Where to holiday in Italy?? anyone know Naples, Pompeii and surrounding area?

[noonar]

I am thinking of this as a possible summer holiday destination for DH and i with our 8 and 10 yo in August.

dh and are went to rome last year and now want to go to italy again.

We are looking for... relaxation, ancient history , stunning scenery and good food.

any tips? places to visit? ideas about where to stay?

everyone seems to go on and on about Tuscany... but is the Naples area a good bet for a family holiday?

Thanks for any info!

thanks everyone! i love the ischia idea. is it an expensive island? how easy is it to pop back to the mainland?

Going to Capri or Ischia is expensive if you do a guided tour. Thhey charge you about 30E each and you have to listen to someone waffling on down a microphone while they drive round the island before dropping you off. Then they want to herd you around like cattle

We subsequently found out we could jump on the hydrophoil (sp?) ferry from Sorrento bay for about 8E each that goes at regular intervals throughout the day to both islands

Ischia and Capri are both expensive - to expensive to stay on IMO, but well worth a day trip

Sicily is not not expensive, apart from places like Taormina or Panarea.

You can find good bargains for Ischia, it is not just expensive hotels (while Capri is generally very expensive). However, It will be packed in August, as that is when us Italians go on hols.

I have no idea on current pricing - but getting to the mainland/Capri was very easy.

I've stayed here a couple of times, just an overnight stop and another time for 3 nights, the accomodation is fairly basic but fine as a base and really well located to explore the area. There is a small clean beach with kids area and bar etc, easy to catch the bus to Sorrento. We also went on the bus to Positano and Amalfi very very cheap, about 1? each way! Much easier than driving and finding a place to park. There is a great little bakery and restaurant just across the road. They are lovely.. It is tiny, only about 4 tables but good food, service and price. I would stay there again, however i'm not sure I could cope in August!
www.booking.com/hotel/it/bleu-village.html?aid=311091;label=hotel-89849-it-sgZRPRQ57AJwqWWKf1CfjgS8459866704;sid=e0d3ccdf72192de391ba8caef69dfca1;dcid=1;dva=0&lang=en-gb

wow what great info. del, that place looks fab, but is more exp than one I have found... i am looking a place called villagio verde (cant do links) to stay at, in a bungalow, just outside sorrento (10-15 min walk). can anyone comment on whether 2 weeks here might be too samey... should i be looking to stay the second week further up or down the coast?

cat, everywhere is ischia looks exp in august.

tilly are there any cheaper resorts down the amalfi coast that you would recommend?

2 weeks would be a bit too much imho. We found a week was long enough even with excursions most days but I guess with kids you would n't go out everyday. Just done a comparison for October and Delgirl's link was cheaper and incuded breakfast. Pretty sure the walk would be uphill back too, not so good in the heat, but that is the case unless you stay very centrally. I remember the Amalfi coast as much lusher and sophisticated than Sorrento but then I am basing that on 15+ years ago !

thanks liz, did you mean you compared del's with my villagio verde suggestion? i was looking at august so prices are different.

ok, so... one week in sorrento area but where could we stay for the second week , i wonder... amalfi coast is so expensive! i havent found anything less than £800 for a week! maybe we should head north??

Yes, that is the comparison I'd made for a 2 room bungalow, but it may differ when it is peak European holiday season.

It is slightly cheaper if you book direct, I think could be ?200 less for the 2 weeks. Also try and avoid ferragosto which is August 15th as it's a national holiday and likely to be more expensive.

I would be inclined to do a 2 centre stay if it was me btw, I always think 2 weeks is too long. Or you could do 10 days and 4 in a city? Lots to see in Rome for the children but it will be very very hot.

If you decide on the Bay of Naples, I would recommend a day out to Solfatara - it's a volcanic field with fumaroles and sulphurous smells. Very exciting for kids, linked to the history but a bit more active. It's a good add-on to the other list of activities, which sound great. I also highly recommend using the Circumvesuviana trains, which are cheap, regular and go pretty much everywhere you might want to go.

I think the Amalfi coast area is lovely but would only be my idea of a family holiday if your children are happy to remain in adult company, though I am only basing this on our one experience.

We went to Sorrento just before ds turned 2. He was the only child on the full flight. To be honest dh, my db and I in our 30's were significantly younger by a good few years than most. We were off season though so I don't know if that makes a difference as we went in early october.

We enjoyed the holiday but don't I think it would suit us better when we are back to couples type holidays. Though I have to say that ds was made utterly welcome (to be honest he was spoilt rotten by waiters!) everywhere we went. Yours are much older though so may not mind this.

I think the Amalfi coast area is lovely but would only be my idea of a family holiday if your children are happy to remain in adult company, though I am only basing this on our one experience.

We went to Sorrento just before ds turned 2. He was the only child on the full flight. To be honest dh, my db and I in our 30's were significantly younger by a good few years than most. We were off season though so I don't know if that makes a difference as we went in early october.

We enjoyed the holiday but don't I think it would suit us better when we are back to couples type holidays. Though I have to say that ds was made utterly welcome (to be honest he was spoilt rotten by waiters!) everywhere we went. Yours are much older though so may not mind this.

feedthe goat, my dc are are obsessed with history and didnt meet a single child on last year's trip to croatia, so i think that would be fine, as long as the people around us are tolerant of children!

so... the big question is still ... where to go for the second week! is it any cheaper up the coast in lazio i wonder? worth a visit?

is a week in ischia too long, if we've done all the main sight seeing trips whilst on the mainland??

thanks all!

The locals we met weren't just tolerant, they made so much fuss they genuinely couldn't have been nicer. Everytime I turned round in a shop or cafe someone had taken him out of his buggy and was wandering round showing him off. It took a day or two for me to get over the shock of random people grabbing my child at first as it was so different to here where restaurant staff seem to just ignore them.

The locals we met weren't just tolerant, they made so much fuss they genuinely couldn't have been nicer. Everytime I turned round in a shop or cafe someone had taken him out of his buggy and was wandering round showing him off. It took a day or two for me to get over the shock of random people grabbing my child at first as it was so different to here where restaurant staff seem to just ignore them.

Loads of Italians go for a month to Ischia, so it depends on how active you like to be!

Make sure you go over to Procida, its divine.

just popping in to update and say thanks for all the advice on this thread.

i am so excited we just have just booked a week in ischia town, staying at the pagoda hotel (apartments) and a second week in sorrento, staying at villagio verde. As i said earlier, i dont do links but am pleased with both choices.

£2k all in, for 4 of us including flights. pretty good for end july/ aug

Oh be sure to go to the Castello on Ischia - the views from the top are stunning - and the nun's graveyard is "interesting" And the beach with the fumaroles so the sea has areas of hot water......And the Poseidon spa at Forio is fab. There's a big fresh water pool there too for the dcs.....

My dd was nearly called Ischia - the result of too much limoncello and dh swearing that the thermal waters had a unexpectedly beneficial affect....

Hi, I was really interested to read this thread as I am trying to book exactly the same sort of holiday at the moment...can I ask who you booked with as the price seems fantastic! Thanks.

Was wondering how the trip went - thinking of going to the area at end of October but worried it may be all but shut down.

Tuscany, florence, plus all the hill towns and places like Lucca.
Fly to Pizza and hire car or bus and trains are great too. Google 'Agratourismo' for good cheap accom in farms and farmhouses with vineyards and olive groves, lots have great pools too. We stayed in a fab one up in the mountains.
I love Tuscany, mainly for the great food and wine!

Plus you can get lots of budget flights to Pizza!