litepacker

We will land in Rome from the US Aug 17th morning around 7 am. Our hotel is very close to Vatican. Since Vatican might be too crowed on Sunday, I am wondering if we should visit Vatican on the 17th ? or am I better off doing Colosseum and forum on the day we land ?

We are travelling with our daughters (11 and 13 years) who are very well traveled, but nevertheless want to make sure its a good experience for the family.

We will be in Rome till the 20th evening. What would you recommend we visit on the day we land and potentially space the other sights spread out the rest of the time we are in Rome ?

FYI: Planning to buy the roma pass when we land there.

Looking forward to hearing from y'all.

MmePerdu

It depends, I think, on what you want to do at the Vatican. If you want to see it in depth, either on your own or on a tour, it could be quite long and intense to see it well. So I'd suggest you see the Colosseum which can be done at a leisurely pace and will likely take less time. Again, it depends on what you want to see at the Vatican.

litepacker

Here is the initial thought about the Vatican:
St. Peters, Sistine chapel and potentially climb up the dome and perhaps walk around the gardens. We are not going to do the crypt etc.

mamcalice

Are you arriving from abroad? If so, I would do the Colosseum and Forum. It is a good idea to spend as much time as possible outside on your first day to work on the jetlag. It also depends on the weather. I would rather spend a rainy day inside so the Vatican and St. Peters would be best.

MmePerdu

I recall that the entrance to the Sistine Chapel was through the Vatican Museums. It may not be accessible on it's own. Check on this but, if so, and it's important to you, you may want to save it for a day when you're rested.

All considered, the Colosseum is an easier thing to see.

NancyPatricia

Have your hotel arrange for your family to be taken on a guided bus tour of the Colosseum and Forum which usually takes about 2-3 hours and well worth it since you have two children with you. It's a mad house full of tourists and pick pockets so having a professional guide guarantees everyone enjoys themselves.

Rome offers fantastic shopping, especially boots so on the second day of site seeing walk down some of the very old winding streets and let the your daughters find cool stuff to look at or buy.

On your third take a private nighttime tour of the Vatican. Very few people, relaxing and your family will thank you for not wearing them out.

kybourbon

You have to visit the museums to visit the Sistine Chapel (it's in the museums). You can't walk around the gardens as they are scheduled tour only and not every day.

I would save both for other days and do something easy like the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and Pantheon.

litepacker

Colosseum it is Do you need a rome pass even if you have a guided tour of the Colosseum ? Also, how soon do you need to schedule the night tour at the Vatican? I wonder if I am already cutting too close ?

NancyPatricia, What a neat idea to go shopping, my girls and I would love it Any particular areas in the city that might be ideal for this ? I dont think I want to do anything high end for the girls..

litepacker

I just checked and Vatican night tours only resume from September, They are not available in august
Anyone went with the Vatican conducted day tours in english or am I better off doing a private tour with companies like viator ?

travelmamana

I just returned from my trip (still need to do a TR). I have an 11 year old and 15 year old, also well travelled. IMHO, I would do the Colosseum and Vatican on 2 separate days and not on the day you arrive. I wouldn't waste your money on a Roma pass based on the number of days you are there. I booked the tour directly with the Vatican and it was the best decision. I also did the Underground tour and it was also well worth it. Note that there is no discount for your 11 year old with a Roma pass. Note that my 11 year old was free with the underground colisseum tour (except for the 1.5E reservation fee.) that's another reason why I decided at the last minute not to get the Roma pass. I would go see the Pantheon (download Rick Steve's tour of the Pantheon on the iPhone/iPad or iPod). My son loved that. Walk to Trevi, poazza Navonna and the Spanish steps and take it all in the first day. We did a food tour with Bruno (google) and it was awesome (pricey but fun for the 1st night- good amount of history packed in.

mocha_dolce

It sounds like you've only got a few days in Rome. I would not do anything you have to book on the arrival day. You never know if all of you will be feeling up to it after the long flight. Explore on foot if you are able. Your neighborhood, the Pantheon, Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain, get lunch, have a gelato. Shopping may be hard to avoid with tweens, but given your limited time, it might not be a good use of time or money. I suspect you'll find designer items like sunglasses and bags really expensive and possibly available for less in the US. You can find the likes of H&M in Rome, but that's probably not why you're going there!

Rastaguytoday

I agree with mamcalice.

Try to get as much outdoors and sun that you can, to help your body adjust to the different time zone.

For every trip I take, being outdoors is always on the first day.

NancyPatricia

If your family is less likely to sleep on the plane then they will be tired when you land on Saturday but need to stay awake until at least 7:00pm. Take a shower then a taxi ( ask driver to drive by a few famous sites) to the base of Spanish Steps and walk up and down the streets in that area . Tons of stores selling everything (knit dresses and boots to die for) and you'll have you pick of restaurants to choose from. You'll get the lay of the land and everyone will enjoy themselves instead of being dragged around in the hot sun when they are not up to full speed.

A 10:00am Saturday morning bus tour to the Colosseum and Forum is ideal because it gets warm very quickly in August. BRING WATER. This website: http://www.viator.com/tours/Rome/Ski...-3731COLOSSEUM --- OFFERS TO PICK YOU UP AT THE HOTEL, which is very valuable because traffic backups are common.

Avoid the Vatican at all cost on Sunday mornings and afternoons since all of Rome is there along with tourists. Instead take the private evening tour of the Vatican, that can be arranged by multiple tour companies - and do it now. Here a link of one of the agencies that offer private Vatican tours http://www.walksofitaly.com/tour_boo...ur_listing/6/6.

On Monday you must walk by or visit Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II, a stunning piece of architecture. Go to the rooftop to enjoy a snack and an amazing view.
https://foursquare.com/v/monumento-a...67c9289bbd28cf

A few blocks away from the monument is the Italian Parliament, Near Piazza di Montecitorio which is lined by cobblestone streets and great, unique shops your girls will love. Honestly I could have roamed the streets for hours. And there mostly shaded by the buildings.

BOOK ALL YOUR TOURS TODAY BEFORE THEY SELL OUT.

Safe travels.
Nancy

NYCFoodSnob

Visiting the Vatican (Museums) on the day you land from a U.S. flight? I've done some crazy things in my lifetime of travel, but I don't think I've ever considered that. I'm not sure I would consider it even if I only had two days in Rome. Rome has too many gorgeous and fascinating things outside to look at, that require mush less focus and brain power.

IMO, the Vatican Museums are intense. The experience can be overwhelming, especially for a first visit. Having been there at least a hundred times now, I can't imagine anyone attempting an enjoyable visit without a good night's sleep.

A visit to St. Peter's is easier, but there is nothing like a guided tour (one hour) of the Church. And for that, I would call Context Rome and secure one of their expert guides.

ShellD

I like travelmamana's suggestions a lot! It's similar to what we did on our first day.

We arrived and took a private transfer to our hotel which included an introductory tour. Knowing our hotel wouldn't be ready for us yet, it was a nice to have short tour of Rome as an introduction to the city before we even checked in!

Our hotel was by the Pantheon, so after arriving, we walked around and of course got a gelato! Then we took a short nap and we went on the Evening Food Tour with Bruno!

We left Rome for a while the next day, and then we came back at the end of our trip for three days.

You can read about our first day, and then the remainder of what we did in my trip report if you want to - with pictures:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...s-in-italy.cfm

I'm just about to post about our remaining time in Rome - which includes our tours of the Colosseum and the Vatican!

annhig

I agree with not booking anything for the first day. who knows - your flight may be delayed, one of you struck down by jetlag, or all of you just needing a good sleep.

but it is an excellent day for getting to know Rome, and having a good wander around for getting your bearings, interspersed with lots of stops for pizza and gelati.

I would suggest starting at St. Peters [you will surely miss the queues if you get there by 9 am] then getting the bus to the Vittoriana monument in the middle of Rome, and working your way back to your hotel via the Campo Dei Fiori, the Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, Trevi etc.

one gallery/museum you might be interested in is the Doria Pamphilij just up the via del corso from the Vittoriana - the first part is set out as a series of rooms from the C17 and onwards and the 2nd part is a picture and sculpture gallery. and unlike the vatican museums, there is hardly anyone there.

http://www.doriapamphilj.it/

i would leave the colosseum and vatican museums until later in the trip.

annhig

PS - if you just want a sit down, preferably in the cool, just make for the nearest church. They are nearly always open, and I've yet to be in a church in Rome that didn't have something of interest for the traveller.

NancyPatricia

As I mentioned above enjoy your first day in Rome by walking around and taking tours the next few days. Wish I was going with you!

annhig

me too - i love Rome!