One Week in Italy & San Marino | Our Itinerary for Baby's First Trip
aka: deep diving into the baby friendliness of our trip
Friends, hello! Happy Friday! I hope this post finds you happy, healthy, and, with some exciting plans for the weekend ahead! I’m dropping into your inbox to share my latest travel piece with you: One Week in Italy & San Marino | Our Itinerary for Baby’s First Trip! At the end of last month, Husband, Bean, and I set off on our inaugural adventure as a family of three and it! went! so! well! All in, the trip was a blissful 7-days absolutely chock-full of sunshine, pasta, and more gelato than I care to admit — it was perfect! Can I tell you about it?
Initially, when we were in the route planning stage of the trip, we toyed with going somewhere completely new-to-us; we hadn’t been abroad in close to a year, and the excitement of the unknown was ridiculously tempting. Eventually, we reined ourselves in and remembered that the biggest unknown for our first family trip would be seeing how Bean handles everything, and trying to figure out Greek signposts simultaneously would probably be too stressful. The itinerary we settled on (Bologna and Rimini, with a daytrip to San Marino) felt like a nice happy medium. Bologna is an old fave of ours — this was actually our seventh time visiting together! —, so it made sense for us to get our travelling-with-baby sea legs here. Rimini + San Marino, while still being two new-to-us places, are both located within the same region as Bologna, so they wouldn’t be that different, you know? The perfect mix of comfort and adventure!
Seeing as this was our first trip with our little bambina, I thought it might be fun to share a complete baby breakdown of our itinerary. I will, of course, be sharing individual city guides in the near future, which won’t have a highlight on baby, fear not, but this piece focuses solely on the baby-friendliness of our trip. How we got there, where we stayed, how we got around, and a note on eating out — all with a little 4-month old in tow. I tried to include all the relevant baby info I could think of, but hit me up if you have any questions!
Enjoy, friends 😊
our itinerary at a glace
day 1-3: Bologna
fly Dublin to Bologna
reacquaint ourselves with the city
base ourselves in an apartment in the quadrilatero district
take the train from Bologna to Rimini
day 3-6: Rimini
base ourselves in an apartment in the old town
explore Rimini
take the train from Rimini to Bologna
day 5: San Marino
take the bus to/from Rimini for a daytrip
day 6-7: Bologna
base ourselves in a hotel in the city centre
soak up our last full day
fly from Bologna to Dublin
our itinerary in detail
day 1-3: bologna
GETTING THERE:
we flew direct from Dublin to Bologna with Ryanair. Unfortunately, Ryanair doesn’t allow any extra baggage for lap infants — but does allow two free checked items and a 5kg baby bag. Our final luggage haul ended up being: x1 wheely overhead locker bag, x1 small personal bag, x1 baby bag, and x1 fully collapsible buggy. This was technically less bags then we were allotted — x1 more small personal bag would’ve still been allowed — but we didn’t want to be lugging around too much. More info on the Ryanair website, here.
before going through security at Dublin airport, we went to the Ryanair check-in area to get our baby bag and buggy tagged, as per the lap infant rules. This allowed us to keep Bean in her buggy right up until we boarded the plane, which was so nice considering she was on my lap for the rest of the day! You can also get these items tagged at the gate when you’re boarding, but the anxious over-thinker in me couldn’t handle not knowing if they’d be persnickety about the size of our baby bag. Spoiler alert: they weren’t.
the flight took a surprisingly speedy 2-hours. Mercifully, we had no issues with Bean on the flight — she stayed seat-belted onto my lap for the entire journey, awake, but generally chilled out. To help with pressure in her ears, we fed on take-off and landing; she didn’t seem to notice anything. The return journey was much the same, except she was so uninterested this time that she slept for the entire flight — woo!
from Bologna airport, we opted to take a taxi into the city centre for ease. It was rush hour when we landed, so the journey took around 35-minutes. Taxis in Italy are exempt from car seat laws, so I was able to hold Bean on my lap for the duration of the journey. Obviously not ideal, but seeing as it was such a short distance — 6km —, I didn’t think it was worth it to bring a car seat.
WHERE WE STAYED:
a literal 1-minute walk into the heart of the quadrilatero district, we got really lucky with the apartment we found online: Cuore di Bologna Suites. It was easy walking distance to everywhere we planned to hit up, the building felt safe — complete with a friendly doorman until the evenings —, the manager was very agreeable, and our room was perfect.
room-wise, we booked the ‘Superior Studio’: a spacious room with a large double bed, a single bed, a kitchenette, a dining table, and a private bathroom. The property also organized a travel cot for Bean, FOC, and there was a little basket of treats and coffee etc. It was perfect for our needs, and great being able to spread out all our stuff, especially with Bean.
this location was also buggy-friendly! The building has a (claustrophobic, slightly scary, and totally old-fashioned) fully functioning elevator that was justttt big enough to fit one buggy, two adults + all our luggage. There are, of course, stairs — but seeing as the apartment is located on the third floor, it wouldn’t have been doable for us without the elevator.
GETTING AROUND:
the city is delightfully easy to get around, so we walked everywhere! Most of the streets are flat and smooth, so it was relatively easy to navigate with a buggy.
of course, there are a lot of cobblestones in Italy, and in our super compact travel-friendly buggy, Bean absolutely felt every single one of them. Thankfully, bumpy journeys have never bothered her — but it is something to keep in mind if your baby is fussier.
day 3-6: rimini
GETTING THERE:
we took a direct ‘Intercity’ train from Bologna Centrale to Rimini Centrale. The walk to Bologna Centrale is very straightforward, and navigating our way through the station to the platform with the buggy was fine because there are elevators. The journey was around 1-hour and 15-minutes.
to make our lives easier, we kept Bean in the buggy on the platform until the last minute — which, thank god we did, because the train was 20-minutes delayed —, at which point I held her in my arms and we folded the buggy up completely. Bean was happy as a clam on the platform, smiling at enamored Italians blowing her kisses.
we’ve never had an issue finding space for our bags on Italian trains, and this was no different; even though the train was jammed, there was plenty of room for Husband to stow everything in the overhead space.
our tickets for this journey — which we booked in advance, online — had assigned seating, which was nice, because we didn’t have to worry about being separated. Our seats were across from each other with a table between us, so we were able to pass Bean back & forth. For more info about trains and routes, visit the TrenItalia website here.
FYI: the ‘Intercity’ trains do not have any baby-changing facilities on board! This wasn’t a huge concern for us because our journey was relatively short, but it’s definitely something to keep in mind if going further afield!
WHERE WE STAYED:
ideally located in the historic centre of Rimini, we were very happy with our accommodation: Corso51 Suite Apartments. It was easy walking distance to everywhere we planned to tourist — as well as both the train station and the San Marino bus stop —, the manager was very helpful whenever we needed her, and it was handily located around the corner from a CONAD CITY supermarket!
room-wise, we booked the ‘Augusto - Junior Suite’: a spacious room with a large double bed, an extra roomy fold-out couch, a kitchenette, a little dining table, and a private bathroom. The property also organized a travel cot for Bean, as well as a high chair, baby toiletries + towels, and a handful of baby-friendly toys, all FOC! We already thought the room was pretty perfect, but these sweet little touches were just so lovely.
the room also came equipped with a washer/dryer, which was so handy! Seeing as our stay here was smack bang in the middle of our trip, it was very helpful being able to do a wash and get everything dried before moving on.
this location is also (mostly) buggy-friendly! There is a small elevator that we, the buggy + our luggage were all able to squeeze into, however(!), there are two steps down into it that wouldn’t really be doable if you were on your own. The apartment is located on the first floor, so it wouldn’t have been the end of the world to carry the buggy up — but not ideal for any solo-parent travelers out there.
GETTING AROUND:
Rimini city is pretty compact, so we were able to walk everywhere! The city as a whole is relatively flat, so navigating with the buggy was a breeze.
the cobblestone situation here is definitely more aggressive than that in Bologna, which Bean didn’t love, but if we took it slow it wasn’t really an issue.
day 5: san marino
GETTING THERE:
for our daytrip to San Marino, we took a Bonelli Bus shuttle from the Arch of Augustus in Rimini, with a journey time of about 1-hour. The shuttle goes between the two cities once every 1.5-hours or so, and apparently they run every single day! For more info, visit the Bonelli Bus website here.
while you can buy your tickets directly onboard from the driver, we bought our tickets online in advance — and I’d highly recommend you do the same! Having a pre-booked ticket ensures you’ll be able to board the bus, even if it’s really full.
on that note: although having a ticket guarantees your transportation, it does not guarantee a seat! We got on at the second stop and nabbed two of the only three remaining seats on the whole bus — I was so shocked! I’d definitely recommend getting on at the first stop if possible, and also trying to be some of the first people to board. They do allow standing passengers on the bus, but it wouldn’t be ideal on the bumpy and winding roads!
to make our lives easier, we decided not to bring the buggy to San Marino, and instead opted to carry Bean in our BabyBjörn. Honestly, I am so glad we did this — she fell asleep against my chest basically as soon as I sat down, and stayed that way for the whole journey!
for the return journey later the same day, we made sure to queue up early to get seats together. The bus pulled up about 15-minutes before the departure time, and, as some of the first people onboard, we were able to avail of the two spacious seats up front. After a cute game of peekaboo with the driver, we lay Bean across our laps and she slept the whole way home!
GETTING AROUND:
in case you didn’t know — Husband, looking at you —, San Marino is perched very high up at the top of a literal mountain. As such, the streets through the historic centre are all extremely steep, with some feeling near vertical. I was so! happy! not to have the buggy with us, because it definitely would’ve been a pain to push it around all day.
as well as the sheer steep-ness, there was also a LOT of steps dotted around the city, many of which were unavoidable. It definitely would’ve been a massive annoyance to try to navigate with a buggy.
aside from all that, the city of San Marino is super compact! Everywhere we wanted to see was within easy walking distance of each other, and directions to the main attractions are well signposted for tourists.
day 6-7: bologna
GETTING THERE:
on our return to Bologna four days later, we once more took the train — except this time it was a ‘Regional Veloce’ train. This differed from the above train in that there were a few more stops, so the journey was a slightly longer 1-hour and 35-minutes.
also different from the above, our tickets for this train — which we booked in advance, online — showed unreserved seating. I was less nervous about this seeing as we already had one successful train journey under our belt, but thankfully we found seats together anyways. We were able to lay Bean across our laps again, and she literally slept the whole way. For more info about trains and routes, visit the TrenItalia website here.
again, there was plenty of room for our luggage — wheely bag, backpacks, folded up buggy, etc.
FYI: the ‘Regional Veloce’ trains do not have any baby-changing facilities on board! This wasn’t a huge concern for us because our journey was relatively short, but it’s definitely something to keep in mind if going further afield!
WHERE WE STAYED:
looking for ease on our final night, we booked into Hotel Cavour. Centrally located off Via dell'Indipendenza, this was an easy walk to the few remaining spots we wanted to squeeze in before leaving. The building felt very safe — complete with a 24-hour reception desk —, the staff were friendly enough, and it was very handy having them organize a taxi for us to get back to the airport!
room-wise, we booked a ‘Deluxe Double Room’: a spacious top-floor room with a large double bed, a little table and chairs, a desk, a private bathroom, and a travel cot for Bean, FOC. Our room rate also included breakfast the following morning, which was the usual European spread of meats/cheeses/yogurts/pastries, etc. All in all, perfect for our 1-night stay!
this hotel is buggy friendly! There was a relatively modern elevator towards the rear of the building that was very spacious, so we were able to travel up and down to the room with ease!
a note on eating out
pre-trip, we decided to forego any evening meals in restaurants in favour of lunch-time outings instead. Firstly, if the worst case scenario happened and we had a fussy baby on our hands, people are generally more understanding of that during the day. Secondly, Bean is just a more chill and happy baby during the day, so our chances of fussiness were slim. Lastly, seeing as we have a somewhat regular night time routine that works, we figured it was no big deal to eat in for dinner. We usually ended up getting takeout, but also — thanks to our carefully chosen apartments with kitchenettes! — Husband was able to whip up something once or twice.
generally speaking, we tried to time Bean’s afternoon nap to coincide with the approximate time we planned to go out for lunch at. Most of the time, we nailed it and she slept through the whole meal in her buggy! The odd time she was awake, she was happy to chill in her buggy, playing with a teething toy, making friends with fellow diners, or watching the busy waiters go about their business.
drinks-wise, it just wouldn’t be a trip to Italy without heading out for an aperitivo in the early evenings, so we tried our best to make it happen. Again, about half the time we got lucky and she was asleep — as in the third photo, above — so we tucked her buggy into an unsuspecting corner while we enjoyed a spritz! Other times, when she was wide awake, we’d opt for a seat outside where a) she could people-watch or b) we could make a speedy getaway if she started fussing.
And there we have it: One Week in Italy and San Marino | Our Itinerary for Baby’s First Trip! What did you think? I hope you found it helpful, and if you have any questions please drop them in the comment box below. City guides coming soon!
Ciao,
Vicki xo
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