The le Cinque Terre is extremely steep and hilly, the towns have tiny (if any) rocky beaches. There can be an absence of running-around space.

My suggestion is that you consider renting a car in Venice and driving it to Lerici, not le Cinque Terre. You'll find more parking there, plus a very long "lungomare" (seaside promenade) and a lot of beach areas. There is a castle there (with replicas of dinosaurs inside; I've never been). There are boat rides you can take to other very colorful towns, including the le Cinque Terre towns. And there are hikes.

With a car, you can take drives to other places if it rains or even if just want to variety. Pisa is doable, and you might also consider the marble quarries of close-by Carrara. The boys might like a guided tour inside a marble cave.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/10/03/travel/03overnighter.html

I think it is a very good plan to stop en route. Bologna isn't good with a car, but Parma is fine and peaceful, and its most important treasures -- the Duomo and Bapistery -- are easily seen in a bit over a half hour and wouldn't be too taxing for children. Just 15 kilometers outside Parma is an incredible castle, one of the best in Italy. You can actually sleep there, and with a car, it might work very well for you. There are restaurants there serving the famous local ham and cheese, plus other kid-friendly foods.

http://www.tavernadelcastello.it/

I think since you have significant luggage, two young kids, the fact that a car lets you move at your own pace, it might be worth the extra euros to have a car, even though you'll simply park it for most of the time you are at the seaside. You'll save yourself the hassle of hauling your luggage through train stations. You'll already have the car you need for Tuscany (many at a cheaper full week rate.) If your kids can't handle long-ish boat rides, or the boats aren't running due to choppy waters, and you want to see le Cinque Terre, you can drive from Lerici to a town like Levanto (go early in the morning), park and use the trains for the day.

Have a great time!

PS: I just noticed that the link I gave you for the castle in Parma no longer lists rooms where you can stay. If you would like to stay in that area, one of these places might work for you

http://www.bed-and-breakfast-in-italy.com/cerca.cfm?q=torrechiara&Submit=Search

Otherwise, there are many hotels in Parma in the area of the Parco Ducale, which would be a good location for both parking and walking to all the sights of Parma, through the pretty park.

Monterosso has about the only sandy beach it seems if kids want to swim or build sand castles on a sandy beach - one of the top beaches in Italy according to rankings. The other villages are mainly rocky coast and one is perched hundreds of feet above the sea.

Hi Kate,

We visited CT last June. We traveled by train. The journey was scenic and hassle free.
Journey from Venice by train also was very comfortable. It is better done by train, as the route is not known to be scenic.
I will give you my personal opinion. Many people will have a different view.

"I thought the Cinque Terre" were quite over-rated and felt like run-down version of beautiful Portofino.
Most of the tourists were Americans, influenced by Rick Steves. We found the villages quite touristy and not at all the quintessential villages from imagination. There are many more beautiful places in Italy. In the same trip, we also visited Capri and Amalfi coast which were much more picturesque and prettier.
If I go there again, I will make St. Margarita Liguire as my base and visit Portofino(Picture post card village - one of the prettiest places- A little pricey though), Cinque Terre and places around.

The 5 villages are quite rocky and involve a lot of walking, definitely not with small kids. I would not drive there.
If you are keen, you can make your base at S. Margarita, keep most of your luggage in the hotel luggage room and travel with 2 small day-bags (even if you stay overnight) It will make your life easier.

One most important thing. We saw a fellow tourist being robbed of everything including passport, dollars, credit cards, air tickets. He had kept these things in a haversack on his back and got down from the train at Vernazza. Most surprising was, that this happened to him for the 2nd time in 2 trips.
Please be careful. Keep everything in the front, or in your jacket inner pocket.

I repeat, this is my personal opinion, also shared by my wife. I hope I am not offending anyone.

Have a great trip. Italy is beautiful. You will love it!

Please be careful with the Kids on the walking trais, as they are rocky and can be very risky at times for the kids.

My first reaction was that I wouldn't even consider Cinque Terre for kids so young. They'd be bored stiff. Nothing much to do except hike from place to place and it's tough walking from sea level up through terraced farm plots and down to sea level again. Gradients of 1:3 some places.
Venice to CT- why? There's lots of wonderful places nearer to Venice- what about the Italian Lakes??

Hope Paragkash doesn' t mind my correcting the spelling:

It's Santa Margherita Ligure.

It's a nice town, but it's a good hour north of le Cinque Terre. I don't think your kids will find much of interest in Portofino, and everything there -- even just a one-scoop gelato -- will cost you two to three times more than it will elsewhere on the Riviera. But there is a nice cable car ride up into the mountains (it leaves from Rapallo). If you do arrive in Santa Margherita Ligure without a car, pick up your rental car in Rapallo when you leave.

Overall I agree with Paragkash's basic description of le Cinque Terre. I just think Lerici make more sense for you in the entire context of your trip.

http://goitaly.about.com/od/liguria/ss/italian_riviera_6.htm

http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/travel/20next.html

I don't think there is much more for kids to do in the Italian Lakes than there is on the Mediterranean for kids. In fact, I think there is more for kids around the Mediterranean apart from le Cinque Terre. However, if you want an amusement park, there is a famous one on Lago di Garda (Gardaland.) You can reach it by train from Venice. The stop is Peschiera del Garda.

But otherwise kids aren't going to find Bellagio or Varenna much more interesting or easier to get around than le Cinque Terre. the logistics of including the lakes with Tuscany aren't optimal, either by car or train. You'd still need to break up the trip en route to Tuscany from the Lakes.

Hi Kate,

Congrats on your trip go a lot.

Car rental is problematic for CT

due autostrada traffic/stress to cost drop off and no cars in

www.cinqueterre.com so I prefer to train.

www.torrettas.com in Manarola is best for me

also sometimes like www.metropole.it from 120 euro/nt more

convenient one block from the train station

easy train or ferry into the CT or Portofino also neat

from there... Happy Journey,

You also would do better to train from Tuscany

via www.lucca.info and La Spezia lots closer

than Venice if you will look at a map.

If your kids are mature enough to behave in a restaurant and they like hiking at home, then CT is not to be missed. Do not take a car there though. Entry should be by train from La Spezia where you can get Cinque Terre passes at the train station good for specified number of days and unlimited train travel between the 5 towns. The trains run frequently, even into the evening.If you hike at home, anything mountainous or hilly, the exceedingly scenic walks between and above the 5 towns will not be difficult. There are beaches for swimming, shops and colorful buildings. You can combine your walks with train shuttles. The distances between the towns are not daunting. There are olive groves and vineyards. You can get picnic items to take along in markets in any of the towns.

I was there with my young daughter. I would recommend the train from Venice. The trains between the towns will be fun for the boys. Stay in Monterosso for the sandy beaches and other kids to play with. The hike from Town #1 to #2 is easy.

CT was easy with a kid. I found Venice much harder!

Thanks for all your suggestions. Gives me plenty to think about. Not sure it's made it much easier to make up my mind but it has made me realise that whatever we choose we can't go too far wrong. The boys are pretty good in restaurants and although haven't done too much hiking we plan to do a bit over the next few months. It's also worth mentioning that we are from Queensland, Australia. (thankfully, unlike many others we've managed to stay dry) We are within an hours drive of both the Gold and Sunshine Coasts which are home to some of the world's best beaches so while a play in the sand and a paddle will be a nice break it is certainly not a priority.

Hi Kate
We are a family travelling with 3 x children (aged 4, 6, 8) to Italy this October. We coincidentally also live in Queensland (on the Gold Coast)! We were just wondering if you would mind giving us an update of how your trip to Italy went last year, travelling with children? We're very excited about our trip and are looking at hiring a car to explore the coastline and then a motorhome to explore the north. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Goodmorning Kate!
As we are also a family travelling with 2xchildren we have decided to lease a car. Would love an update. At this stage we just know we have 16days for Italy. Hopefully will hear how it went soon! <<bohemianfive>>what are your plans?