bwhizz

Hello,

We are celebrating our honeymoon by going on a 12 day E. Mediterranean cruise, starting in Rome and ending in Venice. Our flight arrives Rome at approx 2:30PM on June 21 and our ship departs Rome at 6:00pm on Jun 22. Since we only have a short time in Rome, we want to make sure we make the most of our time here. What is the best way to see the sites? What are the MUST see sites vs the nice to see sites vs the sites to not really bother with? Is the City-Discovery bus the best way to see Rome?

Also, what is the best way to get a transfer from Rome (city center) to the Port? I hear its about a 2hr drive and I am being quoted $150 / person.

http://www.city-discovery.com/a_file...0_Pagina_2.jpg

Finally, we need some help finding a nice hotel in Venice for under $200 for one night. Can anyone recommend any specific ones? It’s hard to gage what is good because they are all boutique type hotels.


Thanks,
BWHIZZ

HappyTrvlr

Enter Venice hotels in the search engine on this wbsite. there is lots of info in this forum if you do a search.Also look at hotel reviews on Trip Advisor.They are not all boutique hotels. We enjoyed staying at Hotel Flora.
You have so little time in each of the cities that you need to use a guide book and chose what interests you. Of course, the Roman Forum, the Colisseum..do you have any interest in the Vatican? It can easily fill a day.
Is it possible to arrivea day earlier in ROme and depart a day later in Venice so that you will get to know these wonderful cities better?

Tiggy22

I just came back from an 18 day trip to Italy. I stayed at the Al Ponte Mocenigo in Venice for 9 nights and it was wonderful - it was near to where I needed to be - close to the San Stae vaparetto stop and within walking to the Rialto. The staff at the hotel are tremendous and the accomodations are fantastic. I highly recommend this charming hotel.

As far at the must see sites of Rome, I would definitely list the Collosseum, Forum, Vatican and St Peters at the top of teh list. As far as other sites, it really depends on what you and your husband like - do you like art (Borghese Gallery), archaeology (side trip to Pompeii), are you particularly religious (a visit to San Clemente or perhaps the Scavi tour). Take a good look at a great guidebook like an DK Eyewitness Guide and pick out a few things that really interest you and your new husband, because Rome is a very big city and what people tend to treasure in their memeories is very subjective.

Jean

Are you talking about six weeks from now? Unless your budget can handle whatever you find, you need to book your hotels ASAP.

There's no time for a "side trip to Pompeii" or even, IMO, a tour in Rome (unless it's personal/private and not a group). You don't even have 24 hours there, and you're going to have to move fast to see much. By the time you get to your hotel (assuming your flight lands on time), check in, perhaps take a shower, it will 6 pm or later. See the Pantheon, Trevi and Spanish Steps and then look for dinner, perhaps near Piazza Navona. The next day, you really only have until early afternoon to see the things that interest you most: St. Peter's or Colosseum/Forum (which are on opposite sides of the historical center), Galleria Borghese (in yet another direction), or whatever.

What time do you need to check in for your cruise (which is obviously earlier than the departure at 6 pm)? Would you be open to taking the train to Civitavecchia? It would cost less than $20 per person, and some trains would cost closer to $10 per person.

TCC

Whoa…....your flight arrives in Rome (FCO I suppose)
@ 2:30 PM on June 21.
Are you arriving from the US? Do you think that you will be jet lagged?If all goes well and your flight touches down at 2:30 PM, you will need to go through immigration,claim your checked baggage, and get transportation to the city.
Once there you will need to check into your hotel.
How long do you estimate all this will take?
What I’m saying is, that even with great luck, this will get you there late afternoon.
I don’t know what time you will feel comfortable leaving Rome to catch your cruise ship on the 22nd,but you probably need to check out of your hotel by noon.
I think that all of these circumstances leave you very little time to see much of Rome.
Maybe, a hop on / hop off tour bus would at least give you a taste of the city. Do tour the piazzas and the Trevi at night. Have a great meal at one of the many restaurant recommended on this forum and others,.
You will be sorry that you don’t really have enough time to visit this incredible city.

As Happytrivr mentions, lots of source for hotel recs.
in Venice.

Have a great cruise.

kybourbon

I don't think there is a city discovery bus. I think city discovery is a booking engine like Expedia. The bus is the 110 Open, but it's not the best way to see Rome. Here's the link for the actual bus.
http://www.trambusopen.com/index.cfm?id=home

You can train from Rome to Civitavecchia (Rome's port) for 4.50€ 2nd cl or 7.00€ 1st cl. It takes 1 - 1 1/2 hours depending on train selected.

bwhizz

thanks for the advice!!!!

Can the train tickets be purchased in advance to Rome's port?

Jean

No need to purchase in advance. There are multiple trains each hour.

But you might want to pick the shortest journey or cheapest fare before you go to the station. You can search the timetables here:

http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/homepage_en.html

kybourbon

The majority of train choices on this route are R trains (2 per hour usually). No point in purchasing a ticket in advance because the train can't sell out and R trains don't have reserved seats. There are a couple of ES and IC trains per day which you can get a reserved seat (prices are 2-3 times the R trains) if you want to plan your schedule around the limited choices.