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ANYONE BEEN TO ITALY WITH THEIR TODDLER?

Hi,



We would like to take our little boy to Italy this year, probably off season, but I have heard it isn't really very toddler friendly, does anyone have any experience of going? Can you recommend a particular town/area? We would like to go to the Italian Lakes. Our LO will be 2.



Thanks for any help.

Replies

  • Hi Tinkerbell



    We took our, then, 4 month old son to Lake Como in July last year. The Italians loved him and he was made such a fuss of everywhere we went!



    Lake Como isn't as touristy as some of the other lakes and we found it so relaxing and less commercial. We had to learn basic Italian though as most don't speak English. But we were pre warned as we have family living out there.



    We hired a ground floor apartment with private access to a pool and I can not recommend it highly enough!



    We have been there before and have always found it to be very hot during the day and then thunderstorms early evening, although this isn't every evening.



    Let me know if you want any further info.



    x x
  • Hi LOLASHOLA,



    That is helpful, thank you. I will have a look at Lake Como as it sounds ideal for us. Did you travel around at all? I wondered about a hire car bit it might be as well to not get too adventurous! How about the food side of things, how did you get on with that?



    Thanks so much.

    xx
  • We travelled out to Milan and also Switzerland for some shopping (retail outlets - so cheap for certain designers!) and we had one day at a village in the mountains but we pretty much stayed in and around Tremezzo in Lake Como. I would highly recommend having access to a pool - it gets hot during the day!



    We didn't fly, we actually drove down. This took us 14 hours with regular stops to get our son out for a stretch. We have a portable DVD player so he was amused during the journey.



    Food wise, we love the traditional side of it. So lots of pizzas, pastas and of course ice cream! As our son was only four months, I was still breastfeeding so didn't look much at food for children. But as we have family out there, also with young babies, I would imagine it's fine as they eat out often.



    If you are planning on flying, I would recommend a car. Most hotels are on the lake itself, but most apartments are mid-mountain and the streets are narrow and windy, some without pavements. I wouldn't walk down to the main lake with our son in his pram and we were only two roads up.



    Good luck looking for somewhere. When are you thinking of travelling?



    x x
  • My parents used to live in Italy so we've taken dd1 there loads. The Italians are soo child friendly, especially compared with England. My parents lived just outside Rome, and we've also stayed in an appartment in Rome with dd1 & dd2, when she was 9 months. The streets are generally not pushchair friendly as there are lots of cobbles and broken pavements, but its workable. Also the appartments are pretty much all tiled hard floors and open plan so there is always the chance of little accidents but we never had a problem. My dd1 did have a freak accident in a playground in Rome and cut her head open so we had to go to the a&e and they were brilliant and pretty much all spoke very good English too, (plus it took a fraction of the time it would have in a London a&e).



    As for food, both my two were very happy with pizza or pasta everyday.



    Go for it, Italy is lovely.
  • Hi we took our little boy to Sorrento when he was 9 months. As previously mentioned the Italians really made a fuss of him. We found that it wasn't very pushchair friendly but we managed. The hotel (Hilton) was really child friendly, it even had a separate low breakfast buffet for children which was really nice. The only thing I found difficult was the lack of changing facilities in restaurants, I would often have to lay him on the toilet floor! Luckily I had a fold up mat with me but a bit yuk if not! All in all I wouldn't hesitate in returning with a baby x
  • Thank you gals, you have been so helpful and I appreciate it. I love Italy, always have done - Lake Como is looking good so far. I don't want to go when it is too hot or during the busy school holidays so thought about early June or September.



    Nothing beats planning for a holiday, I am about to go google and TripAdvisor crazy!!!



    Thanks again,xx
  • Let me know if you want details of the apt we stayed in.



  • Hi Lolashola,



    I looked at loads of apartments online last night so would be interested to see the one you stayed in as you said it was so nice.



    Thanks,x
  • http://lakecomohomes.com/view/Belvedere-Apt-1.aspx



    We stayed in apartment 1. It had a private courtyard, which we used for sunbathing when our son was sleeping in the shade and it leads directly out to the pool.



  • Thanks, it looks really nice. I have seen quite a few nice ones, I think it is going to be hard to decide!



    Thanks again. x
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