Good afternoon and thank you for taking the time to discuss this with me. I'm sure personal itineraries are a common topic, but hearing from someone who has been to these places is so invaluable. I very much appreciate it! I will be arriving in Rome, Italy on May 31 and departing on June 23rd from Venice. We are a family of 4 ( 2 kids aged 10 and 18). I am trying to put together a great itinerary and see a lot sights without sacrificing the beauty of the trip. I would love some input and ideas if you have some time. We are an outgoing family and love being in nature as well as sightseeing in the cities. So here goes....
May 31-June 4-Rome
June 4-6 Sienna or Florence
June 6-10/ 11 Agriturismo near Montepulciano- La Bruciata (recommended in R. Steves guidebook)
June 11-14 Florence or Sienna
June 14-17 Cinque Terre
June 17- 19 open
June 20-23 Venice- departure in the a.m.
Is that to much time in Tuscany? Should I do Sienna as a day trip instead from there and spend more time on the agriturismo or is that to much time exploring that area? I'm not sure how to break up that period. I was planning on doing the countryside directly after Rome, but La Bruciata isn't available until the 6th. We definitely want to spend 3 full days in Cinque Terre, but then have a few days before we need to be in Venice, as I was thinking the 20-23rd. would be sufficient time in that beautiful city. We had hoped for Lake Como, but don't see how we can make it work with so little time. It seems to be a bit of travel to get to from Cinque Terre. Any thoughts or ideas are welcome. I am trying to find a balance with this trip and not spend endless days traveling. Many thanks for your input!
Posted by
OP
7 posts
May I add, that although I know we will be near the water near Cinque Terre, I believe the beaches are fairly rocky. Is there somewhere not to far away that has more of a sandy beach vibe. My kids might like that. Again, thank you!
Posted by
lexington, il
4105 posts
Lucca would be a short train ride. Great city for strolling and biking.
Easy day trips would be Pisa or Montecatini terme ( has a funiculare to Alto)
Your trip to Venice is still going to be long however.
For a beach Levanto has a nice sandy one. Its just a few stops from Monterosso.
Posted by
5 posts
We are also planning a family trip with kids --- mid-June to mid-July. We plan to stop in CASTIGLIONE DELLA PESCAIAI for a couple of days for some beach time. I started a post asking for advice on this stop but it looks like a great place on the Tuscan coast.
FYI, April
Posted by
Seattle, Wa, USA
663 posts
What is wrong with using June 17-19 for Lago di Como? Seems like it would fit in that spot very well.
Monterosso and Levanto of both have sandy beaches.
The pacing of this trip seems to be very good to me.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32742 posts
Have you already bought the plane tickets? If not, if you reverse the trip your flight are likely to be easier. Few planes go transatlantic from Venice and most of the connectors leave very early in the morning from Venice. That involves most visitors trying to get across the lagoon to the airport around 4 or 5 in the morning, not having a lot of fun. It tends to be easier to fly into Venice and out of Rome.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
You could take one of your Tuscany segments and visit Umbria instead, daytrip to Siena from Florence. Lake Garda has lots of activities your children may like (Gardaland theme park is nearby), there may be some sandy beaches on the lake, too, but I'm not sure.
Posted by
OP
7 posts
Hello everyone, thank you for your participation in this thread and all of your input. Both Levanto and Castiglione Della Pescaiai sound like great beach options for a few days of relaxation. I'm not sure at this point which one is more appealing-any thoughts?
Regarding Lake Como....coming from Cinque Terre on June 17 or 18, is there enough time to travel there and enjoy it with out overdoing the itinerary if we had to then leave on June 20 to Venice? I haven't really reviewed the train maps or schedules yet, but I haven't quite figured out to get from Cinque Terre to either Venice or Lake Como.We will be departing Venice on June 23rd.
It seems that there my be a lot of transfers and somewhat time consuming.
In your opinions, would you eliminate the beach time and use those days at Lake Como or stick with the itinerary as planned?
Unfortunately, we have already purchased our tickets and won't be able to reverse our schedule at this point. I was able to get a decent return home however, and our flight leaves at 11 am, so not terribly early.
Thanks again, I'm getting so very excited to for our visit!