kjh50

I have taken a break after making air and hotel reservations but am now trying to get help with itinerary in Rome. Our family of 5 arrive on Tuesday (taking a train from Florence to Rome). Not sure when we will arrive so that day may be just one for looking around once we get to Rome. That leaves 4 days. We have a 22, 20 and 17 year old with us.We will want to do the major tourist things-Colliseum, St Peters and Vatican and Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps. I have been reading the trip reports, guide books and am overwhelmed. Should we get a Rome Pass?, what do we need to get reservations for--will be there late June. Are there any tours that are different and fun at night or off the beaten path. We will have been to Florence and Venice and will enjoy the museums and art but will be ready to eat, drink and have fun. Appeciate any and all thoughts on how to set this u

quokka

Another spammer around.

daniela75: Advertising is not allowed on these (or any other) forums.

daveesl

You might want to look at my website I'm building. It has some online video tours, MP3 files and a ton of official Rome tour brochures.

http://passagetoroma.com/

And I'm not advertising, as I don't sell anything. The website, videos and stuff are just to help folks out. Daniela was advertising.

dave

tomassocroccante

Just posted this link on another Rome thread - one of the best for browsing for things to do in Rome.

www.inromenow.com

You'll find concerts, museum shows and more, lots of good ideas for things to DO, not just see. You and your group may find some interesting musical attractions. Featured events are for the current week, but you'll get some great ideas. Also check out their suggestions such as "breakfast with a view" ...

Lexma90

The main two places, if you plan to go to them, that you'll want to make reservations in advance are the Vatican Museums (Sistine Chapel) and the Borghese Gallery.

We are not, generally, tour-takers, but took an excellent in-depth tour through ContextRome of the Palatine Hill. They have a number of different tours; we took that one because we'd visited Rome previously, but hadn't visited the Palatine Hill. For tours, they're on the expensive side (though we thought it was worth it, there were only 2 of us to pay for, not 5).

The down side to tours and making reservations ahead of time, IMHO, is that you lose flexibility.

kjh50

Thanks for the information. I will try to make reservations for the Vatican Museums and possibly the colliseum...are the lines really long at the colliseum or do you think we could just go when we want and eventually get in. We don't mind a wait but wouldn't want it to be over an hour. Trying to keep the flexibility for our trip so everyone is not feeling like I have them on a schedule.

daveesl

For the Colosseum, just buy your tickets at the Forum or Palatine entries. If you are standing by the Arch of Constantine, look down Via San Gregorio, if you see lots of people or buses, then walk up the Via Sacra and buy your tickets near the Arch of Titus. If not, then walk down to the San Gregorio entrance to the Palatine. The tickets are good for 2 days to all 3 sites (colosseum, palatine, forum).

Once you have the ticket, return to the Colosseum and just walk by the line, most of the time you go to the outside of the line. Walk straight to the security area. In the past there was a sign that said something like "group tours". That may or may not be the case now. Remember, the line isn't to get in, it is to buy tickets then get in.

kjh50

Thanks for the colosseeum info...that would be great so we don't have to schedule that ahead of time.