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Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Original poster

Italy with a 1 and 4 year old - where?

19 replies

Cloudybutwarm · 16/02/2016 10:13

We are thinking probably a resort type place with stuff to do for the kids, but would also like to be somewhere that is a good base to travel out for sightseeing/day trips etc.

Any recommendations?

OP posts:
Original poster
Cloudybutwarm · 17/02/2016 20:59

Hopeful bump!

OP posts:
Misty9 · 17/02/2016 21:00

Well we're off to Lake garda with our 2 and 4 yo in April, and plan to visit Venice and Milan as well as verona and some bits of the lake.

Misty9 · 17/02/2016 21:01

We're staying in Bella Italia campsite in a mobile home. It's got tons for kids, though mostly not open yet when we go!

strandedabroad · 17/02/2016 21:05

Elba is gorgeous. It has a little bit of everything, great beaches and it's very kid-friendly. I recommended it to some family recently who have kids of a similar age to yours and they loved it (early October). It's an island off the coast of Tuscany, about an hour on the ferry if I remember correctly. You could spend a couple of days in Tuscany on your way in/back if you want to see more, although with small kids you might prefer to stay put. The important question is when are you going? The weather in Italy changes hugely depending on north/south/islands and some places are not as suitable as others depending on the time of the year. Avoid August if you can, the whole country is carnage and very expensive.

iklboo · 17/02/2016 21:11

Lido di Jesolo was lovely. Great beach, stuff to do nearby (water park, aquarium etc), family friendly. They close the main road at night so people can 'promenade'

Allalonenow · 17/02/2016 21:30

I'd say the Lakes or a well established resort such as Lido di Jesolo, or perhaps Pescara.

Behooven · 17/02/2016 22:49

Another vote for Garda

Original poster
Cloudybutwarm · 18/02/2016 09:53

stranded we will be going may/June time I think

OP posts:
strandedabroad · 18/02/2016 10:25

In that case my vote for Elba stands, although it might be fresh in the evenings. I'm not a huge fan of Jesolo and the whole Adriatic coast as I don't think it's very pretty, but it does have very good services and facilities. Hope this helps!

SJane45S · 20/02/2016 08:02

Another non fan of Lido di Jesolo - I've travelled all over Italy and in my opinion, it's ugly & grim! It's a strip of land developed by Mussolini with 3 star hotel after hotel, a promenade and beach. The only thing it has in its favour is its proximity to Venice and its comparatively cheap! I'm biased though as I had probably the worse holiday of my life there!

If it was me, I'd fly into Naples, spend a night there (it's not a beautiful city but there are some interesting places/museums), get a train to Sorrento and then take one of the very regular buses to Amalfi from outside the train station. The coastline is stunningly beautiful, the towns great and v manageable with small people and take trips to Capri and Pompei. There are lots of hotels of various types but renting an apartment would probably be a good cost option.

Sanremo (also called Samremo) in the North is also worth considering (fly into Nice and its about a 1.30 train ride). It used to be v glamorous in the 20's and its gone past its hey day but has a lovely old town, promenade with palm trees and beaches. It's not massively expensive either.

Garda is also worth looking at or the coastline south of Bari. I've never been to the Cinque Terre area as you need a car to get there but it looks positively gorgeous!

SJane45S · 20/02/2016 08:04

! That should be San Remo also called Sanremo. Doh - more coffee needed!

MoreGilmoreGirls · 20/02/2016 08:09

Another vote for Lake Garda here Smile

Sgtmajormummy · 20/02/2016 08:23

Ryanair fly to Alghero in Sardinia which is lovely for a family holiday. All around the coast there are family resorts and depending on the temperature you like you can go from the breezy north to the almost Moorish south coast and anywhere in between.

I'd advise all inclusive hotels with their own beach, as the Spiagge Libere are often rocky or hard to reach. The sea is wonderful and the people are fiercely proud of their island.

SJane45S The best way to visit the Cinque Terre is definitely by train. The roads are very narrow and there's nowhere to park (I lived in La Spezia for 12 years).

SJane45S · 20/02/2016 10:36

Thanks Sgtmajor! A Milan based friend told me we'd be best of with a car if we wanted to tour the Cinque Terre area so we've never looked at it any further. If it's trainable then it's back in the 'let's do it list'!

notagiraffe · 20/02/2016 10:44

When DC were small we stayed in a very quiet Keycamp outside Rome. It was lovely. Big splash pools, playparks under shady eucalyptus trees and a bus into Rome for a look round the Coliseum, Spanish steps etc.
The Venetian Lido is fine but it's very packed and touristy. We stayed in a run down Eurocamp there that put us off ever using them again, but some of the camps have good pools for pre-schoolers, and the boat trips to the islands are lovely and easy. We had a great holiday there, despite the campsite. (There are loads of sites to choose from. We just left it too late to have much choice.)

strandedabroad · 20/02/2016 10:44

Definitely trainable - I'm from there and a car would actually get in the way. It's a lovely, beautiful area but I thought that if you waned something more 'resorty', maybe it wasn't ideal. It's quite rocky and a bit steep for the kids to walk perhaps. Very different from Garda, but it's an amazing place.

allegretto · 21/02/2016 18:02

We always go to the Adriatic coast (Riccione) and it's not the most beautiful are to be sure but it is so kid friendly and not too crowded at that time. Lots of organized coach trips from Riccione to San Leo, Urbino, San Marino etc

namechangingagainagain · 23/02/2016 17:05

Vote here for the Adriatic coast near Venice. Im not sure a about lido de jesolo ( we didn't get that far) but we stayed at a lovely campsite in that area. The beach was great the sea ideal for children and we got to do some boat trips/ sightseeing on boats!

We went last year and we're going back this year..... and I never go to anywhere twice on holiday!

starfish8 · 10/03/2016 22:34

Another Adriatic coast recc. I'd look at the larger campsites Eg Prai Del Torri, Ca'Savio etc. Or Lake Garda, big one like Bella Italia, was also looking at Weekend on west side of lake near Salo (highly recommended by someone that used to contract holidays out there!)

I would shop around re: mobile homes though. Only look at the higher end Eurocamp as some of the older models are grotty! You'll often find the acom the campsite owns themselves are cheaper and in better condition/position on the site.

We couldn't get Italy flights to add up date/price this year so are off to south of France with our DS (2)
www.leserignanplage.com/en/

The facilities are amazing here and been recc'ed by a couple of people we know.

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