One day in Rome
 

I am travelling with my husband, 6 children, 2 in-law children, 1 girlfriend and 6 grandchildren. We are all Australians and for some it will be their first trip to Rome. We only have one day because we are on a cruise. We will be in Rome around the 10th of October this year. We are alo stopping in Florence and Naples so any help with those two ports and cities would be greatly appreciated too. I have several questions that I hope someone can help with.

Firstly, we need to get from Civitavecchia to Rome and with 17 people we need to do it as inexpensively as possible, but also need to balance that with the time factor. We were wondering about a train service? Perhaps we need to pay a bit more to get a quicker trip into the city so that we have the most time there.

Then, what to do and see when we are actually there. I have heard that there is a "hop-on-hop-off" bus. Has anyone used this? Is it a good way to get about? Is it good value for money?

What MUST we see and what can we eliminate in the interests of time?

Many thanks for suggestions and answers to these questions.

kv015

Hi Kv,
I too am an Aussie, nice to see another on this site!
My son and I did Rome in a day last year.
How many hours do you have in Rome? Do you need to return to the cruise ship same day?
Here is what my son and I did for one day...
Arrived Rome airport from Sydney at 6am.(After a 23 hour flight)
Train from Airport to Roma Termini 9.50 euro each.
Walked to Hotel from the termini and arrived 8.30 am. Dumped our bags with the owner (could not check in until midday).
Left the hotel and walked to the
Colosseum, Roman Forum, Capatolino museum, walked via del corso to the Trevi Fountain.
Walked back to Hotel at midday for a shower and change of clothes....
At 1pm we caught bus 64 (4 euro/big ticket x 2) and visited St Peter's.
Lachlan then climbed the steps to the cupola, while I waited outside and rested!
Caught bus 64 to Piazza Novona, Pantheon, walked to Rinascente (shop), walked to Spanish steps...and then walked back to our hotel at 5pm.
We went to bed at 5.30pm...slept the sleep of the dead and up again at 5am for our 6.30 am train to the Cinque Terre.
It was a jam packed day for my 16 year old but he loved his first short visit to Rome.

I like the previous posters' itinerary. It would be great if you had more time in Rome, but even 1 day is better than nothing.

Is it at all possible to break up your group for the day? With that many people, I just don't see you getting very far. I can't see you sticking to the schedule described above. Someone will always have to get a drink, go to the bathroom, take a picture, etc. You can meet up for lunch and/or dinner and then go your separate ways - it will be more efficient.

Taxis are not cheap, but with a group as big as yours, if you load the cabs up, the per person cost isn't as much as it would be if only 2 people were traveling, and might not be unreasonable. (I don't know where Civitavecchia is.)

I don't remember seeing a "hop on hop off" in Rome - the tours we saw were either walking tours or coach tours. When people come to visit me in NYC, if it's their first trip, I suggest they do the hop on/off bus trip. But personally I just don't see it working Rome...

Here is the Web site for the hop on hop off bus:

http://www.romaturismo.com/v2/romati...rtematici.html

Civitavecchia is an hour's drive or train ride from Rome. Cabs will only take three people although sometimes the driver will allow four, unless you are able to find a taxi van. Even then, you would need at least two vans. Taxis that are based in Civitavecchia don't usually go all the way to Rome because they can't guarantee a return fare. Roundtrip train tickets for 17 people might cost more than if you were to arrange for a private driver (with two vans) for the entire day. Compare the cost of the train vs. the private driver vs. taking the cruise line's shore excursion into Rome. You are going to run into the same problem for Florence because it isn't a port. You will probably be docking in Livorno which is about an hour' drive to Florence. Same taxi/train issues there. At least in Naples you will be in town, but if you want to go to Pompeii, you will have to get to the Circumvesuviana train.

The train from the plane is good, but with that many people you might want to look up www.airportshuttle.com You may find it cheaper. They can also take you to the port. Even if you don't all fit in one van, they can send two. They are very accomodating and very punctual. They also offer tours of the city. It would be worth checking them out. We had gotten a price from them to take us from the airport to Assisi that was very reasonable.

Many of the limo/shuttle services in Roma will transfer from Civitavecchia. Most also have small busses. I used Limo Service Rome and they have the small busses that would probably hold your entire group - maybe 20 people max. If you decide to contact them make sure it is www.limoservicerome.com not www.limoservicesrome.com as there have been problems with the one with the S in their name.

A big thank you to all who have replied. Your suggestions have been very helpful.

KV