Shirley_Wong

Hi all. Hoping you can give me some ideas. We have a trip to Europe starting with Rome. We arrived there on Sept 5. We are taking a 7 day tour with Trafalgar : ROME-VENICE-LAKE GARDA-PISA-FLORENCE-ROME but our tour start on Sept 9 afternoon which means that we have 5 days on our own. Because we have a tour, I dont realty want to go to places in Rome that we will be covering in the tour. This is what the ROME segment covers.

"Your included sightseeing tour with a Local Specialist begins at the Vatican Museums. Trafalgar has priority early access as an official partner of the Vatican Museums allowing entry before other Tour Operators and the general public. Admire Michelangelo's magnificent frescoed ceiling in the Sistine Chapel when it is less crowded and more peaceful. Later visit St. Peter's Basilica to see the famous Pietà. Your tour continues in ancient Rome. Visit inside the impressive Colosseum. View the ancient sites of Rome and see the Circus Maximus, where chariot races were once held. There's time afterwards to explore the city on your own, or simply relax and watch the world go by".

Any ideas/thoughts please how we can spend the 5 days before the tour. This is our first time!

Finecheapboxofwine

So your Rome segment includes- the Vatican Museum, St. Peter's, the Colosseum and Circus Maximus. Is that one or two days in Rome? That's not much time at all so you can certainly fill up the extra days just in Rome.

What are your interests? There's so much to see in Rome! Start with a guide book and find a 4 or 5 day tour for ideas. You can explore the city by foot if you are able. Pre book museums and certain sights using Coop culture.it

DaveJJ

I have taken a number of tours with Insight Vacations, a sister company of Trafalgar. Normally the hotels we stayed at were quite centrally located so we were able to walk to most of the major sites.

Where is your hotel located? If outside the city center then you would have to take a bus or taxi to a starting point.

We have been to Rome 5 times now and have explored much of the central area on our own.

Here is some suggestions.

If you start a Piazza di Popolo you can walk down via di Repetta to see Augustus Mausoleum and the Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace). From there cut over to via del Corso. Turn right. You will go by the Piazza Colonna and the nearby Column of Marcus Aurelius. Continue down via del Corso till you eventually see the Monument to Vittoria Emanuelle.

Off to the left is the Domus Romane.....an ancient Roman Villa. Only 10 people are allowed entrance, once an hour. You will need advance tickets. From there you can explore Trajan's Market and other nearby ruins. Cross the Imperial Way and you will be overlooking the Roman Forum.

To the far right of the Monument to Vittoria Emanuelle you will see a long stair case. At the top is the Capitoline Museum. Quite interesting. Again get advance tickets.

From the Monument to Vittoria Emanualle, directly to the right you can find your way to the Crypta Barbi and the Compo di Fiori. Up from there you can find the Pantheon.

The Borghese Gallery is also quite interesting. Again get advance tickets. You can walk back from here through the Porto Princia (spelling?) onward to the top the Spanish Steps. From there you can make your way over to the Trevi Fountain and then onward to the Pantheon.

Go to see the Castle Sant'Angelo. You get a wonderful view of Rome from the rooftop. When you exit go over the Bridge of Saints. Continue on through the narrow streets to the PIazza Navona. Great place for lunch. Just outside of here is the Pantheon.

Definitely go in the Pantheon to view the Oculus. To the left of the Pantheon is the Piazza della Minerva where you will find an obelisk on the back of an elephant.

If you start at the Bacilica of St. John Laterno you can make your way back upside of the Colosseum to the Bascilica to San Clemente. Well worth a visit. Beyone that is the St. Peter in Chains, Basilica de St. Presada and Maria Maggiori.

Don't forget the Capuchin Crypt just across the Piazza de Barerini. Get advance tickets.

You may want to consider a tour of the underground at the Colosseum. This will not be included in your tour. Nor will you get to walk through the Forum. I would suggest arranging for your own guided tour. We used Viatour. Well worth the effort.

You may also want to consider the Scavi tour at St. Peter's. This is not part of your tour.

That's all I can think of right now.

nytraveler

Your tour of the Vatican will not include: the Treasury, the Scavi, the Dome and Castel Sant angelo. Also assume you will have a very brief tour of the museum (check how much time you spend there).

For ancient Rome they show you the Colosseum - which is fine. But the Forum (which you don't see) was the religious, political and social center of ancient Rome. The area to be explored is huge and includes part of the palaces of a couple of the emperors - assume 4 hours there.

Also you need to see the Capitoline Museum and the Pantheon.

This is just one example of the minute part of the important sights you will see on the tour. I would get more details on each place:

1) where you hotels are located? Will you have to take pubic transit or taxi 30 to 40 minutes to get to the historic center?

2) how long you will have in each sight? If you are getting an hour in the Vatican Museum - rather than 3 or 4 IMHO it's a waste of time (or perhaps not for you. Go to the web site to see which parts of the museum are important to you.

mjs

Just wanted to comment that you probably don't have as much free time in Rome as you think. I count three full days plus possibly a half day on the 5th depending on the time of your arrival and state of mine . You possibly have no time on the 9th depending on whether you have to transfer hotels and when you have to meet your tour. I should say however this time plus your tour time should be enough to give you the basics of Rome.

Shirley_Wong

Thank you all for your time and all the suggestions. I have more details on this trip:-
1. We arrive in Rome at 20.05pm on Sept 5. I am yet to find an accomodation so I need suggestion on this.Do we stay at the same hotel the tour will provide us or a different one which is close by? Im thinking it would be nice to experience a different one.

2. Our 7day-tour starts at 6pm on Sept 9 (welcome reception) and the hotel they are providing us is at Cardinal Hotel St Peter. We will be in Rome for 2 nights. So on the morning of Sept 11, we go to Venice. The following are not included in the Rome tour and is optional:

Piazzas and Fountains of Rome
Adult Price: €33.00
Discover the most charming areas in the city with a Local Specialist. Wander through the labyrinth of narrow streets and beautiful squares of Rome's historic centre, leading to highlights such as the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon, as well as hidden corners of the Eternal City.

Roman Evening with Dinner
Adult Price: €61.00
Spend a light-hearted evening with us in Rome. Relax and enjoy typical Italian cuisine with drinks and music. Afterwards, we’ll enjoy a drive and provide a glimpse into how Romans enjoy their city.

bilboburgler

.Do we stay at the same hotel the tour will provide us or a different one which is close by? Im thinking it would be nice to experience a different one. Yes and not nearby.


The wander through the fountains, just get any good guid book, I think the Rough Guide does it pretty well. The Trevi is normally a heaving mass of the idiots. Go very early or very late.

E61 for a meal. Just be clear there is no such thing as italian cuisine, there is only regional cuisine.

There are loads of places to eat. If you see a person at the front trying to entice you in, you just know the food is c@@p, or else people would not need enticing in. For E61 I would expect Michelin 1 star at least.

Most people in Italy are related to other people in their "circle" so even asking your hotel for ideas will lead you to their brother in law's restaurant.

Go tripadvisor or roughguide.

nytraveler

The first of those "optionals"should be included in any basic tour. You can easily do yourself unless you like throwing money out the window. If you are interested in making friends in your tour group you might want to do this group dinner - but there is no way I would do so - since they are not likely to take you to a place with real Roman cuisine. Before deciding I would get the name of the restaurant. But IMHO dragging groups into restaurants usually results in sub par food.

But there is a bigger issue. Are they saying they are giving you an all-inclusive tour and then expecting you to buy all your own dinners? Does this tour really make sense financially?

Christina

I agree that meals with tour groups are usually not great as they are limited in restaurants that will handle a large group.

I don't see anywhere the tour claimed it was "all-inclusive" at all. I've taken several tours and deliberately chose ones where I did not pay for meals (except breakfast) so I could eat on my own in smaller, local places as I wished. I prefer those kind of tours and I imagine a lot of others would, also.

I will admit all the tours I took, which were fairly independent (meaning only a few scheduled excursions) all included a half day general sightseeing tour of the major cities in the price. I wouldn't pay for that on my own.

ElendilPickle

You could do the New Rome Free Tour. It's tip-based (pay your guide what you think your time was worth at the end of the tour). Mr. Pickle and I enjoyed this walking tour last year.
http://www.newromefreetour.com/

Lee Ann

HappyTrvlr

Your tour says "see the ancient sites." You should spend some time at The Forum ; check if your tour spends enough or any time there in that historically rich site.
The church of San Clemente has access to excavations inside that go back to Roman time and earlier. This is a very interesting site, highly recommend it.

Vttraveler

I would try to find a different hotel for when you arrive, closer to the historic center. We rented an apartment on our most recent trip but I have thought I would try to stay at Arco del Lauro in Trastevere another time.

You should consider going to the Palatine Hill in Rome one day and spend some time in the Pantheon/Piazza Navona area.

There are whole threads on different churches in Rome--,amu tp cjppse frp,!

gidlaurie

If you want a change of pace from the excavations and architecture and fountains, spend some time in the park at Villa Borghese! Here's a description from an article in The Guardian: "The enormous Borghese park contains the Borghese Gallery, but also many other delightful buildings and follies, an artificial lake with a temple, an aviary, an orangery and much more in a carefully landscaped setting created in the English style for the Borghese family by the Scottish artist Jacob More in the 1770s. There are various entrances, but the main one is from just outside the Piazza del Popolo, from the Pincio gardens along from the Spanish Steps and from the top of the Via Veneto. This is much the largest area of green anywhere near the centre of the city, and provided you do not object to dogs being walked, it is a delight to lie on the grass under the towering umbrella pines or stroll right the way across towards the Etruscan Museum, the Gallery of Modern Art or the zoo."

Vttraveler

sorry, my fingers slipped when typing above and I didn't notice before posting
amu tp cjppse frp,= many to choose from (re churches)

I agree with the last post that the Borghese park area is good to explore. The view of the city from the Pincio Gardens is great. Another good viewpoint is the Piazzale Garibaldi at the top of the Janiculum.