One room for everyone
Rooms of four beds or more for your exclusive use. In a hotel the same thing means two connecting rooms, and the price doubles.
Ways to travel
A hostel with children works better than it sounds.
The idea that a hostel is a place for twenty-year-olds with backpacks is thirty years old. With a family the arithmetic is simple: you pay per person in a single room, there is a restaurant downstairs, and children can make noise in spaces where nobody turns round to look.
Dinner without going out
All four hostels have a restaurant on site. With small children, not having to go and find somewhere at seven in the evening changes the whole day.
Common areas
Big tables, rooms to sit in. A child moving around a hostel is normal; in a hotel breakfast room it is everybody's problem.
The right cities
Ferrara and Reggio are covered on foot or by bike without crossing traffic. With small children that matters more than the distance to the monuments.
What to ask when you book
How many beds the room actually has and how they are arranged: bunks and singles are not the same thing with a small child. If you need an extra cot, ask in advance.
Whether the bathroom is private or shared: with a family it is almost always the deciding question, and the answer varies from hostel to hostel.
The times for breakfast and for the restaurant. People travelling with children keep their own hours, and knowing in advance saves a bad morning.
Choose a destinationWorth asking first
The questions that save a bad morning.
They vary from hostel to hostel, and you get an answer in two minutes by writing to the one you want.
- How many beds, and how they are arrangedBunks and singles are not the same thing with a small child.
- Private or shared bathroomWith a family it is almost always the deciding question.
- Whether you need an extra cotAsk in advance: not every room takes one.
- Breakfast timesPeople travelling with children keep their own hours.
- Whether there is somewhere to playIn Reggio there is the cloister courtyard, enclosed and safe.
Where
The easiest destinations with children.
Walking distances and traffic matter more than anything else.
Ferrara
Everything on foot or by bike, no traffic. The simplest of the four with small children.
Discover this destination →Reggio Emilia
Inside the Chiostro della Ghiara: a restaurant with dishes for children and an enclosed courtyard to play in.
Discover this destination →Campiglia Marittima
Sea twenty minutes away and dinner on site every evening. You need transport, but the day at the beach wins it.
Discover this destination →Parma
Compact centre and good food: works well with older children.
Discover this destination →