Hello all,

Hope you can help me out with advice in terms of accommodation! This will be my first time in Rome, and I’m a solo female traveller. I will be flying in on a Monday, around 8pm. I will be in Rome from Monday night to Thursday morning, which gives me 2 full days in Rome.

Initially, I booked a stay at a lovely B & B in Piazza Navona. Since my flight was so late at night, I had considered getting a shuttle so it will drop me straight at the B & B with no hassle. (Let’s call this Hotel A)

However, I was going through my finances again and I realized I may not have as much to spend as I’d like. So I found another hotel about 400m away from Termini at Via del Viminale. This hotel is about 100 euros cheaper, and I can take the Leonardo Express from FCO which will save me money on transport as well. (Let’s call this Hotel B) This will save me another 60 euros.

I know it’s a ‘duh!’ kind of obvious which hotel I should stay at to save money, but here is what’s holding me back:

1) After reading several trip reports and reviews, it seems like the best place to stay is in Centro as everything is within walking distance, and if you get tired easily walking (which I do) then it’s easy to pop back into the hotel for a quick rest, before resuming the sight-seeing. Hotel A has also gotten rave reviews for its breakfast spread which is included in the price, and I hoped to save money by filling up on it, and then only eating dinner (I don’t eat much while travelling.)

2) As Hotel B is in Termini, I reckon I will need to take the Metro and buses around to sight-see. There is the inconvenience of being unable to pop back in and out for short rests, unless I want to take the train all the way back.

3) Also, when I arrive from the airport, I will be walking from Termini back to my hotel at around 9-something at night. Is this safe for a solo female traveler?

4) As this is my very first visit to Rome, I would like to make my visit a bit more special. I can afford Hotel A if I cut down on other things (like eating most of my meals from supermarkets, etc.) Is it worth the sacrifice, though?

Would very much appreciate your opinions and advice, thank you!

I would take the Piazza Navona option.
There is much to see in easy walking distance of this area - as first-time visitors, my family and I recently enjoyed being a little to the South of this area, within easy walking distance of the Vatican, as well as the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Campo di Fiori, etc.
We found this a wonderfully convenient location from which to explore the major sights of Rome - including the Colloseum and Forum (lots to see on the way, so walking is part of soaking up the atmosphere).
We wandered around this area at night - it felt perfectly safe, although I admit that there were usually five of us together, and I'm a reasonably big guy (6ft 2 & about 210lbs - although lighter after the trip thanks to all the walking, and despite the food and wine consumed!)

I have no problems staying near Termini, but for only two full days in Rome it is worth some extra money to stay more centrally. It may not be worth 200 euros. I would keep my booking as long as I could without forfeiting and continue to look around.

Or you could take a look at Hotel Panda - http://www.hotelpanda.it/xing/xmain1.asp - located near the Spanish Steps. Or Hotel Mimosa - http://www.hotelmimosa.net - near the Piazza Navona. Other options but you need to state your budget (in euro) for Fodorites to help more.

Thanks so much, everyone! My apologies for forgetting to include my budget - I'm aiming for around 50 - 80 euro a night, which is not too bad because I'm not terribly fussy about hotels. All I'm concerned about is 1) bedbugs and 2) location, location, location.

Anyway I agree that it's worth spending a little more in order to have an awesome first visit to Rome. I'll just have to curb my spending in London and Paris and eat at supermarkets. I'd better go learn the French and Italian words for 'tuna'.

Thanks again, everyone!

You might look into staying in a convent. Although some have a curfew (10 or 11 p.m.), many are open 24 hours.

http://www.santasusanna.org/comingTo...html#R-vatican [scroll down list to find those located in the historical center]

Supermarkets in Rome have cheap bread and meat paste made from horse (cavallo) if that's any help for your budget. ;-)

You have other options for getting to your hotel if you stay in Piazza Navona. You can take the local train which departs Fiumicino every 15 minutes for 8€ (not the Leonardo Express) to Rome Trastevere where you could switch to the tram #8 (1.50€ to Largo Argentina - close to Piazza Navona).
http://www.atac.roma.it/files/doc.asp?r=5

Also from the airport, you can take one of the shuttle bus services for about 5€-6€ to Termini.

http://www.terravision.eu/rome_fiumicino.html

http://www.sitbusshuttle.com/fares/

Fraterna Domus convent is close to Piazza Navona. A single used to be 40€ (includes AC and continental breakfast). They have an 11 pm curfew.

Jean and kybourbon: it didn't even occur to me to stay at a convent, but it sounds like an excellent option. I have thus dropped emails to Fraterna Domus and a few other central ones. Thanks for this!

Also, thank you for the additional information about the local train. I had considered the Terravision buses, but since my plane arrives around 8.20pm at night, I’m guessing I’m going to be reaching central Rome only around 10 or so, and my concern was whether a single female traveler with moderate luggage (one backpack) will be at risk. I’ve read other forum postings and the general advice equates to being aware of my surroundings like I would in any other major city. I’m from Singapore, where a woman can walk around urban/suburban areas at 4am safely, and I’m worried that I may be too sheltered. When I traveled in the US and other Asian countries where I wasn’t too familiar, I usually returned to my hotel by 10pm. That was why I thought of booking an airport shuttle or something.

bendigo: Horse? Heh, as interesting as that sounds, I'll have to give that a pass. But I'm sure I'll find other interesting cheap eats in the supermarkets. Thank you for the tip!

I think you are making several assumptions based on "10pm." Unlike in the US, that is not late in Rome. The night life has just started. I can think of two categories of risks. The first one probably affects a woman more than a man if one carelessly fall into invitation to fraternize scumbags. The second one, pickpocketing, affects both genders and ages and is independent of the hour. There are overt one where you get robbed while you know you are being distracted while the clandestine kind takes your valuables without you knowing anything about it, such as in crowded buses, etc. There are roughly two camps to deal with this. The first camp is "awareness is all you need" camp where you got your advice. This assumes that your "awareness" is sufficient to deal with threats that might take place without you knowing about it. This camp assumes such things can't happen because you are "aware" of them. The other camp passively protect valuables by keeping the most valuable possessions, passport, credit cards, debit cards, most of the cash, well under the clothes in neckpouch, etc, and not in purse or outside pockets. Carry only enough cash needed for the travel segment and never put all valuable in one location. Even if one cluster of valuable is stolen, you can continue trip with second or third cluster of valuables. Many scorn such precaution as silly. But what is probably silly is to lose everything at once when you could have easily prevented it by protecting yourself even if your "awareness" failed you.

I had several attempts to pickpocket me in various cities in Europe. I have yet lost not even one Euro cent because all the pickpockets were too busy trying to probe usual places. I had less up-in-my-face type of confrontations in Europe than in the US.

My daughter last year stayed at Orsa Maggiore, which is a international woman's house situated in a 17th century convent. It is inexpensive, well located in the Trastevere, just a short walk across the bridge to the Centro Storico. There are singles, doubles and large rooms. Includes a continental breakfast. MY daughter felt the location was ideal and that it was clean and safe.

greg: I understand what you meant about making assumptions and being aware, which is why I'm trying my best to take precautions. Thanks also for your tips and warnings regarding pickpockets, that would put a damper on the trip for sure.

mjs: Thank you for the fantastic suggestion! I was about to look it up when I received an email from the owner of the original (expensive) B & B that I wanted to book in the first place, and he's offering me a much better rate of about 50 euros a day, which inherently solves my problem. But I've taken note of your suggestion (as well as the others') and will use them for my next trip when I come during the peak season.

Thank you!

What time of year are you traveling? AC is a must in the summer. Which B&B did you book?

Congrats on getting your original B&B! You will really love staying in the centro, espeically with a limited time to visit! Katie Parla has an excellent post on her blog about budget places to eat in Rome. www.parlafood.com