Our family trip to Italy
If you are a parent planning a trip overseas, visiting Italy with your kiddos, or a mom looking for packing inspiration to get everything into carry-ons (yesssss, girrl! YOU can do it!), you’ve found the right place!
This is our Family Italian Summer Vacation recap.
What you will find here:
14-Day itinerary to Rome & The Dolomites: free download
Family favorites — where we went & what the kids enjoyed most
Perspective from a mid-40s momma who appreciates nice things AND practical, comfortable, timeless products
A few pics of me and my fam out there enjoying life! ‘Cause 🤩
Packing tips & absolute “must have” items for the plane, trains, and day-to-day adventures are in a separate post here.
What you will not find:
Professional or paid recommendations - y’all, I’m simply sharing what I loved and what I planned to share with friends if they asked
“Instagram boyfriend” polished pics - but OMG, did we see the Insta boyfriend, Insta mom, Insta dad everrrrrywhere!!! Just enjoy Rome, people! Put your phone down.
Curated “outfit capsules” — though I am an organization nut and have BIG opinions in this department!
You ready?
Trip Overview
Our trip was incredible. We unplugged from work and social media for two full weeks.
The kids were champs. We explored Rome’s sites, ate more gelato than I care to admit, made our own pasta at a cooking school, and got lost in Rome’s beauty.
Then we hopped a train to Milan to meet some friends. All eight of us then headed to the Dolomites, more specifically, Meransen, a small town in South Tyrol, Italy. It was magical.
We had a direct flight, round-trip DFW to Rome, AND Global Entry.
It was a breeze on reentry!
Rome
Rome is my husband’s favorite city in the world. He knows the city well having studied there for a semester in college and he couldn’t wait to be our tour guide. However, traveling TWENTY FIVE years later and WITH KIDS meant there was still a lot of planning to do.
Google searches galore continually led me to Mama Loves Rome (well done with that SEO, mama!) This mom and travel blogger extraordinaire is from Rome and has a blog rich with itineraries, to dos/not to dos, where to stay, what to pack — literally everything you could possibly want to know about traveling to Rome WITH KIDS.
With my new virtual Rome bestie, I got to planning. I followed her advice, crafting our itinerary, our tours, most of our trip based on her guidance.
Our 5-Day Rome itinerary is here. A few highlights below:
We stayed in this 2 bedroom AirBnB across the road from Villa Borghese. Literally could not have been any closer! Incredible views. Y’all, Holy Moly! Two bedrooms — one with two twin beds is a game-changer with kids.
On our first full day in Rome, we got up early and did a Liv Tours: Private Colosseum Tour with Kids. This tour was incredible! Yes, this was a reco from Mama Loves Rome who said a private tour is THE ONLY way to see the Colosseum. Sarah, our guide, was awesome with our kids. She had a 3-D virtual tour app on her phone to take the kids “back in time” at different spots, used scavenger hunt activities and storytelling throughout the tour, which also included Palatine Hill. Book it, y’all!
We did not do a golf cart tour, but yes, Mama recommended this, too! If you only have a few days in Rome, definitely do it. We don’t regret skipping it AND think it could have been a great addition!
Pasta Making Class - This was such a treat! We booked this one through Cookly. I did my own Google searches focused on “kid-friendly” and “gluten-free” (as an option, not for everyone!) pasta making classes. This was a winner, winner, pasta dinner! We made our own ricotta and spinach-stuffed ravioli and then fettuccini. There were ten people in our class and each person (including our kids) had their own station — the chefs just helped my 7 year old a tad more than others. Our class was from 11:30-2:30 and we ate what we made for lunch, served at a communal table with wine, of course. Chef Angelo at Pastificio Faini was the best. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
We did visit St. Peter’s Square on our way towards Janiculum Hill though we did not tour the Vatican & Sistine Chapel. The lines were incredibly long and we just didn’t think our kids would appreciate and enjoy (or allow us to) at this stage of their lives. We know they’ll be back! I really appreciate the pro tip from Mama after reading her extensive posts on the topic. This helped me feel less crazy and not guilty for choosing to skip it this trip.
Best Gelato in Rome absolutely goes to Giolitti, which has been around since 1900! Trust me, we had A LOT of gelato on our trip — once, if not twice, a day!
Did you notice I had ZERO restaurant recommendations? That’s because we didn’t make any ahead of time! What??!?!?! Nope. We wandered the streets, stumbled on some amazing spots, and accidentally hit a few tourist traps — all part of the adventure.
While in Rome, we did book a reservation at Dilla and saved it for our very last night, our Bonus Day, which I’ll get to later.
How did we get around? Mostly walking. Metro once, but it was so crowded and with four people it was the same cost as a taxi. Download the Free Now app (the Uber of taxis there - it’s the way to go!)
My final thoughts on Rome are best captured by what the woman sitting next to us on the plane over there said. “Rome is the only city in the world that is both a fossil and a vibrant organism.” OMG. Yes. I love you, Rome. We will be back.
Milan
Truthfully, this isn’t a proper review of Milan. We were there for 1.5 days with the primary purpose of meeting our besties who live in Qatar! They are teachers at an international school and have two girls around our kids ages. Our husbands have been best friends since grade school and our families are now incredibly close, though we live thousands of miles away from each other!
We first traveled together as families to London two summers ago. After an amazing trip, we vowed to do it again. (And, spoiler alert, we’ll do it again in two years…or sooner!)
We arrived the day before our friends, so we checked out the Piazza del Duomo, took a crazy-fun (and probably quite dangerous!) Uber Bike to Castello Sforzesco, hit a cute book store and I had my first Hugo Spritz — OMGGG! Yum.
Our full day together in Milan was spent chasing pigeons back at the Piazza del Duomo, doing the rooftop tour of the Milan Cathedral, Duomo Di Milano, and then hitting the park and playgrounds near the Castello Sforzesco.
We visited during the Euro Cup Finals and there was a public pop-up event sponsored by Coca-Cola near out hotel. This was an awesome way to watch soccer, be with locals, and let our kids run wild with games, free Coke! (ACKKKK!), in an enclosed outdoor spot. Score!
The following day, we traveled together by train to The Dolomites. A train strike meant multiple cancelled legs of our trip, long lines, chaos…AND we were together, the kids were troopers, and we finally made it!
Our intended route: Milan to Bolzano to Fortezza where our hotel would have a driver waiting.
Our actual route: Milan to Verona (where we thought we’d have to stay overnight) to Bolzano and then used the Get Transfer app (Free Now that we used in Rome wasn’t available here) to have a driver with an 8-passenger van take us directly to our hotel in Meransen, South Tyrol, Italy!
The Dolomites
Hotel Sonnenberg was absolutely incredible — the views, the food, a spa, a POOL for the kids, and endless hiking and mountain top playgrounds. A dreamy location, "half board" (included unreal breakfast buffet, juicing station, omelettes, crepes…you name it! AND gourmet 3-5 course dinner every night!), indoor/outdoor pool, huge sauna/spa area (adult area was completely nude AND a family sauna, bathing suits on & kids welcome), and LOTS of activities available (hiking, climbing, rafting, etc.) Check out the Weekly Activities sample on the website.
From this teeny tiny mountain town, Meransen, you can walk from the hotel onto trails in the mountain and to gondolas to get you further up the mountains to playgrounds in the sky! More about this area near Gitschberg-Jochtal ski mountain in South Tyrol, Italy:
Only 10-11KM from Austria, so mostly German-speaking area
Almencard was included in our hotel stay and provides free transportation on city buses (nice), local trains, and gondolas
Incredible mountain playgrounds. Get there via gondola up the Gitschberg-Jochtal mountain, Sun Park and Jochtal Adventure Park
Familiamus Hotel: another hotel option that was crazy close to where we stayed and looked incredible and family-friendly.
The mommas did a sunrise hike overlooking the Dolomites that was well worth the 4am wake-up!
My husband, ten year old son, and I went PARAGLIDING! I am not an adrenaline junky. I’m scared of rollercoasters and horror movies. BUT I just knew I had to paraglide over this countryside. We each did a tandem flight. Nothing short of breathtaking.
Bonus Day: Rome!
We traveled by train back to Rome for our last night. We could have gotten a cheap hotel near the airport after a looonnngg trip. BUT I remembered my friend, Amy Vest, telling me about the “peak-end rule” which says we remember an experience based on how we felt at the peak and end moments.
So, we splurged for an insane location, Hotel Scalinata di Spagna, for our last 15 hours in Rome! This hotel was just lovely and literally at the top of the Spanish Steps! That last day was spent stress free (aside from a bit of train station drama), sitting on the Spanish Steps, going back to our favorite gelato place, Giolitti, and buying a few things for our family.
Then at 6am the morning of our flight, my son and I walked to the Spanish Steps, with hardly anyone there. It was quiet and beautiful. I will remember that day and our trip forever.
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