matthewcooper4325

Hi,

My family has booked 4 weeks at an Airbnb in the ostiense area. There are 4 of us with a 1 year old and 4 year old.

We had intended to do day trips outside of Rome based on how the kids are doing but are starting to wonder about the feasibility of this.

We are going in December.

Any thoughts on the length of time in Rome - we want to soak it in and be relaxed but also worried that it won't allow us to see much else.

Any thoughts appreciated!

J62

Having traveled with kids that age I can think of a few pieces of advice. nothing too enlightening, and of course you know your kids the best.

1. limit both the frequency and duration of any day trips. If somewhere takes you 2 hrs to get there (like pompeii), forget it.
2. always know where you can find a nearby kid friendly escape zone - for me that meant a kids playground in a park (even a tiny neighborhood park). Never pass up a playground, period.
3. be prepared to stop what you are doing once the kids reach their limit. "just one more gallery in the museum" will ruin the day.
4. look at all the sights you'll see through a kids lens and engage them in things like "i spy". In a church, "i spy an angel". At the forum, "I spy a tall column", etc.
5. always have their next meal on hand. tired and cranky is bad. tired and hangry is worse.
6. find some easier, but not too far excursions. A trip to the coast by train - even though it's December, what kid doesn't like a beach and ocean for something different

SusanP

You're presumably near the Ostia train station, but have you checked where you can go on that line for day trips? That is the station you need to go to Ostia Antica, but I'm not sure what else (not saying it doesn't go other interesting places, just that I would want to know). Also not sure you would want to go there with two little ones, since after you get off the train, there are a bunch of steps (seems to me there were about 40) to get to the raised walkway across the street, then of course down the steps at the other side, plus lots of walking at the site. Something to consider.

If you are planning numerous day trips out of Termini, you are nowhere near that station.
Also, if you want to see the sites in Rome that most people want to see, you're not near anything for those either.

matthewcooper4325

edited

matthewcooper4325

Yeah, all good thoughts. One of the reasons we are doing a month in one place is so we can do it slowly! I think we will risk pompeii, bribing with pastries probably, as I really want to go there. Florence too. Venice is probably too far.

matthewcooper4325

Thanks,

We looked at transit and see that there is bus right outside of our place that will get us within a 20 minute walk of most of the major things which is fine with us. The Terminus station is an 11 minute metro. Maybe was are overestimating our abilities but this seems doable!

J62

Florence could be a day trip by train - quiet time on the way there, and kids sleep on the way back.
Venice is about 300mi away, or about the same distance as SF to LA. Venice for a few days would be great, but it is not a day trip from Rome even by fast train.

SusanP

I agree that Florence is good but, as you suspected, Venice is too far for a day trip.

If you are cooking some meals, Volpetti's is on Via Marmorata, great for meats/sausages and wonderful cheeses. They will also vacuum-pack the cheese for you to bring home, which you will certainly want to do! 😁

If your bus stop is one where Bus 30 stops, that will take you right to Corso d. Rinascimento, which is the eastern border of Piazza Navona, which in turn is close to Camp d. Fiori and a little further from the Pantheon. From the southern end of Piazza Navona on Corso Vittorio Emanuale, you can catch Bus 46 or 64 to the Vatican, stop is Cavalleggeri (64 is the one that goes from the Vatican to Termini with many stops in between). If Bus 30 doesn't stop by you, you can catch it on Via Marmorata. Bus 30 also stops at Petrocelli, which is where to get off for the nearby Mouth of Truth.

Note that at each bus stop, there is a sign showing which buses stop there and where they go, but it shows street names, not the name of the site (except for the Colosseum). Be sure to validate your tickets when you get on a bus. The last couple of times I have been there, there were a lot more inspectors coming on buses to make sure you've done so, and they will fine you if you haven't.

Jean

Don't go to Pompeii on a day with any rain in the forecast. It would be a miserable day in the rain with little kids. But the "problem" with going only to Pompeii and not also the archeology museum in Naples is that you don't get the full "picture" of Pompeii as a town. At the time of the eruption, Pompeii was a very wealthy town with many lavishly decorated homes. But the artifacts and decorations have been removed from the excavation area and most are now exhibited at the museum.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart...ens-180976834/

An easier day trip by train would be Orvieto, and the kids (and adults!) would likely enjoy riding the funicular between the train station and the town.

Paqngo

My niece did the same thing last November but were in Bologna. She did do day trips but tried to keep them short train rides. Her girls were the same age and were good to a point. The four year old loved the museums but the 1 y/o had other ideas if she was awake. My advice is to find parks in Rome for the kids to run and be kids. There is also a zoo Bioparco di Roma: visita nel giardino zoologico pił antico d'Italia! and https://www.familycantravel.com/rome-playgrounds/.

Traveler_Nick

I think there is a bit of confusion above. If you're staying in Ostiense there is both a large train station and a metro. The station isn't Termini but many of the trains up the west coast stop here. The problem is these are slower trains. IIRC it's almost three hours to Pisa direct. The metro will get you to Termini etc easily enough.

If you want to go to Ostia (A different area) check the moovit app first. I know they've claimed to have dealt with the heavy number of users but there are still complaints about overly crowded cars and delays.

nylilly

The OP would be 6 stops on the metro from Termini and in between they would pass stops for the Colosseum and Circus Maximus . There are also many buses which serve the area. While not central, the neighborhood is very walkable and easily connected to more touristy locations.