4 days in Rome itinerary help
 

Hello everyone, my wife and I are going to be in Rome for 5 nights, 4 full days, end of March. I have 3 of the 4 days planned so far. Our hotel is near Piazza Navona so on day 1 we plan on just walking around the city getting a feel for the layout and hitting some of the cool sites within the city like the Spanish steps, Trevi fountain, and the Pantheon. Day 2 will be the Vatican, museum, Sistine chapel, and St Peters Basilica in the AM, leaving the afternoon open (any suggestions for this time appreciated). Day 3, ancient Rome, again booked for the am so our afternoon will be free. I was thinking it might be neat to do a food and wine tour on one of the evenings, any recommendations there would be awesome. Day 4 is my dilemma, we could either stay in Rome and hit up some other sites we haven't got to yet like Capitoline museum, Villa Borghese etc, but I am worried that we may of had enough museum time by then. We are also considering a day trip to Pompeii or Amalfi or both? Not super keen on spending most of the day in a bus though. Any recommendations on day trips for or against, or other suggestions for our day 4 would be greatly appreciated!

I have been to Rome many times. It's my favorite place! And in Rome, Piazza Navona is my favorite place. With only 4 days, I wouldn't take any day trips out of the city. With somewhere near 85-90 days in Rome, I have only taken 5 day trips! There is just so much to see there. I'm giving a few suggestions for the areas where you will already be.
On Day 1, if you are interested in Caravaggio, go to San Luigi dei Francesi, just outside Piazza Navona on the way to the Pantheon, for his three paintings on the life of St Matthew. The church itself is also worth seeing.
On Day 2, have lunch somewhere off St Peter's Square and get a reservation in the afternoon for the Scavi Tour, which takes you underground with a fascinating tour of what is thought to be St Peter's grave. Reservations are required.
On Day 3, since you're in the area, go to St Clemente, which takes you down through numerous layers to a Mithraic temple to see how Rome was built on top of pervious generations. Then hop on a bus (I think #3, I can check) to Via Marmorata to go to Volpetti's, where you can buy fabulous cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino,,etc) to take home. They will vacuum-pack it for you.
On Day 4, there are too many possibilities to imagine. If you are interested in cooking classes, I can give a couple recommendations (I have taken 5 just in Rome). If you like sculpture, go to Santa Maria Della Viittoria for Bernini's Ecstasy of St Theresa. Or...take the bus to Santa Maria in Cosmedin for the Mouth of Truth and then walk over into Trastavere. Just a few ideas!

Day trips: Ostia Antica, the Roman-era seaport. Tivoli for the Villa d’Este and its fountains, plus the extensive site of Hadrian’s Villa.

Try to do the night tour at the Colleseo! I suggest going the night you land as this will tire you out and get you on the time zone - agreed with your plan for day 1 otherwise. I wouldn't recommend a daytrip to Amalfi/ Pompeii. The Amalfi coast warrants a few days. Be flexible with your timeline for weather- if it rains, you'll want to do the Vatican on that day.

-MPLux

Another vote for visiting the church of San Clemente! I wouldn’t do a day trip with only four days in Rome. Go for walks through various neighborhoods, stop for lunch, etc.

MPLux, have you actually done the night tour of the Colosseum? Just my opinion, but I don't recommend it at all. It was very dark, practically impossible to see anything, you really had to watch where you were walking. The light you see from the outside in the arches in pictures does not penetrate inside.

We did a guided ebike tour of the Appian Way last time and really enjoyed it.
Some versions include a stop at the catacombs. Star-bikes was the company.

The Youtube channel MIT DEM RAD this week posted an excellent video of their 4 days in Rome. They explored by walking ( not with a bike as the name implies ) and yes, the language is German, but that doesn’t distract from the sights. They show the route they took each day.

Definite no to Amalfi Coast as a day trip. Too far and too little time to be there. Not a great time of year either. See Pompeii when you go to the Amalfi Coast for a real visit. There is a lot to see and do on the AC, as well as just chill. It is better in nice weather when you can eat outside, enjoy the ferry rides with views from the water, etc.

If the weather is nice, some day trips already mentioned would be great. Also Orvieto is an easy to visit hill town, so would be different from Rome.

"Day 2 will be the Vatican, museum, Sistine chapel, and St Peters Basilica in the AM, leaving the afternoon open (any suggestions for this time appreciated).".....Our 3 visits to the Vatican Museums lead me to suggest that you get there first and as early as possible, or get a tour...they always went first when we were there. St. Peter's after. Check Castel Sant'Angelo as a possibility for next.

Definitely stay in Rome - so much to see and you'll want time to enjoy strolling through the various neighborhoods. Especially the afternoons on your Day 2 and Day 3 you might plan on taking a leisurely lunch after the huge amount of walking in the morning! Last March we did a private "Savoring Rome Food Tour" through context travels (contexttravel.com) and we really enjoyed it. The tour guide was a chef and took us through the jewish ghetto and into Trastevere which was really fun and we found some awesome food shops and restaurants!

I would also just stay In Rome for the entire 4 days if this is your first time visiting.

I spent 5 nights/4 whole days in Rome in July 2017. I had bought advance tickets to the Borghese gallery and Vatican museum, in advance. I went on an expensive guided tour of the Colosseum and Roman form from the Roman Guys. I don't recommend this or a similar tour. I feel like I made the mistake of paying too much attention to the tour guide instead observing what I should have seen. Some advance reading would take away your need for a guided tour, or join one of the "free" tours but make sure you give a tip of at least 15 to 20 euros. I was on a "free" tour too, led by a staff member of the hostel I stayed at. Check whether tickets to the colosseum should be bought in advance. Also in the park adjacent to the Borghese was an archaeology museum I walked to and saw - it is one of the less popular museums; I might have been more than a 20 minute walk from the Borghese. I didn't see Ostia Antica. You other repliers are right that there is too much to see in Rome to justify any day trips spending only 4 whole days there. Also I went to the Great Synagogue of Rome and attached small jewish museum; a guard gave me a complete pat down and looked though my stuff before letting me in.

SusanP I'd love to hear more about the cooking classes in Rome you'd recommend!

The two best that I've taken:
www.cookingclassesinrome.com/the-chef with Andrea Consoli
www.fabiolouscookingday.com - I did the Cooking Class in a Medieval Town, terrific, and gorgeous scenery

Note, fabiolous is not misspelled! 😀

Thank you SusanP :)