ttt for future reference

Thanks to all of the Fodorites who suggestions for our trip to Rome. I've come up with a tentative itinerary and am hoping that the experts on this forum can give me some feedback. I'm concerned that I've tried to squeeze in too much on certain days, so please let me know if this seems too ambitious! Thanks in advance!

Arrive the evening of Saturday, February 13

Day 1 (Sunday)-Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, Trajan’s Column/Forum, Basilica of St. Peter’s in Chains

Day 2 (Monday)-Vatican City

Day 3 (Tuesday)- Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Campo di Fiori, Jewish Ghetto, Capitoline Museum

Day 4 (Wednesday)-Castel Sant Angelo, Piazza del Popolo, Spanish Steps Area, Borghese Gallery, Santa Maria della Vittoria
***I tried to arrange the schedule for this day so that we end near hotel. I'm wondering if I should drop Castel Sant Angelo though. Please let me know what you think!

Day 5 (Thursday)-Santa Maria Maggiore, San Clemente, San Giovanni in Laterno
***I left this day light in case we missed anything from previous days or want to revisit anything.

Depart in the morning of Friday, February 19

Like a previous reply, I also book tours of museums, etc in Italy from Context Tours. They have small groups with very knowledgeable guides. There are also some very interesting tours that are offered in Rome such as an Italian Language session (with one of the most incredible Italian instructor I've ever had), a Wines of Italy tour (stoppping in at a couple of wine bars learning about Italian vino), and wonderful art and culture tours. Check them out at http://www.contexttravel.com/rome/

Tiggy and Eyemom-
Thank you for your suggestions about Context Tours; however, we tend to prefer to explore sites more independently.

One of my concerns though is that at some sites we may be missing things if we don't have a guide. I'm assuming most sites have audio guides, and we'll have our trusty Rick Steves' guidebook, but should we consider taking tours at places like the Colosseum, the Forum, and St. Peter's?

If you like Rick Steves, you can download his audio tours to your IPod or MP3 for free.
http://www.ricksteves.com/news/trave..._downloads.htm

You might want to get the 3 day Roma Pass (23€)which gives you free admission to two sites (best value is Colosseum/Forum - counts as one and Borghese), discounts after the free admissions (usually 50%) and a three day transport pass. You still need a reservation for the Borghese, but you must call and tell them you will be using the Roma Pass.
http://www.romapass.it/p.aspx?l=en&tid=2

Hi Danielle - Last year we also booked a "last minute" trip to Italy with about 5-6 weeks to plan everything. We were in Rome for about 4.5 days, it was our first trip, and like you, we like to do our own things as well and did not join any tour groups. We went during Holy week, which was amazing, but I'm sure much more crowded than when you will be there.

As one reviewer already mentioned, we did download Rick Steves tours to our ipods before going and enjoyed his tours immensely. We also used his guide book too. We also did rent the audio guide tours at a few places too and found them worth the couple Euros (we still preferred this to a guide since we could go at our own pace, etc)
We did use the Roma Pass and found it useful. We also made a few reservations before we left -Palm Sunday mass, Scavi tour under St. Peters (HIGHLY recommended), and the Borghese.
The one dinner we still rave about today is our dinner at Hostaria Antica Roma - the food was good, but the experience was amazing! (they even packed us a plate of cookies to take back to our hotel for later). Now, mind you, we went at dinner (its much more crowded with tourists at lunch because of its location) and on a Sunday night (again, making it much less crowded since many locals eat at home on Sunday night).
Below is a link to our trip report (warning - we did a lot in a little time and were up early and went non-stop each day (though we enjoyed leisurely dinners) - a lot of people here probably would ridicule our itinerary, but for us, it worked and is our travel style for this type of trip)
I would be happy to answer any questions...
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ary-report.cfm

DandS-Thanks for the trip report! We plan on going non-stop as well. It was nice to see that it worked for you. I'm glad you had such a great trip!

You will be near the Forum, Colosseum etc. so those are very walkable. Also Trevi Fountain (must see, don't worry about the crowds, they're part of the show) and Spanish Steps. Navona and Pantheon might be a bit much to walk; at least think about taking a taxi back at night - they're not expensive.

You can reserve Vatican Museum tickets in advance online.
http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Home.html
If you don't want to do that, go after lunch and the lines will be shorter.

Buying the Roma Pass removes angst about spending extra money and avoids lines.

If you'd like to experience Rome's "Upper West Side" go to the Prati district, north of the Vatican. Great shops, gourmet food stores (can't bring back anything fresh) etc. and not a lot of tourists.

Make sure to just hang out in a cafe, grab some takeout at a small market/shop and just marvel at all the remnants of antiquity that you'll find in the most ordinary places. Just as Rome wasn't built in a day you can't see it in five. Plan to go back.

Danielle - like you, I also like to do things independently - you can say I am "tour-adverse." I hate the feeling of being herded around like cattle which is the result of alot of tours for me. But Context offers very small tours which are very art/history intensive that are very intimate and are led by experts in the field (often with masters degrees, etc). In addition, they offer alot if diverse tours that are specific to varying interests. Last year I took an "After Hours St Mark's Basilica" tour in Venice that was beyond incredible. There were just 3 of us in St Marks after it was closed to the public. Watching the lights being turned on in the basilica after hours and the gold of the ceilings slowly emerge was something I will never forget. I've taken other tours from them in Rome and Venice from wine appreciation walks to Caravaggio intensive walks and each were incredible experiences that made my trips more enlightened. In addition, their tour of the Borghese Gallery is small and superb.

Bookmarking.

just logged onto Fodors and remembered that I still hadn't booked the scavi tour for our trip in February, so i just sent off my e-mail.

thank you so much for reminding me!

regards, ann

PS - just got confirmation that our tickets for the rugby international - the excuse for our visit - have been dispatched! hooray!

We've been to Rome in February, and it was much nicer than our August trip to Rome!

I would personally prefer a hotel located closer to the Piazza Navona. We stayed at the Residenza Canali; we got a great rate, and it was around the corner from the Piazza Navona and walkable to just about everywhere else. If you need to occasionally catch a cab, we found that they were inexpensive, too.

Rome is one of my favorite cities in the world; I hope you have a wonderful time!

Another poster already told you above about S. Prassede, and I strongly recommend to include it in your Thursday itinerary - it's close to S. Maria Maggiore, and it's really one of Rome's gems, though not one of the popular ones.

I just added Santa Prassade-it looks gorgeous! Thanks for emphasizing it!

Sorry for posting back to back, but I want to thank EVERYONE for all of your great suggestions. Keep them coming! You've made my job planning this trip a treat!

ref the scavi tour, they replied almost immediately, offering us a tour at 11.15am on the 2nd day of our visit, so i have sent off a confirmation e-mail to

[email protected]

there were some reports of very long waits for replies before Christmas so we seem to have been very lucky.

Now to book the Borghese. I'm still debating whether or not to get the Roma pass and use it to get entry to the Borghese and the Colosseum; i think that on balance it does work out cheaper so i will try to book the Borghese for the 4th day of our trip so that we can do that one day, and the Colosseum the next, and we can use the transport passes to get us there, as well as to the stadio Flaminio on the sunday.

just 3 weeks to go!

Oh, how jealous I am! One more hint: it's perhaps not what a first-timer like Danielle should or would do, but Ann - perhaps you want to take a look at http://www.sotterraneidiroma.it/index.php?v=pv&pvm=2. So many interesting tours in February! (For those who don't know yet, I'm not typically booking tours, but many of those venues are usually always closed for everyone, and the Roma Sotteranea tours are the only possibility to get in. Btw, more unusual sights on http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ightseeing.cfm.) Have fun, and eat a huge helping of rigatoni con la pajata at Pommidoro in my name!

Hi franco - thanks for the link to that website.

have you got time to answer a few questions? the only tour that would fit in with out itinerary is the one under St. Peter's on Sat 13th Feb..is that very different to the scavi tour run by the Vatican?

also, the information [even when I'd given up practising my italian and pressed the translate button] wasn't very clear about whether you had to become a member [cost €20 each] to do a tour, or could jsut go along for one or two.

if you have to join, what is the difference between guests and members - I couldn't really work it out.

<<rigatoni con la pajata>> - I'll be sure to try it and think of you!

many thanks for all the tips,

regards, ann

PS - dove il tuo ristorante pommidoro?

Context Tours for the Vatican. Our group was 8 and had a 4 hour promised tour, which extended to 5 hours. Quite pricy but worth every Euro.

As our time in Rome was limited (moreso than yours) we booked Stefano from Rome Cabs http://www.romecabs.com/ for a full day tour. He took us to so many places was such a good host.

No matter what, you will have a wonderful time. Take time to stroll around, have some vino, poke into hole in the wall restaurants, talk to the locals, throw a coin into the Trevi so you will return to Rome.