Itinerary in Rome - too many tours? Other suggestions?
 

Traveling to Rome in February and need advice on itinerary:

Wednesday
- 1:30 PM Arrive from Munich (no jet lag, customs, or immigration)
- Ride to hotel (Hotel Aberdeen) via Limo Service Rome
- Free time to see sites (since this is a short sightseeing day, perhaps see some of the sites at night - Pantheon, Colosseum, Trevi, etc.)

Thursday
- 9:30 Scavi tour
- Free time to wander around Rome, eat gelato, sip wine

Friday
- 10 AM private tour of St. Peter's/Vatican with Through Eternity (5 hours, break for lunch)
- After tour climb cupola, revisit anything of interest in St. Peter's

Saturday
- 9 AM private tour of San Clemente, San Giovanni in Laterno, Colosseum, and Forum (5 hours, break for lunch)
- wander around to more sites, eat more gelato, sip more wine

Sunday we depart for home

This is my husband's first trip to Rome, my second (eight years ago). The only tour I took during my first trip was the Scavi. But it was so incredible, I want my husband to see it and absolutely don't mind going again. We are in our early 30's and love tours, architecture, and churches. Not really into shopping, though I will certainly have to find something to take home.

Questions:

1. Each full day in Rome we take a tour - is that too much planned time? I keep going back and forth on this. We may not see as much, but what we do see we will get a more in-depth knowledge of. On the other hand, we'll have little time for spontaneity. Of course, I truly hope that this will not be our last trip to Italy. There's so much to see - no way you can do it all in three days.

2. The Saturday tour - an option would be to delete San Clemente and San Giovanni in Laterno from our tour, making it a 3 hour instead of a 5 hour tour. Do we need a tour guide to visit San Clemente or San Giovanni in Laterno? Are these even worth visiting? Since this is a private tour I can make it whatever I want. Is there something else in that area that we should add to the tour? I know I'm asking for opinions here, and what you like I may not. But I do want to hear what you think.

3. Any other comments, suggestions?

Thank you all for your advice and for participating in this forum. I have learned A LOT. I don't know how I planned my last trip to Italy without you guys!

My daughter and I just returned from Rome,took the limo service and stayed 4 days at the Aberdeen.The 2 tours we took were one of the Forum and St Paul outside the Walls with Vastours on the internet under Enjoy Rome.com and one to San Giovanni in Laterno, Santa Maggiore, and the Catacombs going down the Appian way. Each tour was around 3 hours. We took a taxi to San Clemente and St. Peter in the Chains on our own.
We had spent 3 days before going to the Aberdeen at the Nazionale where we did more of the wandering seeing the typical tourist sights.
Another wonderful place is the Borghese Gallery. We took an English tour offered there.
Near the Aberdeen are 2 churches in wandering around you might enjoy are Santa Susanna and Santa Maria della Vittoria.
A restaurant we enjoyed several block from the Aberdeen that we found reasonable and the food good was Da Giovanni.
The people at the Aberdeen are wonderful to help you with directions and to make reservations.

If you are wanting information I do not think you are taking too many tours. This was our first trip to Rome.

We did not tour Rome as extensively as you, but wish we had!

The only organized tour we took was a 1/2 day Vatican/St. Peter's. That left us wishing we had taken more tours to truly understand the history and stories behind the city. I think your approach is a wise one - and if you think of it, you're longest tour is 5 hours. Call it 6 with travel time. Then even if you spend 10 hours a day sleeping/lounging in your hotel, you're still left with 8 hours a day to casually see what interests you, stop in cafes, have a long lunch, etc... I really don't think you have overplanned your time.

Ciao!

PS - Piazza Navona is magical to wander in the evening...

I like your plans.
You have left open time and still will get a lot out of a short stay.

You don't need a tour to see San Clemente or San Giovanni Laterano but it might add to the experience. A church you shouldn't miss in the area (it is two blocks up a steep hill from San Clemente) is Santi Quattro Coronati. Rare double courtyard, a jewel box of a cloister and great frescos in the chapel of San Silvestro which you access by ringing a bell outside the chapel and a cloistered nun will pass you the key through the turnstyle.

I think it sounds good also. I'd love to hear your impressions of these tours, as they all sound very interesting.

Do you have a website for the Scavi tours?