My first time abroad!

Annie333

Hello everyone!

I'm planning on going abroad in early Summer of next year and it will be my first time-at the age of 21:) Everything will be new to me; I've never been on a plane, I've never gone away for this long from my family etc.

However, I'm very much excited! I want to go to Rome and the Vatican. I know the history of both places, and growing up, I have never stopped wanting to go there-so why not now?

My questions are:

1) Do I book the hotel directly (4*), or do I go with something like expedia/booking.com etc.?

2) Should I rent a car, or is that way too expensive?

3) Is Aer Lingus a better option that Ryanair in terms of comfort as I'd like to have a good window seat:o ?

4) Does anyone have any tips for me for Rome/Vatican (Particularly hotel (4*) recommendations)?

Em, I can't really think of anything else, but thank you very much for reading and I would greatly appreciate any advice you may have:)

Annie

Aineoil

Rome is a brilliant destination. I've been there a good few times.

I used venere.com to book a hotel. Having said that I have gotten better deals sometimes by booking a hotel directly.

I prefer Aer Lingus to Ryan Air but that's just my choice. I have flown with Ryan Air into Rome with no problems.

I wouldn't rent a car, just bring very comfortable shoes. You can walk to all most everything you need to see in Rome, especially in the centro storico.

Hopefully there's an Italian on boards who will give you good advice.

There's so much to see in Rome, it's totally amazing. I just love to wander around the city and soak up the atmosphere and the ambiance.

Best of luck!

hfallada

OP use something like hotels.com when it has a 10% off voucher. Plus you can get hotel reviews so you know your not in a kip.

There is no real difference between Aer Lingus and Ryanair. But some people prefer Aer Lingus( I pick whatever is cheapest). If you havent flown before, remember other than your ticket which you have to print yourself. Nothing is free with an Irish Airline. You have to pay for luggage, assigned seating etc.

Dont bother with a car. Italian cities are a nightmare to drive in. Use public transport.

Use TripAdvisor for things to do. Maybe borrow a travel guide book from the library

keith16

The queues in the Vatican can be very long. Make sure and get there early to beat the crowds.

On one day per week (Tues or Thurs?), there is a mass that the Pope gives. You can reserve a ticket to attend this mass directly if you wish, but it would be a bad day to visit the Vatican for all the other stuff.

Make sure and visit the Sistine chapel.

In general, you are expected to dress "modestly" in the Vatican, so you may be turned away if you turn up in t-shirt / shorts. General rule of thumb is that arms / legs are covered.

You can climb to the top of the cupola of st. peter's Basilica but it can be a little claustraphobic as you reach the top, but well worth the climb.

Avoid areas close to the Termini train station at night.

I stayed in a small B&B near the Santa Maria Maggiore (another must visit). Only two rooms, basic enough, but friendly owners who will give you great advice on good places to eat off the beaten tourist track. Avoid eating close to any of the major tourist sights, food is terrible and will cost you an arm and a leg. Warning signs include loads of seating outside and someone near the entrance trying to cajole you in. AVOID!

Tourist guides in the Colosseum aren't up to much. Get a good guide book and get the entry ticket only.

Get a good pair of walking shoes, keep valuables out of sight, and enjoy! Don't take Roses from the guys outside the major sights, even if it appears they are giving them to you.

Rome is a brilliant city, one of my favorite places in the world.

shamrock55

You will love rome its a very interesting city,no need to rent a car youcan walk everywhere in rome easy enough, or hop on a tour bus which takes you around all the sights and you can get off it any time you want, if its cheaper id have no problem flying ryanair just as comfortable as air lingus ive flown ryanair alot and never had any problems with them,we did a tour of the vatican when we arrived first and it was brilliant, we cameback another day then for the popes mass

coleen

we did a great tour of the Basilica it took you underneath it to where St Peter is buried. It is called the scavi tour if you google it you will find how to apply for it
Rome is a great place Enjoy

coylemj

Rome involves lots of walking, just to reiterate the advice about good shoes. Don't even think about hiring a car in Rome, city driving in Italy involves lots of aggressive drivers plus young people zigzagging through the traffic on Vespas, you'd be a nervous wreck before long.

Since you have never been abroad before, be a little bit careful when having a break in a cafe in Rome. For starters, anywhere within sight of a major tourist attraction like the Vatican or the Colosseum will be much more expensive than a similar place down a side street plus there are three prices in each such establishments: cheapest is standing indoors, next is sitting indoors and most expensive is seating outdoors. Typically when a tourist walks into a cafe, the person serving will invite you to sit down, you don't have to if you don't want to, it's part of the sales pitch to maximize their revenue. If you sit at an outdoor table and can see St. Peter's, expect to pay top dollar.

Rome has lots of pickpockets and general scam artists, be on your guard and try not to attract attention with fancy jewellery, an expensive camera or designer clothes. Try to blend in as much as possible, that's what you should do everywhere but in places like Rome and Paris which are crawling with tourists all year around, it's especially important.

There is a Vatican Post Office at the top of St. Peter's, bring a biro for the postcards!

mfergus

Annie333 wrote: »

Hello everyone!

I'm planning on going abroad in early Summer of next year and it will be my first time-at the age of 21:) Everything will be new to me; I've never been on a plane, I've never gone away for this long from my family etc.

However, I'm very much excited! I want to go to Rome and the Vatican. I know the history of both places, and growing up, I have never stopped wanting to go there-so why not now?

My questions are:

1) Do I book the hotel directly (4*), or do I go with something like expedia/booking.com etc.?

2) Should I rent a car, or is that way too expensive?

3) Is Aer Lingus a better option that Ryanair in terms of comfort as I'd like to have a good window seat:o ?

4) Does anyone have any tips for me for Rome/Vatican (Particularly hotel (4*) recommendations)?

Em, I can't really think of anything else, but thank you very much for reading and I would greatly appreciate any advice you may have:)

Annie

1) book online, you'll save a bit. I find alpha rooms is very good.

2) I wouldn't rent a car in Rome. The driving is crazy compared to here. Plus the public transport in Rome is good. The metro will bring you everywhere.

3) Ryanair is roughly the same as airlingus now again since they started allocating seats. Again, book online.

4) bring good walking shoes. If I was to go again I would go in April or September. I went in July last time and couldn't stick the heat. It was like standing behind a bus all day!

Enjoy!

billie1b

The only difference between Ryanair and Aer Lingus is Aer Lingus fly into the main airport with better city connections for public transport, apart from that they're the same

coylemj

billie1b wrote: »

The only difference between Ryanair and Aer Lingus is Ryanair fly into the main airport with better city connections for public transport, apart from that they're the same

Ryanair flies to the main airport? As with most destinations, the exact opposite is the case.....

Aer Lingus fly to the 'main' airport in Rome which is Leonardo da Vinci/Fiumicino (FCO), it's the busiest airport in Italy and there are nonstop trains every 30 minutes to Termini which is the principal downtown railway station. Termini is where both of the Metro lines intersect so an onward connection to your hotel is usually a breeze.

Ryanair fly to Ciampino (CIA) from which there are only bus connections to the city centre.

billie1b

coylemj wrote: »

Ryanair flies to the main airport? As with most destinations, the exact opposite is the case.....

Aer Lingus fly to the 'main' airport in Rome which is Leonardo da Vinci/Fiumicino (FCO), it's the busiest airport in Italy and there are nonstop trains every 30 minutes to Termini which is the principal downtown railway station. Termini is where both of the Metro lines intersect so an onward connection to your hotel is usually a breeze.

Ryanair fly to Ciampino (CIA) from which there are only bus connections to the city centre.

Correct and edited to suit, only noticed my typo when you pulled it up there
Just an FYI for you aswell, Ryanair fly to a lot of main Airports, the myth of a field in the middle of nowhere is well outdated now

keith16

coylemj wrote: »

Ryanair flies to the main airport? As with most destinations, the exact opposite is the case.....

Ciampino may not be the "main" airport, but it's closer (and cheaper) to the city centre than Fiumicino.

To say this is the case with most destinations is an exaggeration, myth even...there are a few obvious ones;

Barcelona - Girona (but they also fly El Prat)
Brussels - Chareloi
Paris - Beauvais
Stockholm - Skavsta

And possibly a handful of others.

woodchuck

Annie333 wrote: »

Hello everyone!

I'm planning on going abroad in early Summer of next year and it will be my first time-at the age of 21:) Everything will be new to me; I've never been on a plane, I've never gone away for this long from my family etc.

However, I'm very much excited! I want to go to Rome and the Vatican. I know the history of both places, and growing up, I have never stopped wanting to go there-so why not now?

My questions are:

1) Do I book the hotel directly (4*), or do I go with something like expedia/booking.com etc.?

2) Should I rent a car, or is that way too expensive?

3) Is Aer Lingus a better option that Ryanair in terms of comfort as I'd like to have a good window seat:o ?

4) Does anyone have any tips for me for Rome/Vatican (Particularly hotel (4*) recommendations)?

Em, I can't really think of anything else, but thank you very much for reading and I would greatly appreciate any advice you may have:)

Annie

1. There are lot of different websites you can use to book hotels. Personally I use hotels.com a lot as they do good deals and email out discount codes from time to time. If you want to stay somewhere particularly comfortable/nice go on tripadvisor; start from the top and work you way down and go for the best rating that is within your price range :P

2. Defintely do NOT rent a car!! Rome is notorious for crazy drivers... be very careful crossing the roads over there (even if the pedestrian light is green they still drive through them). Also there would be no need for a car anyway. You can reach all the main tourist attractions by metro or by foot.

3. Aerlingus is typically the more 'comfortable' airline, but I know Ryanair has made some improvements recently. I'd only go with Ryanair if it's a good bit cheaper than aerlingus personally.

4. As others have already said, make sure that you have your shoulders covered when going into any church (you could bring something in a bag to throw on if the weather is too hot to wear it all the time). No shorts or short skirts either. Sorry I don't have any particular hotel recommendations, but anywhere in the city centre that's near a metro line would be a handy location

How long are you planning to go for? Three full days would be about right, but if you're staying any longer it might be worthwhile looking into a day trip to Pompeii... it's not something I've done myself, but definitely would if I ever go back I find viator.com great for booking day trips!

coylemj

keith16 wrote: »

Ciampino may not be the "main" airport, but it's closer (and cheaper) to the city centre than Fiumicino.

Mick O'Leary would be proud of you.

FCO involves a direct (nonstop) rail connection to the city centre. CIA may be 'closer' and 'cheaper' but it involves lugging your bag out of the airport and on to a bus which will probably take longer to get you to the city centre through the Rome traffic than the train from FCO.

clumsyklutz

Have been to Rome twice myself, both times I flew Ryanair, with no issues at all (once being with someone in a wheelchair and they couldn't have been nicer - reserved seats for us and all).

However, I have no loyalty to any airline and use skyscanner to compare prices of flights, Ryanair always came in significantly cheaper (booked flights for myself and OH and our 4* accomodation for €600.00 - for 12 nights while airlingus flights were €550.00 alone!)

I always use Trivago when booking hotels as they compare the price when booking direct with hotel.

A few tips and hints for Rome:

Always, always ask your hotel/accomodation to book your colosseum tickets in advance (costs an extra 1.50 but very worth it) when you get to the colosseum bring your ID, as you are under 25 it is a reduced fare (which we managed to get!), it's around 7.00 I think (instead of 12.00) and this ticket is valid for two days for single entries to the Colosseum and Palatine Hill and Forum so you don't have to visit all in the one day!

Daily passes or 70 minute tickets must be purchased before getting on a bus/metro as drivers do not sell them. Daily tickets are €6.00 each (valid for the full day on any transport in Rome) and 70 minute tickets are around 1.50 and valid for use on any transport taken within 70 minutes.

The Trevi Fountain and Spanish steps are not that far from each other. However, be very wary around the trevi fountain as there are so many people around, so keep an eye on your bags.

If you were to get the Metro to get to these places, Barberini (Line A or Red line) is the closest to Trevi Fountain (from Termini) and Spagna for Spanish Steps is literally just beside it! And Colesseo on Line B for the colesseum.

I couldn't say much about the Vatican as we never ventured out there, the two times we were there, but would recommend booking tickets in advance.

Also agree with advice to go around April or September as the first time we went was May/June and just getting too hot for comfort, and again in September (so much more pleasent).

keith16

coylemj wrote: »

Mick O'Leary would be proud of you.

FCO involves a direct (nonstop) rail connection to the city centre. CIA may be 'closer' and 'cheaper' but it involves lugging your bag out of the airport and on to a bus which will probably take longer to get you to the city centre through the Rome traffic than the train from FCO.

I'm no fan of Ryanair or MOL but you are simply wrong when you say Ryanair fly to secondary airports for the majority of their destinations.

Getting a train still involves lugging your bag around.

Which reminds me OP, if you do get the train from Fiumicino, make sure and validate your ticket on the platform before you board, it's not obvious that you have to do this, and you could be hit with a €50 fine if you don't.

Aglomerado

Get the Roma Pass. Lots of sights included in the price.

Rome is easy to walk around. And you'll see more. Beware the taxis and the vespas though. They don't always respect a pedestrian crossing.

If you like Roman ruins and have done the Collosseum, Forum, Trajan's Market etc and have time to spare, take a train out as far as Ostia Scavi. It takes about 20 minutes to get there and you've a vast expanse of Roman life to explore (ampitheatre, houses, fora).

Good luck and enjoy! It's a great destination.

Annie333

Oh thank you all so much for your fantastic advice-I really appreciate it!:)

I think I may stay a full week in Rome. Clumsyklutz, how did you manage to get 12 nights for €600? :eek: That's amazing-I was looking up prices for 4* accommodation and it averages about €130 per night

I had never even thought about Pompeii! That is definitely on my 'Rome to do list':p I have seen on some sites that some people trek up Vesuvius-is that possible!? Should I get a tour, or just go by train myself?

Oh, when should I book the flights? I've never booked flights before so the whole experience is very new to me, but I would think that the earlier I book the better the price.

Also, regarding the Vatican, I would love to go to the Pope's blessing on the Wednesday, but how early would I need to go to get really close to the front?:pac:
Additionally, in St. Peter's Basilica, would a skirt just above the knee with black tights be ok?

Finally, my mom is quite worried about me going away by myself. I'm pretty street-smart, but will I be ok by myself?

Thank you all very much again-I'm going to write all your great tips down in my Rome Holiday book!:p

Zaph

Annie333 wrote: »

I had never even thought about Pompeii! That is definitely on my 'Rome to do list':p I have seen on some sites that some people trek up Vesuvius-is that possible!? Should I get a tour, or just go by train myself?

Rome to Naples by train is about 2 hours. At Naples you change to the Circumvesuviana train to Sorrento. It's a slow, crappy train, but it does stop at both Herculaneum and Pompeii. As the name suggests, the train goes around Vesuvius, and it is possible to get off (can't remember the station) and climb the mountain. From what I can remember it's a bit steep in places and the top just resembles a big quarry with a gift shop, so I'd recommend that people spend more time in Herculaneum or Pompeii than climbing the mountain. one other thing to point out is that while the train is safe, Naples station is a bit dodgy and you definitely should look after your belongings carefully there.

Annie333 wrote: »

Finally, my mom is quite worried about me going away by myself. I'm pretty street-smart, but will I be ok by myself?

Rome has a reputation for lots of pickpockets, but as long as you're sensible and you should be fine. You're probably more likely to be scammed by a taxi driver, they're notorious and very good at it, as I discovered to my cost.

Gatica

For me the difference between Ryanair and AerLingus is the seats. They're upright in Ryanair with no recline and no magazine pocket on back of seats. I like to have my book or anything else handy in front of me and I like to recline the chair after take-off.
I also like being able to pick my seat, which is possible with AL within 30 hours of flight. With Ryanair lots of people are usually already standing in the queue at least half an hour before the flight. With AL I usually wait til end to board cos can't be bothered to stand in queue for that long.
I'll only fly Ryanair if I can't afford the alternative or their flying time is lots more convenient.

With respect to bookings, just check cheapest flights with skyscanner. For hotels just compare the hotel's website with booking.com, hotels.com, agoda.com or any other you can think of. Sometimes prices are quite similar between them, but the odd time there may be a bit of a difference. The main thing to watch out for is some include city taxes/charges and some don't, so read the conditions carefully.

woodchuck

Annie333 wrote: »

Finally, my mom is quite worried about me going away by myself. I'm pretty street-smart, but will I be ok by myself?

As someone said, the main concern is pickpockets. So just take the usual precautions and you should be fine such as walking with your arm clutching the top of your handbag and don't keep anything too valuable in your pockets (I'd recommend a money belt... you can get flat ones that go under your clothes, so doesn't have to look ugly :P). Don't entertain the beggars; don't make eye contact and just keep walking. I've heard if you give them anything they then follow and hound you until you give them more.

Basically just be sensible and you'll be fine! Oh just so you know there's a lot of graffiti in Italy, but it's not necessarily a sign of a bad neighbourhood the way it would be anywhere else (it's just everywhere over there really!).

If it makes your mam feel better, you could promise to text or call once a day... but mams will always worry

Have a fab trip

Annie333

Thank you so so much everybody! I really appreciate your help!

I'm going to book a hotel in the next week or so. If I decide to travel at the beginning of June instead of the end of May for a week, the hotel works out €100 cheaper. I'm just concerned about the heat, though.

Also, I keep checking AerLingus and their flight costs aren't reducing-when should I book my flight?

Thank you!:)

Gatica

If you're looking at flights in ~3 month's time I can't see the prices dropping unless they have a sale. You'll need to find out when they have a sale on historically. Someone here may know...

Beruthiel

Annie333 wrote: »

I'm going to book a hotel in the next week or so.

I never book hotels when I go away for a few days.
Apartments are cheaper, bigger and more private.
I was in Rome last summer and used these guys: Rental in Rome.
I found them great.
We stayed here
Right in the heart of the city and on the border of Trastevere, my favourite part of Rome.

Annie333 wrote: »

I think I may stay a full week in Rome.

You'll need a week.
There is sooooo much to see in Rome that you could easily spend two weeks there.
Walk around it as much as you can as every street corner, court yard has another surprise.

I had never even thought about Pompeii!

Pompeii is indeed a wonder and well worth a visit.
I was more impressed with Herculaneum. Though smaller, it is more intact. I was blown away by it.

During the summer months stalls are set up along the Tiber river. It is a wonderful place to stroll along on a warm summers evening.

Finally, my mom is quite worried about me going away by myself. I'm pretty street-smart, but will I be ok by myself?

Not something to be worried about.
I have never felt threatened in Rome.
They are a laid back and friendly people.
As with any place, don't be walking around by yourself at 3am, drunk with the contents of your bag trailing behind you.

btw - if you go in June, expect to melt. Lots of suncream.

ene

if you look at skyscanner.ie they compare the cost of flights of all airlines and you can compare different date combinations really easily.

I got really cheap flights to new york saving me 700 euro compared to air lingus!

clumsyklutz

We flew with Ryanair no problems, and our flights at the end of May into June cost around 250-280 return for two people plus one bag. We booked around five weeks before we went.

We stayed in a place called Camping Fabulous, a four star camping resort (there are mobile homes, glamping and many other options to choose from) it's just twenty minutes outside the city and we 'glamped' for around €320 for the whole stay. There are great transport links and you will be in the city in no time! Whether theres one or six of you, the price for the accomodation stays the same. What I loved about this place was the security and the fact that it had a shop, restaurant, bar and ice-cream parlour on site! I highly reccommend you look them up.