Rome Itinerary Critique

Old Dec 12th, 2012, 03:29 PM
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Rome Itinerary Critique

Hi all- I was hoping if anyone had a free moment to critique my Rome itinerary. I'd like to know if I have packed too many things into each day. My husband and I have never been to Rome and we plan on going from morning to dinner each day (we'll see what happens once we are there)Are there things I should drop/add? Thank you for your time.

Friday, April 26
Arrive at airport from US @ 0930
Check into hotel- Stay awake!
Noon: Pantheon (open until 1830)Free
1300- Trastevere district:
Villa Farnesina (open until 1400) 5€ Tickets:__
Santa Cecilia Church Trastrevere(open until 1830) Free or 2.50€ donation
Bocca della verita
Santa Maria Church Trastrevere (open until 2000) Free?

Saturday, April 27
0700-St. Peter’s Basillica Free Entrance
0800-Climb the dome of St. Peters 7€ Tickets:__
0900/1000-Vatican Museums 15€ Tickets:__
To Hotel Freshen up
Dinner around 1900 or 2000

Sunday, April 28
Santa Maria degli Angeli (0700-1930) Free
Santa Maria Della Vittoria (0900-Noon) Free
Palazzo Massimo alle Terme (0900-1945) 8€
San Pietro in Vincoli (0800-Noon;1530-1900) Free (Michelangelo’s Moses)
1300:Roman Forum* (0830-1930) 36€ Tickets:__
Palantine Hill
Arch of Constantine
Colosseum
The Basilica of San Clemente (1500-1800) Free; Take Bus 60 to Piazza Venezia walk to: Captioline Hill
Piazza del Campidoglio (for view of forum back of the right side of the central building)
Capitoline Museums (until 2000) 12€ Tickets:__


Monday, April 29
Piazza Navona
Sant’Agostino (0730-1230) Free
San Luigi de Francesi (1000-1230;1600-1900) Free
Lunch at Enoteca Corsi?
Villa Borghese Park- Walk around
Galleria Borghese 11€ Tickets:__
Santa Maria del Popolo (Mon–Sat 7am–noon and 4–7pm) Free


Tuesday, April 30
Pompeii Day trip
2hr 12min train ride Rome-Naples-Pompeii about 20 euro
Leave Rome 0735 Arrive in Pompeii around 1000
22€ tickets & audio guides 128€ transport approx = $185
See: Casa degli Amorini Dorati
Leave at 1500 or 1600 2hr ride back; In Rome at 1700 or 1800

Wednesday, May 1st Holiday
Piazza della Repubblica
Spanish Steps
Trevi Fountain
Galleria d’Arte Antica-Palazzo Corsini (open until 1930) 5€ Buy tickets there
Galleria Doria-Pamphilj (1000-1700) 10.50€ Tickets:__
Santa Maria sopra Minerva (0710-1900) Free
*Sant'Ignazio di Loyola (7:30am–12:20pm and 3–7:20pm) Free
*-open May 1st?
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Old Dec 12th, 2012, 03:56 PM
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We are traveling the first of June 2013 and I am curious to see the responses you get. Have you thought of doing the Scavi tour - the necropolis? I booked tickets for this based on a recommendation on this site.
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Old Dec 12th, 2012, 03:58 PM
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@willowjane- That sounds interesting, thank you! I hope I get some responses too. What does your itinerary look like?
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Old Dec 12th, 2012, 04:06 PM
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I don't have nearly as much planned as you do - we are taking my sweet mother with us and I don't want to overdo. I have downloaded EatRome and one other I can't remember.lol LowCountryIslander has great trip reports and great advice for food! The one thing my mother wanted to do was the scavi tour. After Rome we are going to Venice and then the lakes. Don't you think that planning is part of the fun!

June 1st – Saturday – Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, the elevator (7€) up to the viewing platform at the Victor Emmanuel II monument,


June 2nd – Sunday – Borghese Gallery (Roma Pass) (tues-sun 8:30-7:30) ,Palazzo Doria Pamphilj (open 10-6),


June 3rd – Monday – Scavi tour (9am is booked) 1 ½ hours; Colosseum and Forum (Roma pass)


June 4th – Tuesday –. Schedule the Vatican Tour for this day with Walks of Italy for Vatican/Sistine Chapel, (afternoon open) dinner in Trastevare to see the area??
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Old Dec 12th, 2012, 04:16 PM
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Sounds fun! I don't know if we'll make everything each day, but my must see's are all on your itinerary After Rome we are headed to Florence, Venice, Cinque Terre, & Pisa then off to France & London!

Where are you staying in Rome?
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Old Dec 12th, 2012, 04:18 PM
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OH and planning is a lot of fun! I'll have to look at those apps, thanks for the tips!
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Old Dec 12th, 2012, 04:21 PM
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http://www.vrbo.com/359819
Perhaps not the best location if I had it to do all over again but it will definitely work for us for price and room. What about you?
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Old Dec 12th, 2012, 04:29 PM
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You're certainly packing a lot in here. For example you'd need an entire afternoon to visit the forum and Palatine Hill and Colosseum. A visit to the Capitoline museums requires another whole morning I think. Similarly your visit to St Peters may involve a long queue, even at that time of the morning, and perhaps even be disrupted by services, as it was when I was there on a weekday earlier this year. Since you also want to climb the dome I would plan an entire morning for that, have lunch and then tackle the Vatican museum in the afternoon, again involving long queues. Book ahead for as many of these big sights as possible, especially the Borghese Gallery where it is compulsory. You've obviously done a lot of research so I hope you enjoy your trip.
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Old Dec 12th, 2012, 04:32 PM
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I'm looking into the Bee Hive

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...ome_Lazio.html

I am hoping it will be a good choice. I will be sure to look for your trip report this summer!
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Old Dec 12th, 2012, 04:55 PM
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@mbloggs- Thank you for your input-I really appreciate the tips. How soon should/can I book for a end of April/early May trip?
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Old Dec 13th, 2012, 01:24 AM
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The Vatican museums are usually much less crowded in the afternoon. If crowds bother you, go for the last entrance times.

Are you flying from the US and arriving jet-lagged? Have you ever been to Europe before? You will most likely find it extremely difficult to get up at 6am your 2nd day to head to St Peter's by 7am -- and that will go triple if it is raining that day. Your hotel will not give breakfast at that hour and you will not find a cafe open before 7.30. If you can make it through that morning without a cup of coffee, more power to you. Most people couldn't.

Several of the churches on your Sunday morning list are likely to have masses on Sunday morning that will make it hard for you to sightsee the church. If you really want to see the art work inside them, pick another morning to see them.

St Peter's and the Colosseum/Forum are on opposite sides of Rome. You can easily take a metro between them, or you could arrange your sightseeing with geography more in mind. For instance. the Pantheon and Santa Maria sopra della Minerva are about 50 apart, yet you've scheduled to see them 5 days apart. If you haven't already done this, you should take a map of Rome and put an X on it for everyplace you've got on your list. You can exhaust yourself in Rome walking around museums alone, so you don't want to be criss-crossing the town several times a day.

Finally, you should only go to Pompei if the weather is fairly nice. Drizzle is okay. Downpour is not. (A great many things on your list are only enjoyable if the weather is dry enough to be outdoors for extended periods.) If you are going to Pompei, you should seriously include a visit to the archeological museum in Naples as part of the same trip. You also might consider scrapping Pompei in favor of seeing Ostia Antica, much easier to get to. It really depends on your level of interest in Roman urban layout.
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Old Dec 13th, 2012, 05:10 AM
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dealing with the queries backwards as it were,

@willowjane - i woud move the galleria doria pamphilj to the saturday - it's very close to the other things you are seeing on that day, which is not full at present and you may not fancy another gallery after you've seen the Borghese.

@vivi004 - your days seem very crowded and not entirely logical. Day 1 for example, you seem to be dotting backwards and forwards - Ste. Cecilia, then la bocca della verità, then Santa Maria - and i don't see any time for you to eat [a shame, the restaurants in Trastevere are very good]. BTW, do pay the fee to go into the crypt of Ste. Cecilia - go right to the end and you will find the most lovely mosaic chapel.

as others have said, Day 3 seems impossible, unless you go round everything at breakneck speed, which rather defeats the point.

i would get a good map of Rome, and your list of opening times, and try to rationalise your timetable!
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Old Dec 13th, 2012, 05:31 AM
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I think you have too much scheduled on many days (especially arrival day). You need to get a map as some things you have listed would be better grouped on other days. You can't depend on church open/close times as they often change if they have something going on. Most will be closed several hours in the afternoon. The Borghese is not open on Monday.

You could save some money in Rome by grouping your more expensive sites and using the Roma Pass (30€). It gives your free admission to your first two sites, discounts after that and 3 days of transport (buses/trams/metro). The most expensive entrances are the Colosseum - 12€(includes the Forum and Palantine), the Borghese Galleria or the Capitoline.

http://www.romapass.it/p.aspx?l=en&tid=2

I would put the Borghese on Sunday (reservations mandatory even with pass - have to call) and the Colosseum/Forum/Palantine on Monday to make the best use of the pass. If you switch your Pompeii day to Wednesday, you could also use your Roma Pass for discounts to other museums on Tuesday (often half off). Check train schedules for May 1 before switching as trains might be more limited.

The museum prices listed won't be entirely accurate. Most museums will have an exhibit which increases the entrance cost. It will be included with the Roma Pass.
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Old Dec 13th, 2012, 05:35 AM
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Link to museum prices. They may increase for next year.
http://www.romapass.it/doc/sitiAdere...lietti_eng.pdf
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Old Dec 13th, 2012, 05:37 AM
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good ideas, ky. I like the suggestion to group the museum days together to make best use of the pass.

Vivi - even if you don't save money with the Rpma pass, you should save time in being able to bypass the queues, the best example being at the Colosseum, where the non-ticket queue can be horrendous. with a pass or a ticket, you should just breeze through. [take the left hand lane through security, and keep going past all the sad people in the line for the ticket office!]
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Old Dec 13th, 2012, 07:43 AM
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Wow. That's not a vacation, that's a forced march!
You're trying to cram more into 6 days than I've done on 4 trips to Rome.
What about time to sit with an espresso and relax? enjoy a local market? window (or real) shop? wander some of the old streets and marvel at the architecture? grab a slice of pizza and sit in a piazza? people watch? enjoy a cappuccino in a local bar?
There is so much more to travel than simply checking off sights.
You really need to cut the mandatory visits in half - at least. You have not allowed time for lines, security checks (yes, even to get into places that are free, you'll stand in line and go thru x-ray checks), traffic, time to get to and from...
I applaud your enthusiasm but sometimes the unexpected things that you experience on a trip are the ones you remember most.
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Old Dec 13th, 2012, 09:01 AM
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what hollywoodsc said.

some of our Rome highlights have indeed been the unplanned - DS's delight at tasting spremuta di arancia sanguine [freshly squeezed blood orange juice] for the first time, finding a church with a nativity scene that exactly modelled the triangular courtyard outside, but with everything as it would have been in the 18C, the motorcyclist crying at the side of the statue of her favourite saint, DS's awe at seeing the colosseum for the first time and insisting on walking all the way round it before we went in...you can't plan for these experiences.
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Old Dec 13th, 2012, 09:25 AM
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Thank you for all the replies, I REALLY appreciate it. My itineraries for trips are always ambitious, and I do end up NOT seeing everything on them. I did map everything out already, but I did this itinerary in July and can't remember my reasoning if something is "out of order". I have never been to Europe and the most jet lag I have experience is going from Minnesota to Arizona! So basically none. I will move things around and put everything on the map again. I didn't even think of Sundays and churches having mass. I'm an idiot. I will go through and repost. Again thank you, I always appreciate Fodor's giving me reality checks.
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Old Dec 13th, 2012, 09:29 AM
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I didn't even think of Sundays and churches having mass. I'm an idiot.>>

no of course you aren't. you came here, didn't you?
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Old Dec 13th, 2012, 10:31 AM
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I agree....you are trying to cram too much in. You aren't alone...it happens all the time, but you must resist the urge to do it or it will feel like the death march mentioned above.

I also agree with annhig that Trastavere has some great restaurants.

Especially on your first day....walk around and enjoy the sights but don't try to do a lot of activities. Start learning your way around and maybe take in a church or two. Maybe the Pantheon and Maria Sopra Minerva and Piazza Navona and Sant'Agnese in Agone. Those are all close together and will allow you to enjoy the fountains and Piazzas...get some gelato. Prepare to get lost (which is another issue with cramming too much in...you will get turned around a few times and that's stressful if you are trying to get somewhere fast.

Here is the link to our T/R frrom our recent (and first trip) to Rome, if you are interested in seeing where we went and what we did.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-hits-back.cfm
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