view over the sea

Tuscany Road Trip – 9 Days in Italy

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This family friendly Tuscany road trip is for everyone that is looking for some insider tips, hidden Tuscan gems and a good portion of Italian flare!

When planing the Tuscany Road trip we had to consider,  2 toddlers and 2 teenagers in our group!  It was therefore necessary to plan this trip slightly different. It needed to be a happy itinerary for everybody.  And I believe with this Tuscany Road Trip for the whole family, you will be the winner!

09 Days in June 2018 / 2259km

Our Accommodation in Tuscany

During our road trip we have chosen some nice Accommodation in Tuscany in the following cities; Most of them came with a pool and with amazing views over the famous Tuscan valleys.
La Spezia, Liguria /Saturnia, province of Grosseto /Montaione, province of Florence / Milan

Tuscany Road Trip Map

On our Rad trip map through Tuscany I have marked the accommodations we booked, some nice photographic spots and other landmarks. You can safe it on to your phone for further references.

 

Grand San Bernhard Pass
Grand San Bernard Pass from Switzerland to Italy

Drive to la Spezia in Italy

Day one: We started our family friendly Tuscany road trip from home in Valais, Switzerland, drove via the Grand St. Bernard pass down to La Spezia for our 1st night.

There was still a lot of snow at the top of the pass and only 10C. This was quite a refreshing stop for some very quick pictures.
The drive to La Spezia was just a little over 5 hours. We managed with one stop halfway for one hour.  Arriving finally at our accommodation in La Spezia, we unpacked the cars and decided to head into La Spezia for an ice cream and a wander around.
Ice cream is always top on our daily activities, especially when visiting  Italy!

The promenade in La Spezia is very nice. Large yachts are moored on the far side of the famous bridge “Ponte Thaon di Revel”
The kids had their little pedal less bikes with them, which turned out to be perfect. This way they did not need to walk and we covered a large area without any moaning.

Visit Cinque Terre in Italy

Day two: There is a more detailed itinerary on how to visit Cinque Terre with kids,  as there is quite a lot of different options and ways to visit.
We took the train to Monterosso where my sister and her family did the hike to the Village of Vernazza.

This panorama hike in the Cinque Terre, is very beautiful with stunning views but can be quite strenuous on hot days and super busy with tourist during peak season.

Our family stayed in Monterossa at the beach. The kids and my husband even went for a little swim. Far too cold for me.

When it was time to join the hikers in Vernazza, we decided to join them with the boat (26 euro). The small village of Vernazza was super crowded, with people waiting for the departure boat and others just siting and having a drink by the port. We boarded the uncrowded boat and enjoyed the cruise all the way to Porto Venere, another secret place along the Cinque Terre coats line.

The boat still stopped at each of the Cinque Terre villages and it was nice to still see them, even if just from the boat. As it was such a hot day, having the cooling breeze whilst out on the sea was just perfect.

Porto Venere; by the way do not miss it. Perhaps we actually loved it  more then the Cinque Terre. There are also boats direct to Porto Venere from  La Spezia.

You can walk up to the castle or just stroll through the beautiful side streets, have an ice cream and just enjoyed the village. Very picturesque with all the colours.

After you visited Porto Venere, hope back on the boar all the way to La Spezia.

village of Porto Venere
Beautiful Porto Venere – 5 Terre – Liguria

Drive to Saturnia with a stop in Pisa – Tuscany

Day three: It was a little over an hours drive to Pisa from La Spezia, so we decided to stop and visit the “Piazza dei Miracoli” the Square of Miracles in Pisa Italy. You are maybe wondering if visiting Pisa with kids is worth is? Oh definitely, we had a lot of fun but half a day is enough.

Read on how best to Visit PISA with kids to find out all about it and where to park.

We left Pisa around midday and drove down to Saturnia, just a little under 3 hours.

Pisa, italy
“Piazza dei Miracoli” Pisa Italy

Saturnia, Tuscany and the surrounding

Day four: Wow, we knew the accommodations in Saturnia are great, especially the one we had chosen for this area would be nice, but in reality it was stunning.  Wherever you looked it was all what Tuscany is about. Hillsides as far as you can see. Our Tuscany road trip definitely is becoming one of the best road trips we’ve done!

We all agreed that staying at the house and not going out would have been a satisfactory way to spend our time.

tuscan, house
Stunning Tuscan house in Saturnia

But we decided to make the effort and do some sightseeing. We visited the Saturnia Thermal Waters in the morning and relaxed at the house in the afternoon. 

I will let you be the judge of whether you like the thermal waters or not. They were situated only 10min from where we stayed and parking is free of charge. By the springs there is not a lot of shade so best to bring an umbrella. There is also a small restaurant on site.

thermal, waters, Saturnia
Saturnia Thermal Waters

Rest day and visit Rome in Italy

Day 5: Today is a good day to visit Rome or simply rest. One party of our group when to Rome for the day. With some good planning, they managed to cover pretty much all the famous landmarks Rome has to offer . Including the impressive St.Peter’s Basilica, home of the Pope.

We felt that the kids are just a little too small for Rome at the moment but cannot wait to visit one day.

However if you still would love to visit the City of Rome with kids then maybe to rent a MiniCar is just the right idea. See how Rosina from the Travel blog “Find the Map” enjoyed a City tour in Rome with kids with a MiniCar.

Instead we had a relaxed morning, went swimming in the pool by the house and visited the nearby village Manciano.

Scenic drive to Montaione via the Val d’Orcia – Tuscany

Day 6: We left early and headed in the direction of Montepulciano, the great Mediaeval town.

When doing a road trip in Tuscany with lots of scenic routes it is best to make sure you have a map at hand and to not only to rely on the GPS.

I was guiding us through some very small villages, narrow roads and we even had a water crossing on the way. All this made the trip even better and more interesting. We used the Via Michelin Tuscany Road Map.

Tuscany, roadtrip
Beautiful Tuscan landscape

We stoped at the beautiful mediaeval village of Monticchiello where the famous Tuscany windy road with the Cypress trees is situated. Monticchiello also belongs to the three tuscan Villages not to be missed when road tripping through Tuscany.

I tried to get a decent shot but you need a drone to make a good photo of it. We tried with our camera, but none of the photos really captured the beauty of this road.

Monticchiello Village
Medieval Town Monticchiello in Tuscany

After a stroll through the empty, beautiful village we headed further north direction Montepulciano. The time was flying and we made the decision to skip visiting Montepulciano and just bypass it to reach the Scenic route SP146 which led us to Pienza, where we planned to stop for lunch.

The road passes through forests and hillsides and suddenly, wow there is it. With all it’s towers and it’s beauty, the Village of Montepulciano. Well worth a stop to take it all in.

Montepulciano Village
Medieval Village of Montepulciano

Honestly, for us, the SP146 to Pienza  was not the most scenic route like everyone claimed. It is nice of course, but we had seen nicer even earlier the same day.

We agreed the most stunning part was after Pienza in the Val d’Orcia.

Pienza tuscan village, architecture
Pienza Architecture, Tuscany Village

Again it was already a bit late and we decided to take the fast road, the SR2 direction Sienna to reach Montaione. We skipped the whole Gianti region. This is for another time.

Visit Florence with Kids

Day Seven: Another early morning, as we knew it will get too hot in the afternoon to visit Florence with the Kids.

To find out where to park, which walking route through Florence we did, Read Visit Florenc with kids from our blog.

We took the tram into the city from Sandicci which is about a 10 min ride. Wow it was crowded at the station. As we had taken our double bike trailer with us so the kids could sit in it when they were tired, it was a bit a struggle to get out of the main station.

We visited the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, quite impressive when you come around the corner and there she is. Just beautiful.
The end of our Florence tour was on the Piazzale Michelangelo, from where you have an amazing view over the city.

A highlight was the Ponte Vecchio just before sunset. Read more about visit Florence with kids.

Ponte Vecchio
Beautiful Ponte Vecchio – Florence – Tuscany

Relaxing Day in Tuscany Italy

Day eight: Also very important on a holiday is just to do nothing. We spent the morning by the pool and the afternoon at the playground. Some went and played tennis whilst others went for another ice cream.

boy with Ice cream
Lucas enjoying one of San Gimignano’s Wold Class Ice Cream.

Visit Lucca and San Gimignano in Tuscany

Day nine: Lucca was on our not to be missed list and I made sure we could fit it into our itinerary.

It was an hour drive from Montaione.

The city wall is quite impressive and special. We rented bikes, like a lot of people do and enjoyed a nice bike ride around the whole city wall circle. This was a very nice experience. I have gone more into detail about Lucca on another blog.

San Frediano Tower in Lucca
Lucca and the San Frediano tower

On the way home we decided to have our daily ice cream in the popular Mediaeval Village of San Gimignano.

I am so glad we went. This was a perfect place to enjoy one last ice cream do some souvenir shopping before heading back north and then home.

San Gimignano Village
Medieval Village San Gimignano – Tuscany – Italy

Italy Travel Guide

And when you are back home and longing for Italian food, here is a secret receipt, Homemade Genovese Pesto

And if you want to see some more Italian lakes here is a guide to the 10 Most Beautiful Lakes in Italy 

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3 thoughts on “Tuscany Road Trip – 9 Days in Italy”

  1. I definitely just pinned this to save for later. I’ve never been to Italy and it is very high on my list. I’d love to do a road trip and this seems like an amazing itinerary! And, how cute is the ice cream photo?!

    Reply
    • Dear Meg, thank you so much for your comments. You will absolutely love it. Have a look through the website, there are more suggestions you might find interesting, such as Florence, Pisa, 3 Must visit Tuscan villages.
      I hope your trip to Italy will be soon.
      Happy travels, Corina

      Reply

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Hi, my name is Corina, a mum of twins, a wife and founder of Packed Again – a Swiss Family Travel & Adventure Blog. We live in the most amazing mountain valley in Switzerland, the Valais.

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