10-Day Italy Itinerary with Kids

Book Colosseum timed entry and a kid-friendly guide ahead; confirm current prices, admission requirements, and whether both children need identification for their tickets.

Book Vatican Museums timed entry ahead and agree on a shorter route with the guide, including an exit plan if the kids tire. Confirm current hours, prices, and dress requirements, particularly for the Sistine Chapel.

Contact Il Papiro on Via dei Tavolini before promising a paper-marbling session: confirm hands-on participation for both children, session length, availability, and current cost.

Book seats together for Rome Termini–Florence Santa Maria Novella and Florence–Venice Santa Lucia; confirm schedules and family fare conditions. For Pisa’s regional trains, check whether your chosen ticket requires validation or another activation step.

For Venice, compare current ACTV ticket options against your actual boat rides and check children’s fare rules rather than assuming a pass saves money. At Bacino Orseolo, confirm the gondola’s total charge, route, duration, and capacity for all four before boarding.

Confirm the walk with luggage from your Santa Croce apartment to Piazzale Roma and the airport bus schedule before departure day. Work backward from the airline’s required check-in buffer, and skip Majer if breakfast would squeeze the transfer.

For each apartment, confirm four-person occupancy, actual bed arrangements, a usable kitchen, and bag-drop arrangements before check-in. Ask about stairs and elevators; in Venice, also ask how many bridges lie between the nearest vaporetto stop and the door.

Check current Italian entry requirements for all four US passports, including validity requirements and any travel authorization applicable to your dates. Match ticket names to passports and keep secure copies separate from the originals.

September can still bring warm afternoons in Rome and Florence, plus rain along the route. Carry refillable bottles and light rain layers, keep exposed ruins and viewpoints out of the warmest stretch when possible, and protect the open afternoons.

Confirm dining days and early seating at Da Baffetto, Li Rioni, and Trattoria Sostanza; early dinner may not align with every kitchen’s schedule. Keep apartment groceries handy so the children are not dependent on a late restaurant meal.