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Another Rome inquiry
So DH and I are going to be in the Rome area for 3 days following our Med. Cruise on RCCL. By the below plans, are we pushing to much. Suggestions / comments welcome.
- Sunday - arrive back from cruise and train into Rome. Check into hotel (yet TBD - see below). Visit Trevi Fountains, Spanish Steps, possible open bus tour as we do not want to spend lots of time at the Vatican and such.
- Monday - Coliseum and Forum areas; check out of hotel and head to hotel at airport area for ease on Tuesday
- Tuesday - train to Pompeii
- Wednesday noon - depart for Dusseldorf, Germany for day and then on to LAX.
I want to get as much as possible into our days in Rome but at the same time, do not want to over extend ourselves. My biggest question is it worth heading out to the airport hotel on Monday evening or just staying in Rome? We definitely want to do Pompeii and it is a 2 hour train ride south of Rome I believe.
In addition, I feel like I am on overload with hotel options in Rome. We want to be in a good area where all is walkable. This is the one location I would not mind spending $300-400 for the night. Any rec's?
I am open to any and all suggestions as I need to start narrowing this down since we leave in 5.5 months and there is so much going on inbetween now and them for us.
TIA -
Kim
Re: Another Rome inquiry
Skip Pompeii if you really want to enjoy Rome.
Make a list of things you absolutely must see and then fit the rest around those items.
One suggestion: Your Forum/Colliseum tickets are good for 24 hours. I would go to the Forum before closing and then go to the Colliseum first thing the next morning. The crowds are minimal and because you have your tickets, you will sail in.
I agree with the suggestion of skipping Pompeii. While it is fascinating, there is SO much to see in Rome that I wouldn't spend the time on Pompeii with the few days you have.
You didn't ask, but I highly recommend the DK Eyewitness travel books. They are easy to use while you are actually out and about.
I also think the suggestion of staying near Campo d'Fiori is a good one. My last trip to Rome we rented an apartment there and it was great. Definitely go to the market in the morning at Campo d'Fiori, I think it's fun to see all of the fresh food, flowers, spices, etc.
Agree that the Forum and Coliseum are musts. IMO Spanish Steps is not that great, but you'll be there for 5 minutes taking pictures and then you're done. Trevi Fountain is neat but usually pretty crowded. Even though you don't want to see the Vatican, there are other amazing churches in Rome that don't require a wait. There are two churches in Piazza del Popolo that look almost identical - very cool. Piazza Navona has amazing fountains. I would also consider the Pantheon a must see. I could go on forever about Rome... I spent a semester there in college and absolutely loved it!
the train to pompeii is from termini (rome) NOT the airport. Not sure why you'd go to the airport to get to naples.
i agree with pp-if oyu only have 3 days skip pompeii. there are trillions of things to fill your time with in rome.
also you dont hae to spend a lot of time at the vatican. go int he late afternoon and just go in for a while. it's a gorgeous are and a nice walk from the along the tiber past the castel st angelo to piazza navona.
I stayed in an apartment near the Colliseum and it was fantastic, great restaurants around and really easy for the metro. Personally, I prefer metro to buses while travelling since there are set stops so I can't get lost (I get lost really easily)
I would skip Pompeii as well. You can look at Ostia Antica if you're looking for something similar and it's really close to Rome. It's actually more like a 2.5 hour train ride I believe and you'll spent ages getting back and forth. If you're flying out from Rome, make sure not to rely on the Italian trains to get you back to Rome in time so if you're definitely set on Pompeii, I'd go on your first day in Rome so you have a buffer day if anything goes wrong. We had a huge adventure trying to get to Milan airport a couple years ago.
I think the Pantheon is a must-see as well. It doesn't take long but it's amazing.
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no. the airport is connected to rome termini via the leonardo express. trains to pompeii (naples) depart from termini. www.trenitalia.com
you may have misunderstood-perhaps you get the leonardo express from FCO to termini and then change to naples.
We squeezed Rome into 2 half days. We stayed outside of Rome because we drove and Italians drive insane! We took a train into Rome and did a tour of the Vatican which was amazing. You should spend some time there IMO. A guide found us and took us through the whole thing in about 3 hours. Definitely get a guide otherwise get your ticket ahead of time because there is a long 3 hour line on most days. Dress conservatively if you decide to tour.
The next day we booked a guide to walk us around the heart of Rome. It only took about 3 hours then we walked around to all the landmarks like Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, etc, with the time we had left. The guides saved us the most time I think.
We got to see a lot but it felt like we missed a lot also because we didn't spend much time there. So if you have the option, definitely stay longer.
Hi, I'm from Rome, feel free to PM with any questions.
As far as hotels go, I'm not sure about prices but $300-400 a night sounds like you could find a centrally located hotel. Look into Hotel della Minerva (Grand Hotel de la Minerve on the website), steps from the Pantheon. It's a beautiful hotel, MH and I go to their rooftop restaurant in the summer, we really enjoy it. From there you could definitely walk to a whole lot of places: Piazza Navona, Largo Argentina, Via del Corso (Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Trinit? dei Monti, etc.) Piazza Venezia-Campidoglio; you can also cross the Tevere and visit Castel Sant'Angelo, St Peter's, Borgo Pio etc. You could also walk all the way down Via dei Fori Imperiali to the Colosseo but on Largo Argentina there are a ton of bus lines that take there. If you walk a bit past the Campidoglio you could even add a visit to the Truth Mouth and a tour of the Aventino hill (great views and historical churches, catch the famous St Peter's from the peephole from Piazza Cavalieri di Malta).
Again from Largo Argentina, hop on the 8 tram bus and reach Trastevere, one of the most characteristic neighbourhoods in Rome.
Sorry for the wall of text. Enjoy your trip!
We just returned from Rome! We stayed near the Pantheon and walked every where. It worked off all the calories from the amazing dinners, and nothing took more than 20 minutes or so.
Ditto PP on skipping Pompeii and checking out Ostia Antica instead. It's the only other Roman town from that time period that survived and it's much more accessable. It was only a 20 minute metro ride (2 euros each round trip) and not as well known so there were hardly any people there. Not only is Pompeii much further (more like 3 hours than 2), it will cost you about 100 euros each round trip. OA was awesome - definitely a highlight of our trip, and you could easily see the whole thing in a couple of hours.
I think you should rethink the Vatican museums. They really are AMAZING! We didn't allow enough time (we had 2 hours and could have used 3) because we didn't expect to love it so much. We downloaded an audioguide for free on our iPhone; we also downloaded one for the Colleseum. Definitely look into that. The Vatican is closed on Sundays, and although many museums close on Monday, the Collesuem is open.
Anything you can achieve through hard work, you could also just buy.
I agree to skip Pompeii - it's just not worth the travel time when there is so much to see in Rome. I think that Rome is totally walkable, and walking allows you to see so much more of the city - it's fun to wander around and get lost in the narrow streets. In three days (walking) we saw St Peters/Vatican, Spanish Steps and the park at the top (can't remember name), Coliseum/Forum, Palantine Hill, Trevi Fountain (you can also save this for after dinner - it's quite magical at night and will save you time during the day), Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Mouth of Truth (just had to see this since I'm a Roman Holiday fan), lots more fountains and piazzas we happened to stroll by. We went in late May.
We stayed at Hotel Portoghesi, which was small but clean and fantastic location near Piazza Navona.
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