Itinerary help for late October trip with kids

Quite honestly, with a group your size, have you considered doing a private tour? I booked a 9 hour tour with Italy Limousine, beginning in Naples (because I wanted to save time by taking the high speed train but you can certainly begin in Rome) and going to Pompeii and then Positano and Amalfi. The driver will then us back off at Naples train station and we will catch another high speed train back to Rome. It cost 320 euro plus the cost of train tickets, which I will purchase in advance to get the mini fare discount. Doing that does force us to keep on schedule as those tickets are non refundable. Certainly your group could do it for less without too much fuss by taking a train or bus or combination of both, but the money was in the budget and I was looking for a can't fail, no hassle, comfortable day and we get a private tour guide as well. If you are just going to Pompeii, you can do it in 9 hours by car but it is a long time sitting in a car for the sake of a 3 hour tour. Let your budget be your guide, but convenience and "seamlessness" has a $$ value for me, so I always factor that into my decision making process.

I would suggest you go to the websites for any "points of interest" in Florence to check their operating hours/days. If you find a tour company that you think fits your needs, they may only tour that particular location on specific days of the week. Those parameters should help you narrow down the eternal question of "what to do and when to do it". As far as Pompeii goes, the high speed train will get you to Naples in 1:10, the local train will get you to Pompeii in 30 minutes. It is easily done in a day by getting the first high speed train into Naples at 8:45 a.m.. You can be back in Rome for dinner and they can recharge their batteries with a nap on the train. Kudos and best of luck traveling with six children!d

" Day 1: Fly into Rome, arriving early on a Wednesday. Sightsee basics like Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, til kids peter out." The younger kids will peter out when you clear customs @ 8 am. Head straight to your villa. Will you have a nanny along to help with your 1 yo every day of this trip? Is one of the adults mentioned 100% set for infant care? It's hard to imagine how you will do it yourself- yes, I know that you Moms have super powers, but................ " Possible trip to Pompeii (yes, we know this is a long day trip but kids are VERY interested so we may do it anyway; also considering Ostia Antica)" Perhaps one of you ( is there a hubby going? ) could stay with the 1 and 4 yo when the long day for Pompei is planned.

Bob- I actually laughed at loud at your nanny comment. Thank you for the chuckle! The 1-year-old will be 18 months at the time of travel and both of her parents (I'm her mom) will be accompanying her and are prepared to manage her and her needs during the trip. We are fortunate to have adventure-seeking, high-stamina children who are accustomed to traveling and spending long days exploring (well, the older ones anyway...I'll let you know how the 1-y-o does after our return). This will be their first international trip, but we are hoping that everyone will get a little shut-eye on the plane and after a short siesta will be ready to check out the people-watching areas near our Rome accommodations. We "wear" our baby and she is breastfed, so her "accessories" are minimal. We fully expect her to snooze and snack her way through her first day in Rome! Marianne- Have you had any experience with private bus service to Pompeii? EnjoyRome Tours (recommended by someone on the RS board) offers a direct , RT bus service (no tour) for 65 Euros adult, 45 Euros child. I compared the cost to that of the regular train, and it almost works out to be the same. I'm sure it's cheaper than the high speed train, but takes three hours. I'm tempted to do the bus, to avoid the drama of getting 6 kids onto a train, changing in Naples, finding another train, etc. What do you think? It's been a long time (15+ years) since I used a train in Italy so maybe it won't be as challenging as I think.

Marianne,
I'm intrigued by your suggestion to use Italy Limousine for a 9 hour tour that would include Pompeii and the Amalfi coast. We're going in Oct. as well. There are 4 adults in our group & husband will be using a travel scooter. Having come in by train from Rome we'll be staying overnight in Sorrento at day's end. So there will be a lot of baggage. Did you get a guided tour of Pompeii? Did you need a driver & a guide to see the coast?

Megan: Have you explored the website http://www.ciaobambino.com ? Browsing through it today I found Family Friendly Dining in Rome, Off the Beaten Track Activities with Kids in Rome, Florence with Kids, A Day in Lucca, etc. While the main site is heavily oriented toward hotel search, If you start with the "Ciao Bambino Blog" in the menu bar, then Italy, you will quickly be immersed in more ideas than you can imagine! Have a wonderful time! I have one adult child and he was hard enough to keep track of on a trip when he was young! But travel made him an independent, interesting person. What a gift to give your children.

Laurel- I've been using the Ciao Bambino site quite a lot; in fact, it's where I found the kid-specific perspective about Capuchin Crypt (although the crypt info was also in the RS guide). Its a great site! Thanks to everyone for your input so far!