Fodor's Travel Talk Forums

Fodor's Travel Talk Forums (https://www.fodors.com/community/)
-   Europe (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/)
-   -   How do I get around? (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/how-do-i-get-around-1212048/)

rdcjus Mar 6th, 2017 08:28 PM

How do I get around?
 
If my hotel is 5 miles from the center of Rome, what is the best way to travel in and out of the city?

kja Mar 6th, 2017 08:39 PM

Have you contacted your hotel? Or used google maps?

michelhuebeli Mar 6th, 2017 09:14 PM

Or googled "Rome public transportation"? Plenty of useful websites, in English no less...

janisj Mar 6th, 2017 09:26 PM

If you mean coming in from the airport -- most hotel websites give instructions for that . . .

greg Mar 6th, 2017 10:06 PM

Besides asking your hotel, unless you state where your hotel is, we can't help you.
5 miles out puts you outside the Aurelian Wall. Depending on where you are located, it can take a lot of time getting in and out of the city.

jamikins Mar 7th, 2017 01:05 AM

Is there a reason for staying 5 miles outside of centre? You are likely to spend more time and money in transit each day than you are saving on cheap accommodations...

janisj Mar 7th, 2017 05:13 AM

oh jeeze - jamikins is right. I skimmed the OP (obviously too fast) - and thought you were staying in the center.

Why are you staying so far out?

vincenzo32951 Mar 7th, 2017 05:53 AM

Ask what time it is, and some will invariably answer with "Why don't you own a watch?"

jamikins Mar 7th, 2017 05:58 AM

Helpful vincenzo.

The reason I ask is because I made that same mistake the first time I went to Europe. I thought I would save money on accommodations but I didn't think about the extra time and money in transit. We wasted so much time/money on transit!!

If I can help someone to not make the same mistake without realising it than I think asking the question is a good one. And I will keep asking it.

BigRuss Mar 7th, 2017 07:11 AM

<<Ask what time it is, and some will invariably answer with "Why don't you own a watch?">>

Which is a bloody good question, actually. As is the question of why you're staying five miles outside the city you want to visit.

OP needs to check bus maps and commuter trains.

WoinParis Mar 7th, 2017 07:41 AM

Or you can buy yourself a pair of good shoes.

StCirq Mar 7th, 2017 08:47 AM

Well, DUH! WHY on earth are you staying 5 miles outside of Rome? And why didn't you know how to get into the city when you booked this hotel? Get a map. Call Mom and Dad. Honestly, you don't seem prepared for international travel.

Dogeared Mar 7th, 2017 09:12 AM

Welllllll, if those responding had checked, they would see the OP first asked about visiting Rome back in June of last year for a trip to be made in May of this year. It seems that is still the plan.

Back in June, this first time travellers couple were advised by regular posters here, to not take any kind of tour but to travel independently. Having then decided to take that advice the OP is now obviously getting down to some of the details.

Now here's the thing. If regular posters got them into this, I don't think it's fair for regular posters to now give the OP a hard time about why they have booked a hotel 5 miles out. They're first time travellers and they don't know any better. This forum and regular posters bear some responsibility for them being in the situation they are in! So ease up on rdcjus.

Rdcjus, is your hotel booking cancellable? If so, you may want to look for a hotel more centrally located and can ask regulars here to suggest hotels within your budget if you specify your budget. Did you have some particular reason for booking so far out from the centre? Travelling by car for example and wishing to avoid city centre traffic.

Congratulations on deciding to do your own travel planning and not using a tour company. I always think that is a better way to go. I hope you aren't thinking you should have just booked a tour and avoided the crap on this thread.

WoinParis Mar 7th, 2017 09:16 AM

Interesting theory Dog.

If I need to get mobile and buy a car and cannot drive it, is is the fault of the guy who advised me to get a car in the first place ?

Seems to me there is a limit at handholding which has been crossed here.

But ok, I will not sit at the right of our Lord when I depart this world.

bilboburgler Mar 7th, 2017 09:17 AM

rdc, I'd start with rome2rio with th exact address and see which transport lines appear. You can then click on bits of the page to get the details. If there are only occasional buses the you may need to take taxis which mount up$.

Even within Rome it pays to stay along the bus or better the metro lines.

StCirq Mar 7th, 2017 09:22 AM

If the OP did actually post last June about his/her trip this coming May, he/she has had almost a year to figure out where to stay in Rome.It's beyond lame to come back here after almost a year and whine about how to get into Rome from a distant location.

kja Mar 7th, 2017 05:20 PM

I would note that the very first response to the OP's original thread included encouragement to consult a guidebook or two -- which is absolutely critical advice, IMO, to any traveler, but especially novices, who don't even know what to ask.

Google maps -- or at least the version I use -- can offer detailed public transportation information that is not available on rome2rio.com (which, from what I've seen, does not allow specifying a time or date of arrival or departure).

Like jamikins, I once chose to stay in an inconvenient location to save money, and ended up paying more than I would have just to get into and out of my primary destination. So, if the OP's reservation is cancellable, looking into other options might be worthwhile. If not, welcome to the crowd of those of us who learned some lessons the hard way! Consider you options for limiting the number of times you need to go back and forth each day, and yes, get yourselves a good guidebook or two! The cost will be nugatory in comparison to the cost of your trip, and you might even learn some REAL money-saving tips (in addition to learning the things you don't realize you need to ask).

Good luck!

nukesafe Mar 7th, 2017 06:25 PM

Welllll, Dogeared, why the he!! should one look up a poster's past posting history to answer a straightforward question about how to get from a distant hotel to the center? You chide us for not doing so unjustly, methinks.

bilboburgler Mar 7th, 2017 11:43 PM

nuke, well said

kybourbon Mar 8th, 2017 05:31 AM

The OP seems to have replied on a wrong thread.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-or-venice.cfm

It seems he's staying out because of points. Probably the Cavalieri as it's about 5 miles out.


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 02:53 AM.