Exploring Europe: Tips for Success From a Mom of Four

Tips for success from a mom of four and some non-planner, non-basic recs for visiting Italy and Croatia with kids. Let's go!

This summer our family of six visited Europe for the first time together. Us parents, we spent our summers with grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins in these countries. Italy and Croatia were our second homes. In fact, Italy was a place I actually called home for a few years growing up as we moved there…twice-once in the eighties and once in the nineties. But fast forward and enter adulting. Twins, a mortgage, a cross-country move, a bigger mortgage, two more kids, work, work, work…my husband and I let fifteen years slide of visiting our respective “summer homes”. Let’s also not forget that for a good chunk of those years we lived on the west coast, the furthest point you can be from Europe in the U.S. minus  Hawaii, and we were juggling not one, not two, not three, but four car seats. The length of that trip, the logistics of that trip, the cost of that trip were all quite intimidating and thus kept us afar. Until this summer.

I’m freshly back in States and haven’t let the chaos of back to school season kill my vacay vibe entirely…yet (planned this trip so we had a couple weeks to settle back in before school started, also did 90% of back to school prep before leaving-score). I can’t wait to share with you our experience and tips on visiting Italy and Croatia for nearly a month as a mom of four and type-A person who strongly dislikes planning vacations…because PLEASE give me a freakin’ break from planning something. Thank you.

So here you have it, some tips for success for visiting Europe (specifically Italy and Croatia) with kids from our family to yours. Enjoy!

Money saving tips for visiting Europe with kids

We waited a long time to take this trip, mainly because it was going to hit the bank account…HARD. Four kids, none of whom are typically in the “free” category anymore means six tickets everywhere we went. While I wanted to be frugal, I also knew this trip was a long awaited one and wanted to be a little bougie too. Can you blame me? Champagne taste-Sparkling water budget (ok maybe a little more than sparkling water, but you get it).

One easy way to stretch a buck without forgoing luxury is to research the shit out of flights. I set a Kayak alert on tickets. I checked on different scenarios. I weighed the cost of convenience with budget because both are important, especially when you’ve got littles (no 12-hour layovers thank you very much). I had budgeted $10,000 for our airfare and we ended up spending approximately $8,500. Score! Here’s how we did it:

1. Know the going rates and know when a good airfare deal is present that works for your family. After months of researching, when the flights we ended up choosing showed themselves, we didn’t wait and purchased them.
2. Buy the cheapest type of ticket. We didn’t upgrade in anyway, not even seat choices. I know we probably risked not sitting together on all flights, but it actually worked out with the exception of one flight (hang on, I’ll share more in a minute). We flew British Airways and apparently they MUST seat children with an accompanying adult. I don’t know if all airlines honor this, but it worked out just fine for us and saved us a lot of money in add-on fees. If peace of mind is important to you when it comes to seat assignments, maybe don’t use this tip.
3. Book any inter-European flights separately. We flew to Rome, Italy and back from Split, Croatia, which meant we traveled while in Europe. Adding the flight from Italy to Croatia to our overall itinerary would have put us immediately over budget. Instead, I recommend checking out smaller airlines that operate solely in Europe or close by, like Ryanair and Volotea. We found tickets on Volotea from Bari (Southern Italy where we were staying for a portion of our time there) to Split (a major airport in Croatia about an hour from our final destination) with luggage fees and seat selection (yes, I splurged the additional $15.00 to ensure all of us sat together on this 40-minute flight) for $360 total! What?!

One thing I will add when it comes to money saving tips is this. I mistakenly booked our flights during the period of Mercury retrograde. If you’re not into astrology, let me just say, this is a big no-no. You typically don’t want to sign contracts or commit to major purchases whenever Mercury is going backwards. It can mess things up. And while I’m grateful for the deal we got it, we did experience some of Mercury’s hiccups during our actual flights, like missing our connection in London and not getting our luggage until three days after we arrived back home. Minor blips, but definitely an act of Mercury showing their power in my opinion.  

Where to stay tips for families visiting Italy and Croatia

We visited Italy and Croatia, so this isn’t going to be a full-on Euro trip extravaganza. In fact, even if we could have done that, I don’t think we would have. Traveling constantly with kids isn’t as fun and adventurous as when you’re backpacking through Europe with your friends after college. There’s whining. There’s jetlag. There’s less of a threshold for heat and more of a reason to question all your life’s decisions when your kiddo won’t smile once you’ve finally reached the Trevi fountain and just want one picture where everyone is facing the camera. Enough candid shots.

We decided to book places that allowed our four kids run a little wild and cool off from the summer heat and crowded touristy streets. In Italy, we visited Rome and my hometown of Conversano, Bari. In Croatia, we visited Trogir and my husband’s family’s hometown of Kukljica, Zadar. Now, of course, if you have family to comfortably stay with, awesome. We did in one of our destinations. But, for the others, we needed to book accommodations for our family of six. Here’s where we stayed and why I’d recommend these spots.

Rome (Italy): Villa Albina

My husband found this gem of a spot, and it did NOT disappoint. I will say, if you won’t have a car, it’s probably not your best option as it’s about a twenty minute drive from Rome city center, but since we did have a rental car, it was worth it for us to drive a bit and have a pool, a soccer field, spacious rooms, and breakfast included in a warm and family-friendly atmosphere. Staying at Villa Albina is like staying at your rich aunt and uncle’s home in Italy. Owners Patrizia and Gianluigi are the most gracious and welcoming hosts and immediately make you feel like extended family. From their warm welcome to their home-baked morning treats, it was such a wonderful way to kick off our trip. Having a pool (biggest pool I’ve ever seen in someone’s yard by the way) and even a legit soccer field was a fun way to enjoy our time outside the city after a day of travel and site-seeing, especially when traveling with four boys ranging in age from five to 11. As you can imagine, it was also more spacious and affordable than staying in a hotel closer to the sites.

With hosts Patrizia and Gianluigi at Villa Albina

Conversano, Bari (Italy): Grand Hotel D’Aragona

Conversano may or may not be on your list of places to visit (it’s not the most touristy spot in Italy-not even close), but it’s where my family is from and where I spent many years living and visiting growing up, so we spent a week here introducing our kids to all their great aunts and uncles and cousins in addition to visiting some of the beautiful local sites and beaches. We stayed at the bougie hotel in town because there aren’t many options and after researching Airbnbs, the cost difference was minimal and experience, I knew, would be elevated and worth the difference. Also, the Grand Hotel D’Aragona has a beautiful, big pool that local guests can also purchase a day pass and visit (we definitely spent some afternoons with family there) and breakfast is included (score when you’re traveling with kids in my opinion). The rooms were clean, bathrooms were big enough (IYKYK), air conditioning worked perfectly, restaurant was lovely, and they even have a spa that seemed heavenly. We didn’t have a chance to use the spa as we spent most of our time outside the hotel or at the pool when we were there, but it looked like a peaceful retreat, and I ended up buying my cousin a gift certificate for a massage there after she planned an epic eighth birthday party on a whim for our middle kiddo. The only thing I wish had been different about our experience was having rooms that adjoined. Because we needed two rooms and there weren’t any next to each other, we ended up separating (dad with two kids in one room and mom with two kids in the other room). It was fine, just not ideal. Nonetheless, when we go back, we will definitely be staying at the Grand Hotel D’Aragona again.

Our son going for the catch as he dove into the giant pool at Grand Hotel D'Aragona in Conversano, Bari (Italy).

Trogir (Croatia): Apartmani Marko

We spent 13 days in Croatia and so, upon arrival to Split from Bari, instead of going immediately to our final destination, we decided to spend a couple nights elsewhere and explore a different area of the country neither of us had been before. My husband researched Trogir, a chic and ancient waterfront city with a beautiful medieval castle and celebrity yachts, one more beautiful than the next, all parked along the riva (waterfront). Since we booked this spontaneous stop just a few days beforehand with little options to choose from, we stayed about ten minutes away in Kastel Stafilic. Again, we had a car, so no big deal. It’s a miracle we even found this place because all other dates were booked. We probably didn’t need all the space in this three-bedroom, two-bathroom, fully equipped kitchen and beautiful, big terrace apartment for just a couple nights, but if you’re staying longer, it definitely is a comfy place to be. It also had a washer and dryer, so we were able to do laundry while we were there, and a pool, which was a fun way to relax and stay cool after traveling or being on a boat island hopping most of the day. The host, Dragica, was friendly and helpful, recommending restaurants and excursions during our short stay. It was fun to hear lots of different languages being spoken by international guests staying in the other two or three apartments available. We met a family from Sweden, and my guess is the other family staying there was Russian based on what I could decipher from their very fun and lively conversation.

We definitely could have stayed longer at Apartmani Marko!

Preko, Zadar (Croatia): Dunatovi Dvori

While we didn’t need a place to stay on Ugljan island (where my husband’s family is from), we decided last minute to book this place after exploring the nearby town of Preko for a day and sensing how chic and beautiful this hotel was. Truth be told, we also saw they had a gorgeous pool and thought it would be a fun way to break up the beach days with our boys. We initially thought we’d purchase a day pass for the family to hang out there, but were told in high season, that’s not a possibility, so we ended up booking a room for one night for just my husband and me, and using the pool with the kids the day before and after, as the hotel said that was totally ok. The kids had a blast, although we did have to tell them to be quieter a couple times since the hotel is a converted mansion with just 14 rooms and is adjacent to residential homes. Let’s talk about the one-night getaway though. Wow. Dunatovi Dvori is probably one of the most breathtaking and elevated hotels I’ve ever stayed in (or at least that this mom brain can remember). The view-incredible. The room-even the smallest one we were able to book at the last minute-beautiful. The staff-lovely. The breakfast (also included)-delicious. This boutique hotel is luxurious without the pretentious. We brought a bottle of prosecco at a local supermarket and drank it outside on the lounge chairs by the beach before taking a stroll to a nearby restaurant for dinner. It was quite the romantic date night we didn’t know we needed as we approach our sweet sixteen wedding anniversary this fall. I know it’s not the norm to be able to drop your kids off at the grandparents’ house ten minutes away in another country, but if it’s a possibility for you, definitely recommend the Dunatovi Dvori. Or bring your kids, that’s fine too 😊. Just make sure they’re not super loud.

Enjoying our date night at Dunatovi Dvori in Preko, Croatia

Site-seeing tips for Italy and Croatia with Kids

Here’s the deal when it comes to site-seeing in Europe with kids. There’s a lot to see, more than you likely will get to. And so, it’s important to keep it real…aka set reasonable expectations. Kids don’t care this may be the one and only time they get to climb the Spanish steps. Kids care that it’s 90 degrees and they’re thirsty. FYI-one tip that helped us reach the top: count the steps as you’re walking. It took their attention off the workout part of it.

Here are some places I’d recommend (or not recommend) when it comes to site-seeing in Italy and Croatia (at least the cities we were in).

Rome:

The Colosseum: Such a piece of historical art right smack in the middle of a bustling city. We didn’t book a tour here, although I did read from lots of parents it was worth the investment. We ended up just purchasing tickets directly from the Colosseum website, which was way less expensive, but didn’t include all the rich facts a tour guide would have likely provided us with. FYI, they only release tickets about a week out on the actual Colosseum website from what I saw, so set your alarm to do this in that window or you won’t get them at the best price direct from the source.

So special seeing these sites with our boys. Here they are at the Colosseum in Rome. 

The Spanish Steps: See previously mentioned tip. Count them and maybe your kids won’t complain the entire way up.

The Trevi Fountain: Bring a coin to throw in as most people make a wish and do this tradition when visiting it. Worth the short wait to get right in front and take an epic picture. We happened to be sitting next to a couple getting engaged in that moment, which was so sweet to witness. The kids may not have appreciated the architectural beauty, but they enjoyed touching some cold water since they were pretty hot. Also, there are lots of gelaterias (ice cream shops) surrounding the fountain, so you can bribe them with a sweet treat like we did to get the family photo.

Campo dei Fiori: This may not be on your bucket list, but we love this part of the city. In fact, when we visited fifteen years ago, we stayed nearby and got to experience some authentic food and non-touristy shopping nearby. There was an outdoor market happening where our kids picked out lots of souvenirs for just one Euro each. Additionally, if you’re in this area and looking for a quick and easy meal, be sure to check out Roscioli, where you can get pizza by the slice and other delicious options.

We ate at Roscioli 15 years ago as newlyweds and still remembered it, so of course we needed to take our family there for a bite while we were in Rome. Did you know there's now a location in New York City?!

The Vatican: We had tickets here, but actually didn’t get there because of our missed connection and a consequential and unexpected night we spent in London. Kind of a bummer as we were excited to possibly get a glimpse of the first American pope, but we read he was on vacation anyway, so that’s fine. My son was a little disappointed to not be able to see the Sistine Chapel, but we told him we’ll come back one of these days. And a promise is a promise.

Puglia: 

The Castle of Conversano: In the center of the city of Conversano lies an ancient castle that once housed the counts of this city. You can take a tour (in English) of the castle and its neighboring cathedral and learn about the rich history of the city. We did and our tour guide, Eleonora, was super sweet and had so much to share. The kids were kind of exhausted since we had a lot of late nights in Italy, but it was still a site to see and learn about right in middle of my hometown.

Alberbello: Alberbello is home to the trulli—which are dry, stone hut-like structures with cone shaped rooves. Honestly, that description makes them sound ugly. They’re actually these incredibly beautiful, antique structures painted white where colorful flowers bloom what feels like out of the stone ground and create a strikingly beautiful backdrop to any photo. Most of them are now converted into shops as the town is full tourists, but they maintain charm and character regardless.

Alberobello is a dream with so many photo ops. Kids wanted to kill us, but we got a lot of great photos. 

Polignano a Mare: Polignano is a neighboring town on the water that we visited several times as it was just a 10-minute drive away. One of our trips included a private boat tour of the caverns and gorgeous Adriatic coastline. Polignano is also the hometown of Domenico Modugno, the singer of the famous song Nel blu dipinto di blue, and there’s a big statue commemorating him in the town center, where lots of tourists come to take a picture with their arms spread eagle like the statue depicts. In case you don’t speak Italian or haven’t Google translated, the lyric volare means to fly.

Our private boat tour in Polignano a Mare was so fun, and the start of two more boat excursions during our stay. 

Croatia:

Trogir: We explored Trogir one afternoon and evening while we stayed nearby for a couple nights. It has a beautiful old town and a historic fortress you can climb to the top of. It’s also pretty chic with lots of yachts stopping by this island for dinner. One of the most beautiful, small cities you’ll encounter in my opinion, and not too overwhelming either to explore in a day, definitely check it out if you find yourself nearby Split. 

Zadar: Zadar is a quick ferry ride away from Uglian island where we spent the majority of our town in Croatia. It’s a beautiful, old city where you can see lots of gorgeous architecture, churches, and even an impressive archaeological museum. There’s also a ton of shopping here, and-score-lots of sales happening in the summer. Don’t miss the sea organ, where the ocean literally plays music for all to enjoy, and the incredible sunset that Alfred Hitchcock is quoted to have described as the “most beautiful sunset in the world.”

Checking out the iconic sunset in Zadar, Croatia

"The water park": I'm making this a generic spot, because they exist all over Croatia. Seriously, we saw one of these in three different beach spots we visited in three different cities. Is it a water park? Not exactly. It's a massive blow-up, bouncy thing in the water. Will it entertain your kids for hours on end? Probably. It did for mine. Most places provide life jackets upon purchasing tickets so you can also have some peace of mind while your kids are sliding into seawater and being catapulted from trampolines into the ocean. Obviously, if you don't have strong swimmers, this may not be something you or your kids are comfortable with, but thankfully after thousands of dollars invested in swim schools, the second part of our lives has begun as all our children are now water safe. 

The "water park" in Kukljica, Croatia

FUN tips for visiting Europe with kids

In case you’re new around here, at the start of each year, I pick a word that I want to represent me and my efforts throughout that calendar year. In years past, it’s been fulfillment (2021), intentional (2023), and repair (2024). I honestly cannot remember what the 2022 word was as I write this, so it shall remain a mystery, but what really matters is that my 2025 word was/is FUN. That’s right. F-U-N. Fun! Why did I pick this word? Because I was lacking in this department. After some bad habits of adulting too hard and parenting too tight mixed with a cross country move and all that goes along with being the responsible party for getting everyone settled in a new state, fun was barely making it to my priority list. And I knew that had to change. So, in 2025, my efforts remain to make life, parenting, work, all of it, more fun. I’m so glad this trip coincided with my year of fun. Here’s how we implemented fun during our Euro trip.

First fun tip: Sleep when you’re dead. At home, I’m a stickler for bedtime. On our vacation, all bedtime rules went out the window, partially due to jetlag, partially due to the fact that most restaurants in Italy don’t even open for dinner until 8:00pm. Also, nightlife in the summer in Puglia is legit, and not just for twenty-somethings. Families are out until midnight on Monday nights. Moms are pushing strollers with sleeping infants hours past my American bedtime. And being out and rather than winding down watching TV felt much more fun on our vacation for our family, even if we were tired. We partied hard in Italy, often being out from eight or nine in the morning until 1:00am. My youngest son even said at one point, “There’s no rest in Italy”. Had we stayed longer than our duration, maybe we would have taken a night off from the late night fun, but because we only had a week with our family and friends there, we made the most fun of it.

Cousins and brothers galivanting until midnight most nights-worth any tired boys we had in the morning. 

Second fun tip: Be a little spontaneous. As mentioned, I want a loose plan on vacation, but I also don’t want to be the planner. I want to clock out of being the type A mom when we’re away. And so, I did. The beautiful part of that is it allowed for spontaneity. My husband booked a last-minute boat charter for us to explore different Croatian islands like Solta and swim in the famous Blue Lagoon, places neither one of us had ever been. I booked our night at the Dunatovi Dvori just a few days beforehand because I spotted it randomly one day while we sipped pina coladas at a beach café. Ice cream before dinner? Sure! No plans for dinner? Check out the pekara (Croatian bakery) over there that has the most delicious savory burek you ever tasted. I don’t think your whole trip should be spontaneous because you need some planning with kids or it could backfire. But, overall having some spontaneity for us was a win.

Core memory unlocked-swimming in the gorgeous Blue Lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. 

Third fun tip: Let go of all rules. Well, maybe not all of them. I mean we didn’t want our kids going totally rogue, but when it came to things like soda and ice cream, we rarely said no. In fact, my husband calculated that over the course of our 24-day trip, our family consumed over 350 scoops of gelato (Italian ice cream-also referred to as this in Croatia). At one point, my son said he needed to keep the commitment going-ice cream and a Coca-Cola daily. And while sometimes I wanted to say, “That’s it! You lose ice cream today. Stop fighting with your brother!”, I just couldn’t be the one who broke the streak for them. Also, I think I ate ice cream 22 of the 24 days myself because I’m a team player. Best combo in my opinion: hazelnut and dark chocolate for the win!

Gelato before dinner? Yes please. Gelato more than once a day? Why not!

Well, there you have it. Our European extravaganza to Italy and Croatia as a family of six. Hope you’ve found this blog post helpful if you’re planning a trip to Europe with your family. And hope you follow along for more working mom relatable content to help you achieve the dreams you didn’t think were possible. It CAN be done.