Italy with 13 year old son

I took my 12-year-old daughter on the Best of Europe tour a couple of years ago and she had a great time. I will say that after the first week or so, she really started to balk at all of the walking though. They keep a pretty tight schedule a lot of the time. However, it was a very memorable trip for her and now at age 14, she's anxious to go back.

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Mary, IMO, taking your Son on the 9-day Italy tour would be a fantastic idea! Of course, he has to be a willing participant and be somewhat flexible in terms of "fitting in" with the group. I assume you're referring to the Heart of Italy tour? With such a short tour, it shouldn't be too difficult for your Son to tolerate. There's always a certain amount of free time, and also some flexibility in terms of doing something on your own if you don't want to take part in a group activity (just be sure to let the Guide know). IMO, this will be an incredible opportunity for your Son to experience a different culture and language, and see some of the differences between life in Italy and life back home (and he'll learn a lot too!). RS tours are fantastic! Happy travels!

Why be restricted to a tour.....and I'm sure your 13 year old son would not appreciate being on a bus all day with 50+ year olds. You will experience more of Italy on your own, be able to eat where and when you want to eat. Travel is an adventure, not a bus trip. I highly recommend you take your son as a family vacation, not a group vacation. His memories of seeing the Duomo in Florence with his parents at his side, and not 30 other people in a group would be much more memorable for him. Hire a guide, or take a group tour when necessary to get the most out of a sight. Or - have him do some research on google and let him be the tour guide- teaching his parents, and himself about this. I'd also contact his school and see if he can get some extra credit for social studies, or history, or art, etc.

I would also suggest that doing the trip on your own, without a tour, will allow you to experience Italy in the way that best suits all of the members of your family. And maybe moving around a little less than Rick Steves' tour does. We took our 11yo daughter to Italy last year, and she had a wonderful time. It turned out that she loves museums, even more than I expected, so we visited many museums. We also visited smaller venues, such as San Clemente in Rome, that she enjoyed, and were easy to appreciate without having to spend hours there. If you ask her what she liked the best, she'll say everything, but the two cities in Italy that she'd return to first are Rome and Venice. You can easily plan a trip on your own, with help from posters on this site and other travel sites.

I agree with some of the other writers who suggested making this a family trip instead of joining a group tour. Kids do group activities through their schools frequently and my experience is that they're often reluctant participants because they have little control or input. As one post suggests, on a family trip you can give your son responsibility to help plan the trip. That means he helps to research destinations, transportation, costs, accommodations, and food. Putting him in charge of specific parts of the trip almost ensures that he's an active and willing participant. For example, in Rome he could be in charge of your visit to the Colliseum or a day trip to Ostia Antica. Kids, or adults for that matter, are less likely to become cranky or critical or bored if they've helped to plan an activity. Finally, with a family trip, you have far more freedom to adjust activities, meal preferences, etc., as you go along.

Mary, I would also recommend this as a family trip. We took our 2 then 11 yr old daughters to Italy last year, and except for the day we had a private guide in Rome (Thank you Ron!) their favorite times were when we were on our own. Unless it was a short tour (less than 2 hours) they didn't like being trapsed around in a group. I think the point about them being involved in structured group activities all year long is a good one. On vacation, my kids at least, don't like a lot of structure. Of course on a trip like this you need some, but be sure to build in down days as well. For a 2 week trip we had 3 days we just hung at the pool, beach or just wandered. I'm sure no matter what your son will love Italy -- it's hard not to!

Totally agree with all posts/don't do a tour/do it on your own. Went with my sons many times as teenagers and they did well with a lot of non- structured time as we all did.

I herded my mob around for years all over europe. Probably a mistake. The youngest one was maybe eight when we started - - she went back for a year around tenth grade and a few years later did all of her college at the Sorbonne. Take the tour, it's cheaper in the long run and the kid won't get enough out of it to whet his appetite for more.

On tours children are usually adopted by everyone and get a lot of attention. He'll meet all kinds of people, learn new things from them and won't be only with you. And he'll experience Italy.