Family vacation in Italy over Christmas with three toddlers

Hello, my husband and I (both fully vaccinated) will be in Switzerland for one month (Sept. 21-October 21). We are thinking of extending our trip for 1-2 weeks and visiting Italy because we end up in Lugano, and would be able to take the train to Italy. (We will need to return to Zurich for our flight home, so as to avoid change fees.)

We have been to Italy several times, but have never done anything other than the main cities and tourist areas. We did visit Cinque Terre from Florence on one trip, and did the hike from village to village, and we have visited Lake Como twice, but only on day trips. We also did a vacation in Italy one time that included the Dolomites, Verona and Sienna. We love nature, hiking, quaint villages, pretty beaches, biking. We have never done the countryside in Italy (Tuscany area), seen Portofino or Genoa. Based on when we'd be there (late October), and the fact that we will need to get back to Zurich for our flight home, we don't want to travel as far south as the Amalfi Coast, so we'd appreciate any suggestions for places to visit for 1-2 weeks that are more north. We prefer being able to use public transportation, but are open to car rental, if need be. Really appreciator any advice/suggestions!

Help! My granddaughter is studying in Florence from August -December 15th. My husband and I are taking this opportunity to visit her and travel some throughout Italy. I have studied and have an itinerary of places to visit from Rome to the Dolomites. We love views and sightseeing. I can not decide if it’s best to go the first two weeks in October or the first two weeks in December when all the Christmas markets are open. My main concern is weather….mainly rain. Decided on December but read several places it can rain a lot in December. First time visiting Italy. Thanks for any input!

My husband and I are planning to vacation in italy for our 25th wedding anniversary next year.

i am so overwhelmed with decision making and he is no help as he is very go with the flow and says yes to everything. which doesn't help me decide. lol.

we want to go to rome, pisa, florence, tuscany, amalfi coast

is it better to rent a car and travel this way or is it better to travel via train with all our luggage as we move from city to city?

or

could we be based out of one city for the entire vacation and travel to each place for the day trips?

if so, which city do you recommend to be based out of?

is renting a car a good idea?

i am planning a 14 day vacation to Italy, what is the best time of year to go?

thank you so much in advance for all of your help in planning this trip.

Hi,

Does anyone know if there is a short hike around or near Tre Cime (knee issues can only hike an hour or two -not the four hours required for the best hike)

Can you recommend where to start and any info on the hike🙏.

If not is there a cable car or a way to drive to the best view point.

Thank you so much!

Hello! Our family is planning a trip to Italy in early June. We want to spend 7-10 days there. There are 5 of us, two parents and three kids ages 18-24. We are thinking of flying into Rome and taking the train from there to Florence then Cinque Terre then Venice and flying out of Venice.

1. Does this sound like a reasonable itinerary or is it too much to fit in?

2. I have seen some articles online about some of these places being overrated and crowded. Is this true? Is there somewhere better worth seeing?

Thank you for your help!!

I am a solo traveler and I hope to explore the Christmas markets around Merano for 3 nights (6 December to 9 December 2021). I will not have a car so I am relying on public transport.

I hope to visit the following places:

TIROLER SCHLOSSADVENT, Dorf Tirol/Tirolo on 8 December (Bank Holiday)

The Merano Chistmas Market

A Christmas Forest at FORST Brewery

Alpenadvent Sarntal

Castel Rametz

Is this realistic? Where should I find lodging to easily reach these places? Perhaps I can arrive in Algund on December 6? From Algund, can I easily get to Merano on December 7? Dorf Tirol on December 8?

Should I stay in one place for all 3 nights or move to different locations? Would it be easier to be based in Merano? If so, what location is most convenient for public transport?

Thanks for your advice and recommendations!

We drive frequently to Italy from the UK, obviously we will need to quarantine upon arrival this year but we will have to stop for petrol and provisions on the way to our home. Does anyone know what the guidelines are regarding this ? we have been double vaccinated and will have tested ourselves obviously for the journey.

Hello,

We are visiting the Dolomites next week and will be staying in campings with tent. I e-mailed 5-6 camping places, but they do not take reservations for tents. Anyway, we are only two people with a small tent and car so we should probably be fine with finding places.

In terms of itinerary, can you please share your thoughts and if we are missing something/should include something etc. Any advice will be useful.

Day 1: Driving up from Venice. We are going to base ourselves in a camping near Cofosco for 2-3 days (do not want to assemble/disassemble a tent each day) Probably will arrive around 13:00 - 14:00. Any ideas how to fill this day with some sights/short hikes in the region ? Seiser Alm ?

Day 2: Drive to Val di Funes - St. Magdalena - Adolf Munkel Trail, drive back to Colfosco. Should we include anything else for this day, or this is plenty ?

Day 3: Seceda with the cable car from Ortisei. Doing a loop hike to Pieralonga and Refugio Firenze.

Day 4: Drive to a camping near Cortina. Hike to lake Sorapsis in the afternoon. Should we include something else?

Day 5: Cinque Torri + Gaiu Pass + Falzarego Pass + Castello

Day 6: Tri Cime loop hike + Cadini di Misurina hike.

Day 7: Leaving the region and heading back to Bulgaria with 1 night in Croatia.

I would love to squeeze in Lago di Braies somewhere in the plan, so we are thinking of having 2 nights around Colfosco and 4 nights near Cortina.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions on how we can improve our trip! I am pretty sure that some of the days it will be raining so we have to accommodate and try to have back-up options for rainy weather.

I would like to go to Italy to see the Christmas decorations and lights in Florence and Rome. When will these lights be activated for 2021?

Hey folks, looking to go to Italy with my wife next year. We will have about two weeks and want to make the most of it. We have traveled to other places before and coordinated everything ourselves. This worked very well, but we expect we'll visit several areas in Italy and would really like someone to help work the best itinerary and coordinate some of the logistics. Any recommendations? Thanks in advance!