Italy with teens

[Bugsy73]

Hi, looking for recommendations for the best place to go in Italy with 3 teenagers. All like the beach/swimming, not massively into sightseeing but happy to look around local towns/villages etc.
Haven't been to Italy so not really sure where to start re area, although I fancy Lake Garda.
Doesn't have to be a villa, hotel recommendations also welcome!
Thanks

Marina di Venezia and Union Lido are amazing resorts for teens who like swimming and water sports. Marina di Venezia is better located for easy day trips into Venice, but Union Lido has hotel accommodation if you don’t want to self cater.

Maybe stay in one of the hotels near Amalfi as the sand there is more golden ( in Paestum it’s black) You can catch the bus to Sorrento for the day that is worth a trip. Also, Sorrento is a good launch pad for the train station to Herculaneum or Pompei. The former managed to keep my daughter happy even if she is not into history. It’s an area of lots of potential boat trips and Amalfi has its own cathedral, basilica to look at.

I think that it’s better to stay in Sorrento for ease of train access but not sure about the beaches. There is so much to do eg day trip to Naples, the places I listed, trip to Capri and the chair lift / blue grotto etc. I think it’s one my kids favourite holiday.

The alternative is a 2 centre trip eg 4 days in Florence and 4 days on a beach in Tuscany. Florence is just lovely to walk around but it is crowded. You could do a day trip to Sienna and San Gingamo. Also Pisa is a short train ride away.

I think the thing is that experiencing History in Italy is not like going to a dull museums - it’s everywhere. It also can be lots of fun eg cycling or walking the walls at Luca ( near Pisa) trying the best ice cream in the World in San Gignamo etc

We got an air b and b on Lake Garda and it was fab with a teen. Great food, easy access to the lake. DS went and did 2 days sailing which was great. Little towns to potter around and a great ferry service. Food was well priced.

Thanks. Did you hire a car or use public transport?

We did hire a car and flew into Venice, but actually transport around the lake is so easy we could have done it without one. Ds said it was his best holiday. We had a mobile home in a very small park right in the lake.

Peschiera is on the main Venice to Milan railway and has tons of trains in both directions, it's really easy to visit places like Verona from there.

Is Peschiera a good place to stay? We would rather not drive if possible so would prefer access to a train station and supermarket that we can get to on foot! I have seen a couple of AirBnB's. Do you have any accommodation recommendations?

I recently had a holiday in Lake Garda with my two teen DDs. We were based in Garda Town and found it easy to use the buses and ferries to get around. We loved paddle-boarding in the lake, and had great days out at the zoo/safari park, Gardaland and Movieland theme parks and Caneva water park. Thermal Spa at Sirmione was also great for relaxing.

We did a day trip to Venice, and ran out of time before getting to Verona!

The only downer was that everywhere was busy (July). I'd love to go back in June or Sept when it's still warm but not so packed.

You could also do Lugano it's in Switzerland but it's very Italian (people speak Italian) and it's on the border so easy to hop into Italy I'm mid 20s and really enjoyed it more than lake Como/garda

@Bugsy73 I have only used the campsites there, I loved the place though! The train also goes to Desenzano del Garda and you can get a ferry from there to Sirmione, takes about twenty minutes.

Ooh ok! I'll have a look at that too. Thank you!

Sounds perfect! Where did you stay? We would be limited to August, which I guess would be boiling hot and completely rammed.....

Peschiera is a great place to stay. The train station means you can get to Verona, Venice or Milan easily and there are buses to Gardaland. You can also get boat trips across the lake. We stayed there without a car and it was easy to walk to the supermarket.

Brilliant. Thank you.

Bella camping Italia in peschiera del Garda was brilliant - booking.com

well located, great pools, cheap, nice bungalows, bike hire

Yep we went to lake Garda on public transport with 2 kids

stayed in an agriturismo outside Verona for 3 days, with gorgeous pool. All reached by bus/ train/ taxi. Hired bikes to get around lake Garda, was brilliant!

We stayed in a great little hotel in Garda Town called Villa Anthea. It was a very short walk to the bus station, and the lake-front and all the shops/restaurants were close by. It suited us as we like somewhere small and quiet, but if you'd like a bigger pool or stuff happening in the evenings it won't be for you.

We stayed in Bardolino with our two teens this summer. It's on the eastern side of Garda. V close to Verona airport. It was perfect. Look at Hotel Nettuno. We all had the best time.

We went to Genoa this summer and really enjoyed a day trip to Camogli, beautiful beach place. Genoa a great base plus you can do lots of day trips on the train, Portofino, Santa Margarita even Monaco and also you could head North to Milan.

we also did Sorrento area, stayed in Vico Equense which I thought nicer than Amalfi and Positano as they were insanely busy. Teens enjoyed Vesuvius and Pompei. And Rome is easy on the train from Naples too.

we had planned to go to Capri but it was €140 each for the boat which was insane.

We’ve just been to Lake Garda with 3 teens. We stayed at Lazise which is absolutely lovely and easy access to Bardolino, Garda and all the theme and water parks by bus and also has the ferry. We hired electric bikes one day which was great as you can cycle a long way up the lakeside. We also hired a motor boat. Lots of water activities on the lake and lovely restaurants. We didn’t have a car. We got the train from Milan Bergamo and back to Venice at the end and got around by bus, ferry and taxi. The trains are cheap and excellent and buses are the same. Ferry was good but quite pricey and taxis were very expensive and quite hard to come by. You need to make sure your accommodation is close to one of the towns. I recommend Lazise / Bardolino / Garda

I'd also go for the lakes - Como is my personal favourite but I think Garda is a bit more family oriented and might suit your needs better.

The lakes are very accessible by public transport, flights to Milan are generally cheap too.

We've also combined lakes with a day trip from Milan to Venice too, perfectly doable in a day.

I'd also recommend Naples and surrounding area - Sorrento is very tourist, I'd stay in the modern Pompeii town as it's a bit more authentic (choose the other end of town from the ruins, less tourist!). Lots of engaging archaeology around there and if you do go down that way don't miss a day trip to Paestum, absolutely stunning.

Thank you! Do you have a link to the accommodation you stayed in?

I know the campania region really well (Naples/amalfi coast) having visited various places over many repeated visits… even got married there! I’m going again tomorrow, so can answer any specific questions you might have.

Yes Sorrento is convenient public transport wise if coming from Naples, but I disagree it’s a good place to stay to access the Amalfi Coast , it’s actually not on the coast and travel by bus is slow. Taxi too expensive. But boat is better.

Sorrento is in a lovely setting but it’s not a very interesting place to stay. The food caters more to British tourists than Italians, and it shows in quality/taste. There’s not much to see/do. But it is a great place to visit Capri as ferries are regular. There are no beaches in Sorrento. It’s possible to enter the sea using “beach” clubs (strips of concrete) which are the least appealing places to swim along the whole coast.

Maiori, Minori and even Salerno (and all in between) are far better places to stay on the Amalfi Coast as they’re family friendly and much cheaper. Really easy to reach the classic destinations (Amalfi, Positano) by bus (or ferry in summer). Positano is nice to visit for a day trip but I wouldn’t recommend staying there - would be spendy! I love these southern towns/villages because they’re popular with Italians so the food is great and good value. They also have a better family vibe. They are also really easy to reach now with the newly opened Salerno airport which EasyJet flies to. Saves going to Naples.

Personally I don’t like Capri because it’s so small and crowded it’s really not pleasant. I’ve tried many times and it’s always the same experience . If you’ve been to Florence it’s a similar level of crazy crowds. Stunning scenery but you feel like cattle being herded along.

Far, far nicer is Ischia island which is AMAZING! So much to see and do there, teens would love it. There are spas galore dotted around the island. You can do a day trip from Naples but better to stay for 3/4 days. It’s not as easily accessible from the Amalfi coast as Naples. Again it’s popular with Italians and Germans. It’s popular but much bigger than Capri and more chilled. Prices are super competitive- I’m always getting sent cheap AI deals from hotels I’ve stayed in. The hotels have decent food not like your normal AI package holidays. It’s not somewhere I’d recommend driving but the buses and ferries make travel easy and a lot of hotels provide free shuttles to beaches and towns. Very family oriented place. Reach from Naples on ferry.

Naples itself is a brilliant city to visit with teens. It’s edgy and loads of history. So much to see and explore including the underground tunnels/caves which they’d enjoy. Then there’s the pizza, street food. History and archaeological museum (which is always very quiet). I’ve taken kids here and it’s been fine (stick to the main drags when walking and taxis for further distances I’ve never felt unsafe).

Oh and Herculaneum is worth considering in summer over pompeii because it’s condensed into a much smaller area. I think H has more wow factor although I do love Pompeii. I know pompeii is a must do, but shoulder season is better as there’s no shade and it’s miserable on a hot day.

You can get the same quick train from Naples to Herculaneum and Pompeii. Very easy. If staying on the coast it takes about an hour to reach by private tour and they’ll combine it with Vesuvius. Approx €120-150 pp

Pompeii is not a very nice town and I wouldn’t choose to stay there when you have much better places nearby.

Paestum is very far away and you need to go via Salerno. We did it on public transport once (train, then bus) and said never again. It took hours! The connections aren’t great. It is impressive but an hours stop at most. There’s nothing there except a mediocre restaurant and fields!

@Bugsy73 we stayed at https://www.privilegium.it in Lazise