Italy

[walesblackbird]

Having sorted out this year's summer holiday I'm already thinking about next year and quite like the look of Italy.

However having only ever been to Italy once - as a teenager a long time ago - I'm a bit clueless about regions.

We're a family of 5 and the children will be 11, 8 and 6 in summer next year.

Ideally we'd like a villa with pool somewhere with restaurants accessible that we won't always have to drive. Happy to drive to beaches though.

I really don't know where to start looking or which airports cover which areas so any advice gratefully received.

Watching with interest as we too are looking at Italy with almost identical criteria!
If it helps walesblackbird we are looking at Puglia as the beaches look gorgeous and there appear to be lots of beautiful towns that you can visit. You would need to fly to Bari or Brindisi airports, and I know that Ryanair fly there from Stansted.
Am sure someone more knowlegeable about Italy will be along soon..

would love to know more about this, so bumping in hope...

Have a look at the long travel website. They specialise in southern Italy and offer a range of small hotels, self-catering and agritourism (with emphasis on good food). You get a good feel of the different areas from their descriptions too.

it depends on what you want from the holiday, beaches, waterparks, culture, ??
ive travelled all over italy over the past 10 yrs and its truly a lovely place but difeerent places give you different holidays..

the beaches on the adriatic coast are lovely, they have some brilliant water parks.
gardaland nr lake garda is lots of fun.
the main cities are beautiful but can be very hot and tiring for children.
rome is amazing for kids but the beaches nearby are not great.
the north is generally more exp than the south of italy.
the trains are very easy to use to get into the cities, but the driving is mental!
hth

We got a villa through www.to-tuscany.com 2 years ago and booked our flights and car hire separately. Loads of accommodation to choose from and really helpful staff.
Tuscany is lovely

Thanks for that peeps - will look into it. Ideally would like villa or villa complex with shared pool so likely to be other teens about, but without entertainment that keeps you awake when you go to bed early to read. I know, I'm very sad....so the south is generally cheaper than the north. It would be good if it was fairly near an airport too. I'm not asking for anything v specific you understand (tongue firmly wedged in cheek....) Sorry to hijack Walesblackbird....

We had a great holiday in Lake Garda last year and did a day trip to Venice. Gardaland very busy in July/August.