Rome and excursions with small children

Yes, I agree with other posters, this is too much for children. Can't advise on what to do in Rome with the children but your parents can certainly take a side trip themselves and maybe one day they can watch children and you two can do a side trip. Pompeii is a day trip from Rome but it will be VERY HOT. Hopefully other posters will give you ideas on a day trip. Good luck.

July in Rome is, typically, hot AND humid - surprisingly so to travelers without experience of Rome in July, and travelers from places like southern Calif where the air temp can be high but it's comfortable. In Rome in July, the same air temp as in Calif will be noticeably more uncomfortable in its effects on your energy, especially for younger children and others not in peak shape.

He's still in the running, because he wrote in here asking for advice, that's what he's supposed to do.

And be sure to get a place with AC for those mid-afternoon breaks. And maybe a pool. Ron in Rome re Pools

Do what the locals do, seriously. They take a nap in the afternoon and then hang out late in the evening at the piazza and let their kids run around and play while drinking wine or espresso and enjoying the scenery. This was typical at 11:00pm (23:00) in front of the Pantheon.

Personally, I would not consider taking a 1 and 7 year old on a 14 hour bus trip, even with the grandparents. That is too long a day for them and for you. Easier day trips would be to Ostia Antica, Tivoli, Florence and Pompeii. All of these you can easily get to yourself without the need of a bus tour. This will also save you money. Capri and the Amalfi coast are better done as an overnight from Rome. It would be like taking a day trip from San Diego to Bakersfield or Modesto. Too much travel time and not enough time at the sites. Donna

I'm sorry but I have to ask - you're not seriously considering taking your two children on two 14 hour bus trips are you? Do you routinely drive them from San Diego to Oregon? Heading from San Diego on the the long flight over will be a bad enough experience with your 1 year old. Okay - so what to do for 7 days with your two children? Stay put and enjoy exploring the city. Or better yet - do an agriturismo in Tuscany for a week - then you can do your day trips to Florence and the surrounding areas. We stayed at Iesolana near Arezzo. Had a 3 bedroom apartment with a pool. It was great to come back to after a day of sightseeing. I do not recommend Capri or the Amalfi Coast at all. Both my daughter and my elderly MIL got carsick driving the small roads in Italy and would have hated the Amalfi Coast driving.

Your idea to take such long day trips with young children is an absolutely TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE idea/plan. We first took our kids to Italy when they were ages 7 and 5 and we were there for 3 weeks. We did not take any day trips, but stayed in the city where we planned to visit. For example, when we were in Roma we did something in the morning and something in the afternoon. We always returned to the room for a late afternoon nap. IMHO, you need to seriously reconsider your plan. Buon viaggio,

Having just return from Christmas in Germany with our ten month old granddaughter, there is absolutely no way that a 14 hour bus trip would be pleasant for either you, the kids, or the other passengers. That is nuts ! The one year old dictates the schedule -- naps, feedings, etc. It is not fair to the kid. There are lots of short trips around Rome that would work better.

"It would be like taking a day trip from San Diego to Bakersfield or Modesto." Odds are that those day trips happen in the opposite direction.

As a grandparent age person myself I'm not sure I would appreciate a 14 hour bus ride or 2x7 hours in a day, let alone the kiddiwinkies. Have they been consulted?

Thanks to everyone for your responses. To clarify, the bus/train part would be 2.5/3 hrs each way to destinations but we gather you still think this would be a bad idea...so that said, what else do you recommend in Roma for children?
Yes, grandparents are up for anything with or without us on this trip. They may venture off on those day trips without us. Appreciate the advisement we are receiving!

There's so much to see and do in and around Rome that it doesn't make sense to do those super long daytrips, imho, esp. with kids. Consider Ostia Antica as one daytrip from Rome that probably everyone would enjoy. Super easy, super close, super cheap. Details in the RS Rome book. Don't try to cram everything into this one trip. You can always go back. Italy will still be there. Happy travels.

"and let their kids run around and play while drinking wine or espresso and enjoying the scenery." I don't think kids should be allowed to drink wine, even in Italy.

Can't claim any personal experience (my "baby" is 36), but the website below seems to have some great ideas for travel with children. The link I am attaching is to a blog about travel with children in Italy, but there's more on the site, including places aroudn the world. http://www.ciaobambino.com/ciaobambinoblog/index.php/tag/Italy Just remember to slow down and have fun! Do you have an apartment in Rome? that's always nice for an extended stay and I'd think with children almost imperative.

I totally agree with Michael and Richard-pool, AC and naps! July will be hot hot hot, you will all be crabby and cranky if you try to go all day and all nite.

We just returned from Rome and Florence with older kids (age 14 and 12) and stayed 7 days of our trip in Rome with more than enough to do. My advice is to enjoy your stay in Rome and don't torture yourself with day trips when you have so little time. We had an apartment near Campo di Fiore and our kids loved visiting the cats that live in the ruins near Teatro Argentina. Not a tourist tip per se, but just to say, find a neighborhood and get to know Rome. You'll have lots to do and will really get to love it and the people. Osita Antica was an OK day trip, but I think kids age 1 to 7 would be really bored and it would be a disaster. If I had researched better, I would have figured out how to actually get to the beach...probably the next stop on the metro line. Oh, well, next time...