Family travel question! (cross-posted on travel board)

ebcrist

Hey all! I hope it's ok to post this here....I thought there might be some well-traveled people on here!

I am traveling to Italy in four weeks with my husband and seven month old for a four week vacation. I have already purchased the tickets into Milan, but I have literally zero experience vacation planning so I am probably definitely already crazy. However, it has been a dream of mine for years. I have three questions: 

1) Do you have any international traveling tips for flying or traveling with a baby? I have flown internationally twice but only with a group.

2) Has anyone ever been to Italy and would love to share their travel itinerary? We are pretty much completely wide open right now!

3) What would you suggest for transportation while in Italy? I have heard the train is good, but do I need reservations? Is the bus a good option? We are hoping to do the major cities (Rome, Venice, Florence) and possibly Barcis. 

Thanks in advance!!!!!!!

englishtrish1

We did Italy a few years ago. The train system is awesome, in mist cities we just walked around for hours, Venice was our favorite by far. We did Rome, Naples, Florence, Venice and a side trip to Italy.

englishtrish1

Oops I forgot the baby. Do you have a seat for the baby? If not suck it up and pay for one, it's nightmarish holding a baby that long, especially if they are not happy.

BlueBirdMB

I went to Italy a few years ago.  

1. Flew to Rome and traveled Rome for a few days

2. Took the train to Naples and rented a car.  

3. Drove to the Almalfi coast and spent a few days.  One day we drove to Pompeii

4. Drive to Florence where we did some wine country

5. Back to Rome to fly home

We never made it to Milan.  Having just come home from a huge driving trip (not on a tour or in a group), I think it's important to remember to limit yourself.  I'm of the philosophy that if I pay all that money to fly to another country, I want to experience as much as possible, but you also need to limit the traveling.

Our short train experience from Rome to Naples was actually a hilarious experience.  We had tickets for a non-stop, but a quarter of the way through the train stopped and everyone was forced onto another train that made some stops.  Then that train ended and we ended up on a local train.  Then that train stopped and we were forced onto a metro.  We never figured out why.  The lesson here is that you can't expect things to alway work the way you expect it to.

The roads in Italy were quite good and very drivable, but you need to be prepared that the drivers there are... a little reckless compared to what we are used to.

For transportation (planes, trains, cars) always make reservations ahead of time.

No recommendations for baby other than yes, bring a seat, and invest in a very, very lightweight, portable stroller.  It's a good country to bring children because culturally, they like children and are fine with them being out in public.

BlueBirdMB

If you start in Milan, I think you could easily make your way down to Rome do Florence in between.  Don't expect to get more south than Rome though.

KSEDmini

We went to Rome, Florence, and Venice in one trip. What I learned:

• Venice is really a 2 day experience. There isn't a whole lot to do and I wish we would have spent more time in Rome and Florence instead. 
  
• The Academia Gallery in Florence is a must! It's where the David is and the statues of the Prisoners. Stay away from the Uffizi Gallery unless you are a real art connoisseur. It's tons of paintings and the place is huge and it all starts to look the same after awhile. 
• The acropolis in Rome is really neat and a guided tour is worth it to get all the information.
• Cafe Sarecento in Venice is wonderful and it's right on the water by the Rialto, which is the famous bridge in Venice. 
• I can't remember all the options for getting to Venice, but we took the train to get as close as possible and then hired a private water taxi to get to the island. They are expensive but so much more efficient than getting onto the ferrys or whatever they are called with all the luggage. Totally worth it IMO, especially when traveling with a baby.
• FYI Gondolas are a must just to say you've done it, but they are a rip off.
• We trained from Rome to Florence and the train was clean, easy, and a neat experience. 
• If you are up for a paved hike, the Piazza Michelangelo in Florence is absolutely beautiful. You get a panorama view of the entire city. Truly amazing.
• There are LOTS of pick-pockets in Florence. This is not meant to alarm you, but rather to make you aware. Easy targets are people who are distracted trying to soothe a baby. 
• Pack an small, empty suitcase inside one of your larger suitcases so that you have plenty of room to bring back souvenirs. Make sense? IE you have a suitcase set, leave a smaller suitcase inside the bigger one. You can still pack the smaller one and the areas around it for your trip there, but you can pull it out for on your way back.

Flying with an infant:

• It will be a challenge, but in retrospect I realize that traveling with an infant is much easier than when they become mobile- if that's any reassurance at all
• Make sure your baby has something to suck on during take-off and landing so altitude changes won't have such a big effect on LO's ears- boob, paci, bottle, pouch, whatever.
• People on airplanes are generally compassionate. Those who have had kids understand, those with kids band together, those who want kids won't stop staring at your baby and it's kind of annoying, and then there's the occasional grouch who everyone else will think is a jerk if they give you a hard time. Sometimes the greatest source of our stress comes from ourselves trying to make sure we don't bother everyone else. 
• When you are going through security, designate one of you in charge of baby and bins while the other is in charge of bags and folding the stroller. Teamwork is key. 

BlueBirdMB

Oh yes!  We went to Venice too on that trip and lol I forgot about it because... eh... worst part of the trip.  It was a giant tourist trap, but I think most people would regret not going and seeing the canals.