Lots of questions for family Italy trip!

This should probably be on the Denmark forum, but Copenhagen is an extremely kid-friendly place. You should definitely take one of the sight-seeing boat trips around the town. The Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, just outside the city is very worth visiting. In addition to the restored authentic ships, there are a number of outdoor activities going on, like ship building. You can also take a short cruise on a replica Viking ship.

and renting a car

First, I hope you meant to write, renting cars. You will probably need three especially for all of the luggage or a couple of large vans. Either way the logistics will be an issue. The under 7 crowd will slow you down substantial since they will have little interest in old buildings, need nap times and feedings, etc. You may need to break into two groups that go in different directions.

I would start off by getting a Rick Steves (RS) Italy guidebook or another brand. RS has information on the areas you are going to on what to do, see and plan.

Florence as a day trip from Monterosso doesn't give you much time in that city, since trains take 2.5-3.5 hours each way. For instance, the 9:00 daily departure has one connection (some others require 2) and gets into Florence at 11:30 (or a bit later on Sundays). Adults who don't mind getting back at midnight could depart Florence as late as 21:30 (except on Saturdays), but you probably wouldn't do that with kids; most earlier evening returns have 2 connections.

An easy daytrip would be toward Rapallo or S Margherita Ligure (45 minutes on a direct train). Boats run from there to Portofino (basically like a Cinque Terre town with designer boutiques and yachts).

How to Look Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it. I like this site for viewing schedules, but www.trenitalia.com is the one that would sell you the tickets, when it's time for that.

be sure to take a boat tour down to Portovenere when the sea is calm. We left from Monterosso. Give this website a look for some ideas on things in the area of Cinque Terre. It was helpful for my wife and I in October 2015 when we visited the 5 villages area and stayed up at Moneglia. http://www.apathtolunch.com/p/citiestowns.html click around on this blog for some good ideas! I also wanted to add this site for help with train travel in Italy, its a great site. http://www.seat61.com/Italy-trains.htm#.VoQ6oMtIg5t One more thing, many of the towns up in the Dolomites have Austrian names as well as Italian names, you may have seen this in your search for a rental property. Keep that in mind when you are driving and looking for locations on maps, they may have two names for the same village. We stayed in Wolkenstein that was also known as Selva Val Gardenia (or something close to that, it was in 2005 when we were up at the Dolomites, loved it)

chlo,

You've received lots of good tips so far, but I have a few thoughts to add.....

Renting a car right after a long international flight has been compared to driving in an impaired state, so you'll need to be extremely careful. With a group of 12 with luggage, you'll either have to rent a large van or two larger cars. Vehicles may be manual transmission only, so hopefully someone in your group is proficient with that.

Note that each driver will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit for driving in Italy. You'll also have to be vigilant to avoid the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato areas if you venture into any towns (hefty fines). The drive from Milan to Spiazzo will be at least three hours which will be tiring in a jet lagged state.

The drive from Spiazzo to Venice will likely also be close to three hours. Depending how much time it takes to get your group moving on the morning of departure from Spiazzo, you may only have part of an afternoon and an evening in Venice. I'm not sure it's worth the effort, especially considering that will increase your transportation time to your next destination, the Cinque Terre.

For your stay in the Cinque Terre, hopefully your Villa is within walking distance to that rail station, which is in the "new town" area of Monterosso.

A day trip to Pisa is certainly possible, as travel time is only about 1.5 hours each way, sometimes with one change at La Spezia Centrale. Pisa San Rossore station is closer to the tower, but train options are better from Pisa Centrale (you can take a Bus or whatever to the tower if you use Pise Centrale - details in the guidebook). A day trip to Florence is also feasible but the travel time will be 2-3 hours each way with one or two changes, which means you'll only have a short time to explore Florence.

Good luck with your planning!

I'll add my own cautions to renting vehicles (and you will need multiples) for a long drive after an international flight. And I'll echo Laura that Florence is too far away for a comfortable day trip with very young children. I'd forego Portofino with this group but Pisa should be OK.

Do keep in mind that the CT and much of the rest of Italy is not especially stroller friendly so you're going to be toting the youngest around if they can't handle a lot of stairs and steep slopes on foot. Rome - and the Vatican, especially - will be very, very busy in June, and the youngest may be miserable in the middle of dense crowds where they can't see much of anything but legs for hours at a time.

Small children can be unpredictable where their saturation points are concerned. A meltdown at any point in the day may have to be dealt with but only the parents of the tots may know how well they adjust to new and different situations?

With those small people along, your itinerary may need to accommodate them first, or contact the hotel for a sitting service which allows the older set to sightsee a bit more easily. Some time for the wee ones to spend in open green spaces/playgrounds is a good idea, as is splitting up and not trying to do everything together if it all becomes a logistical headache.

I have to agree about too little time for Venice and I would not bother with Florence for such a short time
If it were just adults you might enjoy it, but with such a large group I think it would be miserable....it will also be rather warm and probably crowded.

With such a variety of ages in the kids I think the city stays will offer the best opportunity for the older kids to explore a bit while little ones nap. I would be sure if they do go out that they have a cell phone with international texting plan....but there are plenty of places they could go on their own for a few hours. I would add time to Venice and forget Florence this trip.

The kids will love Copenhagen.

It sounds like an amazing trip.... I always insist that my grandkids write in a journal/trip log on each trip.

You think you will remember, but there is so much going on the details slip away.
Also the older kids could each plan one afternoon for the group ...it will get them more invested in the trip and give them a chance to do research

Ken... I think they said they are flying in from Copenhagen.

I have mentioned this in other posts, but I cannot recommend this enough. There is a television show on PBS called "Travel with Kids". You can find most of their shows on YouTube. They have a number of episodes on cities in Italy. I even recommend watching it if you don't have kids. It is very entertaining and informative.

In case you're willing to do without rental cars, it looks like you could take the train from Milan to Trento, then a bus to Spiazzo. Trento has a kid-friendly science museum (MUSE).

terry kathryn,

I missed the Copenhagen info - thanks.

In any case, it could be challenging to rent a vehicle suitable for a group of that size and composition. One other thing to consider is that car seats may be required for the toddlers, as mentioned on this website......

https://totstotravel.co.uk/blog/car-seat-laws-italy/

Two meltdown remedies for Roma: the Vatican Museums have a beautiful courtyard where some of the group can escape to if necessary. And, Galleria Borghese allows two hours to visit; if you split the time, some of the group could see the Galleria (an hour would be sufficient) and the others could accompany the little ones around the park and then switch (make sure you all enter together or reservations may be invalidated, ask at the reception desk if you can return within the two-hour appointment time). Or if you all go in at the same time, there's a coffee shop where some of you can wait. Or, as has been suggested, you don't all have to do the same itinerary all the time.

Yes have to agree Ken.... Vehicles might be difficult.
I have driven a 9 passenger van around France a few times and for that size group, luggage and car seats I can't see how you could get away with less than 2 of these unless you all want to be crammed in. Parking was a little challenging but I assume you will mostly be driving to smaller towns and villages .
They were always manual.
Following each other will also pose problems.... We had 3 vans for our group and lost part of our people a few times... Just be sure everyone know how to get back to your hotel and have a plan in case you get separated, or cell phones with international texting:))

Thank you guys for taking the time to reply to my questions. I appreciate all of the input!!! Now I am starting to rethink the car rental. I did not realize that we could take a bus from Trento to Spiazzo. We were going to rent two vans but now I am thinking we may stick with busses and trains. I am going to look into this. Yes, we are starting our adventure in Copenhagen. One thing that we are fortunate with is that we can take the little ones to certain things while the older ones do other things. I really wanted my husband to take the older kids (teenagers) to Lake Garda for a day to do canyoning. I did canyoning in Slovenia a few years ago and it was a really neat experience that I think my teenagers would appreciate. I was thinking that the older kids could do Florence and the younger kids could stay back in the Cinque de Terre.

Christa

While it is possible to travel from MXP to Spiazzo by public transit, it will be a longer trip using that method which could be a bit tiring after a long international flight. In any case, it might be an easier solution than renting two large vans. I find that well planned rail trips are usually the quickest and most efficient travel method. I'm a bit curious about your choice of Spiazzo, as it's a bit off the usual tourist trails.

One other question that occurred to me since you're coming from Denmark. Which terminal at MXP will you be arriving at? The answer to that will have a bearing on which method of transportation you use from the airport to Milano Centrale.

I may have missed it, but have any of you travelled by train or other public transit in Italy before? There are a few potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of. If you need further information, post another note. The aspect of changing trains tends to be a bit intimidating for people that haven't done it before, but it's not difficult.

Ken
Our story is a little interesting. My twin sister and I love to travel. When we were in high school, we were both exchange students during the summer in Italy (Rovigo). We are now 37 so that was many years ago. We both were high school teachers for many years and would travel to Europe over our summer breaks. We have been many times to Europe but have never been with our husbands/kids. Our favorite place was Monterrosso in the Cinque de Terre so we told our husbands we wanted to go back there. My parents have done homeexchange.com many times so we decided to list my house on that. I have gotten several requests (we live in Houston). We are doing a home exchange in Copenhagen and in Spazzio (that is why we are going to these two places). We would have never chosen these places if we had not been offered the home exchange but we are super excited about going to these two new places. We wanted to take the kids to Venice, hence the overnight stay there. We are renting a villa in the Cinque de Terre and a large apartment in Rome. We have not purchased our tickets for our plane trip from Copenhagen to Milan but it is looking like we will take Easy Jet since this is our cheapest option. I really appreciate everyone's advice. My twin sister and I are always up for an adventure. Our husbands both think we are crazy for this adventure but we are travelers and have always traveled with our kids, even as infants. My husband and I have rented (not an automatic) car in England and driven so we understand the negatives of renting a car. I feel like the drivers in Italy are a little bit crazy so I would prefer to take the train and bus everywhere because it is just easier. The couple that we are doing a home exchange in Spiazzo said that renting a car would be better. I am thinking now, though, that maybe the train will be easier.

Thanks for your feedback.
Christa

We also have a copy of the Rick Steve's Italy guide. My mother in law bought us the Norway guide for Christmas because she thought that was the second place we were going. I didn't have the heart to tell her it was Denmark:)))

Christa,

Ah, that explains it. Thanks for the clarification.

Monterosso is also my favourite place in the Cinque Terre (note sp.). I was back there again in September and enjoyed myself immensely. One point to note is that it has become very popular and very crowded lately, so you'll have to contend with that. Once the day trippers have left, the evenings are usually quite pleasant.

easyJet is a great choice for the flight from Copenhagen to Milan. They're my preferred budget airline in Europe, and I fly with them whenever possible. A couple of points to note however......

• ticket prices are typically on a "sliding scale", so increase as the flight fills. Therefore, those who buy early get the best deals.
• the cheapest tickets are usually non-refundable and non-changeable once purchased, so choose carefully.
• Be sure to read their Terms & Conditions carefully, especially related to baggage. In most cases, they only allow ONE carry-on item per person, and they DO enforce that. That doesn't mean "one plus a personal item like a purse or laptop case", it means ONE ONLY of the approved size (they don't check weight on carry-on luggage).
• If you're using easyJet, you'll be arriving at MXP Terminal 2. That means your only option for transport to Milano Centrale is the Malpensa Shuttle (Bus). The trip is about an hour, which is about the same as the train from MXP Terminal 1 (depending on traffic of course). You can buy Shuttle tickets either in the terminal or from the driver, and you may also find that they sell tickets on board the easyJet flight (they will give you a Voucher which you will exchange for a ticket from the driver). I can't remember if they accept cash on board the flights or only credit cards (they may only accept Chip & PIN cards). The Buses are usually FULL so you'll put larger luggage items in the hold underneath and then take carry-on size items into the cabin. The Bus will drop you at the side entrance to Milano Centrale, at Piazza Luigi di Savoia. From there you can either walk to the Biglietteria (ticket office) which is at ground level (usually long queues but there are Kiosks adjacent to the ticket office). Track level is two floors up and the pay-per-use WC's are one floor up.
• Where is your Villa in Monterosso located? I'm quite familiar with Monterosso and can offer restaurant suggestions if you're interested. Hopefully the Villa is within easy walking distance from the rail station.