Please sign in to post.

Travel Suggestions September with Kids

Hello,
We are traveling through Italy with our four kids in September.
We are arriving in Venice Sept. 4 and staying 4 nights.

Our tentative plan is:
Venice 4 nights
Florence 5 nights
Rome 4 nights
Sorrento (or somewhere on the Almafi coast) 3 nights
Naples 4 nights
Fly out Sept. 24 from Naples.

We are also thinking:
Venice 4 nights
Florence 5 nights
Rome 5 nights
Naples 6 nights with day trips to surrounding areas

Please offer suggestions! Our kids will be 15, 14, 12, & 10. They are good travelers and we don't mind going places that are a little "gritty". We are not going to rent a car and will mostly travel by train & bus.

Thank you! And happy travels!

Posted by
5495 posts

Do you have a particular reason for devoting so much time to Naples? And can you get direct flights home from Naples or Rome?

Otherwise I would suggest staying in Sorrento and doing day trips to Naples, Pompeii, Capri, and the AC. And if you can get better flights home from Rome, I'd do Sorrento after Florence, and end your trip in Rome.

Posted by
1804 posts

There's a website you might learn from, although your kids are a little old for some of the info: https://ciaobambino.com/blog_destinations/europe/italy
Read these extensive threads found with the search function:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/italy-in-may-e987d735-ffc1-4a9e-908c-b6d34453af2e
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/keeping-preteen-boys-interested-in-italy
Get them reading so they will have their own ideas - youthful enthusiasm is always a treat.

Posted by
3 posts

Hi! Thank you for your response!
So, it might be better to spend 4 or 5 nights in Sorrento and 1 or 2 in Naples? We're planning on having at least our last night in Naples so we have easy access to the airport. We've already purchased tickets at a pretty unbeatable price so Venice and Naples are set.

I guess we are trying to decide if 4 or 5 nights would be best for Rome. And whether to spend most of our time in Naples or Sorrento. The benefit of Naples is more lodging options at lower prices. For day trips, where we are spending the night it doesn't matter as much (ie Naples). But after Rome, the kids might be ready for some easier, slower days where they can play in the water and explore smaller towns.

Thank you for the links! We will dig through them. We have been studying Rome and Greece for several years. We are all pretty excited!

Posted by
28247 posts

I spent a week in Naples back in March and don't see any reason you shouldn't go there. It's a good place from which to visit Pompeii (why pay three times as much to sleep in Sorrento?), and there's the Archaeological Museum in Naples holding a lot of the best things found at Pompeii. I didn't go to the catacombs in Naples, but they might appeal to the kids. The streets in Naples are lively, which I think will be appealing, and there's lots of interesting food to try, starting with the exceptional pizza. There are ferries to Capri, Ischia and Procida from Naples, too. I don't have children myself, so I can't make other child-friendly suggestions.

Posted by
3 posts

Hi! Yes, I've heard Naples is pretty amazing...my husband went when he was in his twenties and loved it! Especially the pizza! You feel like everything is pretty accessible from Naples? We won't be missing out on too much if we base in Naples?

We are definitely visiting the catacombs! I think we will visit the ones in Rome too!

Posted by
5236 posts

If you've not done so, get the kids involved in the planning of what to see and do. Perhaps have each pick out two or three things that really appeal to them. As long as all the kids are happy, the trip will be great for everyone.