Italy Diary - September 2025

The family who traveled

September 2025, the Pim family of six (parents, two children aged 11 and 14, grandmother and aunt) from Bangkok. Nine days in Italy. It was the third multigenerational family trip Wanvela ran that year.

Day 1–2 - Arrival in Rome

Flight landed at Fiumicino at 10:35 am, Wanvela's private transfer to Hotel de la Ville Rocco Forte at the Spanish Steps, in by 1pm. The family was in their rooms before 2pm, an hour ahead of standard check-in, arranged in advance.

The first day was rest, a walk on the Spanish Steps, gelato at Giolitti, aperitivo on the hotel rooftop with the city laid out below. The first photographs of the trip, with our photographer Marco, the sunset light through Trinità dei Monti.

Day 3 - Vatican, then south to Tuscany

7:30 am, our private guide took the family into the Vatican Museums before public opening. They walked through the Sistine Chapel before anyone else arrived, Marco's portrait of grandmother looking up at Michelangelo's ceiling was the first image chosen for the album.

Lunch at Antico Forno Roscioli in the Ghetto, pizza bianca and supplì. The grandmother loved it (she said it was better than the pizza she remembered from Naples thirty years ago).

3 pm departure for Tuscany, three hours down the A1 motorway. The children slept; grandmother watched the Tuscan landscape pass.

Day 4–5 - Castello Banfi and truffles

Two nights at Castello Banfi, the family in three Junior Suites in the vineyard-view wing.

Day 4 morning, a private Brunello tasting with enologist Rudy Buratti. The children had grape juice instead. Grandmother chose the best vintage, the 2016 Riserva.

Afternoon, Pienza cheese tasting, then truffle hunting with the Marco family and Lagotto dogs. The youngest child found his first 12-gram white truffle. Marco caught the moment.

Day 6 - Half a day in Florence, then onward to Cinque Terre

8:30 am, our private guide Carlo began at the Uffizi (Wanvela had booked the 9:00 entry, public groups start at 10:00). Two and a half hours. The 14-year-old loved the Botticelli room; grandmother preferred Leonardo.

Lunch at Lungarno hotel, the terrace overlooking the Arno, before the 2 pm Frecciarossa train to La Spezia, arriving at 5 pm.

Day 7 - Cinque Terre by boat

A private boat from Portovenere at 9 am, past the five villages, the entire day on water. The family swam at three coves. Grandmother stayed dry, watching the grandchildren and sipping Prosecco.

Lunch on board, pasta al pesto by our private chef, prepared fresh. The family talked about that meal for the rest of the trip.

Day 8–9 - Positano

Two nights at Le Sirenuse, every room on the 4th floor or above.

Day 8, Capri day trip on the hotel's Donna Anna boat. The 11-year-old jumped off the boat 14 times (Marco counted). Lunch at Da Adolfo, pesce all'acqua pazza, booked six weeks earlier.

Day 9 morning, a final aperitif at the Champagne & Oyster Bar. K. Pim drank Veuve Clicquot with her husband on the last balcony of the suite.

"The last nine days felt like three weeks, in the best way, because every day held something we remember, not a blur of tour buses." - K. Pim, end-of-trip note

Day 9 evening - Rome to Bangkok

A 3-hour private transfer back to Rome, dropped at Fiumicino at 4:30 pm, flight TG out at 9:55 pm. The album of 240 photos went to the family 11 days later.

What we learned

• Multigenerational trips need nap windows, every day should hold a rest for grandmother.
• Children aged 11–14 are tied to their phones, we asked the family to leave phones in the rooms during dinner (they agreed).
• The photographer worked hardest on arrival day and Capri.
• Grandmother loved Tuscany most, we're going back with the family in 2026.

See our Italy itinerary template, or ask about remaining departure dates.