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Suggestions for Trip with Young Teens

Posted by on

I visited Italy over 20 years ago. Did a tour with a high school group and visited Rome, Sorrento, Florence and more. I thoroughly loved the trip. Florence was incredible, Rome was well ROME! and Sorrento really struck me (not sure why but it did).

Anyways, planning on taking my 13 and 14 year daughters this Christmas to Italy with my wife (who has never been to Italy). My wife and I have traveled a bit, but this is my daughters' first trip to Europe.

Trying to figure out what to do. I am torn between a week in Rome (with maybe a few day trips out of Rome), or 4 days in Rome then a stay in Sorrento seeing Pompeii and Capri as well, or splitting time between Rome and Florence. We are planning between 7-10 days in Italy.

We are not big planners when we travel. We prefer to keep things rather general and just letting things develop as I find that if we plan too much it just leads to stress and disappointment (you cant see it all). More or less we want our children to "get some culture" (aka see the sites, etc.) while also experiencing what life is like in Italy. So sight seeing, shopping and just relaxing and taking in our surroundings is the plan. That being said trying to do Florence, Rome and Sorrento will not happen.

Any thoughts would help tremendously.

Posted by
503 posts

Took our boys to Italy over Christmas and New Year's a few years ago and they loved it. We typically would plan one thing for the morning and one for the afternoon - with notes of other things to see/do in the vicinity if there was time. That way we were able to focus on what our priorities were without making ourselves crazy. If you plan to be there on Christmas Eve and Christmas day, you may need to do a bit more planning since many sites will be closed and/or have reduced hours - especially the Vatican! . Also, make sure to secure dinner reservations for Christmas eve/Christmas day if you are staying in a hotel without a restaurant. Some restaurants are of course open, but best to plan ahead. As to whether to do Florence or Sorrento, I'd have everyone do a bit of reading on the two choices and see what appeals. I'd also recommend having everyone do that for Rome as well!
One of the highlights of our trip was being outside St. Paul's for Christmas Eve mass - it was amazing! We also did the Scavi tour (tour of the necropolis under St. Peter's) which was really interesting. Final recommendation - we did a tour of the Sistine Chapel before it opens to the public - not cheap but worth every penny.
I'm sure you will have a fabulous trip!

Posted by
11651 posts

You may not be planners but need to be aware of sites that are best to be reserved in advance.

Posted by
2 posts

Thanks for thoughts so far. As for not being planners, I should clear that up a bit. We keep scheduling to a minimum to avoid scheduling 10 things in one day. I do understand that some sites have limitations or require advanced scheduling. I like the idea of one morning one afternoon/evening activity as well as involving the input of the children.

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