Rome with Kids Guide Book Review

A Rome Vacation and Family Tour is Made Fun for Children and Adults

Aug 10, 2007

For a guide book to stand out, it has to be special. Rome with Kids: An Insider's Guide, is just such a book. Luxury Travel reviews the book and talks with the author.

Travel writers and frequent travelers read a lot of guide books; it comes with the territory. Frommer's Travel Guides, Fodor's Travel Guides, Michelin Green Guide - they're all packed with information, time tables, and maps. From destination to destination, all these well-known guide books pretty much relay the same historical facts, recommended restaurants and other travel tidbits. For inveterate travelers, it's hard for a guide book to really stand out. That's what makes Rome with Kids, by JM Pasquesi, so special. Any family travel plans including a Rome tour would greatly benefit from this guide book.

Rome with Kids: An Insider's Guide (Synergy Books, July 2007) is a family guide book to Rome, Italy. While it does contain the usual maps, itinerary suggestions, and hotel recommendations, this guide book to Rome is written in a light and breezy style, loaded with tips for keeping children of various ages entertained while on a Roman vacation. The author manages to cover 3,000 years of Roman history, art and architecture in a comprehensive yet comprehensible style, while parenthetically adding suggestions for ways to get kids to appreciate what they're experiencing.

In a conversation with Luxury Travel, author JM Pasquesi described many years of taking her children with her for extended stays in Rome and Italy. She says that the key elements for a successful family vacation in Rome are "spacing and pacing." In other words, a slower pace with more time between attractions helps children enjoy and appreciate all the sights, sounds, and historical interest that Rome tours have to offer. This may mean that adults will cover less ground than they would if traveling to Italy solo, but the experience will be richer for everyone when the family group is happier.

Rome with Kids: An Insider's Guide offers suggestions at each major stop in Rome, which help children enjoy themselves. Without dumbing down the history or art appreciation, the guide book contain ideas such as "Can you find the Lapis Niger?" by the Arch of the Forum and other "Can you find" treasure hunt type games for children, in highlighted paragraphs for kids. There are many other fun activities suggested as well.

Rome with Kids guide book for family friendly guided tours:

Rome with Kids - Review Summary:

JM Pasquesi told Luxury Travel that families taking a vacation in Rome can still do cultural activities; children appreciate this ancient city when parents help make the tours fun. Her knowledge and love for Rome comes through on every page, and her approach, while light, is never patronizing or oversimplifying. Luxury Travel can't imagine a better guide book for a family planning a vacation in Rome.

Related, on Suite 101:

The copyright of the article Rome with Kids Guide Book Review in Luxury Travel is owned by Jennifer W. Miner. Permission to republish Rome with Kids Guide Book Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.