Rome

Daisy 55

We had written off St. Peter's and the Sistine chapel on our first visit. Decided that there was plenty to do otherwise and didn't fancy the huge queues! We got into both without queueing because we passed by at about 4 or 5 in the evening! Find out the closing time, And go shortly before.

phobia2011

Hi, great thread for information,

I'm heading over at the end of the month, were arriving on Thursday and leaving Tuesday morning. The are 2 in our party. I think we're going to go ahead and get the 3 day Roma pass. I just found out about the last Sunday in Rome, which we will be there. A lot of people suggesting not to visit the Vatican due to crowds, just wondering would this be applicable in January also? Any more info/advice greatly appreciated.

Jimmy Iovine

phobia2011 wrote: »

Hi, great thread for information,

I'm heading over at the end of the month, were arriving on Thursday and leaving Tuesday morning. The are 2 in our party. I think we're going to go ahead and get the 3 day Roma pass. I just found out about the last Sunday in Rome, which we will be there. A lot of people suggesting not to visit the Vatican due to crowds, just wondering would this be applicable in January also? Any more info/advice greatly appreciated.

Do visit the Vatican. The museums are great, the Sistine Chapel is stunning and the interior of St Paul's is amazing. Well worth a visit.

I can't help you on the crowds, but I'd imagine that they get huge crowds all year round.

phog

phobia2011 wrote: »

Hi, great thread for information,

I'm heading over at the end of the month, were arriving on Thursday and leaving Tuesday morning. The are 2 in our party. I think we're going to go ahead and get the 3 day Roma pass. I just found out about the last Sunday in Rome, which we will be there. A lot of people suggesting not to visit the Vatican due to crowds, just wondering would this be applicable in January also? Any more info/advice greatly appreciated.

I went to the Vatican for the current pope's first angelus and it was doable, they can cater for crowds tho' Italian officials aren't the most helpful

Rowley Birkin QC

Heading for our second trip to Rome tomorrow with a detour up north first to check out a wedding venue.

First time around we missed out on the Colosseum. Sorely tempted by https://darkrome.com/rome-tours/colosseum-tour-with-underground . Has anyone done the trip or a similar "extended access" type tour?

We have a car for the first 2 days so going to head out to Ostia Antica, looks class.

Aglomerado

Rowley Birkin QC wrote: »

Heading for our second trip to Rome tomorrow with a detour up north first to check out a wedding venue.

First time around we missed out on the Colosseum. Sorely tempted by https://darkrome.com/rome-tours/colosseum-tour-with-underground . Has anyone done the trip or a similar "extended access" type tour?

We have a car for the first 2 days so going to head out to Ostia Antica, looks class.

Ostia's brilliant. You could spend a day there just looking around. Enjoy!

phog

Has anyone used a taxi/mini bus to get from Ciampino airport to their hotel? Any recommendations?

Rowley Birkin QC

Taxis are fixed price @ €30.

Our AirBnB host had one arranged to collect us and drop us, took all the hassle out of the trip.

ECO_Mental

Rowley Birkin QC wrote: »

Taxis are fixed price @ 30.

.

Apart from the one I got from the dude who accosted me as I walked out of arrivals 55. So angry with myself I knew I shouldn't have taken it. Lesson here only get them from the rank outside.:( the fare is written on the side of the cabs anyway just to be sure

Jimmy Iovine

Don't get a taxi in Rome. The drivers are mental. It was a frightening experience. Get the bus.

phog

Rowley Birkin QC wrote: »

Taxis are fixed price @ €30.

Our AirBnB host had one arranged to collect us and drop us, took all the hassle out of the trip.

I doubt a taxi will suit, it's 4 adults with probably 6 pieces of luggage. That's why I was thinking of hiring something in advance.

Jimmy Iovine wrote: »

Don't get a taxi in Rome. The drivers are mental. It was a frightening experience. Get the bus.

In this instance the bus is really not an option.

ECO_Mental

Jimmy Iovine wrote: »

Don't get a taxi in Rome. The drivers are mental. It was a frightening experience. Get the bus.

I heard the stories alright and thought it was just all bluster, exaggerated stories but OMG they are crazy. Why do they insist on driving on the white line in the middle of the road.........? It was an experience

Rowley Birkin QC

ECO_Mental wrote: »

I heard the stories alright and thought it was just all bluster, exaggerated stories but OMG they are crazy. Why do they insist on driving on the white line in the middle of the road.........? It was an experience

Yeah, it was an interesting spin alrite but I figure they know what they are doing. Taxi from Dublin Airport back into town on the way back was decidedly boring in comparison.

scream

phobia2011 wrote: »

Hi, great thread for information,

I'm heading over at the end of the month, were arriving on Thursday and leaving Tuesday morning. The are 2 in our party. I think we're going to go ahead and get the 3 day Roma pass. I just found out about the last Sunday in Rome, which we will be there. A lot of people suggesting not to visit the Vatican due to crowds, just wondering would this be applicable in January also? Any more info/advice greatly appreciated.

We were in Rome last week and the Roma Pass was really good value. It was just the 2 of us but the queues were still long and we were able to skip them with the pass, as well as use local transport for the 3 days for free. Don't skip the Vatican tour, it's incredible. We paid for a guided tour with Dark Rome vatican tours and our guide was an archaeologist who really knew her stuff.

The Gallery Borghese is an absolute must, it has to be booked in advance as it's only 2 hour slots of small groups and was about 11 euro. So many sculptures and paintings by Bernini, Carravagio, Raphael, etc. It's set in a huge park, about 5km wide, I think and it's got a zoo as well as a lake there. You HAVE to visit the Forum, I didn't realise it was so huge.

We flew into Ciampino and the cab cost us 45 euro with 3 pieces of luggage, our hotel booked the cab with the same company back to the airport and it was 30 euro. Be warned, there are loads of young migrant guys selling selfie sticks and they're everywhere. We weren't expecting it and some of them are very aggressive about it. Seriously, they're fricking everywhere. Wear comfy shoes, get a good map and enjoy.

InterestedK

Hi,

I will be going to Rome in late April for 3 full days. I am wondering what the best and cheapest way to get to Pompeii/ Mount Vesuvius is? Can the Roma Pass be used on a train to Pompeii or does anyone know how this all works?

Thanks!

phog

InterestedK wrote: »

Hi,

I will be going to Rome in late April for 3 full days. I am wondering what the best and cheapest way to get to Pompeii/ Mount Vesuvius is? Can the Roma Pass be used on a train to Pompeii or does anyone know how this all works?

Thanks!

I've never been to Pompeii but I've heard of people that have done the day trip from Rome. As you're only in Rome for three days is it worthwhile using one of those days to go to Pompeii.

I'd be pretty sure the Roma Pass just covers public transport within the city of Rome.

I think Pompeii is just over an hour by train but I've no idea of costs involved.

Let us know how you got on, might be an idea for my next trip.

phog

InterestedK wrote: »

Hi,

I will be going to Rome in late April for 3 full days. I am wondering what the best and cheapest way to get to Pompeii/ Mount Vesuvius is? Can the Roma Pass be used on a train to Pompeii or does anyone know how this all works?

Thanks!

Did you do the Pompeii trip?

I'm heading to Rome in February and will be there for over a week so I might try a trip to Pompeii. Just looking for a DIY trip or should I book a tour?

MarkY91

So the roma pass will get us into vatican/sitting chapel AND the coliuseum? As well as skipping the ques?

I've no idea how often we will ride the bus but I'm bringing my 69 year old grandma over so I guess alot.

We're staying at: Bollo Apartments, Vicolo del Bollo.

Is it an ok location? I think I'll have to get a wheelchair to wheel her around.

Going on 7th February until the 9th (Tuesday until thursday)

huskerdu

phog wrote: »

Did you do the Pompeii trip?

I'm heading to Rome in February and will be there for over a week so I might try a trip to Pompeii. Just looking for a DIY trip or should I book a tour?

I went to Pompeiii as a day trip from Rome and its a long long trip unless you plan carefully.

There are lots of trains from Rome to Naples. They are always packed and vary a lot in price and speed. The expensive train takes an hour, the cheapest one takes more than two hours and its easy to end up standing for most of the journey.

Lesson : Pay the money for the fast train and the seat reservation.

Once you get to Naples, you have to cross the manically busy train station and find the local train to Pompeii which takes about 30/40 minutes and is like the DART at rush hour.
Once we got to Pompeii, the queue to get in was 45 minutes.

Once you factor in the time to get from your hotel to the trin station is Rome, and queue to get onto the train, the journey takes hours.

We did go on a busy weekend, but we were travelling with a local who told us that the crowds were normal enough in the tourist season,

Pompeii is amazing. It is worth the effort, but its a long day and my advice is not to do it on the cheap.

AnGaelach

It's kinda vague but I always heard it said that; when in Rome, do as the Romans do.

phog

huskerdu wrote: »

I went to Pompeiii as a day trip from Rome and its a long long trip unless you plan carefully.

There are lots of trains from Rome to Naples. They are always packed and vary a lot in price and speed. The expensive train takes an hour, the cheapest one takes more than two hours and its easy to end up standing for most of the journey.

Lesson : Pay the money for the fast train and the seat reservation.

Once you get to Naples, you have to cross the manically busy train station and find the local train to Pompeii which takes about 30/40 minutes and is like the DART at rush hour.
Once we got to Pompeii, the queue to get in was 45 minutes.

Once you factor in the time to get from your hotel to the trin station is Rome, and queue to get onto the train, the journey takes hours.

We did go on a busy weekend, but we were travelling with a local who told us that the crowds were normal enough in the tourist season,

Pompeii is amazing. It is worth the effort, but its a long day and my advice is not to do it on the cheap.

Thanks for the feedback, I might look at paying up front for a tour from Rome.

phog

My feedback from our trip to Rome - we travelled in February for the 6 Nations game and spent 7 or 8 nights there in total

We booked Hotel Quirinale – It’s near a metro station and the bus stops outside the hotel. I’d highly recommend this hotel.

Transport is very easy once you get used to it – there’s a choice of buses to/from the city/hotel and the metro is just up the road from the hotel – care is needed for pickpockets on both methods of transport.

We flew into Ciampino Airport (Ryanair) which is probably a 40 min drive. There’s a bus from the airport to Termini Train Station (a few mins walk to the hotel) but we pre-booked a lift with Rome Airport Transfers

On one of the days we booked a trip (by train) to Pompeii. The train from Rome to Naples is a high speed train, then you can get a DART type train to Pompeii (40mins). It’s a very worthwhile trip if you have the time.

Restaurants near the hotel that I’d recommend are
Ristorante del Giglio maybe a bit more expensive than some but nice for a treat – 1ltr carafe of local wine was €6
L’Antica Fraschetta – very friendly and possibly family run restaurant – good selection on their menu
In the Trastevere Area there are two restaurants we were in ne the other was recommended to us
Pizzeria Il Carlo Menta had a cheap tourist menu but good food and wine
Ristorante Da Cencia – was recommended by a couple but we never got back there
Then we ate in two more in the city
Rossopomodoro – This is on Largo di Torre Argentina which is close to one of the bus stops for the Hotel
Mamma Roma – Just off Piazza Navona ( read and buy off menu, he’s inclined to offer specials, may be more expensive than the menu) Good food though.

We booked a trip to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel
You don’t need to book to visit the Vatican itself or St. Peter’s Sq but you need to queue and have bags scanned.

We used the Roma Pass - this gives you free public transport and access to two museums (Vatican is excluded, I think) You can jump the queues for some museums by having the Roma Pass


My highlights were
Pompeii
Roman Forum
Colosseum
The Vatican
Castel Sant'Angelo
Any of the churches
Trevi Fountain
Spanish Steps

Lex Luthor

Hello, sorry to jump on this thread, I must have a good read through later this weekend on all the suggestions, but planning on a city break to Rome in Oct for 4 of us. We'll have 2 teenage boys so looking for suggestions for accomodation that will work for all of us, ideally somewhere where they get their own space and we do aswell

phog

Lex Luthor wrote: »

Hello, sorry to jump on this thread, I must have a good read through later this weekend on all the suggestions, but planning on a city break to Rome in Oct for 4 of us. We'll have 2 teenage boys so looking for suggestions for accomodation that will work for all of us, ideally somewhere where they get their own space and we do aswell

What about using AirBNB or rent an apartment? I' haven't done either but some friends use them all the time for the same reason as you as they have teenagers that need their own space and hotels can then be costly.

maximo31

Hi folks , heading to Rome start of October. Was wondering if anyone has advice on best place to stay or a hotel they would recommend?
We want to be central, a room with a view.As its only for 3 nights we have a decent budget (for us anyway!), about €200 a night.
Thanks in advance.

phog

maximo31 wrote: »

Hi folks , heading to Rome start of October. Was wondering if anyone has advice on best place to stay or a hotel they would recommend?
We want to be central, a room with a view.As its only for 3 nights we have a decent budget (for us anyway!), about €200 a night.
Thanks in advance.

I'd have no hesitation in recommending Hotel Quirinale though not sure about the room with a view part of your request. It's on Via Nazionale which is a busy street and about a minutes walk from the nearest metro (Repubblica). It

marieky21

Take a look at hotel San Carlo right beside Spanish steps stayed there a few years ago was great location we only needed to get metro for Vatican if I recall it was €250 for three of us per night with breakfast

evil_seed

Can't recommed the Donna Camilla Savelli enough. 10/10. Stayed there recently for 3 nights. Perfect location IMO for restaurants and just over the river from all the sights