remember" argument. They won't remember going to storytime or being read to or meeting great-grandma but we do it anyway. We do it because we feel it's important, because we want to share these things with our kids, and because even without memory early experiences shape children It isn't about making your kids remember stuff. It's about having experiences together that will be valuable in and of themselves.

Diapers are available all over Italy, as is food and water. Car rental companies will rent you a car seat. These logistical things need to be thought of but aren't problems - just things to remember.

Of course if you prefer a kid-free visit and have a safe childcare option that's perfectly fine too. There's plenty of time in the next 17 years for both kids and no kid travel!

Off my soapbox now.

Your itinerary is broadly fine but it is unclear. Write it out night by night. Like this
Day 1 arrive, night 1 sleep in Florence
Day 2 Florence night 2 sleep in Florence
Day whatever train Siena to Naples (5 hours)

As far as I know there is no direct train from Siena to Naples - you would have to change in Florence or elsewhere, but that's not a huge deal.

Driving - roads are broadly fine but traffic in Naples is likely to be difficult (not just a lot of cars - I drive in NY and Italy is way different) I just drove in Palermo and it's doable if you are a good, aggressive driver with a good navigator and a lot of patience for missing your turn and going around in circles.

Renting a car at the airport would let you avoid the downtown traffic but if you are arriving at the train station then going out to the airport doesn't make much sense.

Thank you for the replies, we are still in the very beginning stage of planning, so days and itinerary not set.

We pre-booked a resort with Holiday rental in Maratea, for 6 nights, so yes, not on Amalfi coast, but close by.
And the rest is still open - but we love good wine, so think Tuscany is a must. Also not so sure if the big cities (Rome/Florence) will work with the little days we have left and with baby in arms.

I love country sides, and hills. But my husband love history, so we need to satisfy both :-)

I see you saying that you will be close by the Amalfi Coast.

Have you actually calculated how "close by" you will be? Too far with a toddler (and her needs to move around, be changed, be fed, etc., and general pit stop requirements) to do by car in a day - between 3 and 4 hours each way....

If I were an 18 month old I wouldn't want to be cooped up in a hot car in the September southern Italy sun for 8 hours in a day...

Can you move your reservation to a more centrally located - for your journey - resort?

I also disagree with the 'she wont remember' comments i took my 9 month old to Spain last year and he loved every minute of it will he remember it of course not but he enjoyed himself at the time which is the important thing. If we all had that attitude nothing would get done

I can't stand the "they won't remember" argument. They won't remember going to storytime or being read to or meeting great-grandma but we do it anyway. We do it because we feel it's important, because we want to share these things with our kids, and because even without memory early experiences shape children It isn't about making your kids remember stuff. It's about having experiences together that will be valuable in and of themselves.

I was so happy to read this. We traveled a lot before we had kids and continue to do so with our kids. Our oldest child was 14 months on her trip and our 2nd child was only 7 months on her first trip. We had fun traveling before we were parents but traveling with our kids has been absolutely wonderful. The pace is a little slower (we use to rush from sun up to sun down). Now I know if we pass a playground on our way to whatever iconic site it's going to be a 45 minute break. That's always turned out to be a good thing.

Yes Italians love kids. My daughter's scoops of gelato were always way bigger than ours. And a gelato lady scolded us in Italian for trying to rush our daughter when she was slow to order and then scolded us again when we tried to help her decide on what flavors to choose. We don't rush our daughter as much anymore. :)

I believe our kids travel so well because they started traveling at such a young age.

A car is a liability while in cities, so use trains to get around, until you absolutely need to do so. Also, you will need a car seat.

I have driven in Italy, but driving is expensive if you take the autostrada due to the tolls. Also, Italian drivers are not as disciplined as Germans and British;

Siena is wonderful, but you can do it in a day.

If you rent a car, get a GPS, it will make a huge difference.

but we love good wine, so think Tuscany is a must

There is fabulous wine everywhere. I would not bother staying one night anywhere, especially with a child. Too much work!

Please do heed Nigel's warning about the location of Maratea. It's really not within day-tripping distance of the Amalfi Drive. Check the projected driving times on ViaMichelin.com from Maratea to some of the places you were considering visiting in the Amalfi area, but keep in mind that folks on this forum feel VM tends to be optimistic and its estimates should be padded, even aside from the fact that they do not allow for stops or traffic delays.

I suggest you get hold of a comprehensive guidebook to southern Italy and read up on the places you'll be able to reach conveniently from a base in Maratea. I'm sure you can have a lovely time there if you focus on more practical destinations. It's just that Maratea's location suggests, to me, that it's probably used more for stay-put beach vacations. ViaMichelin highlights scenic roads in green, and I see a great deal of green in the area around Maratea, both along the coast and going inland.

To all of those who think I should be locked up by CPS--

""Q1- Would you recommend taking our 18month old girl with to our trip: --"" My reply was no I would not recommend it. I did not suggest the child be left in a crate while they were on vacation. I did not say there is no place to buy food and beverage suitable for her in Italy. As for diapers, I have no doubt they can be purchased in Italy. I commented a small child has needs that necessitate toting around a lot of stuff.

As for the comment about remembering, it was meant to comfort the parent, that leaving her with grandparents would be just fine. I thought that would be "understood", but it was not and that is on me for not correctly assessing the readers here and what they would understand the comment to be. The child is going to have no memory so she will not later on feel that she "missed out" on something. Rather, . she and her grandparents could have a great bonding experience

The parent asked the question about bringing the child, so its not like they hadn't been giving some consideration to not bringing her.. She asked for an opinion and I gave her mine. You gave her yours. The parents can use them however they see fit.

It seems even here the "right to free speech" applies only if my opinion agrees with yours.

I will be in front of the Starbucks at 1st and Main at Noon if you want to stone me for committing the sin not being in agreement with YOUR opinion

joe, other posters have opinions, too. Nobody is going to stone you, but some may disagree with your advice sometimes.

It will be a lovely time to travel!

If it is a dream trip for you as a couple, grandparents are usually available for child minding...it will be harder to travel WITHOUT your daughter as years go by....the fact that you are asking in this forum seems to indicate that you just are not sure....

Perhaps a small trip in U.S. that involves air or train travel will give you a slight preview of the logistics? At that age little ones require lot's of gear. :)

The trip seems tight, perhaps 5 days on Amalfi coast and 5 elsewhere...you are moving about a bit...two days in Florence with one of them being a day trip seems ambitious, especially with toddler jet lag ;)

10 nights or days?

I think 18 mos is the worst age of all for travel with a baby; I would never do it on a rush rush trip like this with lots of stops and logistics. A small baby e.g. the 9 mos all is easily carried in a backpack carrier and can be easily content on your back -- an 18 mos old is big and heavy and wants to be toddling around. She is too young to anticipate and plan and enjoy the trip (even a two year old can get amped up about a coming plane trip or train trip etc -- at 18 mos more like squirmy luggage. I would not plan this sort of trip with a child this age.

I have an 18 month old grandchild. He loves traveling around. He finds EVERYTHING interesting. As long as he gets his nap, which can take place in a stroller or backpack, he's lovely. Your daughter is part of your family and I think you would feel something was missing if you left her behind. I think you might find she's even happier traveling and seeing activity than when she is confined to home. Do it. Start your traditions.

I have no children and ignored my younger brothers to the maximum extent possible, so I'm not going to offer an opinion here. But I have go say that I love Janet's phrase, "squirmy luggage", and I hope one day to have an occasion to appropriate it.

Loving that "squirmy luggage" comment too!

Your baby will be perfectly "safe" in Italy and will be happily accepted everywhere so I don't think that's the bigger issue. As already mentioned, the larger consideration will be the logistics with a child that age and all the accoutrements they require? That can add up to a lot for two people to have to handle on and off trains and up and down stairs... There are lots of stairs in Italy, and lots of steep slopes in the Amalfi area. Some parents have done OK with a stroller (I'd take a lightweight one but with GOOD WHEELS) where others swear by back carriers: easier for stairs but an 18 month-old is pretty heavy. Some do both but there again, lots of stuff to manage. A car seat adds to the mix.

But all that aside, have you already done a reasonable amount of travel with your tot outside of just driving from one place to another? I'm thinking of things like being confined in a plane for long hours, going to sleep easily in the same room with you, and general adjustment to new places?

You know your baby best so really, it comes down to how well you think she will manage and how well YOU can manage all her stuff AND your stuff. I do think that the less moving around you can do, the better, and I'll go along with 1-nighters not being worth the hassle of picking up and moving.

It goes without saying that your schedule is going to revolve around hers, to some extent. That day you intend to spend doing wineries on an organized tour could be the day she decides when enough is enough - earlier rather than later - so I would keep your days as flexible as possible

Maratea: much too far from the Amalfi area and a long way back to Rome. I'd scratch that one, personally, or settle in for a good long stay.

I don't have kids so have no advice there, but would point out that the idea of doing Tuscany just for a day for wine is really selling the entire rest of the boot short. Here, around Maratea, you have Aglianico del Vulture Superiore, a DOCG wine that is wonderfully structured and has great aging potential. You have three other DOC appellations.
http://www.made-in-italy.com/italian-wine/regions/basilicata

Tuscany is wonderful, but I'm not that into Chianti Classico, and Super Tuscan is really a made up thing that contains all manner of wonder and sins.

Gee Max ...I love Chianti Classico ..to each their own