For our big family vacation this year, we decided to go all over Italy for 2 weeks with my two kids (8 and 13), my husband and I. It was an amazing experience and we did so much in those 14 days traveling. I am going to share what we did each day, and hopefully that gives you some ideas for your next Italy vacation. Be aware that we had a lot packed in two weeks but also had some breathing times to relax (beach, walks, hikes), we used the train times to do homework (for the kiddos) but the bulk of the trip was very much go, go go to see the most out of the country.
Here is an example of our itinerary:
Day 1 - Travel Day from Home to Rome - Hang around Rome in the afternoon
Day 2 - Rome (Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Campo de' Fiori Market, Mouth of Truth, Villa Borghese quadruple bikes)
Day 3 - Rome (Colosseum in the morning, Vatican in the afternoon)
Day 4 - Travel to Naples (by train), Visit Pompei (by rental car)
Day 5 - Vesuvius in the morning, Travel to Positano in the afternoon
Day 6 - Positano
Day 7 - Travel to Naples (by car), travel to Venice (by train), enjoy Venice at night
Day 8 - Venice
Day 9 - Travel from Venice to Verona, to Modena, then end at La Spezia (all by car)
Day 10 - Cinque Terre
Day 11 - Travel to Pisa, Tuscany Wineries (Chianti), end at Florence
Day 12 - Florence
Day 13 - Florence in the AM, travel to Rome (by train), spend afternoon in Rome
Day 14 - Travel from Rome to Home
Day 1 - Travel Day from Home to Rome - Hang around Rome in the afternoon
We left our house on Friday night and took a red eye to Europe. It was all planned on purpose, so we could work that Friday and the kids still went to school. We got to Rome in the afternoon (on Saturday) which still gave us time to check-in, walk around, have a nice dinner and started training our bodies with the time adjustments. I arranged a car to be waiting for us at the airport since we were a group of 4 with plenty of luggage (this was close to 90 euros for all 4 of us).
Tip: be aware that a taxi for a smaller group is cheaper but since we had a lot of luggage, I wanted to plan ahead.
Day 2 - Rome (Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Campo de' Fiori Market, Mouth of Truth, Villa Borghese quadruple bikes)
We love walking in cities and exploring. Therefore, we did not make any reservations on this day because we wanted to feel free to go anywhere we wanted. Rome is a very "walkable" city. We walked to most of our destinations. We stayed closed to Spanish steps, so that was easy to see, then walked to Trevi fountain in the morning (which is a nice time because it is not as crowded), then pantheon, plenty of gelato along the way. Then started walking close to the water and loved taking photos and just playing around with the kids. Then, after walking for fun around, we were really close to the Mouth of Truth. Finally we decided to try the bus to learn a bit about how they worked and took the bus up to Villa Borghese park, where we rented bikes and had fun around the park with the kids. The bike part was extremely fun with the kids!
Day 3 - Rome (Colosseum in the morning, Vatican in the afternoon)
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We wanted to avoid lines, so we pre-booked ticket for Colosseum in the morning and the Vatican Museum in the afternoon. I booked them both with their official websites to save money.
Colosseum
The girls were free, the adults were 24 euros per person for the "full experience" tickets. The adults need to select a visit time. The kids time is listed as 15.30 but that is because they are free and that is the only time it gets assigned but they can do at anytime with paying adults.
Vatican Museums
We took an uber from Rome to the Vatican. We booked black Ubers and every time they gave us the vans (good enough for about 7 ppl). We made a reservation for 3PM (15.00) but since we had time, we made it to the Vatican museum about 1:30pm and they let us in.
The girls were 8 euros each, the adults were 17 euros but they had a 4 dollar processing fee for each person. Once we got to the museum, we paid for the audio guides (about 24 euros for all four of us) so it could walk us through the museum about what we were seeing. They had special audio guides for the kiddos, and they loved them (i think they may have played more with them than actually listening but it gave them a sense of commitment to have them and trying to find the different items in the kids map).
Tip (super important): To find the actual official websites of the different landmarks, type the actual name of the place to visit in google and on the right side of the screen, google will give you the official website, that helped a lot. There are way too many websites that are not official but they try to look like it, their prices are way higher than the official websites.
Day 4 - Travel to Naples (by train), Visit Pompei (by rental car)
We decided to head south from Rome and took a train (ItaliaRail) from Rome to Naples. The train was just a little above one hour. It was 18.90 euros per adult and 9.50 per kid. We rented a car from Avis located at the train station. My friend rented a car outside the train station and had issues because he did not have an international driver's license (I did not have that situation in Avis, but I paid a bit more than my friend).
From there, we drove up to Pompei Ruins. This place was amazing! Make sure you plan 2-3 hours for this location because it is huge! They had a audio guides at the entrance, which we did not notice...but I think people should at least get one, so they know what they are seeing (I wished we would've done that). Please be aware, some of the sites were a bit shocking to me, seeing the burnt kids was not easy for me (plenty of tears but super worth seeing this location).
We stayed at Torre del Greco area, which was nice because we were close to Pompei and close to Vesuvius National Park.
Day 5 - Vesuvius in the morning, Travel to Positano in the afternoon
We pre-reserved the ticket for the "Cono" (cone) for Vesuvius. We woke up and the weather was extremely rainy, but we still drove up to the mountain to find out the park was closed due to landslides the weekend before. Nobody told us, or send us an email about it, even though we had tickets. We still drove around and was able to see the mountain in the rain, but we were not able to hike or see the cone of the volcano. I did get an email a few days later about the closure of the park and they claimed they will refund (i still have to see if they do).
So then, we decided to start driving down the almafi coast and get to Positano earlier than expected. The drive is absolutely stunning! Parts of it is just one lane and very wavy but I did not mind. People in Naples, Pompei and Almafi coasts drive very aggressive and the motorcycles are crazy but I went with the flow and did not have any issues (my husband would still be stuck in traffic because he was not comfortable with the way the traffic was, so be aware the traffic and self-driving is not for everyone!).
Since we got early to Positano, we walked down to the main beach (Spiaggia Grande - black sand beach) and my girls went straight to the water!!!! Most of the people were in winter coats (November) but for us, it felt warm with the sun (in the upper 60s F). Be aware, that many restaurants and shops are closed in Positano in November. However, November was amazing for us, because it felt pretty empty and we were able to walk and do everything we wanted to do. There were still a few shops and a few restaurants opened, and that was good enough for us. The hotel was super helpful telling us exactly what was opened!
Tip: If you visit Positano, be prepare to do steps!!!! The parking could be super hard (we did it with our hotel), but if you plan ahead, this place is paradise!
Day 6 - Positano
We originally planned to drive around the Amalfi coast but since we loved Positano so much, we decide to enjoy what Positano had to offer. My husband found a trail to hike up the mountain and so we did it with the kids. It was a hard hike because it was extremely steep but the views along the way and the view from the top made us feel like we conquered the world!!! It was an amazing experience with the kids!!!! If you plan to hike, make sure you have water, snacks, rain coats and maybe some bio-degradable toilet paper ;-) (we did!). It was November and it was a sweaty hike, so if you go in warmer months, make sure you are fully prepared for the heat.
Then, in the afternoon, we went to the other part of the beach (Spiaggia di Fornillo) which we walked by the rocks and found pretty much a private beach for us in the month of November since we were the only people willing to go to beach to hang and go in the water! This beach is very rocky, so you may want water shoes to in the water.
Day 7 - Travel to Naples (by car), travel to Venice (by train), enjoy Venice at night
The next morning, even though I did not want to leave, we had bfast and left drove up to Naples to return the car and take a train to Venice. This train was about 5 and half hours (it stopped a few times). We purchased business class since we knew it was much longer. It was 170 euros for 2 adults and 2 kids (the kids were actually free).
In Venice, we walked about 10 minutes to our hotel from the station. There were steps with the luggage but we managed. Our friends took a water taxi closer to their hotel and it costed 70 euros. Water taxis could be quite expensive in Venice, but they are a fun experience.
OMG Venice was one of my highlights. I wanted to just walk, walk, walk everywhere. I loved the environment, I love that there were no cars, I loved the little alleys, and bridges, and pretty much everything in here. The food was spectacular and I even felt there were a lot more affordable options for restaurants. This was my first time in Venice and it did not disappoint!!! My husband and kids loved it too!!! We visited Libreria Acqua Alta, San Marks Piazza, and walked around.
Day 8 - Venice
We made reservations for Doge's Palace (San marco Ducale) which included Museo Correr. We bought the Famiglia tickets which could be used for 2 adults and 1 kid, which was 15 euros per adult and for the one kid (plus 1 euro online fee), and since I have 2 kids, I still needed to get one ticket for kid (ragazzi) for 15 euros (1 euro per online fee). This was very confusing online because the English translations are not the best on the website. Museo Correr was included (no extra charge) but we had to select a time for it, so we explore the palace for about 1.5-2 hours and then scheduled Correr about 2 hours after. We were not rushed, and Museo Correr is just in front of the basilica (very close).
For the afternoon, we just wanted to walk around, we did a gondola ride and then dinner. The gondolas are very expensive, it costs about 80 euros and this was pretty standard for all the different options (this is much higher than what we have heard from the past). This is still a must do in Venice, probably a once in a lifetime experience.
Day 9 - Travel from Venice to Verona, to Modena, then end at La Spezia (all by car).
We checked-out and rented a car to drive down to La Spezia with the intent of stopping along the way. Our first stop was Verona, where we visted the Juliet's house piazza. My daughter and friends went into the Juliet's house (the bought the tickets on the spot). My husband and I did not care to go in the house, but still took a photo with the statue (touching the right boob for good luck). Walked around where they already had holiday shops. The we drove down to Modena and visited Enzo's Ferrari Museum. Then we finished our drive down to La Spezia where we spent the night.
Day 10 - Cinque Terre
We woke up and took the train up to Monterosso. We bought the tickets at the station and only bought a one way ticket which was 3 euros for adults and 2.10 for the kiddos. We only did this because it was November and we only planned to take the train a few times. Depending on your plan and what month you go, you may want the cinque terre pass.
Then, we hiked down to Vernazza (1.5-2 hours) very steep hike but very doable (we did it with our two kids). We had gelato, snacks and refilled our waters. In the month of November, Vernazza had the most restaurants and shops opened but most of the places are closed for the winter. Then, hiked to Corniglia, another hour of steep hike. Super cute town but almost everything was closed for the season. The train station was a little far, so make sure you have plenty of time to walk to the station. The next part of the hike (from the blue path) was closed, so we took the train to the next town of Manarola. We walked down to the water and then decided to take the 531 route for the last part of our hike to reach the 5th town of Riomaggiore. This last leg was the steepest of all... it only took us 45 minutes but it was a very hard hike. The views were amazing! Our last town of Riomaggiore is well known in Instragram and if you look for Cinque Terre photos, it is very likely you will see photos of Riomaggiore. The Cinque Terre hikes are definitely a once in a lifetime experience and we recommend it for those that can hike quite a few steep miles in a day (it was moderate to hard hikes).
Day 11 - Travel to Pisa, Tuscany Wineries (Chianti), end at Florence
We woke up early to check-out and drove from La Spezia to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We did not care to go in, but definitely took the funny photos of pushing the tower ;-). Then we drove down the the Tuscany area. We had pre-booked a lunch tour of Castello di Verrazzano for a tour of their vinery followed by a lunch. This was amazing and we strongly recommend it! The lunch was amazing too! Then we drove to Florence center to return the car and check-in for our hotel. Florence is super beautiful, we walked around to see the city at night and also went to Ponte Vecchio to see it.
Day 12 - Florence
We pre-booked the Brunelleschi pass to see duomo of Firenze. It costs 30 euros per adult and 12 euros per kid (free under 6). It was exactly 463 steps to go up to the Duomo (we counted them!). It was a very narrow steps paths to go up but the views at the top are probably the best of the city. Some people were claustrophobic from the path and the view, we our group did not have that issue at all. We truly enjoy it and the steps were fun for us.
For the afternoon, we had reservations for Galleria Dell' Accademia di Firenze to see the David. Ok, so I was thinking to skip this and I am so happy we did not. The David sculpture is absolutely amazing! It was worth seeing this masterpiece. It is huge and detailed and I was extremely impressed! Then we walked the city of Florence! As I mentioned before, we love walking and Florence did not disappoint. That night, we did a past class with our friends and kids as our closing activity before start making our way back to Rome to then go home. The kids loved the pasta class and now they want to make fresh pasta when we go home.
We could have spent another day in Florence, so you may want to add a day or two between Florence, Chianti and Siena.
Day 13 - Florence in the AM, travel to Rome (by train), spend afternoon in Rome
We woke up, checked out and walked to the station to take our final train back to Rome. This was a 1.5 hour train. I do not have the ticket per person but to give you an idea, we paid 147 euros for 4 adults, 1 senior (over 65 age), and 4 kids (which I think they were free) at a business class rate. We got to Rome early and decided to go walking and shopping in our last afternoon in Rome.
Day 14 - Travel from Rome to Home
Last day, we took an Uber to the airport (58 euros plus tip) and traveled home!
Italy was amazing, and the people there treated us fantastic. The traffic was a little crazy and a few may try to take advantage of tourists, but if you plan ahead, it can be the most amazing family vacation! Have fun!
Ciao!
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