april04

We are trying to wrap up the loose ends of our first trip to Italy (my husband, myself, & our 12 year old daughter). We have all of the hotels reserved, but need some final details.
1. We fly into Ciampiano airport 3/30/06 around 9:30 am. Suggestions on taking a shuttle, taxi, train to our hotel (by the Spanish Steps)
2. Does anyone recommend a "private car tour" of Rome, or is the Hop-on / hop-off tour bus ok? Safety issues/??
3.We only have 2 days in Rome and want to see the Sistime Chapel, Collosium, Trevi Fountain, St. Peters) Is this doable?
4. We are planning on renting a car in Rome to drive to Siena on 4/1/06-Saturday. Support or critisism? We heard the drive was beautiful! If so, where is the best (easiest) place to rent it from in Rome? Also, we want to return it in Pisa on 4/4/06? Does anyone have experience with this? Extra fees for dropping off at a different location? The hotels we are staying at, have parking available.
5. Making reservations to see "David". We will be in Florence on Sunday and Monday morning. What is the best time to visit?

All suggestions and tips will be greatly appreciated!!

harrowgirl

1) Not sure - how much luggage are you bringing and how close to the metro stop are you?

2) not sure

3) Do you have 2 full days, or are you counting the day of your arrival as 1 day. We spent a full day (9am - 5pm at St. Peter's & Sistine Chapel. Your hotel is close to the Trevi Fountain - so you should be able to see that. You should be able to see everything you identified if you see Trevi and ancient rome (i.e. colosseum) on the day you arrive and St. Peters/Sistine Chapel the next day. The first day might be a bit rushed - you likely won't be ready to sight see until after 1pm - plus you will be jetlagged.

4) not sure

5) I'm not sure if either makes a difference - if you have a reservation, you will walk right in. They only let a certain number of people in at a time. It is a very small museum - you won't need much more than an hour inside.

ellenem

5. I suspect most museums in Florence are closed on Monday.

Eloise

There is a long list of museums in Florence that are NOT closed on Monday. If I find it again, I will post a link.

Eloise

http://www.florenceitaly.net/it/planningit.html

http://www.mega.it/ita/not/mulun.htm

"Musei aperti il lunedi" means "Museums open on Monday"

djman102

#2-3 I agree with harrowgirl-you really only have 1 1/2 days for Rome. If you want a general tour, plus St Peters/Sistene and the Colliseum, you'll have to plan very carefully and very full. One advantage of the bus tours is that (I think) most bus tour passes are valid for 24 hrs, so if you took one to the Colliseum the first afternoon (it closes around 4pm I think), you could return to your hotel, walk to Trevi that night, and take the tour bus 3/31 morning to St Peters/Sistene Chapel if the bus started early enough.

As for safety, we used Green Line Tours this month with our kids 11, 9, and 6 and had no issues. The audio guide was not nearly as detailed as we would have liked though, so I'd recommend a different tour bus. This was our first time to Rome, so suggestions/additions/deletions out there greatly appreciated.

crusty

Be sure to se the Uffizi museum, while in Florence.

Seeing the David in itself can take all of 20 minutes.

april04

Eloise - thanks for the museum links !!

djman102 - thanks for the tip on the tour line. Did you ever use "public transportation"? Also, any family friendly restaurant suggestions?

Eloise

Public transportation in Rome is generally very safe. You have to be a bit careful on bus No. 64 - from Termini to St. Peter's - as it's known as the "pickpocket special." I also avoid the Metro, which is no great hardship, as it does not go to very many places.

jgg

Here is a link to my trip report. We were in Italy last March (Rome, Venice, Florence - and a daytrip to Siena) with our two kids age 9 and 12 at the time. There are many restaurant recommendations in it. http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34599242.

By the way we do not necessarily look for kid friendly restaurants, as we are looking for good food, and our kids are well behaved. However, all the restaurants we went to were very family friendly - the Italians love kids!

djman102

Eloise is right-we used the bus lines the entire trip and had no problems. Be careful with "pick-backpackers" as well as pickpocketers; they're not constant, but enough to take precautions. We did mostly pizzerias, but here's the link on our trip summary if you'd like to see where we ate (including gelaterias) and what we did with our kids:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34735492

lilminkey

With 2 days in Rome park your car and don't touch it. If you have lots a money do it private if not take cabs to these sites there fast and you can go from area to area you will save what you need most of time. After you hit your points of interest you can take the sightseeing bus aruond the whole city.Your hotel is not walking distance to these sites unless you want to spend hours walking and getting lost,we did several times even with city maps. As you walk you will see many visitors looking at maps confused take cabs and save tons of time and there reasonable.Iwould exit Rome early or late in the day or on a Sunday,to go to Siena.The beauty of Italy is evident when driving. I used the Autostrada .When you pay the attendant try to have correct change it helps they do not speak any english .Siena is a nightmare unless you know exactly where you are going good directions to your hotel and a good map of the area is very important .In closing if you speak Italian its easier if you don't its hard ,many people will tell you don't worry alot of people speak english thats not true from what I learned. Its kind of like the theory where is a cop when you need one! Good luck and have a wonderful trip.

april04

Any suggestions on where to rent a car in Rome. I checked out AutoEurope.com and thought about renting it at the airport, hoping that would be the easiest, and most direct route out of the city to Siena. If so, should we just take a shuttle from our hotel to the airport early that morning?

suzq_trvlr

1. We took the Leonardo Express train into Rome with very little difficulty last May, then we hoppped on the metro to the Spanish Steps stop. We stayed at the Hotel San Carlo, which is very close to the Spanish Steps. I would recommend a taxi if you have a lot of luggage and can afford it though. We were trying to save money where we could.

2. No experience with this.

3. I think you can, but it just depends on you and your family's fitness level. My husband and I are not exercise people per say, but we're in decent shape. We managed to do the Vatican museums, St. Peter's, the Sistine Chapel, (we booked a tour that lasted from 1:00 until 5:00) and Trevi Fountain on the day we arrived. It was very easy to hop on the metro at the Spanish Steps to get to the Vatican and we didn't have any safety concerns on the metro. There is also a taxi stand by the Spanish Steps. We found it was much faster to go to the taxi stand and catch a cab than to have the hotel call a cab for you. You will be able to walk to Trevi Fountain quite easily. Search out San Crispino for gelato while you there. It was our favorite place in Rome for gelato.

I would recommend a tour of the Collosseum, Forum, and Palatine. A four hour tour covers all the basics. We used Rome Walks and loved them. There is a convenient metro stop right by the Collosseum. We actually walked from the Collosseum back to the Spanish Steps one afternoon and had a lovely walk through the Piazza Navona and by the Pantheon.

4. No experience with this.

5. If you have reservations to see David, you won't have any trouble getting in. We went in the middle of the afternoon after touring the Uffizi in the morning.

Have fun! Italy is fabulous!

blspence

Hertz is running a special. I rented a Ford Focus for the weekend of Mar25-27 for 28 euros/day.

Go to their website and enter WWDWEB in the promotions box. They have many locations all over Rome.

april04

suzq_trvlr,
We are definitely trying to do this trip on a tight budget also. Thanks for all of the hints. Did you book your walking tours before you went? What about your tickets for the metro, did you purchase that day.
We will definitely take your advice on the Collosseum, etc. tour. A walk back through those areas will be great. Can you give me a better idea of the location of San Crispino? Also, any other suggestions for family friendly places to eat?

april04

Can anyone advise on the Rome car rental in Rome. Is the airport the easiest and best place to pick up the rental for the drive to Siena. Also, any suggestions on which route. Coast or inland?

Zakochaney

Hi April

You can ask your hotel to arrange a car to pick you up. Don't know about your airport, we flew into FCO, cost us 50E one way to historic area Piazza Cavour at Via Colanna along Tiber. From Spanish Steps you can walk to Trevi, Panthenon, Collesium and even Vatican City - about 20 minutes or so -maybe 2-3 miles one way. Double check your check in time at hotel - many list 1pm or 2pm check-in. After you arrive, shower & nap, then in afternoon start walking to Spanish Steps & Trevi, get lunch, walk to Colesium & take tour offered inside. Watch out - we had a fellow offer a private tour for 50E each. Inside you can take a tour for 18E each which includes the entry fee of 8E. On way back to hotel stop by the Panthenon and enjoy the piazzas, stop for dinner, then buy a gelato and walk around all the shops on Via del Corso and people watch. It's unbelievable! Next day start early @ 8am and go to Vatican, see the Museum, St. Peter's, necropolis downstairs & see PP JP II's tomb, then check out St. Paul's just around the corner from St. Peter's square, on the way back, visit the shops on Via Conciciliazione and buy some souveniers. Pick up your car in Rome and start driving on your way out. Getting it at the airport you will be paying for 2 days that you won't drive. The traffic in Rome is unbelievable - you have to see it to believe it - there is a "rhythm" to it, sort of like a dance, and you will hate driving in Rome until you can experience the dance and all the "motorini" i,e, scooters and the way they zip in and out between cars.
Learn some Italian - knowing how to say good morning & evening - thank you will go a long way to a pleasant experience. Ah, Italy - you have to love it!
Ciao

Zakochaney

Hi April

Another note - all the restaurants we ate at were family friendly. Before you go in, check the menu and prices.
Food was great wherever we went. But again check the prices. They charge 2E each for "bread" and if you eat outside on the sidewalk the prices are higher. We did pay 9E ($10.80 USA) for 2 Cokes at one outside restuarant.
But the experience - it was worth it
Ciao

Zakochaney

Hi April

One last note. We walked the entire time we were in Rome (6 days) probably 100 miles or more - fun getting lost - but we finally learned the streets. Never felt that any area was not safe.
We did make a point not to look like tourists. Dressed in dark clothes like they do, no jeans, t-shirts, or tennis shoes. Kept our wallets in front pockets and cameras out of sight for the most part. Spoke Italian whenever we could. We were actually mistaken for natives by a group of Japanese who asked us for directions in Italian (and we answered in English.
I promise, my last post.
Ciao