Suggestions for two-week family trip to Italy

If you have not already done so, it would be a good idea to get a tour book of Italy, such as RS produces, and look through it to see what fits your criteria. The 4 of you really need to see what interests each of you and then plan how to satisfy most, if not all, the critical items.

It is good that you are looking at having 2 base camps and doing day trips. So many people try to stay 10 places in 2 weeks and spend their time just "moving".

The more rustic, rural, "off the beaten path" you go, English speakers are fewer.

How about an agriturismo in Tuscany or Umbria for your country location? Lots if day trips possible. English will be spotty in some smaller towns, but you'll get along.

Seaside/Coastal + day trips = Sorrento in my opinion.

Is it this summer?

I am also planning a trip to Italy with 3 kids, all teenagers! We have been told that Rome is not to be missed. Both of my nieces went to Rome as teens and they have been to Europe many times and when asked, they both said Rome is their favorite place. So you may want to rethink that one. Otherwise, Tuscany for sure is on our list as well and maybe Amalfi Coast or Cinque Terre. We are big hikers so leaning toward CT but probably wouldn't be good with a 3 year old.

Stay one week in Lucca. We rent apartments from 2Italia.

Are you trying to go THIS summer? Your choices might be limited because lots of places will be booked by now. Also August is the month for vacation for Europeans which will add to the crush.

You need to start surfing the web in Earnest for sites like https://www.bedandbreakfast.com/info/travelers/bnb-getaways/agriturismos-in-italy-tuscany. Maybe you can find an agriturismo near hot some hot springs. Also, be sure to use Google maps as a resource. Once you've chosen a likely location, check the directions to some of the places you think you'd like to visit. This will give you distances and driving time.

Don't worry about being English-friendly. We never had a problem, even in the smallest towns.

Summer 2018 right? Start by buying a guide book and watching some Rick Steve Videos on trip planning (you tube and Roku). You mentioned driving, have you researched the requirements to drive, zone laws etc? English friendly are the bigger towns and tourist towns, the more off the beaten path you get the less English you will find, even in Rome, we stayed in a non-tourist part of town and not everyone spoke English like you would find around the Colloseum and other tourist areas.

Fly into Milan, out of Rome.

Arrive Milan, train to Stresa on Largo Maggiore. You won't need a car here, trains and ferries will get you everywhere.
Water sports, hiking, beautiful scenery.

Rent car as you're leaving Stresa, drive to Tuscany. We love this agriturismo because of its central location.

http://www.borgorapale.it

Look at their PDF file for an immense amount of information. Some nice hikes and walks here too. Hosts are fantastic.

Drive from here to Rome, spend your last night by the airport.

Be sure you read up on rules of the road in Italy, and become familiar with ZTLs speed cameras and speed limits. For estimates on travel times, Rome2Rio will help.
For road trips use via Michelin.
Trains use Malapensa express and Trenitalia.

Have fun planning.

Sounds exciting and fun!!!! Quite the adventure for everyone to have a little one and two teenagers. We are traveling to Italy in 2-1/2 weeks with our three kids, ages 9, 14 and 16. It will be easier for us since all the kids can walk long distances, tougher with a three-year-old. I absolutely agree with the others about the week stay in each place being a good idea. Normally I'm against long stays and lots of day trips from a base camp, but with a three-year-old, I think it would be essential for your sanity.

I agree with the others about Rome. My husband and I went to Italy for the first time last year and saw Rome, Florence, the Amalfi Coast, Sicily, Pompeii and a few small towns such as Lucca and Pisa. It was simply amazing, all of it. But Rome was by far our favorite. And we aren't city people, as others proclaim. The rich history of ancient Rome was magnificent and breathtaking and made us realize exactly how small we are in the realm of the history of the world. You know, things we should know already. But when you realize there are 3,000+ years of a civilization such as Rome, it really puts things into perspective.

We found Rome essential and our favorite place to see, but we also fell in love with the smaller villages we had a chance to visit, from those in Sicily to Positano to Lucca.

If I had to do two weeks, and was going to definitely skip Rome, I'd opt for one week in an agriturismo in Tuscany, so that I could visit all the small towns within an hour's drive, and do a day trip to Florence, and then one week at Lake Como or Lake Garda and experience the relaxation of northern Italy's lake region and visit some of the lovely towns in that area, too. Or I'd spend a week on the Amalfi coast. It is breathtaking and you could rent an airbnb and hole up in a charming village for the entire week and swim in the sea each day and buy local foods to cook in your rental home.

Italy is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to wonderful places to visit. If your family has seen the new Wonder Woman movie, the fictional island of Themyscira was filmed on the beautiful Amalfi coast.

I'm happy to share our experiences with you upon our return in mid-July, and what our kids loved most, and what they were kinda 'meh' about. We are hopping about a bit, from Rome to Tuscany to Lake Garda to Venice.

Yes, we are assuming 2018, aren't we? Good time to start!

For all your qualifications, I would pick one week rentals in the Tuscany area and Sorrento area. I say 'area' because there is a lot to choose from, and pros & cons to each.

But for day trips, Tuscany lends to Florence, Siena, Lucca, and all the hilltowns including San Gimignano and Montepulciano. The con to this is you either have to rent a car or have an expensive driver at your disposal, although maybe an agriturismo would provide that service when you need it. Public transportation will not do it here.

Day trips from Sorrento are easy and you can use public trans, to Positano, Amalfi, Cetara, Capri, Salerno, Paestum, Pompei, Ercolano, Naples. You could stay on the other side of the peninsula in Positano or Amalfi but access via public trans to all the places listed might be a little bit harder.

FYI I gave Rome short shrift on our first trip to Italy in 2010, stayed two nights and basically did a fly-by of many of the attractions. We returned this past March, rented an apartment over a fruit & vegetable market for a week, and it was our best stay in Italy to date, unbelievably fun and chill. Just my .02 there.

'Less populated' in the summer in Italy is going to be tough. It's a very, very popular destination and with the Euro being in the dollar's favor, even moreso. To find out-of-the-way places, you have to go to rural areas that no one visits. I have suggestions but for your first trip I wouldn't recommend it.

Enjoy your planning!

I recommend a base where you can split up for some of the time. A remote agriturism place may make you travel as a group all the time. A place in a city would allow the teens to explore on their own while one of you takes a break with your 3 year old.

I suggest Venice and no car. While it is crowded at the main sites during the day, it's easy to get off the beaten path by getting up early and going out in the evening, or simply going a block or two away from the path between the cruise ships and St Marks.

There are many choices and a guide book with pictures is a worthy investment- not just RS guidebooks which have limited coverage and few photos. Get the teens involved in picking places and things to do.

Enjoy the planning and the trip!

P.S. I hope you are planning way in advance, if your trip is in just a few weeks your options will be limited.

2 weeks in Italy is perfect! You need to start watching the Rick Steves videos on Italy, we watched most of them after our trip was planned, but I wish we had watched before. So much useful info and gives you an idea about what different places have to offer. I also agree with others about Rome. We just came back from 10 days (with 2 kids: 11 and 13) and Rome was so much fun...I would have hated to have missed it. But if you aren't city people, I understand. We also did Florence (must see!) and Cinque Terre (also amazing!) I like the idea of a week in Tuscany (many day trips possible from there) and then a week in the South, Amalfi coast was on our list but we didn't have time. That could be a fun home base (I think Sorrento was offered as an idea) and you could day trip to Pompeii and Naples. Have fun!!

Thanks for the responses. Yes, this trip is for 2018.

I have been listening to many of Rick's Podcasts on Italy, and I tell you, it just makes the decision of where to go that much more difficult! Guess I will just have to travel - as Rick says - with the intent of going back some day.

Tuscany is definitely in, and based on the comments, I think we should reconsider making Rome our base for the other week.

We recently returned from a trip to Italy and stayed in a lovely villa in Umbria: Tuscan Style Family Friendly Villa with Large Pool
Although the villa is out in the countryside, it is a 15-20 minute drive from any number of towns including Castiglione del Lago and Cortona. It's a great base from which to explore both Umbria and Tuscany. Our kids (ages 17 and 20) especially enjoyed the pool. The owners are British and are great to work with. I can't wait to return.

Tuscany is definitely in, and based on the comments, I think we should
reconsider making Rome our base for the other week.

Rome is wonderful. Except in summer. JMHO, but it is SO crowded, and so miserably hot! And good luck finding an apartment with good A/C. Everyone should see Rome at least once. Just not in summer if it can be avoided. Again, just my opinion.

And while just about everywhere in Italy will be crowded in summer, at least the lake district in the north or Sorrento and the Amalfi coast will have the water that your teens want. Sorrento is a personal favorite of ours, not least because day tripping to Naples, Pompeii, Capri and several other places are so easy.

I think my fellow Chicagoan, Jay, has pretty much nailed it. An agriturismo in Tuscany with a car, then dump the car and relocate to either Rome or Positano.

PS as the 44 year old with a 31 year old brother, no question needed and we're fantastically loyal to each other to this day, if not as close as we'd like to be.

For whatever it's worth, I thought I'd give you a quick rundown of what my kids liked best from our trip to Italy. We just returned last week, spending 11 nights spread out over Rome, Tuscany, Lake Garda and Venice. Our kids are 9, 14 and 16. It was difficult keeping the 9-year-old entertained, but the teenagers enjoyed most things.

In Rome, the Colosseum was definitely the biggest hit. We did a kid-friendly private tour of the Colosseum, the Forum and Palatine Hill with just our family of five. Walking around Rome was also popular, visiting the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. The Pantheon drew bored yawns from the 9-year-old and I think even to the teenagers it was just another famous old place. We also visited the Vatican and Sistine Chapel with an early entry VIP tour. As adults, we loved it, and the artist in our family, the 14-year-old, loved it, but the 16-year-old and the 9-year-old were kinda bored within an hour.

I will say the Torre Argentina cat sanctuary in the center of ancient Rome was quite popular with all the kids and my husband and I. That was really a highlight. Oh, and our 3-1/2 hour food tour through Eating Italy of the Travestere food district. Wow. Every one of us enjoyed it. Even the youngest kid.

On to Tuscany. The hill towns all started to look a bit alike to the kids. But we still had fun exploring and walking through the towns. And eating. Again, eating was the most popular pastime. And gelato. Sometimes we'd get it twice a day.

Lake Garda was very popular with the kids. Our 16-year-old declared the ferry ride around the lake, visiting towns including Salo and Gardone, as his favorite part of the entire vacation. A beach day at the lake was also a favorite of the two younger kids. The water was warm and the beaches were nice, albeit it pebbly. We rented lounge chairs and umbrellas and ordered lunch from a nearby restaurant. It was lovely and so scenic.

Venice was our 14-year-old daughter's favorite place. Same with our 9-year-old. They both said it was so unlike anywhere else they'd ever been, or anything they'd ever seen, that it was a fantastic experience. We did a private family tour around the city, visiting St. Mark's and other famous sites, ending with an hour water taxi ride around Venice. We also later did a 30-minute gondola ride. The kids loved that, too.

Enjoy your planning!!!! As others have said, Italy in July is hot. Very hot. We basically walked around with a light sheen of sweat all day, every day. But by the second week, we were used to it. Here at home in it was 90 degrees yesterday and my husband declared it a lovely day without realizing how high the temperature was. When I told him, he said, "Oh, I guess I'm just used to much hotter weather after Italy!" Because it's not just Rome that's hot - it's absolutely every city. But hey, being hot in Italy in July is far better than being home in hot weather. It didn't deter from our enjoyment of the trip. Altho my husband and I did say that if we go back a third time, since it was August when we visited last year, we will likely opt for May or late September/early October to experience better temperatures.