Am I mad to consider Rome in July with kids?

[KristinAmandaThomas]

Looking to book a holiday for 2022 and would love to go to Italy. I’ve never been and my ideal is a few days in Rome then down to Amalfi Coast for a week. But in school summer hols this is almost insane amounts of money and I’m also a bit worried about it being horribly crowded and hot. Any advice? Will we enjoy it? DC will be 14 and 11 if that makes a difference.

And massive long shot, can anyone suggest an alternative holiday with a budget of up to £8k that combines a mix of pool/beach lounging with ability to see/do some amazing sights?

We did it in August a few years ago abs hated every minute. But, we’re not good in the heat.
The Vatican was fine at 7am, but it was up to 30deg by 9am. Temps were 38-40 deg through most of the day…
A french road trip would be within budget or I think we spent a similar amount going to British Colombia in Canada.

Yes. Go to Paris.

We did it in August for a few days and had a fab time. It’s much nicer than Paris.

It’s good to Cyprus or Crete

We did it, stayed in Naples and had an amazing time. Kids still talk about it being one of the best holidays ever as it was just so bloody alive. But for me, and I was the only one affected, the mozzies omg the mozzies. We went all over Rome, Pompeii, sorrento it was brilliant. But the mozzies

We went to Rome during the summer with our two when they were 10 and 7. Yes, it's hot, but we pre-purchased timed tickets to various museums and palaces to make sure we were indoors during the hottest part of the day (and wore hats, plenty of sunscreen, etc.)

We took a siesta after lunch most days!

Families are out and about until 10-11 p.m. and everywhere is so lively in the evening, so we'd walk about a lot after 5 enjoying the street performances and have a lovely dinner .It totally worked for us,
We made a side trip to Pompeii and have a lovely memory of the DC's pretending to be gladiators in an arena (!) but didn't make it down the Amalfi Coast, I'd love to someday.

I'm not sure how well it would work now mine are teenagers, though (16 and 13). They don't like sightseeing with parents so much now. Yours are slightly younger so still might be fine with it.

It's a great city, but it's going to be scorching and are your kids interested in the Romans/Renaissance art? Because if they're only so-so it's probably not going to be that much fun for them...

I have also been to the Amalfi coast and while it's very beautiful, I'm not sure then me would have enjoyed it much there either... it's the kind of place to go to sip cocktails with your partner and enjoy the view while pretending to be in a James Bond movie. I'm not sure it has that much to offer in terms of family days out.

Very, very hot. We did a day trip from our villa a few years ago and never again

We did it in July when ours were in their late teens. We did the Amalfi coast for a week then 4 nights in Rome. It was very hot 35 degrees everyday. We enjoyed it and prebooked most things to avoid queues, which I would recommend for Rome. We all enjoyed it and it was worth going. Even though we pre-booked, the Vatican was shoulder to shoulder and we were made to keep moving, so could have been better, but it was July. My daughter said the other day how much she enjoyed it and we went 6 years ago. She did point out she thought it would have been better to do busy Rome first instead and to have gone to the Amalfi coast to relax by the pool after, which would be good to consider

This is all so useful, thank you!

The point about the mozzies is very almost a deal breaker. As a family we seem to be the equivalent of mozzie bait, always get lots of bites.

DC aren’t much interested in art but they do like the Roman stuff and DD is very appreciative of a good view. Both also love Italian food.

Must admit @MorganSeventh has hit the nail on the head with the Bond comment, my reasons for wanting to do this trip are 75% Bond and 25% Dan Brown/Robert Langdon - possibly not the best reasons when considering the DC

I was in Rome with DD this August and it was 42 degrees the day we visited the Colosseum. worth it though. We were there for a week and had a hotel just outside the Vatican walls so really handy for coming back mid afternoon and crashing for a few hours before going out again.

Didn't notice any mozzies particularly. They'd probably all dropped dead with the heat.

It's weird about the mozzies, because I'm usually mozzie bait (more than anyone else in our family) and I don't remember lots of bites during that trip. Perhaps the good food and wine meant that I didn't notice them!

Do it!
See Rome and die, as the saying goes. Then see the Amalfi and go to heaven. Standing on the Infinity Terrace at the Villa Cimbrone overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea is the nearest you will ever get to being a Bond Girl. Also do The Walk of the Gods (Il Sentiero degli Dei).

Yep bonkers. Take them at Easter or half term if you really fancy it. Amalfi coast is an expensive, overrated tourist trap so defo avoid that like the plague.

How about Salzburg combined with Austrian Tyrol? Bergen and Norwegian fjords? Dubronvik and sailing Croatian islands? Iceland?

Depends on your family. We don't like heat so April was a bit hot for us!

But Rome is fabulous you will love it!

DH and I went a few years ago pre DC, I'd always wanted to explore Italy but was so disappointed. It's a lot harder to get around on public transport compared to a lot of other European cities. It was absolutely rammed with homeless people/migrants ()and gangs to the point you are constantly harassed in any tourist area and lots of beautiful places absolutely stank if piss as a result.
Rome is beautiful but lots of walking in severe heat unless you plan carefully, and to be honest, as someone who isn't religious, there's only so many chapels and marble statues you can look at.

... We were grumpy because of lack of sleep though, due to our Airbnb host lying about air con,which was actually a squeaky fan.

A lot of the population of Rome leave to go to the coast for a lot of July and August because of the heat. Ok, that's a slight generalisation but it is a busy city with high temperatures. Stick the the coast and visit Rome another time.

I was surprised this summer at the almost total absence of beggars and shady looking people as I'd always heard horror stories. I've honestly never felt safer- there are armed police and army tent set ups outside most monuments which helps I suppose.

Dh and I were there in May. The heat was so bad then I could not enjoy anything. Lining up in the sun was painful almost.

I would look at the cooler months.

I was so disappointed I could not tolerate the heat as I was so looking forward to seeing Rome.

You need to go on a med cruise. Different port everyday so lots of amazing cities. Plenty of down time by the pool. Your kids will have an amazing time.

If you're not used to hot summers, I can see that it could be challenging. We were coming from the East Coast US so the temperatures weren't much different, tbh. Perhaps slightly hotter in July, but not much.

God no. Far too hot and busy. Go in Easter. Or better, wait until your dc are older and will appreciate it.

2nd the med cruise idea. We did Rome that way and it was fab. Back to the ship after and another city/port the next day.

I went at the end of September and it was scorching then.
Have to say as a place, l much preferred Verona!