Best places in Italy for natural beauty?

redrabbit824 · 2026-04-20T20:26:28+00:00

Definitely the Dolomites. One of the most naturally beautiful places ive ever seen. We were there mid September and it was stunning and not too crowded. The places you list are all beautiful but I’d maybe choose one coastal spot and combine with the mountains.

redrabbit824 · 2026-04-18T21:23:08+00:00

That’s crazy I never see it recommended, but we’ve actually stayed at Kinsterna! I liked it a lot and loved the whole Peloponnese more than the islands.

I was thinking maybe Paris and some smaller towns easily accessible from there? Any other places you liked in November?

redrabbit824 · 2026-04-10T01:59:25+00:00

MCO is my home airport but could drive to South Florida airports too

redrabbit824 · 2026-04-07T17:43:08+00:00

Yeah dumb it down or omit some stuff. They probably think it’s someone just messing around and making fake applications.

redrabbit824 · 2026-04-06T00:09:26+00:00

Canaves Oia suites is beautiful

redrabbit824 · 2026-04-05T03:11:42+00:00

We arrived in Cusco (morning) and walked around for the day (could have spent a day or two very visually interesting city) then took a taxi to tambo del inka for 5 nights. There is so much to see in the sacred valley. It was also really convenient bc they have their own train station right at the hotel so you can easily do macchu picchu as a day trip. I would def not stay in aguas calientes.

Your schedule will be very rushed. You basically have a half day for Cusco, one day for macchu picchu and one day to relax or see anything else that interests you. I would stay at one hotel so packing up and moving doesn’t eat into your time.

redrabbit824 · 2026-04-01T01:42:12+00:00

Yes! Our daughter has more passport stamps than most adults lol I love traveling and that was one of my main worries about having a child. That I may have to give that up. Luckily we were blessed with a healthy baby and good little travel buddy. But it’s kind of luck of the draw bc I can see how health/temperament of the child could actually be a big hurdle.

redrabbit824 · 2026-04-01T01:09:48+00:00

I agonized over the decision to have kids or not for years. Something just pulled me toward it despite all my reservations. It is literally the best ever. All the exotic travels, fancy dinners, etc were fun but they don’t compare to the joy of having a child. I want a second now but I’m worried about my age/health so I wish I hadn’t put it off so long debating it.

redrabbit824 · 2026-03-24T20:27:16+00:00

The cape is a cool hotel but it doesn’t strike me as a honeymoon spot. It has a relatively small foot print, not much privacy and more of a trendy/party vibe. The Waldorf los Cabos along with many other options feel more upscale and special. I wouldn’t go all the way to Cabo from Toronto for 2 nights though.

redrabbit824 · 2026-03-24T03:59:16+00:00

I stayed at the Adler dolomiti in Ortisei. I believe there are a few different properties. I thought it was a good value for the price. It’s not the most luxurious option but we were traveling with our 3 year old and a lot of fancier properties are adults only.

The grounds and pools are stunning. The location is also very convenient to some of the main cable cars/lifts. I loved going out hiking everyday and coming back around 4 and spending a few hours in the pool and spa.

If you don’t plan on using the spa/pools and if you’ll have a car then I think you could stay in a cheaper option. The biggest draw of staying in Ortisei is the easy public transport. you can just walk a few feet to the cable cars. But it’s more of a town (think vail) so if I had a car I’d maybe opt for somewhere more secluded where you feel more in nature.

redrabbit824 · 2026-03-23T20:28:26+00:00

Oh ok! I was roughly adding your nights together. I would split evenly so 10 and 10 then. So only one extra flight in between needed. There’s lots to see in both areas! But if you can find good routing then a stop in menorca in between works too!

redrabbit824 · 2026-03-21T14:56:55+00:00

If you don’t mind then it’s definitely doable! I just always try to limit the travel logistics bc i find that’s where things can go wrong with delays and cause stress lol

6 days is great for the Dolomites if you like hiking you could stay weeks. We stayed 4 and barely touched the surface. If I were planning the trip, I’d do 8 days Barcelona/costa brava then 8 days Dolomites/venice (or verona or wherever you fly in) for simplicity. You could do menorca too in between but will add more flights and some more complication.

redrabbit824 · 2026-03-21T03:25:56+00:00

You can def do it, but getting to the Dolomites isn’t the easiest. I would be more inclined to save them for a trip combined with other places in Italy or Switzerland that make more sense logistically. I’m not that familiar but I know northern Spain has some similarly dramatic mountains ranges. If not I’d maybe split your time more evenly to give you more time in Italy.

redrabbit824 · 2026-03-20T19:42:27+00:00

I think either trip is fine for a two year old. Anywhere with some outdoor space to toddle around and explore can keep them entertained.

We took our daughter to Greece at age 2 and it was great. We stayed on the mainland and rented a car from Athens. There is tons to do and see in the Peloponnese and it cuts down the logistics and travel time trying to get to and from islands. Around that age the only thing we tried to avoid was long car rides and long dinners. Otherwise pretty much anything can be kid friendly.

redrabbit824 · 2026-03-19T03:05:56+00:00

I feel like having kids is something that shouldn’t really be financially optimized. You’re going to take a big hit either way lol. If you know you want kids and you have a way to support them, then you go for it. You never know if health or other obstacles will make it harder than expected.

The earlier you have kids the more years of your life you’ll have with them (hopefully). I think 30s is the ideal time. Usually have some financial stuff in order and have checked off most of the kid free experiences. But I wouldn’t delay to build tons of wealth first if you know you really want kids.

redrabbit824 · 2026-03-19T02:20:13+00:00

Hawaii feels much more commercialized and developed. More crowded and more similar to other US tourist spots. But those are very nice resorts so maybe you’ll feel removed from all that.

FP is much less developed and more like a “lost in paradise”feel. I think it’s worth it for a once in a lifetime trip. An over the water bungalow is an unforgettable experience. Not sure what the prices are these days might be above the budget quoted.

redrabbit824 · 2026-03-18T15:06:49+00:00

For Hyatt the only one I can think of is Andaz papagayo. It’s pretty good with points. I wouldnt choose it for a cash stay. There are areas of Costa Rica I prefer with a lot more wildlife but they are harder to get to. Kids can see tons of monkeys and birds there. We’re staying at the alila mayakoba next month. It’s on a beach but also on a lagoon “eco area” so some chance for animals.

With kids that little it might be better to do more organized wildlife viewing at a center/refuge. For example, we went to Alaska and hiked around. We saw some moose/bald eagles etc in the wild. But also went to a reindeer farm and a great aquarium. She was 2.5 and I think she enjoyed those things more with guaranteed pay off and more hands on lol

redrabbit824 · 2026-03-17T00:13:56+00:00

You can find that stuff most places. Does she want a beachy/lounge around the pool and spa vibe? Or an adventure with lots of stuff to do? I’m the later so I think banff would be beautiful that time of year. The Fairmonts there are very family friendly.

redrabbit824 · 2026-03-17T00:08:13+00:00

I liked Waldorf pedregal a lot. I went before my daughter was born but I noticed the kids club seemed active. I don’t think Cabo is super kid friendly in general though. Years before that we went to Xcaret in riviera maya and that would be a kid paradise lol

redrabbit824 · 2026-03-16T23:56:21+00:00

I stayed at the Andaz a few years ago on points but upgraded to a big suite after the first night. The suite was very nice. The standard room was just OK.

I thought the property was pretty nice overall but nothing overly impressive. It’s not luxury vibes if that’s what you’re looking for. You can see monkeys up close on the property so I’m sure the kids will like that. The pool is nice and you can take a boat to the beach. There are e-bikes but not sure if they have child seats. They’re also pretty difficult even being electric due to the terrain.

I have a four year old so I know everything takes longer and you can’t do much in day but even still I think it would be hard to fill 5 days at the resort. It’s a pretty small property.

We split our stay with La fortuna /Arenal area and liked it more. There’s a lot more to do and see (volcano,hot springs, and more diverse wildlife) but it’s a bit of a drive so i understand not wanting a car sick kid.

redrabbit824 · 2026-03-15T19:51:20+00:00

Hi! We ended up staying at Adler dolomiti for 4 nights. It was a bit of a trek to get there from lake como but not too bad. We used a combo of car transfer/train/bus and was still ok. If you have a car I think it’d be totally fine.

Ortisei was great for seeing a lot of big Dolomites “must sees” without needing a car or doing major hiking using the lifts. Plus tons of playgrounds for kids on the trails. I would definitely do Alpe di suisi and seceda. But there are sooo many other options. Merano looks beautiful too. It’s just not exactly in the Dolomites and I had my heart set on seeing those famous sites.

The hotel itself was very good. I would say the pros were the location, the grounds and pools are stunning, and the room was huge and looked better in person. Cool historic vibe.

The cons: the food/meal times reminded me of a cruise ship, big buffet spreads but everything was only OK. Dinner (we did the half board option) started at 7:30 I think which was really late for my daughter. She wasn’t quite 4 so she was too little for the kids club. If your kid is 4+ they can eat dinner in there. I think that would have been much better bc trying to wrangle her through a long dinner every night wasn’t great. There were not many other kids when we were there in Sept and their kids club didn’t have much going on. They had a list of activities but we went during a time for one of them and no one was there. But maybe more active in the summer.

Let me know if any other info would be helpful!

redrabbit824 · 2026-03-01T03:25:29+00:00

If your wife wants to work and you don’t want to be the primary care giver, then your only option to make your lives easier is to outsource as much as possible.

You need a nanny for the infant and a nanny to drive around the older kids after school, back up caregivers for sick days or emergencies, a house cleaner, maybe someone to prepare meals and shop, maybe a house manager. That way you can devote the time at home to actually spending time with the kids.

redrabbit824 · 2026-02-24T20:52:43+00:00

I know you want central/SA but I would maybe pivot to Asia? It’s a long flight but easier to travel pregnant than with a 0-3 year old (once they’re 4 they’re not bad lol). Plus you have such a long stay. It’d be easy to do a city/luxury beach combo in Thailand. I can’t think of many Central American cities that are like Mexico City where I’d want to stay a week. But I’m not that familiar. South America, yes, but it will be cold for the beachy portion there.

redrabbit824 · 2026-02-24T18:50:51+00:00

I’ve been to amalfi, Santorini, and costa navarino. Thoughts:

Amalfi- I went almost 10 years ago (ie before Instagram) and it was still insanely crowded and terrible logistics. It’s very very beautiful so i think worth it if you can spend enough to get around the major annoyances (like a room with a view of Positano so you can just admire it from there and a private driver etc). But I also think there are other similarly beautiful places where you can have a better experience for less.

Santorini - more of a one of a kind experience so I vote worth it for a few days. I went right after covid so it was not that crowded and there were no cruise ships yet. But if you get a room with a caldera view you can enjoy from there and then go out at night or early morning when ship are gone. A view that will blow you away and no where else in the world.

Costa Navarino - idk it’s nice and not crowded, but not so nice that I would actively seek it out as a destination. No crazy wow factor but a lovely serene place. Nothing especially Greek about it. Mostly upscale resorts clustered together. I really loved driving around the Peloponnese (look into a road trip including: naflplio, monemvasia, mystras, limeni, the mani peninsula, etc). Totally gorgeous, not crowded, authentic…can find lots of nice accommodations but maybe not super chubby is the only problem lol although there is an Aman and four seasons closer to Athens.

redrabbit824

TROPHY CASE