Is it possible to do Vatican/Sistine Chapel, St. Peters, Colosseum, Forum all in one day? Is the Pantheon near or Circo Maximus? I'm trying to plan an Ancient Rome day combined with the Vatican. Any suggestions? Do/Should I prebook or reserve anything in advance to not wait in lines?

It is doable, but that depends on how much time you are willing to give each site. You can easily devote an entire day to the Vatican.

Do the Vatican/Sistine Chapel/St. Peter's in the morning, but this could easily bring you to 2:00. Get there between 8-8:30 A.M. because the lines can be long. As far as I know, there is no prebooking for the Vatican.

Taxi over to the Forum/Colloseum but remember that depending on the time of year you will be in Rome, the Colloseum and Pantheon usually close around 6:30-7:00. So leave enough time to taxi over to the Pantheon, and then collapse in a nearby restaurant for dinner.

Definitely a little bit of pressure, but it can be done.

Is it easy to find taxis? Is Circo Maximus in the area? For some reason, my daughter insists we see it.

The Circus Maximus is under the Palatine Hill, on the other side of the Forum. It is a bit disappointing because it's nothing more that a large grass covered field where a lot of litter seems to collect. It is not near the Pantheon, nor is there a taxi stand nearby. If you do see the Vatican in the morning, see the Museums/Sistine first, then go to St. Peter's. There is a taxi stand in front of the Basilica. Have the taxi drive you to Santa Maria in Cosmedin where you can see the Mouth of Truth. The Circus Maximus is behind the church. You could walk the length of it and then up Via di San Gregorio. On your left you'll eventually see the ticket booth to the Palatine Hill. They also sell tickets to the Colosseum here and there is usually no line. Purchase your Colosseum tickets and then walk right into the Colosseum without having to wait in the very long line there. Then you could see the Forum and work your way back to the Pantheon.

We are trying to do essentially the same thing in one day. We fly into Rome at 2:00PM on a Wednesday and pick up our car for Tuscany on Friday at Noon.

I have contacted Scala Reale for a four hour private family walking tour to cover the highlights of the Vatican (Sistine Chapel & St. Peters) and the Forum and Colosseum. They responded quickly but are resistent to doing so much. I did acknowledge that we understood we would not receive their "typical in depth" tour but felt it would be better than doing it alone!

I also emailed Enjoy Rome but have not heard back from them. I requested a similar customized tour.

I don't really want a full day tour as I think it important for our family (with two teenage girls) to stroll around and see some things on our own. We have highlighted some things (Capuchin crypt,Trevi fountain, Spanish steps, etc.)we hope to do in the evening or early morning.

I realize we don't have nearly enough time to really see Rome but this trip was primarily Tuscany but the girls insisted we give Rome at least one full day.

Does anyone know of another tour that might accomodate what we are looking for? I'm still waiting for the final answer from Enjoy Rome but I really don't want to see those sights on our own as I know we will miss so much.
KarinW

I doubt that you would get much out of a whirlwind tour such as that. We just returned from Italy and took 2 tours run by Scala Reale, one of the Vatican museums and St Peter's (4 hours) and another of the Palatine Hill, Forum, Colosseum (also 4 hours)
One each day along with other tours etc...Circus Maximus is part of the Palatine Hill tour...Contact Scala Reale for your tours ASAP....
The Pantheon is walking distance to the Trevi Fountain.......

Please excuse me for butting in, but is this the Roman itinerary that your girls have requested? If so, good for you, and for them, for desiring such a mature experience. It's the one that I'm planning for myself (though spread out over a few more days).

But I'm not 17.

If you haven't really talked to them about it, it's possible that they'd get more of a kick out of thowing on a pretty dress and high heels to window shop on one of Rome's high-class streets, or sitting in a cafe drinking coffee while watching boys go by. Perhaps they've studied ancient history and just cannot wait to visit the places they've read so much about, but it's also possible that they just want to soak up the atmosphere of modern Rome and pretend to be a stylish Roman girl for a day...

Prada or the Pope? I wonder what they'll pick...

hi there, i booked a private tour with Roman Promenades for a 1 day tour of Rome for September. It will take about 7 hours. We do not want to get that indepth just want to see as much as possible. Anyone done this before?

Hi faile626-
Yes, the girls (actually ages 12 & 15) REALLY want to do the Vatican, Forum & Colosseum! I have said a full day tour with a guide would be too much since we do want to leave some time for strolling, etc. Neither are much into high fashion but they have expressed interest in visiting this "cat sanctuary" I read about on a post.

How can we make this possible? Should we agree to a tour for just the vatican and do ancient rome by ourselves? I know we would get so much more information if we had a guide. I would hate to give that up but I think even two half day tours would be a lot (plus a lot of money with Scala Reale).

The girls have done MANY guided tours at hindu temples, buddhist temples, mosques and at Angkor Wat in Cambodia. When we have had great guides the experience has been wonderful! We would miss so many details without a guide but I am at a loss.

We only have such a short time in Rome because we are driving to Tuscany for a week to stay in a Villa with friends and family and then our family takes off for another two weeks to see Florence & Venice.

What is the best way to see Rome in one full day and two half days? I need help!

If you can arrange your Scala Reale tour of the Vatican in the morning, then follow Grinisa's advice about the ancient sites in the afternoon, you could have the best of both experiences. If you still want a tour of the Colosseum and Forum, I believe there are guides at the Colosseum to put together tours on the spot.

Alternatively, you could get a guide for the whole day and customize your itinerary. Use the evening (and possibly the evening before this day, if you are arriving the day before the proposed tour) for family strolling to the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona and the Spanish steps.

Cabs are plentiful, and I would certainly take advantage of them to get the most out of your short visit.

tkb: As Grinisa mentioned there isn't much to see at the Circus Maximus but there are some remains.
Go to http://wings.buffalo.edu/AandL/Maece..._contents.html
The dirt track and grassy sides (where the stands would be) is just a modern reconstruction. The actual ancient track is meters below this modern level.
Look at picture 'North Side 5', that shows the southeast end of the track. On the right under that modern tin roof are the remains of some of the seats. The building on the left (not the short tower) are the best remains of the stands substructure (2 levels) shown here
http://www.vroma.org/images/mcmanus_.../pcrome.04.jpg
Also at that end farther to the left past the trees and across
the street (Via d. Cerchi) you can see (from the sidewalk & facing the Palatine Hill) some of the substructure, brick & concrete arches now used for storage of fragment remains found in the area.
Seeing that you are staying near Termini you can just hop on Metro 'B' when you have time say at the end of the day before dinner and visit this area. The Metro stop is 'Circo Massimo' and it puts you across the street from the southern end of the Circus Maximus.
Regards, Walter

Thank you so much for the insights. It seems I may be pushing it - Appreciate the comments Grinisa. The insights on where to get tickets and timing were invaluable as were the rest of the comments. I might opt to combine a tour now and will take advantage of taxis.

Hi tkb,

You are devoting a full week to Florence and a week to Venice, but only a short time to Rome.

I suggest that rather than stressing out over how to zoom through Rome, that you subtract one day from Veice and one day from Florence and see Rome properly.

im actualy spending 3 nights in Venice, 5 nights each in Florence and Rome. There just appears to be so much to see and do in Rome. We've booked the Pompeii tour one day and the half day tour for the Papal blessing. This leaves our travel day of wed the 18th (arrive by train around 1pm), and the 19th and 20th to see Vatican and everything else in Rome! We leave the 23rd, so that day is out.

Sorry, tkb,

I was responding to karinw.

Not unless the crowds leave the Vatican (never happen) and you are a gazelle (which you are not). The glories of Rome are best seen at a reasonable pace. I would suggest the Rick Steves guidebook for those who do not know Rome. A tour of the forum and Palatine and then the colosseum simply take time. And the Vatican as well.

perhaps your right. I should do Vatican and St Peters one day and the next Forum, Colosseum and Pantheon on another day.

Hi tkb123,

Congratulations on raising such culturally minded daughters! It's awesome that you've been able to give them such extraordinary experiences already in their young lives.

I was thinking that they might be a little older, but I was a big dork all the way through high school myself...and I would have loved visiting the dusty ol' Vatican and Roman ruins.

Anyway, have fun, and good for you!

Thanks Faille, it's been my goal to show the kids different cultures and environments and experience different things from all walks of life, so when they are on their own one day they can make informed decisions and not be so consumed in their "own world". We are really looking forward to Italy in August!

A little confusion with the posts! I think both tkb123 and myself (karinw) were looking for info on spending a day in Rome.

My family is the one with two girls, ages 12 & 15 who REALLY want to do both the Vatican highlights (and I really mean we expect to do only St. Peters & Sistine Chapel) and both the Forum and Colosseum. As of today, I still have not heard back from Enjoy Rome on a customized tour and I have not responded to Scala Reale.

Should I go ahead and try to book a 1/2 day tour for the Vatican and try to do Ancient Rome on our own in the late afternoon? I really hate to abandon the thought of doing both in our full day. I know we want some time "alone" exploring! How are the guides at the sites? Will I find someone decent? And, approximately how much would this cost? The Scala Reale is very expensive but I am sure quite good.

By the way, faile626, I showed the girls your post "of thowing on a pretty dress and high heels to window shop on one of Rome's high-class streets, or sitting in a cafe drinking coffee while watching boys go" and they laughed. That could be good also BUT they would not want to miss the historic sites. I didn't, however, show them your post "but I was a big dork all the way through high school myself...and I would have loved visiting the dusty ol' Vatican and Roman ruins".

We know how sensitive adolescent girls can be and I'm not sure they would quite identify themselves in that way!