1. safety
Italy is definitely a safe place to bring your family. The main thing to worry about here is petty theft, which can be avoided by staying vigilant and smart. Big cities and touristy areas are where you’ll hear of most pickpockets and bag snatching, but it’s important to exercise caution and beware of your surroundings in any new place. Traveling with kids can definitely make you vulnerable.. being a mom of two small kids I feel like I’m constantly digging through the diaper bag or rifling through a snack bag for something or other..it’s easy to get distracted when you have littles to constantly accommodate. I just try to be extra cautious about making sure all of our belongings are zipped up and tucked away. Throughout our entire month in Italy with the kids, I never felt unsafe or targeted though.
2. Italians love kids
I have never seen anything like it. Everything I read online before our trip said the same thing about how Italians love kids.. nothing prepares you for this actual reality though. The very first restaurant we dined out in, the server took Maggie (our 9 month old at the time) out of Ben’s arms and bounced her around while chatting. I remember being completely caught off guard and thinking something like, “..omg do not touch my kid.” It was hard to stay annoyed when he spent the entire duration of our meal doting on both kids and trying to make them laugh though. We realized very quickly that is what everyone meant by Italians love kids. It was constant throughout the entire trip too. Izzy would be given snacks while we waited for takeout, Maggie was given a free baby sized gelato, total strangers would come up at train stations to talk to the kids, and everyone was quick to help us. We do a lot of public transportation when we travel and Italians do not ask if you need help trying to lift your bags or stroller onto the train.. they just do it. Every city we were in someone would just casually grab the front of the stroller and help us off the train and then continue on their way. It was quite shocking initially, but by the end of our 4 weeks in Italy, we really appreciated how kind and helpful everyone was to us. Traveling with kids can certainly be tough, but everyone loving on our kids took an incredible amount of pressure off and was a huge reason why we loved our trip so much.
3. Italian food is super kid friendly
Pizza, pasta, focaccia, cheese, salami, GELATO.. not sure I need to say more. I know these aren’t the foods we want our kids eating everyday, but vacation isn’t everyday. To be completely honest, one of the main reasons we ended up in Italy for a month instead of anywhere else, was the food. We had initially thought we were going to Germany and then changed our minds maybe a month before leaving for Europe. Italian food was already something they were familiar with and loved.. taking them abroad for a month was already daunting, it was nice to not worry about a possible food struggle.
4. Great Climate
This was the other reason we changed destinations. Of course it depends on where in Italy you go and when, but for the most part, it’s going to be warmer than several other European countries. We were going for the month of May, so it was a pretty big swing from the beginning of the month to the end. But when comparing average temperatures, Central Italy was 5-10 degrees warmer than Germany that month. We aren’t generally a family that needs warm weather, but for our first international trip with the kids, we wanted to make sure we could spend a lot of our time outdoors comfortably. We rode bikes, explored new cities on foot, visited beaches, did scenic hikes.. anything to keep us outside.
5. Variety
Whatever kind of vacation you and your family enjoy, you can find it in Italy. You like skiing? Head north to the mountains and shell up at one of the numerous ski resorts. It’ll be incredibly cheaper than surrounding countries and Italy’s laid back ski resorts are known to be super family friendly. More of a beach person? You’ll find the most gorgeous and world renowned beaches throughout the south and up the coastline. Delicious food, wine, art, culture, history, the outdoors, the list goes on. Italy absolutely has it all.
6. Italian wine
Family vacations are not actually vacations for parents. They’re just parenting in different places. And in a lot of ways, they’re even more labor intensive with busy itineraries, long travel days, an upside down routine, and if you normally have help at home in the form of daycare or grandparents, on vacation you’re at it alone. Totally worth it, but it’s still a lot. Wine definitely helps, lol.
7. Public Transportation
You can totally pull off an entire Italy vacation without spending time in a car. Not saying you want to, but it is possible. The train and bus system covers a lot of ground and it’s nice to know you can rely on it for most destinations. They’re also very easy to navigate and kids under 4 travel free on Trenitalia. It doesn’t guarantee your toddler his/her own seat, but the trains don’t usually book up. We only had our toddler on our lap maybe once and had loads of travel days. Most trains do offer a child rate from ages 4-11 as well. One thing to note: if you’re mostly thinking about small, Tuscan villages, they most likely won’t have train stations or bus routes. You can do organized tours or hire a driver if need be. Check with their policy about car seats beforehand.
8. walkable
Italians walk everywhere and Italian cities are absolutely set up for the pedestrian. A lot of small villages in Italy don’t even accept cars into their Old Towns. It’s pretty great if you plan on doing most of your exploring on foot. You don’t realize the luxury of not worrying about cars until you have a very active toddler on your hands. If you’re planning on using a stroller most days, keep in mind that a lot of the roads are old cobblestone, which can pose a challenge depending on your stroller. We brought a single jogger for both our kids and couldn’t be happier with the decision. You can read a post here detailing how and why it worked for us.
9. Old Cities feel like Giant Playgrounds
Small kids might not care about history, but they do care about castles, piazzas, fountains and fairy tales. Our toddler loved exploring “hidden” alleyways and stairwells throughout villages and running after pigeons in the open piazzas. I’d be lying if I said my husband and I didn’t enjoy it just as much though. It was so much fun wandering through medieval roads and feeling like we stepped back in time. We definitely appreciated experiencing a piece of history while Izzy enjoyed how many Elsa castles there were.
10. Museums
Museums are everywhere in Italy and loaded with the most fascinating things. Since we were traveling with small kids, we were hesitant to visit them though. Expensive entrance fees and bored/cranky little ones make for a giant waste of time and money. However, the cool thing about Italian state museums is that kids under 18 are free. You still have to obviously pay for your own entrance, but it makes museum visits more affordable and less of a bummer if you need to end your tour short. Keep in mind this is only for State Museums.. “Museo” and sometimes city owned museums.. “civic” or “municipal”. Privately owned museums most likely will not offer a discount.