Gabrielle26

Hi

I need help on planning a stay in Rome.

My family (DH, 2 kids ages 8 and 10, and myself) is going to go on a cruise from Civitavecchia on Oct 30, we are going to visit Sicily, Kusadasi, Athens, Crete and back to Civitavecchia where we will go straight to the airport and fly back home. We want to visit Rome before the cruise, we have very limited time since the earliest we can leave home is October 26th which means we will arrive in Rome at 5:00pm on the 27th.

It will be my kids first time in Rome, my husband and I have been there before, but that was 25 years ago before we met each other. Since it has been so long this almost feels like our first visit, and only 2 full days to enjoy the city. What would you recommend for these two days and what tips do you have on saving time?
My husband doesn´t like to walk at all, but I believe getting around in a rental car is not very convenient. We definitely want to see the Colloseum, Parthenon, Campidoglio, Piazza Navona, Spanish Steps, la Fontana di Trevi and the Vatican.

Do you have any suggestions on anything else that would interest the kids? How would you plan your 2 days for visiting these places?
Also, what restaurants would you recommend that are family and budget friendly? Any hotel suggestions for budget friendly and fairly good location?

Thanks in advance for your help, it will be greatly appreciated.

indy_dad

Try "Rome with Kids" by J. M. Pasquesi

and this thread (though it would certainly involve some walking)

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ds-of-rome.cfm

raincitygirl

Gabrielle26, you didn't say what your budget was for the hotel but I can recommend Hotel Artemide as being family friendly, not terribly expensive and in a good location. They include an American style breakfast buffet and the rooms have free minibars.(some cold water, Coke, maybe a couple of beers etc.)

Have a great trip!

raincitygirl

I forgot to say Context Rome has a great guided tour of ancient Rome which your kids might enjoy.

Lots of the things you want to see are within walking distance of each other, e.g.: Piazza Navona, the Pantheon,Trevi Fountain, Spanish steps and all of these are walking distance from Hotel Artemide.

The Vatican is a little farther and so is the Colisseum, doable if you are good walkers,but if not, public transit is easy or a cab ride will not be too expensive.

dobbo996

Two days, of course, is way too short to see a city like Roma. But, hey, why not? When my daughter was 18 we told her we were taking her out for an Italian meal to celebrate. We got up at 3am, packed the two kids in the car and headed for the airport. By 10am we were in Rome. We had a fantastic lunch, in the jewish quarter, got an ice-cream, and then headed home. It was very....spontaneous. Guess where we flew from.

One tip, Roma is not as big as you think it is. Look up.

cruisinqueen

Fabulous, dobbo!

kybourbon

>>>My husband doesn´t like to walk at all, but I believe getting around in a rental car is not very convenient.<<<

You are not allowed to drive in the center of many cities in Italy, including Rome. You will be ticketed so forget a car rental. Here's a map of the restricted area.
http://www.agenziamobilita.roma.it/ztl/ztl.html

The Rome Tourist Board has a section on their website for kids, but unfortunately, they've been updating their website and haven't quite finished. The info isn't in English at the moment.
http://www.turismoroma.it/?page_id=2789

Gabrielle26

Thanks for your advice, indy_dad the thread you mentioned had a link to a great site for kids, it has been most helpful.

Raincity girl I checked Hotel Artemide and also Iq Hotel for our stay, haven´t decided yet on which one is best. Does anyone know anything about Iq hotel?

Kybourbon the site is not available yet, but it says that by July 15th it will be working so I´ll check back.

Can anyone offer some advice on restaurants that are worth visiting?

Thanks for everything.

bardo1

I do NOT think the Hotel Artemide is a very convenient location.

I strongly suggest you look instead at the entire area EAST of Via del Corso all the way to the river.

Here are a few suggestions that are much more centrally located:

http://www.hotelpantheon.com/
http://www.hotelnavona.com/
http://www.relaispalazzotaverna.com/
http://www.residenzafarneseroma.it/
http://www.hotelpontesisto.it/

JulieAgain

HoHo bus? Would your kids be interested in that? Could do the whole loop to see the city & then hop off & see the sites.

JulieAgain

Forgot - we stay at Navona Suites, obviously in the Navona Sq area (1 block away). Of the suites offered below, we prefer the Bernini at the Navona Gallery Suites site. Both of the links below are located at the same place, same owner, same staff. Don't know why they have them separated by website.

The Divinci suites look good also, but I think those are the ones that have a noise problem from a Navona Sq niteclub partying at nite. If interested, call & ask about the noise.

10/27 x 3 nites x 2 adults x 2 children =

1. http://www.navonagallerysuites.com/; Bernini suite 710 euros.

2. http://www.navonagardensuites.com/. 710 & 755 euros.

They provide airport transfer = 80 euros for 4 people; seems high. We booked directly with one of the services offered on Fodors; don't remember which one, but it was much cheaper.

We love the location, the suites, & the staff. When we were there couple of years ago, one person was on duty from morning to evening & no staff during the nite hours, but that wasn't an issue for us. Only thing that happened (was funny), we left very early to go to the airport, no one on duty, the interior courtyard gate was locked & we couldn't figure out how to get it opened. We thought we were going to have to scale it! There was a button on the wall!

Have a fun trip.

Julie

raincitygirl

Gabrielle26, I forgot to mention that we recently used Rocar Service to transfer from the airport to our hotel. Marco then picked us up four days later and transferred us to Civitavecchia for our cruise. He was punctual, the price was reasonable (cheaper than the option provided by the cruise line), and it was worth every penny not to have to stress about it. www.rocarservice.com

I agree with bardo1 that the Hotel Artemide may not be as central as the hotels he/she provided but most of those would be more expensive than Artemide. It is still in a doable location. Friends with a 15 yr.old and a 17yr old stayed there in March and they had no problem getting around.

If you want to spend a little more and be right in the thick of things I can recommend the Hotel Raphael where we stayed in April. It was lovely, also included a full breakfast, had helpful, friendly staff and we walked to most places from there including the Vatican.

charnees

As for getting around in Rome, be aware that most of the things you want to see are only a few minutes' walk from the Corso (Corso Vittorio Emmanuele on your map). Many bus lines run along the Corso, so it's easy to take the bus.

Gabrielle26

Hi

My plans have now changed, there was a promotion on our airline and we got amazing prices on the tickets but of course they have blackout dates. Now I’m leaving home on the 25th and arriving in Rome on the 26th which gives us one more day in Rome, and 2 nights on our way back from the cruise. I´m really stressed about missing work so is my husband, but excited that we have more time to explore Rome.

So now I need a hotel for 4 nights, I´ve checked the hotels you´ve recommended and some of them look great but are more expensive than we can afford, especially since we have one more day to account for.

Bardo1 I followed your advice and looked for hotels on the location you suggested. I found the Hotel Adriano, the junior suite fits 4 people and looks reasonable in price, it´s 1150 for 4 nights with breakfast included. Does anyone know anything about the hotel?

On our return from the cruise, we will have to stay 2 more nights in Rome as well. I was thinking it might be a good idea to take the kids to Pompeii and Naples then.

My itinerary looks like this now

Day 1 arrive in Rome at night.
Day 2 Colosseum, Arch of Constantine, Roman Forum, Palazzo Venezia, Vittoriano, Capitoline Hill and museums.
Day 3 The Vatican, Castel Sant´Angelo and Ponte Sant’Angelo
Day 4 Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Trevi fountain, Piazza di Spagna
Day 5-11 cruise
Day 12 return to Rome, maybe do the Time Elevator and the HoHo bus for a panoramic tour. Visit Trastevere.
Day 13 Pompeii and Naples.
Day 14 return home

The bus looks like a good option to get around the city. Thanks Charnees.
Raincitygirl I´m going to ask Rocarservices for an estimate on the airport-hotel transport, and hotel to Civitavecchia. Rome shuttle limousine asks for 145 euros for the Civitavecchia transfer.

Which is the best way to do the Pompeii tour? Does anyone have any advice on tour operators?

Any places to visit that you think I should add to the itinerary?

Thanks for everything, all the information I´ve received from you has been really helpful.

bardo1

I am not familiar with Hotel Adriano but can say that it is an excellent location.

It has fantastic reviews on Tripadvisor:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...ome_Lazio.html


Your current itinerary looks fine. You can always add to once you are in Rome if you find you have the time. Bring a guidebook with you.

bardo1

There are many bus tours from Rome to Pompeii. Here is just one:

http://www.rometoolkit.com/tours/naples_pompeii.htm

I would get a shuttle and see it at your own (and more importantly, your childrens' pace).

http://www.rometoolkit.com/tours/pompeii_shuttle.htm

Your hotel can recommend many, many others.

hazel1

I second the suggestion for the Navona Suites. We stayed there a couple years ago and thought it was perfectly located - right on Via Governa Vecchio, a wonderful little street with shops, restaurants, and a great vibe just a block or two from Piazza Navona. The owners were very helpful, and the rooms have access to a kitchen with a fully stocked refrigerator full of breakfast stuff and complimentary snacks and drinks.

MFNYC

Some of your daily itineraries are ambitious, especially with kids. Unless they are used to all day sight-seeing and lots of time on their feet, they will need some down time at that age.