The best Italy trip planning resources for families: When to book what and how to book it!
Italy trip planning resources for families: Essential travel planning tools, booking websites and tickets providers for your Italian vacation- tried and tested!
Welcome to the Mama Loves Italy Trip Planning resource page!
On my MamaLovesItaly website, you find tons of free online travel guides to help you dream of and plan a trip to Italy.
They are long-form guides with all you need about each destination, photos and travel tips. You can use the search box at the top of this page to find them all – just type in a search term (Rome, Tuscany, toddler, itinerary, food… whatever interests you!) and dive in!
This page is a complement to them, a tool you can use to quickly access booking websites, tour providers and make ticket purchases on the go.
Here, you find my favorite travel planning tools and websites, those I use myself for planning our trips + recommended tours and experiences for families.
I have included links to all, so you can get hold of tickets/ make bookings quickly.
I hope you find them useful! Safe travels!
Marta
Please note: over the course of the years, I have come across many travel providers and I am now an affiliate partner for some of them. This means that if you make a booking through one of my links, I might make a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Italy trip planning resources – Accommodation
- Booking.com – MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE. For hotels, B&Bs and rentals all over Italy. I love their ‘free cancellation’ options and the fact that loyal customers get additional discounts and perks.
They also offer self-catering accommodation (villas and apartments) and agriturismo stays (farm stays)
- Gallorosso.it/ Redrooster.it/en – a specialized booking engine for farm and hotels stays in the Dolomites.
- Agriturismo.it – a specialized search engine for farm and country home stays (all regions). I use it as a directory, then usually book via booking.com or contact the agriturismo directly.
- Airbnb.com – For self-catering apartments and villas all over Italy
Italy Travel Resources – Attraction tickets – official websites
In most cases, the cheapest way to get tickets for Italy’s main attractions is by booking directly on the official attraction website.
These tickets have pros and cons.
- Pro: They are cheap, as there is no middleman or agency fee
- Pro:They are often free for kids (specific rules depend on the attraction visited)
- Con: They often do not come out until few months ahead of your desired date
- Con: They have limited or non-existent cancellation options – make sure you read the small print!
- PRO: Tickets booked online for a specific day and time always skip the line as you can go directly to the attraction entrance without stopping at the ticket booth.
Need to know: the long lines I am sure you have heard about are for the ticket office, aka for buying tickets on location, last minute. These are almost everywhere a thing of the past. Thanks to web bookings, now you can now book tickets in advance and select the day and time of your visit, heading straight to the entrance for ticket holders at the time indicated on the day of your visit. The only possible line is the line to pass security which cannot be skipped. Please do not pay more for skip-the-line tickets if there is an option for a timed entrance: you are already skipping all the lines that can be skipped!
- The Colosseum (Rome) official concession releases tickets 30 days ahead only. Several ticket options available (if you need guidance, find here >>> our guide to the best tickets for the Colosseum
- Vatican Museums (Rome) official ticket office, the visit includes the Sistine Chapel. Entry-only tickets are usually released about 60 days ahead. Tours and special hour tickets are often available up to 90 days before.
- Borghese Gallery official ticket concession – tickets are released about a month in advance, but this is not an absolute rule. Sometimes they come out as close to the time as a few days before only.
- Last Supper (Milan): official ticket concession Tickets are released in 3-month batches. In 2023/24 for instance, on Tuesday December 19 2023 starting at 12:00 noon, tickets came out for admissions for February – March – April 2024.
Italy Travel Resources – Attraction tickets – alternative ticket providers
If you need more flexibility in your booking or you do not find availability on your preferred date/ time, these two websites often offer additional time slots.
The cost is usually marginally higher than booking direct.
GetYourGuide – This site aggregates several tickets and tour providers in many destinations in Italy. I like their vast selection, the fact that they always show the name of the tour provider (so you know who you are buying from) and that they often have very generous cancellation policies.
Despite the name, they don’t only sell guided tours but also simple entrance tickets.
Tiqets – Like GetYourGuide, this is a ticket booking site with a good selection of entry tickets and tours. They often have brilliant offers and are often one of the cheapest options you can find. Good to know! You can use the code MAMALOVESITALY to avail of a small discount!
Italy Travel Resources – tours for families – Activities and tours for families with kids in Rome
Did you know I am a Rome mama? I am! I am also a Roman history graduate and I poured all my love and knowledge of my city (and how to handle it with kids!) onto my website mamalovesrome.com and my ebook Best of Rome with kids – a practical travel guide for families available on Amazon!
For some attractions, I list several options to suit different budgets/ needs. Find more about each tour on my guide ‘the best Rome tours for kids >>> here <<<
Good to know: unlike booking direct, going via a tour provider allows to book with a lot of notice, often up to one year ahead. Make sure you read carefully about cancellation policies and what the pricier can/cannot guarantee in case of very early bookings.
- Rome treasure hunt for kids by Maria Claudia Tours (primary and secondary school kids, younger siblings welcome but careful with the amount of walking required – let her know ages and needs, she is wonderful).
- Pasta-making class with Lucilla of LucillaCookingClass – contact her on Instagram and tell her Marta from MamaLovesItaly sent so you can avail of a special MLI family price!
Italy Travel Resources – tours for families – Venice
Find my full guide to Venice with kids + itinerary for families by clicking >>> here<<<
- Scavenger Hunt Tour for kids with Lucia (wonderful, super kid-friendly local guide!)
- Venice rowing class on traditional Venetian batelina vessel – TOP PICK! This is one of our absolute favorite activities in the whole of Italy!
- Traditional Murano glass-making workshop at Ferro Toso, Murano
- Murano and Burano island tour with Matteo Contact Matteo via Instagram and tell him Marta from MamaLovesItaly sends you to avail of a special MLI family price!
- Family photo shoot in Venice by Flytographer (Use discount code MAMALOVESITALY)– ask for Marta, she is excellent (same name as me but it is not me)!
Italy Travel Resources – tours for families – Florence and Tuscany
Find here >>> my full guide to visiting Florence with kids or grab my Florence with kids ebook here, with kids attractions, scavenger hunts, restaurant recommendations and more!
- Florence walking tour for kids with Michelangelo’s David visit – by MariaclaudiaTours (tell her I sent you!)
- Express Semi-private Uffizi Tour by LivTours – not for kids as such but short and perfect for families who want to focus on the highlight or do better with a shorter demand for time
- A day in the country Tuscany Experience at Tenuta Chiudendone – TOP PICK! If you want to enjoy a day in the Tuscany countryside without having to drive and in wonderful company, this is the day for you! Tell Isabella I sent you!
Italy Travel Resources – tours for families in the Amalfi Coast area
Find here >>> my full guide to visiting the Amalfi Coast with kids
- Amalfi Coast Boat Tour by BlueStar Positano (full day)
- Boat Tour Around Capri by Motoscafisti Capri (with optional Blue Grotto, see details)
- Food Tour of Sorrento by Gourmet Girls TOP PICK for foodies!
- Best Pompeii tour for kids (child-friendly car transport from the local area, Naples and even Rome possible by Pinocchio Tours/Raphael Tours. If you contact them directly, speak with MariaCristina and tell her I sent you! kids@pinocchiotours.com
- Best Pompeii tour for kids without transport is with Alex Tours.
Italy Travel Resource – Transport and useful services
Find here >>> How to get around Italy, so get an overview of what means of transport work best where.
Train Tickets for high speed trains and local trains, official railway operator website: Trenitalia.com
Train tickets high-speed trains for alternative high-speed train operator Italo: official site italotreno.it
You can read here >>> all you need to know to travel Italy by train
For Ferry tickets, I use Ferry Hopper as it allows to see all the companies serving a certain area, but I then prefer to book with the company direct.
Car rental: we usually book with Avis or Hertz. You can easily compare prices and options by checking on DiscoverCars
Private Transfers with children’s car seats and English-speaking drivers, nationwide: Welcome Pickups
OUR TRANSPORT GUIDES
Remember: you can find family travel guides covering a huge array of destinations in Italy on our websites:
MamaLovesItaly.com and MamaLovesRome.com
I wish you the most wonderful time in Italy! Don’t forget to stay in touch! We are on mamalovesitaly.com and on social media FB and IG @mamalovesitaly and @mamalovesrome too. Safe travels!
Marta Correale
Marta Correale is an Italian mama of two. Born and raised in Rome, Marta has a passion for travel and especially enjoys showing off Italy to her kids, who are growing up to love it as much as she does! A classics graduate from the University of Rome, Marta channeled her passion for culture and travel into the creation of family travel websites that inspire, support and help curious visitors to make the most of a trip to Italy and learn about Italian culture on the way. Marta also manages the thriving online community of parents 'Italy with kids' who turn to her for expert advice and competent Italy travel planning support. She is the author of the travel guides 'Best of Rome with kids' and 'Best of Florence with kids' available on Amazon and of an array of kids printables (scavenger hunts, info booklets etc) available on her Etsy shop 'Mama Loves To Print'
