Travel to Italy with teenagers

What are the dates for your trip? Time of year can make a difference.

Really, you need to get a guidebook and see what sounds good to you. But keep a map at your elbow so you are reasonable in your expectations.

Within a radius of 15 miles of any place you put a finger down on a map of Italy, you can find at least one picturesque spot to visit. It all comes down to what your family most wants to see and do: museums (what kind?), historic sites (what period?), churches, markets, lively big cities, smaller towns, mountains, lakes, beaches, something else?

How many nights will you have on the ground in Italy (not counting the overnight on the plane)? You probably should stick to just two bases.

We are planning this June , July or August. I will get a book and start doing more research. Thank you

Go to your local library and pull guidebooks and travel DVDs for Italy. Then as a family, watch them and see what is an interest to everyone especially the teenagers. Engage the teenagers in the planning so that they buy into the trip. Eight days is very short more so if that includes you travel days to and from. I would recommend picking one or two locations at the most to visit and work it. Summer can be hot to very hot in Italy.

June is the best choice of the three you list.

June hands down and as others have said with such a short time pick only 2 places at mist. You could do the whole time in Rome, or split Venice and Florence. Or base somewhere in Tuscany and do that region.

July and August are very hot in Tuscany and southern Italy. We have been in and I must admit enjoyed Florence and Rome in July. But it was 99 to 110 degrees. I wouldn't choose to do that again. In September and in May it was temperate and we were much happier.

In 2015 we took our grandson and one of his friends, both 17 to Italy for two weeks and France for two weeks. In Italy we stayed in Tuscany, San Quirico. We took day trips to Siena, Florence and Rome as well as visiting many of the smaller towns in the region. A couple of days the boys fished in a river south of town. Took them to a hot spring one day. In short there was plenty for them to do for two weeks so 8 days should be easy. If you go to Rome I suggest the Underground Tour of the colosseum. The boys enjoyed that.

Most kids don't like long drives but we had no trouble with our drives. I prepped them before the trip about the train trip to Rome so they were prepared for that. If there's anything in particular that they like try to incorporate that.

Two years later and they were still talking positively about the trip and thanking us.

Oh yes, we were in Tuscany the first two weeks of June. I'd be concerned about heat if you go in July or August. It was hot in Rome but the rest of the time it was fine. You might consider renting a place with a pool.

Agree totally with Frank's comment "...recommend picking one or two locations at the most...". A lot of time will be lost every time you change locations and you really don't have that much time to spare.

Here is an off-the-wall idea. go in late June or early July, skip the big cities and go to the Dolomites for the entire 8 days. A week in the mountains is delightful! The Val Gardena is a perfect choice and you can do it without a car.

Or split the time between the Dolomites and Venice. Fly into Venice and out of Milano.

Frank nailed it.

Just be sure to limit the number of destinations.

I lived overseas for nine years and traveled with the entire family. Traveled with kids from age 5 up through 17.

Even at age 7 my Son was enthralled by the Sistine Chapel. He wanted me to tell him who all the people were, etc. He didn't want to leave.

Teens can appreciate pretty much the same historical and cultural places that adult want to see. However, I remember some places where the kids seemed to enjoy more than others.

They loved Venice and taking a gondola ride. Also, going up to the top of the tower at St. Marks. They loved the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Pompeii seemed to fascinate them as well as the Coliseum. What you should do is try to educate your kids about the history, etc. if they haven't studies it in school.

One thing that we found, especially with younger kids, was that they tend to get bored in museum way before adults.

We spent 3 weeks at 4 stops, Venice, Cinque Terra, Sorrento, and Rome, with two 17 years olds. We loved everything we did and the longer stays at each place. You really need to look into areas. I started with googling what teenagers liked to do in Italy, it really helped with a starting point.

I took my two 15-year old nieces to Italy for 9 days in June 2013, immediately after their respective schools finished in order to avoid crowds and minimize heat. They loved everything Italy. We started in Rome and included a day bus excursion to Pompeii which they still talk about. We stayed in a HomeAway apartment in Rome near a subway stop but also walkable to central Rome. My best advice on the Vatican is to book museum tickets for earliets morning and then arrive early, They let us in 15 minutes before opening and we got ahead of all the tours, arriving at an empty Sistine Chapel where we could freely view it, the find a bench to rest and watch the hordes descend. After 4 days we headed to Florence for the duration, staying at a modest tourist hotel close to the Snata Maria train station. Besides local touring and their best shopping, we took a train to the Cinque Terre for a day of hiking and sunbathing on the rocks. Early in the season the trails are not fully open depending on weather damage during the winter. We also took the train to Venice for a long day trip. No more museums there. The girls loved a day of avoiding crowds (mostly) and trying to get lost in the back streets of this island where we discovered a number of delightful people and a most memorable lunch.