Rome Advice for 1st Timer
 

My husband and I are planning our 1st trip to Rome for 10 days with no children. We would like to take day trips from Rome to Pompeii and a trip to view the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We are also thinking of taking the train from Rome to Florence and staying there for a few days. Are the day trips feasible from Rome? In Rome we want to do all the typical tourist sites. How many days in Rome?

My husband refuses to stay in a small hotel room and insist on his own bathroom. Our budget is in the 100 to 125 euros range. We would like to be centrally located to walk or take public transportion to tourist sites. Any recommendations?

Pisa daytrip should be done by train or bus(approx.1 hour) while you are staying in Florence not from Rome. Pompeii can be done by taking the train from Rome to Naples(2 hours) where you change trains on to Pompeii(30 minutes). Pompeii is amazing and very much worth the trip.

Try venere.com for rooms or use the search box at the top of the Fodors site.

On a first trip to Rome, I would spend five days with no specific daytrips. You can do a daytrip to Pompeii on one of the other days (keep in mind this would be a LONG daytrip). For the remaining few nights, you might base yourself in Florence and see that city plus a Pisa daytrip. Your visit might look something like this--

Nights 1 - 6 Rome (daytrip to Pompeii on one of these days)

Nights 7-9 Florence (daytrip to Pisa on one of these days)

Night 10 in Rome.

You might also look into the Hotel Locarno in Rome. The last time I was there the price was right in your range. The hotel itself is located on a quieter side street, yet is within 5 minutes of the metro and a major bus stop (across the Piazza del Popolo). The only negative is that it is not centrally located for WALKING everywhere. For central walking locations, I'd probably choose something in "Old Rome" nearer to the Pantheon.

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We have been to Florence, Venice, Siena, Pisa, Tuscany, and Cinquaterra and will be in Rome for the first time next week. I would not go out of my way to go to Pisa. It is a leaning tower--duh--not too thrilling. There is so much more to do and see that is historically, architecturally, culturally, and artistically more interesting than the leaning tower. If your train happens to be going through Pisa and you have a few minutes, that's the only time I would do it.

We are spending seven days in Rome, before moving on to Naples, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. I wish we had more time in Rome.

I checked out Pisa as we were driving through and I was so glad that I did. I thought is was really beautiful and interesting. I think it is worth a day trip, but definitely from Florence, not Rome. Another nice 1/2 day tour is Villa D'Este if you like gardens and Hadrian's Villa if you like ruins.

hi bert,

www.enjoyrome.com will take you to Pompeii, drop you off and take you back, without stops at shopping malls.

I agree that Pisa is more easily done as a daytrip from Florence. See www.trenitalia.com/en/

Does your hubby want his own bathroom as separate from yours?

I think you want to look for hotels in the Pizza Navona area.

In Florence, I can recommende the B&B Peterson. We stayed there for 11 nights. www.bedinflorence.it

OOPS,

That's Piazza Navona.