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Traveling to Italy, staying in Rome... info?

acezarra

acezarra

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Messages
348
Hi y'all! My husband and I are spending 10 days in Italy in September/October. We are staying at a hotel in Rome the whole time. We are using a timeshare hotel and that was the only option. I have been to Italy a few times and love Capri. Is it possible to do a day trip from Rome? Where else would you day trip to if you could? What are your must do things/places to eat? Thank you!
 
Have you already explored Rome? I love Rome, but then, I enjoy checking out antiquities and museums and unusual neighborhoods and all that.
 
@VRBeauty, I have but my husband has not so we will definitely explore rome. Trying to decide between an early morning vatican tour or late evening.
 
How exciting! I have also been to Rome and while for me personally there wasn't too much to do in the city, the Amalfi coast and Positano aren't too far of a drive away, about 3:30 hours by car if you are renting one. Those places are jaw droppingly gorgeous, and I believe a bit easier to get to than Capri. Also, the small villages around Florence are amazing. You get to see the rolling hills of Tuscany which is very relaxing and different. I think it's also a possible day trip from Rome to Tuscany, but a little more effort and driving around would be needed. Best of luck and hope you and DH have a wonderful time!:kiss2:

Also probably completely irrelevant but my personal favorite place in Italy is Lake Como, it wasn't as touristy as most other places and the combination of the lake and mountains were just unreal!

Around Florence:
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Bonus: Bellagio Lake Como
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will you have a car? travelling by train? I found Paestum really interesting but it's about a 3 hour drive, not far from Pompeii, but farther south than the Amalfi coast. A shorter drive, about 2 1/2 hours north is Perugia which is a nice town to visit, you could stop for an hour for lunch in somewhere like Todi. Can you take a day and an overnight and perhaps go to Pompeii for a bit, then to Positano. Overnight there then on to Paestum for a view of the temples then drive back to Rome?
 
Nothing on the Amalfi Coast is a good day trip from Rome because you won't have much time to actually be there. And if you're going to Capri, you also need to take a ferry which takes even more time. I spent 5 days in Rome and barely scratched the surface. There is so much to see and do, I'd focus on the city itself.
 
rainwood said:
Nothing on the Amalfi Coast is a good day trip from Rome because you won't have much time to actually be there. And if you're going to Capri, you also need to take a ferry which takes even more time. I spent 5 days in Rome and barely scratched the surface. There is so much to see and do, I'd focus on the city itself.
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+ a billion.
 
It’s not really possible to do a day trip to Capri from Rome. You would have to take a train to Naples and then a ferry so it would be hours an hours just one way. If you were interested in archaeological ruins then Pompeii is a day trip that is doable. But it’s still long! I guess it depends on your stamina and whether a six hour car ride is worth a day trip (for Pompeii). But since you’re in Rome you will be seeing plenty of ruins already ha ha. If you want to explore a Capri or the Amalfi coast then I would just consider staying a couple of nights within your 10 days.
 
Oh, we spent 18 days in Rome last year and LOVED it.

We had a car and went to lots if different sites outside Rome and to beaches . I didn't think there was bit enough to do in Rome itself, though... But then we are VERY MUCH into ancient Rome, history, the Renaissance and visiting museums and palaces in general.

We spent one whole day at the Vatican, another whole day at the forum Romanum, one in ancient Ostia, went to the beach in Santa Marinella (beach town nearby) , visited the catacombs, Nero's palace, the pantheon, well, you get the idea.

It was scorching hot though, so we visited Naples (2 hrs one way) Pompeii, bute skipped the Amalfi fi coast (3h 20 one way was too long for us). We went to beaches around Circeo instead.

Mist if the day trips we did just to have quieter days with less walking for the kiddos (20 months to 14 y/o at the time.
Capri wouldn't be possible, I'd guess, without staying 2 nights.


just a heads-up: Booking in restaurants in all the popular spots is absolutely necessary. We were unable to find restaurants a few times, when we spontaneously changed plans (and nor because wee are 8. There were NO seats available. They had the answering machines on : we're full).

And the beaches are also organised as businesses.

In the nicest spots you need to reserve with a company and one time we were unable to find a place!!!!

It's about 25€ for each deck chair plus another 10-15 € depending on location. Capri& Amalfi being more expensive than that. That added a lot of money to our expense as a family of 8 (250€ and they close at 6 or 7 pm) but it was frustrating not to be able to go to the beach with the children no matter how much we were willing to pay for three hours of fun......
There were hardly any non private beaches at all. So it wasn't a matter of posh preferences for us either ....


One special highlight was the visit of the villa d'Este. Magical.

The children voted to go back to Italy for a similar holiday this year again. Well be in the northeast - Lago di Como, Verona, Venice


Hope you have a wonderful time !!
 
It's been awhile and I only spent a few days in Rome (part of a week in Italy that included seeing Springsteen in Milano):

- When doing tours, make sure that you use a service that limits the size of the group. I saw so many large group tours and was grateful to not be part of it.
- I thought the 1/2 day tour of historical Rome was so worth it for the many small details that I would have overlooked/missed. At the time I went, there was also a very long line for the Vatican if you are not part of a group.
- As someone said, it pays to plan your meals and make reservations. We just assumed that because we were in Italy we would find good food everywhere. While we didn't have any bad meals, the best ones were those outside of the tourist areas or recommended by locals (not hotels which often get commissioned).
- We were surprised on our first day when subway shut down early without notice/reason. I was told that it is common. We took a cab and found it so affordable, used that going forward.

I love Italy - one of my favorite places and am so jealous! My return was cancelled due to Covid but hope to make it back again soon. Have a great time!
 
Bewarned about pick pockets.

Of all the places I had visited, Rome was the only place where I experienced pick pockets while visiting a market near the main railway terminal.

I felt my coat pocket was being tampered with and checked, for the chancer to back off and moved away swiftly. Nothing in the pocket so nothing was lost.

DK :(2
 
I don’t remember exactly what time it was, but we pretty much strolled into the Vatican Museum without a reservation, without a long line, and we weren’t contending with huge crowds of tourists. I think we went late morning or early afternoon. The crowds are apparently worst early in the day - we watched the lines while enjoying a gelato from our favorite gelateria - the Old Bridge Gelateria, which is across the street from one of the Vatican entrances. This was about 10 years ago though. Covid protocols may have changed things.

If you like sculptures, Galleria Borghese has some of the best. It does require reservations, though we were able to get some just one or two days in advance.
 
If your hotel is a timeshare and a sunken cost, but you really want to explore other cities, consider overnight trains to Venice, Florence, Amalfi coast and sleep at night, explore during the day.
 
Thank you all for the tips! I think we decided that if we do amalfi we will stay the night somewhere down there as you all recommended. I would love to do Cinque Terre and Venice but I think they are too far. I think we are putting a North cap on Florence and a south cap on Naples for day trips. We are going to do four days in rome and then day trips elsewhere. I will make reservations for the tours that limit as y'all mentioned. We aren't renting a car but will use public transport instead. I am researching rail passes and the Florentine pass as we may spend a few days in Florence. I would love to go to lake Como but it is just top far. We went to the big island a few years ago and drove all around it for days on end finding the green sand beach, black sand beach, waterfalls, you name it. At the end of the trip my husband said "can we please just chill on the beach?" So we are limiting our traveling days and distances. I can't complain though. I mean, we will still be in italy! Keep the recommendations coming, I am creating a file with notes and appreciate the tips!!
 
Orvieto and Civita di Bagnoregio are about 90 minutes from Rome. We had a car and came from the north so I am not sure how convenient tours/transportation are from Rome. Civita di Bagnoregio doesn't have any specific attractions, but the location is spectacular. The walk on the footbridge is HOT (next time I'll have a hat) and steep at the end. We found it enjoyable but we like just meandering about. Orvieto is nice, too. There are a few sights and a giant well you can walk down.
 
Our friends live in Rome and have done Florence and Bologna as day trips. We even went to Naples just for pizza for a day.
 
In Rome, the Colosseum tour at night is much better - cooler in all ways and less crowded. If there's a long line to get into the Roman Forum, just go look at it from above. It's free if you don't go in and you see almost as much without the crowds.

The Pantheon is worth a visit, the Vatican is too, but what I enjoyed most was wandering around neighborhoods like Monti, Trastevere, and walking back across the bridge from the Vatican and following my nose down a side street for some Roman pizza. Different than the pizza in Naples but also delicious.

Rome is vibrant and green and going into the artisan shops and gelaterias and the restaurants away from the tourist zones is so much more fun. The food is better, less expensive, it's less crowded, and you get a feel for the real Rome. If you go into a store more than once they remember you. I had a woman come out from a bakery to tell me she'd just taken an apple strudel out of the oven! I'd visited the day before so she remembered me. Strudel isn't Italian, but it was fresh and warm and heavenly. And such a great memory. Go sit in a piazza away from the tourist fray and have a gelato. Or a caffe. Do as the Romans do and take a stroll in the evening before dinner. Your husband will probably like La Dolce Vita if you do it that way!
 
Aryana said:
Orvieto and Civita di Bagnoregio are about 90 minutes from Rome.
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Agree. Civita is worth seeing even if just from a distance. So if you can stop there using the train, I'd recommend it.We always drive so can stop when we want so it may not work for you, but if it does, it's worth the view.
IMG_2651.JPG
 
Mreader said:
@PreRaphaelite I will be there mid-July! We decided to stay in Ostia instead of Rome for our flight out bc it’s so much closer to the airport. I’ll let you know what it’s like :)
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Oh Great! I am dying to hear about this!!
 
PreRaphaelite said:
Oh Great! I am dying to hear about this!!
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We have spent full day in the ruins, it was spectacular (and VERY very hot, but they have excellent, free fresh water on taps , so we had a few water battles in between). We're very much into archeological sites though, so take my rave with a grain of salt. The site is huge and you wander around and inside the remnants old houses, bars , bakeries... It's unreal.

The beaches in Ostia itself that we looked at weren't great though. We just quickly went into the water just to cool us off. ... But maybe we didn't fund the right spot.
 
MaisOuiMadame said:
We have spent full day in the ruins, it was spectacular (and VERY very hot, but they have excellent, free fresh water on taps , so we had a few water battles in between). We're very much into archeological sites though, so take my rave with a grain of salt. The site is huge and you wander around and inside the remnants old houses, bars , bakeries... It's unreal.

The beaches in Ostia itself that we looked at weren't great though. We just quickly went into the water just to cool us off. ... But maybe we didn't fund the right spot.
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The professor whose lecture series introduced me to Ostia's beauty mentioned that Lido di Ostia is very polluted so this doesn't surprise me! But then as a redhead I avoid beaches anyway :-)
 
We have been to Rome several times and did some private tours with Eyes of Rome. We saw the Vatican and Colosseum that way on our last visit. We tried a larger group tour which was not as pleasant. There is a lot to do in Rome. We stayed in Trastevere and loved it. Just wandering down the streets was enjoyable. We definitely needed reservations for the restaurants. Italy is our favorite. Just returned from 2 weeks in Lake Como. It was fabulous. Have a wonderful trip!
 
MaisOuiMadame said:
We have spent full day in the ruins, it was spectacular (and VERY very hot, but they have excellent, free fresh water on taps , so we had a few water battles in between).
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Ostia Antica is hot during tourist season. I remember that best from a visit a little before the pandemic. Plenty of cool photo ops but not great on a bright day with mid-day overhead sun. Fun to frame things under the gorgeous stone pines (I think that's what they are?).

Tbh, there are so many amazing ruins in Rome itself (not just the marquee names like the Forum and Coliseum but everywhere -- random little cutouts in the sidewalk with a lucite window to down below or an in-progress dig right in the middle of traffic) that after a few days in Rome, what we found most distinctive and refreshing about Ostia Antica was not (more) ruins but just more elbow room.

If you have a true PS budget in Rome, do the tasting menu at La Pergola. One of our top handful of meals anywhere ever (including lots of Michelin three-stars) and could easily be the #1. Mostly the amazing food -- but also the ambience, the view, the service, and even Heinz Beck himself (!) popped out at the end to say hello. My son recognized him first -- like a celebrity sighting. (To be clear, we are complete nobodies -- just a family who loves food and quietly but visibly enjoys ourselves while dining.) That benchmark meal has been one of our most iconic and talked-about travel experiences of the past decade.
 
LilAlex said:
Ostia Antica is hot during tourist season. I remember that best from a visit a little before the pandemic. Plenty of cool photo ops but not great on a bright day with mid-day overhead sun. Fun to frame things under the gorgeous stone pines (I think that's what they are?).

Tbh, there are so many amazing ruins in Rome itself (not just the marquee names like the Forum and Coliseum but everywhere -- random little cutouts in the sidewalk with a lucite window to down below or an in-progress dig right in the middle of traffic) that after a few days in Rome, what we found most distinctive and refreshing about Ostia Antica was not (more) ruins but just more elbow room.

If you have a true PS budget in Rome, do the tasting menu at La Pergola. One of our top handful of meals anywhere ever (including lots of Michelin three-stars) and could easily be the #1. Mostly the amazing food -- but also the ambience, the view, the service, and even Heinz Beck himself (!) popped out at the end to say hello. My son recognized him first -- like a celebrity sighting. (To be clear, we are complete nobodies -- just a family who loves food and quietly but visibly enjoys ourselves while dining.) That benchmark meal has been one of our most iconic and talked-about travel experiences of the past decade.
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Wonderful tip, will remember for next time. Thank you!

We were traveling with our 6 kids, ages 2-14 , so it was more of a Pizzeria/Osteria groove food wise. They do behave decently, I believe, but the kid's meals in those places are usually difficult or nonexistent). We have two foodies (age 8 +10), but also two very conservation eaters, ages 11+14 (if I don't know it, I don't touch it ...). So we limited in our choices ATM.

We're very lucky they all tag along without too many complaints to museums, sites, castels etc...

(Although my oldest in all his puberting glory said: " I want to go home, everything is old and also broken " on the Forum Romanum... He'll be hearing that one for a long time including his wedding :lol-2:
 
MaisOuiMadame said:
We have two foodies (age 8 +10), but also two very conservation eaters, ages 11+14 (if I don't know it, I don't touch it ...). So we limited in our choices ATM.
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Yes -- we've been there! You are off to a great start!

One of our foodies makes all the reservations. There is a huge energy hill for some of the best restaurants and even if you are willing to spend the money (which, after our family's airfare and lodging, is just not that daunting), calling exactly 90 days and zero minutes before your intended reservation in local time (for example) is something neither spouse not I are organized enough to do. But we get texts from kid with "'What do you guys think of this place?" We usually say "Go for it!" Only one or two per trip but it is a capstone. We "dollar-cost average," too; with phone apps, it is so much easier now to find the great bakeries, pizza places, "ethnic" (non-local cuisine) restaurants as opposed to our past sad wanderings into tourist traps.
 
HI:

I love this thread. Great stuff!

cheers--Sharon
 
LilAlex said:
Yes -- we've been there! You are off to a great start!

One of our foodies makes all the reservations. There is a huge energy hill for some of the best restaurants and even if you are willing to spend the money (which, after our family's airfare and lodging, is just not that daunting), calling exactly 90 days and zero minutes before your intended reservation in local time (for example) is something neither spouse not I are organized enough to do. But we get texts from kid with "'What do you guys think of this place?" We usually say "Go for it!" Only one or two per trip but it is a capstone. We "dollar-cost average," too; with phone apps, it is so much easier now to find the great bakeries, pizza places, "ethnic" (non-local cuisine) restaurants as opposed to our past sad wanderings into tourist traps.
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You are giving me hope!


My foodie no. 1 (10y/o ) gets to spend a week a year with her foodie childless godfather and wife.
Since last time she schools us every time we open a bottle of wine ( we open bottles/ drink wine when we have guests, so no more than once a week) :

-open the bottle
-sniff the cork-
- look at the glass with squinted eyes
- taste (you CAN make a tiny tiny tiny bit of noise, mom, but ONLY at that moment!)
- then decide whether or not to say yes to the bottle



Ist hilarious & she'll be picking the restaurants at some point, I'm sure !!
 
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Rome is one of my favourite cities - so beautiful and absolutely chock full of historical sights!

I haven’t been in years, but the last time I went I remember eating at this small restaurant called “Il Belli al Trionfale” and it was so good I went there three times in one trip. Highly recommend!
 
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