I'll be arriving in Rome in December, and I have friends who will be joining me a few days later. Here's my dumb question: how safe/unsafe is it for a woman to go wandering around Rome by herself? Also, my hotel is right near the Spanish Steps and I know there's the metro that runs right near there. How dumb is it to wander from the metro to my hotel dragging my suitcase behind me? Or should I just get a cab? I've been to Rome many times before, the last time 11 years ago, but always with a group of friends. This will be my first time totally alone. I'm excited and thrilled, but don't want to look like a total tourist dweeb, if you know what I mean.

serenissima, take a cab and enjoy yourself, Rome is very safe for a woman travelling by herself..
Buon Viaggio

I agree Rome is generally very safe. I assume your question is with regard to arriving at the airport. You could take a cab, would cost about $35-40. You could also take the airport express train to the Rome train station and get a cab outside the station to your hotel, would not take more than 15 minutes at most and would not cost very much. I would not want to drag a suitcase down into and up from the metro, nor drag it along the crowded sidewalks and cobblestone streets of that area.

Lots and lots of travellers take their luggage onto the Rome metro (and get off at the Spagna Station). The streets of Rome are very safe, as long as you take common sense precautions such as avoiding dimly lit alleyways and trying to stay near groups of people at night.

Another vote for Rome being safe! The last night I was there, I was out alone til about 1:30 in the morning, and did not feel unsafe at all.

I'm not sure about the toting of the suitcase. "Near the Spanish Steps" is a relative term. I've always taken a cab or limo either right from the airport when I've landed, or from the train station if I've arrived in a city by train. If you can swing it financially, I'd advise cabbing it. Relax, this is a vacation, okay?

Buon Viaggio,
BC

Thank you, everyone, for your words of wisdom. I shall take the train from the airport into Rome, and then cab it to the hotel. I forgot about the up and down stairs and over cobblestones! I also forgot about how impatient I am with dragging suitcases about.

We took the airport shuttle (airportshuttle.it) directly to our Rome hotel from the airport. No trouble at all. 43€ + tip (2 people). We simply e-mailed them our reservation - someone was waiting for us at the airport when we arrived - and we were driven into the city. We paid cash when we got to the hotel. (I learned about the shuttle through Fodor's Forum - lots of postiive comments.)
When we were ready to return to the airport, our hotel arranged a deal with a private company (I think it's something the hotels use), for which we paid 45€ (including "everything."

I spent 10 days in Rome (alone, for the most part) over the summer, and felt perfectly safe. I was also there for 5 weeks when I was 15 years old, and remember wandering about by myself(which was really stupid when I think about it now), and also had no problems. HOWEVER, be prepared to be propositioned by at least 10 or 20 men while you are there. They love American women, because we are "friendly". I proved to them that not all American women are! Anyway, enjoy your trip, and have at least one hazlenut gelato a day for me!!