ROME - tips&advice please
 

Good day...

My husband and I will be travelling to Rome for a long weekend in March and we need some advice please. We have never been there and as our time is limited,want to make the most of it. (We will arrive the Friday morning and depart the Monday morning early again.)

I would like to know the following please:
* We arrive at Ciampino airport(what is the best and cheapest means to reach the city?)
*Which areas would you suggest to stay in? (We can't really pay more than 50euro's per night,but want to know it is a safe area)
*What restaurants or other dining tips do you have?
*What sights will you visit?
*Is an open-tour bus worth it?
*Is there any small towns close to rome to maybe visit for an afternoon?
*We need to stay in a budget hotel,close to aiport Fiuminico. Any suggestions?

Thank you for the help!!!

Kind regards
Wilmien MAlan

€50 a night is VERY low for Rome. You may want to check out www.eurocheapo.com to see if you can find anything that low. Your budget will dictate what area you stay in I imagine.

Why would you need to stay at the airport? That will waste a lot of time (and cost of transit) getting into Rome every day.

The airport website gives info about how to get to Rome http://www.adr.it/web/aeroporti-di-r...ax-cia-to-from

* We arrive at Ciampino airport(what is the best and cheapest means to reach the city?)
I don't know but maybe the airport has a website

*Which areas would you suggest to stay in? (We can't really pay more than 50euro's per night,but want to know it is a safe area)
Your budget is likely too low, as mentioned above

*What sights will you visit?
I won't be there, so none. I think you probably know enough about Rome to fill the short time you have. Do you have a guidebook and a map yet?

*Is an open-tour bus worth it?
In my opinion, not given your time and budget restraints.

*Is there any small towns close to rome to maybe visit for an afternoon?
Google Orvieto and decide if you want to take a day from your short trip to visit it.

*We need to stay in a budget hotel,close to aiport Fiuminico. Any suggestions?
You mean for the night before you leave? What time is your flight?

Ciampino airport - there are various buses that will take you into the city for a sum that is pretty low. However, for 2 people, I don't think a taxi is that expensive either.

http://www.terravision.eu/rome_ciamp...FUfhQgodljMAJg

I have no idea where you can get lodging for 2 people for so little - I think 2 beds in a hostel will be at least that much. Certainly try Eurocheapo.com - but look at any place very carefully (esp location - you don;t want to have to take a bus for an hour to get to the sights).

And the time you have in Rome is very limited - cant imagine why you would want to spend the time/money to go to a town outside.

And if your lodging budget is so low I'm concerned about the rest of your budget. Will you have the money to pay for meals, sights and local transportation?>

I have not been to Rome before, but I'm going there in a few weeks and I too will be on a tight budget, so I did lots of research and thought you could benefit from it. I'm going to assume that your flights are already booked and you either have to go ahead on the trip with a tight budget or give up the plane tickets entirely, so I hope my research helps.

ACCOMMODATION

In regards to cheap accommodation, you have to decide if you want to be in a central area close to some of the main sights, or in Termini, which requires public transport. For a central area, you could try staying in a convent. I made my booking with Fraterna Domus, which is located between the Spanish Steps and Piazza Navona. A single room goes for 56 Euros a night, but I'm not sure about a double.

If you're willing to forgo being in a central location, you can stay at somewhere cheaper like Termini, which is very easy to get to and from the airport. As WillTravel mentioned above, the Terravision buses are cheap and cost about 4 Euros per person, per way.

Cheap hotels/B&Bs in Termini are easy to find. Here are two that seem to have good reviews.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...ome_Lazio.html

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...ome_Lazio.html

FOOD

For tips on what to eat, I found it useful reading up student guides to Rome. For example, a slice of pizza bianca is very cheap. I found this blog post very useful:

http://www.gourmet-chick.com/2011/07...met-chick.html

At the very least, you can head to a supermarket and load up on a cheap dinner that you can have as a picnic, or bring back to your hotel room.

SIGHTS/TRANSPORTATION
Consider getting the Roma Pass, which is good for 3 days and offers you free entry to 2 sites and discounts on any subsequent sites. It also comes with a transport pass, so it's good value for money, considering that the Colosseum entrance fee is already 12 Euros. More info here:

http://www.romapass.it/

Hope this helps!

It appears that you are flying in to Ciampino and out of FCO. If you don't have to be at FCO before 6:23, you can take the first train from Termini and get there, rather than transport yourselves for your last night to an airport hotel. That will cost time and money, and the cheapest hotels may not be that close to FCO and may not provide free shuttles to the airport, or provide particularly early shuttle service. In other words, staying out at the airport for one night might not be budget nor time friendly.

I think maccabee gives you good suggestions. If you can stay near Termini, you can save in terms of transport and convenience.

Also consider staying near the train station at Trastevere. The cost for the train Termini > FCO is 14 euro. The train cost Trastevere > FCO is 9 euro. You'll lose time and convenience by staying near a station other than Termini, but you can save 10 euro on 2 train fares.

I don't think your time in Rome is long enough to make a trip out of the city. If you must, consider visiting the Roman ruins at Ostia Antica. It is a short and cheap train ride.

Orvieto is nice, but will cost more; shops and some sights there are closed on Sunday and regularly closed during midday. I still don't think you have time to leave Rome.

In addition to the Terravision bus, there is the Sitbusshuttle.

http://www.sitbusshuttle.com/

Even convents in the center will be 50€ + for two people. There are a few that are cheaper. One sort of on the back side of the Vatican (not far from a metro stop).

http://www.casapaolosesto.it/index.cfm?lang=it

Pensione Panda, Pensione Ottaviano and Beehive hostel used to get decent reviews.

http://www.pensionepanda.com/

http://www.pensioneottaviano.com/

http://www.the-beehive.com/

http://www.pensioneottaviano.com/

I would say increase your accommodation budget, but book something soon. The best deals (particularly for weekends) go quickly. Also check www.hostelbookers.com and www.hostelworld.com and www.kayak.com .

Thank you for all the feedback. I will revise our budget again and increase it. Is SAn Lorenzo and Esquilino good areas?

It's probably best to post the locations. San Lorenzo is probably farther than you would want. Esquilino can be good.