Itinerary help - Fly in Venice out Rome

I don’t think that area of Italy is known for its beaches. In Venice you can take water taxi to Lido island. Much more laid back vibe and a beach.

I would go to Bologna with day trips to Modena and Parma. All foodie towns - a huge plus after coming from Venice. It has oldest university in Europe. It’s also got an authentic youthful vibe. And done impressive architecture and giant tower.

You could rent a car and do a lot in Tuscany and Umbria.

The Caribe Bay water park looks like fun. I believe there are ATVO buses to Jesolo from Piazzale Roma, taking about an hour each way. Or you could skip the water park and go to the beach at Lido di Venezia, by vaporetto.

https://www.visitlido.it/en/beaches-lido-of-venice/

To include a “beach” stop on your way to Rome, how about a lake? Malcescine on Lago di Garda has sandy beaches. Further down the lake, at Peschiera del Garda (a 14-minutes train ride from Verona), has both beaches on the lake and a large theme park complex that includes a water park:

https://www.gardaland.it/en/explore-gardaland/legoland-water-park/

Nearby Sirmione, reached by ferry, has a large complex of Roman ruins to explore, after which you can descend to the lakeshore for a swim at Jamaica Beach (which is actually smooth rock, not sand).

https://www.bresciatourism.it/en/things-to-do/catullus-grottoes-sirmione/

https://visitsirmione.com/en/what-to-see/nature/beaches/jamaica-beach/

https://rossiwrites.com/italy/lake-garda/jamaica-beach-italy-spiaggia-giamaica/

My 11-year-old twin grandsons loved both the Grottoes of Catullus and Jamaica Beach when we were there last September. They also enjoyed the castle. But they pronounced the gelato at Sirmione far inferior to what they found in Venice. The town itself is very crowded and touristy, so I would not recommend staying there.

If you choose Bologna, you could also day-trip to Ravenna, known for incredible 5th-6th century Byzantine mosaics. There are several sites, and you could walk around from one to another, not spending terribly much time at each, so it would be a much more relaxed experience than, say, visiting the Uffizi.

I don't know if ATVO has buses from Piazzale Roma to Lido di Jesolo, but definitely from Punta Sabbioni. You can get to Punta Sabbioni with the No 22 boat from the Tre Archi vaporetto stop, which is just up the Canareggio canal from Guglie.

I would keep your original plan and go to Florence. To get some beach time, maybe go to Lido beach one day from Venice. So maybe do 4 nights in Venice and 3 in Florence and 3 in Rome.

I wouldn’t replace Florence with Bologna, I think Bologna is ok to visit on your 8th or so trip to Italy, before that, there are nicer cities and towns.

Hsaving been a teacher for 28 years, I understand your scheduling problem. However, there is no way I would plan to visit the Cinque Terre in August. Full disclosure, I am not a fan. Imo, they are boring little villages, which, 20 or 30 years ago were discovered by a certain travel guru and became a must-see. Now they are also visited by cruise ships, and the crowds are just unbelievable. You can find many other seaside towns; but, really in August, all will be crowded.
I think you may be correct in your assumption about a child’s interest in Florence. There are now a number of tours and activities available, in Rome, especially for children. For example we are leaving Sunday for Rome, along with our daughter and her family. She found a day-long gladiator school for her 7 year old son. Our other grandson once took a cooking class for kids in Rome, which he greatly enjoyed. A google search wiil bring up many more possibilities.

Again, just imo, you have not allotted enough time to Rome. If you add all of those extra days to Rome or one of them to Venice, you can do a day trip or two to places like Ostia. I think there are some beaches in that vicinity, also.

Hey, I'd encourage you to fill in your Home Area part of your public profile, that would help us to respond to your question about visiting the coast; I mean, the USA has superb beaches, better than most of Italy. But if you live in Kansas, it's a different matter.

Rome is big place, so I would certainly not reduce the number of nights there. You don't need "daytrips" for just four nights, but I'd mention both Villa D'Este (in Tivoli) and Ostia Antica as nice changes from indoor art. Don't forget the need to reserve many things in advance, like a tour of the Coliseum if that's important to you. You are smart to have found an open-jaw itinerary that suits your interests. CT is simply not on the way from Venice to Rome. As important as Florence is to the whole of Western Culture, I agree that your young daughter might want a break from looking at statues and paintings. But it depends on her current interests, too. The food idea is good, especially if you can manage a Market Day somewhere, like (check me on this) Saturday in Reggio Emilia, not far from Bologna. Would she be interested in cheese making or other agriculture?

I am not an authority on the CT, but it seems unrealistic to believe that there is any way to escape crowding in August, when Europeans are also crowding the tourist areas. I'd also mention air conditioning ...

Thank you all for your tips so far. It sounds like Cinque Terre area may not be the best time of year for. We were thinking a costal town to tour around with some history/older architecture and a place to swim and cool off. My daughter loves to be in the water. We are from near Toronto Ontario and although have the Great Lakes, there aren’t many beaches we visit but we do spend a lot of summers out in PEI on the beaches there. I guess I’m mainly thinking beach to give her a break from touring and add a bit of fun with two adults who love touring sites with history. I was hoping for in between a site with history for my husband and I and some water time for her.

I am interested in the lake tip and also considering adding a day to Venice and then going straight to Rome for the remainder and adding in day trips as suggested. Would Tivoli or Orvieto be good choices? Also would Ostia be a good day trip or preferred overnight before our afternoon flight out of FCO.

Again thank you all for the responses. I really appreciate it.

What about Viareggio? It is on the coast and beachy. You could take some day trips via the train to Pisa and Lucca

We just spent a week in Venice and four nights in Rome with an almost-10-year-old and a 6-year-old and we did not even come close to seeing and doing all the things they wanted to see and do in those two cities. They loved both! And these are kids who are not museum-goers or art-lovers or who have a whole bunch of patience with going along with adults who are sightseeing. So, I would recommend keeping it simple and just stay in Venice and Rome, with a very few day trips --- our grandchildren loved Ostia Antica, and many years ago our son at age nine loved Orvieto.

The beach town of Rimini, surprisingly, has historical sites as well as the famous beach, starting with a Roman bridge constructed by Tiberius in AD 21, and still in use today. It is beautiful at sunset. We joined the locals in their passeggiata the evening we were there. And did a walking tour of the other sites the next morning, using a themed map provided by our hotel.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ponte-de-tiberio-bridge-of-tiberius

Here are some websites with more listings of the historical building, arches, and ruins, as well as more modern options such as theme parks and water parks:

https://www.visitrimini.com/en/top-10-must-see-attractions-in-rimini/

https://www.rimini-tourism.com/en/rimini-attractions/historic-edifices-and-archeological-sites.html

https://www.abcvacanze.it/en/rimini-monuments

The long sandy beach itself is typical of Italian beaches: covered with rows of lounge chairs and umbrellas, which one must pay to use. But it might be fun for a half-day of swimming in the Adriatic. At night Rimini is quite the party scene, from what I have read, so probably best not to overnight there. But you could daytrip from Ravenna, which is well worth a full day in its own right. I believe an 11-year-old would find them fascinating, , and far more beautiful than the paintings one can see in Florence.

https://www.ravennamosaici.it/en/

One thing to put on your itinerary for Venice is a visit to the rooftop of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, a high-end departments store (formerly the post office, and before that a customs house for the German merchants). The visit is free, but you must book in advance to get a time slot. The reservations are released 3 weeks to the day in advance, and they disappear quickly (within an hour during high season) so be ready.

https://www.dfs.com/en/venice/service/rooftop-terrace

Stop by the nearby and highly-regarded Suso for a gelato before or after. And on a different day, treat your daughter to a fancy gelato concoction in a dish (like an ice-cream sundae) on the terrace at Gelateria Nico on the Zattere:

https://www.gelaterianico.com/

Something to keep in mind about any beaches is that your dates coincide with peak vacation time for Italians. And Italians go to the beach or the mountains in huge numbers, not just affluent Italians, but regular working people. In fact many small businesses and some restaurants close so their workers can enjoy "Ferragosto", the August break. So you can expect crowds and lack of accomodations near beach towns.

Hi All. Many thanks for the replies. I have decided to add another day to Venice as per the suggestion and now just working on the tail end. Is 6 nights too many for Rome or a good plan to base day trips from. If we are looking at 1-2day trips would it be better to stay closer to a train station for ease? Either in Monti or Testaccio? I’m not sure if the station near Testaccio is a good point. We are looking at units with kitchens due to the lengths of stays. I enjoy cooking and read the market in Testaccio is great. Unless there’s a better place to base ourselves.

6 nights is not too long for Rome! An apartment, with A/C, will be very nice for relaxing after long days. Not really necessary to be near the station, but at least be by a bus or Metro station that affords direct and efficient transfer. Find some apartment options and explore the transport connections to Termini station.

Edit to addnthat there are good outdoor markets all over Rome and a few big indoor ones. You won’t lack for shopping opportunity in most neighborhoods.

6 nights is good for Rome. I think the best area to stay is somewhere in between Piazza Navona, the Pantheon and Via del Corso. From there, you would be walking distance to most of the main attractions and it’s easy to get buses if you need to.

Six nights in Rome is not a bad idea. Splitting the time evenly between Venice and Rome would be optimal as that would allow time for a day trip to Lido (beach), and a day trip to Murano and Burano. In Rome, a day trip to Ostia Antica is definitely something to do. Just food for thought.