Hi,
My sister and I are leaving for Italy in a few days to see family. We have reserved the last 2 days which are a Sunday and Monday for a trip to Rome. I am really getting nervous and would appreciate it if someone with experience could answer a few questions.

We have reserved a room in a convent that is close to the Coliseum.

First of all we will drop off a rented car at Fiumicino on Sunday morning because I did not want to drive in Rome. I am not sure if I should take a taxi to our accommodations or a train to the Termini station at which point we can either take a taxi or another train to the convent. My preference is to take a taxi however I have heard horror stories about taxi drivers overcharging and I do not want to be in this situation. Does anyone have an approximate idea of how much a taxi would cost from either Fumicino to the Colseum or Termini to the Coliseum? I would love to hear recommendations.

My second question is for suggestions on what to see in such a short time period in Rome. Obviously we will go to the Coliseum. I thought this might be on Sunday. We will probably arrive sometime on Sunday afternoon so we would need suggestions on Sunday evening activities. We may go to St. Peter's on Monday.

Has anyone tried the Rome Pass? Do you think it would be useful for my short visit? If so what should I plan to use the three free visits for and in what order?

I am also interested in acquiring a international phone after I arrive in Italy. I have heard that this would not be too expensive. Has anyone tried this and can anyone give me some suggestions?

Thank you!!!!

Hi again,

I am bringing this to the top in hope that someone will respond.

Thanks

The official fare for a taxi from Fiumicino to anywhere in central Rome is 40 Euro. Unfortunately, some drivers may still try to charge more.

I've always used a taxi service reserved in advance that charged 35 Euro; the drivers never asked for more.

www.romeshuttlelimousine.com

(It says "shuttle" but it's really a private limousine.)

The RomaPass includes *two* free museum or site visits and reductions on others as well as free public transportation until midnight on the third day. Only you can judge whether it's worth it to you.

http://www.romapass.it/english/index.html

I'm afraid I can't help you with the phone.

I went to Rome solo, and I used a shuttle type transfer service with no problem. I can't remember specifically which company. Here is a link to a one through Viator. http://www.viator.com/Rome-tours/Tra...sport/d511-g15
I just selected arbitrary dates ....
Here is a Google seach link as well.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...rport+transfer
I had 2 days there and I did 2 back to back walking tours one day and the Vatican/Sistine Chapel the next day

Hi. You might want to add the Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum on Sunday. We used a guide who purchased our tickets; I think best place to get them is at Palatine entrance. Forum is free. If you are interested in art, the Borghese Gallery is wonderful, but you have to book ahead for a 2 hour interval. Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Spanish Steps, Campo di Fiore, Piazza del Popolo.

The taxi ride from Fiumicino to Rome Centro (where your hotel is, will be 45-50 Euro or $60-$67, if you are lucky)
In my experience, taxi drivers don't try to rip you off too often in Rome. Just make sure you tell them to turn on their meter as soon as you get into the cab.

You can also take the train right from the airport to Termini station. It is around 10 Euro per person, one way. From Termini, you can then take the Linea B Subway Line going towards the Laurentina direction and get off at Colosseo stop. It is only about three stops.

You are very ambitious. Good for you! You may be able to cross off a few things on your itinerary, but you will have to seriously rush through them all, without stopping. Since you have such a short amount of time, I would stick to the Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain and maybe Spanish steps. I would totally skip Piazza del Popolo and Campo dei Fiori. You can see Campo dei Fiori at night, when it is a hot place to go hangout, or to pass time at a cafe or bar. Alot of young people congregate there in the evening. As for the Vatican, it is up to you, but there are long lines in the morning, and I think you'd be pushing it. I wouldn't do it this time around.

Where are you coming from in Italy that you have to drop the car off at FCO? Is there anywhere else that you can drop the car off and then train directly into Rome? For example, if you are planning to drive from Naples, Florence, etc to FCO, I would just drop the car in Naples/Florence and take a train right into Termini in Rome. That will save you a good bit of time, hassle, etc on the Sunday (more so if coming from Florence or Tuscany which is north of Rome and FCO is out of your way actually). Any town with a decent train connection to Rome and which has a rental car drop off place which is open would be preferable to driving to FCO. You may be able to drop the car on Saturday in whatever town you are in and train in on Sunday or even late Saturday evening.

The Pantheon is closed on Sundays after the last morning mass. Watch museums closures on Monday. The Vatican Museums are open, but the Borghese is closed and others may be as well. Check websites or guidebooks.

For Sunday evening, I would agree with doing some evening strolling in the plaza areas and having dinner outdoors somewhere, including the Spanish Steps area. A night walking tour is also a possibility. It will be light until quite late so you do have a good bit of time.

If you want really excellent guided walking tours, try Context Rome. Their Coliseum and Vatican tours are fantastic and well worth their price. Quite popular on this board. See http://rome.contexttravel.com I have also done the Enjoy Rome evening walks, I thought they were fine, not as good as Context Rome, but perfectly OK. Take a look at www.enjoyrome.com Enjoy Rome also does a 3.5 hour bicycle tour of Rome which I think would be great fun, although with your limited time perhaps not so much on this trip.

My wife and I thought of getting cell phones for use in Italy before a recent trip but decided against it because we didn't want to spend time in Italy shopping and because we wouldn't know what to do if they malfunctioned while we were there. If this doesn't bother you, search for xyz123 in this forum. xyz123 is an expert on cell phones, and many of his posts talk about how to buy one while abroad. Wherever you buy it, you'll need a phone with GSM technology, used in the US by Cingular and T Mobile, not Verizon, Sprint, or Nextel. Your GSM phone will have to be unlocked, meaning that it can work with any service provider, and it will have to operate on the European frequencies, 900 and 1800. If you buy one that operates only on these frequencies, you won't be able to use it in the US. If you buy one that operates on the frequencies 900, 1800, and 1900, you can use it in Europe and with T Mobile in the US. If you get one that operates on frequencies 850, 900, 1800, and 1900, it will work in both the US and Europe. This type of phone is called a quad band. Motorola has several on sale. When you get to the site
http://www.store.motorola.com/mot/en...irect/motorola
click on unlocked gsm phones on the left. The four least expensive phones you could use are the V197, the V190, the L6, and the V235. They run about $100, and they're all well rated phones. You can also buy unlocked gsm phones at TigerDirect,
www.tigerdirect.com, Amazon, www.amazon.com, and on ebay.
Once you have a phone, you need what is called a sim card to connect you to an Italian phone network. I suggest searching for "sim card" in this forum to get more information.