I think I do understand though what you mean by wanting to taste the real Italy. Northern Italy has

My husband is travelling to latina for work and i would love to grab this opportunity to see a little bit of italy. He can extend his trip by a week and i can join him with our 1 yr old. Now i really wanted to see amalfi coast, capri and venice but it appears to be hard with a baby(canals and stairs). Please suggest some alternative areas. I know i am asking a very general question, convertible car rentals los angeles sorry i dont have much background of italy and i have just started thinking about this. any help will be appreciated. here is what i am looking for:
IMHO driving is easier than in the US - although faster - since driver tke the rules of hte road seriusly. they have NO patience with people who lollygag or do not follow the rules. (Try driving in the left lane and you life wil be hell.)
But, with an infant I wuold plan on 2 places to stay at most -preferably an apt so adults can stay up later and you can feed baby easily whenever necessary. You can do a day trip from each place if you want.
lol, reb, the written signs are in italian, though many are of course pretty self-explanatory. and names of places are reasonably easy, though you have to look out for Venezia/venice, Firenze/Florence, etc.
but why have all that stress? my suggestion is to go to one of the lakes. They are ideally suited to families with children of whatever age as you can get around by the lake steamers that will take you most everywhere you might want to go. also the shores are nice and flat for buggy-pushing.
This may be a stupid question but when are you going? The time of year might influence where you go. I have not been to the Lakes region but might a spring/summer holiday be different than a fall winter/holiday?
But the northern lake region is far from where your husband will be in Latina. I assume he'll meet you on arrival wherever you land. If Milan, that's 5.5 hours on the train for him. If you rent a car and drive from there, it's about 1-2 hours to your final destination. If you land at Rome, he's only 1.2-2 hours on the train to meet you but then it's about 7 hours of driving to your final destination. You could train to one of the lakes from either airport, but it would involve at least one change somewhere. Sounds like a lot of time and effort to me.
I suggest you fly into Rome, have your husband meet you there, rent a car and drive (about 2 hours) to the Lake Bolsena area. From there you can easily explore interesting towns in northern Lazio (like Viterbo, Bagnoregio), southern Tuscany (like Pitigliano, Pienza, San Quirico) and western Umbria (like Orvieto, Todi, Deruta), all within an hour's drive of Bolsena. convertible car rentals los angeles If you stick to secondary roads (as opposed to the Autostrada), it's not likely you'll encounter impatient local drivers.
Save Venice and the Amalfi Coast for another time. In Venice you'd have to watch the little one all the time; there are no railings on the canals! And the Amalfi Coast is all stairs. The views from the hillsides above the sea are beautiful but it's all very steep. You'd have to carry the baby everywhere.
Have you travelled with this baby much yet? If you really want to do a lot of travel to various destinations, maybe the baby's convertible car rentals los angeles Grandparents would like to take care of him/her while you and DH have a lovely 2nd honeymoon? When my kids were that young, just going to the beach for a week was about the best we could manage, sanity-wise.
oh damn looks like venice and amalfi is out of the question i'll look into lake como etc. i wish grandparents could come on this trip but thats not gonna happen and the baby is getting more and more difficult to handle..it was so much better when she was a newborn, i could go anywhere and do anything.
i believe you. the problem is that i am not convinced that lake como is really an italy experience. we have spent plenty of time around lakes and mountains in US, not sure how como is any different. I am not planning convertible car rentals los angeles on a realxing vacation with stuff to do. i wanted to see beauty, something like amalfi, blue grotto etc and move on. our vacations are always like that-we just go go go and see a lot. we never spend more than half hour in dinner etc. Last time we went to colorado; we covered denver, did camping in the rockies, drove back and forth to aspen, did the hot springs in total 5 days including flying in and out of boston. it was perfect, we didnt feel rushed. So thats what i am looking to do again but i am slightly worried since i have a baby in tow now.
Honestly, since you do have a baby in tow now, and a 1 year old really demands an eating/ sleep schedule of some kind, you really should think hard about go-go-go way of traveling. Not saying don't take the trip, but rushing madly about may not be the best way to spend a week. People who DO travel with yoing children have given you some good ideas here.
we never spend more than half hour in dinner etc. Last time we went to colorado; we covered denver, did camping in the rockies, convertible car rentals los angeles drove back and forth to aspen, did the hot springs in total 5 days including flying in and out of boston. it was perfect, we didnt feel rushed. So thats what i am looking to do again but i am slightly worried since i have a baby in tow now.
did you do this with a 1 year old baby? no. even you i think can see that it would not be sensible. so why do you think it would work in Italy? and why on earth do you think that Lake Como is less italian than the Amalfi?
ok so what if we fly into and stay in milan and do day trips to lake como, lake maggoire, lake bergamo convertible car rentals los angeles (or maybe just two)and a 2 day one night train trip to switzerland (eg bernia express). that sounds reaosnable in a week not including flying?
however, how are you going to take these day trips? i know that these places look as if they are close together, but i just looked up Milan to Bellagio on viamichelin.it, and the 79 kms take about 2 hours to drive, each way.
We have traveled quite a bit with our now 6 year old daughter. I used to travel the way you talk about, never more than a few nights in one place. After having a kid, we completely changed our style. Now, even as she gets older there is no way I will go back. At first it was important to not be changing all the time since with naps and sleep schedules, we didn't have time to waste moving around. It is also easier to get apartments for longer stays, and these are really nice. Even if you sleep at similar times, you have more space.
I've been to Colorado and other areas of the West...Lake Como is NOTHING like it...except maybe that H2O is present. We spent 5 days in Bellagio last fall. We did daytrips to other towns on the ferry two days, we hiked up into the hills another, and we drove to Lake Lucern ( Switzerland) one day. if you want another location in Italy, there is a nice trip report that starts in Milan, which was posted here in the past week...
How about on the coast in Abruzzo. Last year we were thinking of going there for a vacation in Summer - but ended up not going there, and I have shortlisted a brand new apartment complex called Residence convertible car rentals los angeles Vista Mare in Roseto degli Abruzzi. The rates are extremely reasonable and the apartments are brand new. It would probably be still nice to go swimming, and the beach has a very shallow bed, perfect for very small kids.
Alternatively, furthere convertible car rentals los angeles to the north in the region of Emilia Romagna, you might be interested in spending a week in Rimini, the tourists would have calmed down by September, making a visit to the mosaics, the aquarium in nearby convertible car rentals los angeles Cattolica, maybe an outing to the Mirabilandia fun park, and the Italy in Miniature park.
I think I do understand though what you mean by wanting to taste the real Italy. Northern Italy has a lot of Swiss and Austrian influence. In fact when we went to the Dolomites in Alte Adige, still in Italy, the owners of the hotel did not even know how to speak Italian, but spoke it Austrian or German. Many Italian towns in the very north of Italy certainly does not give you the feeling that you are anywhere in Italy, even regarding their cuisine. This is partly due to the fact, that after the war the Italians took some of their territory. But like as far as Trento, all people spoke Italian.
I do agree with the others that Venice is not really convertible car rentals los angeles practical for a one year old. If you really would like to go to the south of Italy, convertible car rentals los angeles maybe you might be interested in staying in a resort in Puglia that has all the amenities. I have never been to Puglia, but Fodorites who have visited all relate how lovely it is. Jamikins is there on holiday right now, and she is even giving us trip reports during her vacation, emphasizing how lovely it is over there. Also, the weather would be warmer convertible car rentals los angeles than in the north, and it is very likely that you will swim in the lovely sea waters convertible car rentals los angeles of southern Italy.
Alternatively, if you are really eager to visit the Amalfi Coast, then I would either stay in Sorrento convertible car rentals los angeles (find a hotel on the coast facing the harbour with the beautiful view of the Vesuvius and Gulf of Naples, convertible car rentals los angeles plus the ferry to Capri leaves right from the harbour), which does not have the many steps to reach everywhere like Positano has, or in Amalfi or Maiori or Minori area, the last having the longest stretch of unbroken convertible car rentals los angeles beach on the Amalfi coast. Try and find a nice hotel maybe with pool, then you would be at liberty on whether to just linger around and take it easy, or else travel around the area for a day or two hiring a private driver if you are not having a hired car, as it won't be easy for sure using public transport there with a one-year old child.
oh Anna, thank you sooo much. I am going to look into all three options and hopefully pick one real soon. Last night i just got so cold feet suddenly since everyone talks about difficulties with baby. i was telling my husband if we are spending so much money going to italy and everything is going to be so tough with the baby and not even getting convertible car rentals los angeles to see a lot of it, should i rather not go with him this time. Should i just save my money and wait a few