Rome... Where to fly into and Stay

Pecker31

Hi Guys,

Myself and my OH are thinking of booking a couple of nights in Rome next spring. Flying from Dublin where would be the best place to fly into and where is the best place to base yourself for sightseeing etc.

We are both in our early 30's and want to go sight seeing daily and then to nice bars/restaurants at night.

We are thinking of going in April to avoid the major crowds and heat!

Strumms

Pecker31 wrote: »

Hi Guys,

Myself and my OH are thinking of booking a couple of nights in Rome next spring. Flying from Dublin where would be the best place to fly into and where is the best place to base yourself for sightseeing etc.

We are both in our early 30's and want to go sight seeing daily and then to nice bars/restaurants at night.

We are thinking of going in April to avoid the major crowds and heat!

Fiumicino is the main airport and probably the best one to fly into as it is closer than the secondary airport Ciampino and it also has a direct train link into the main station Rome Termini. I generally stay by the airport for work purposes but I stayed on downtown 2 years ago and had a nice clean 3 star on a quiet street near termini with a few family run type bars and restaurants that were good. I'll try and see if I still have the booking in my email in a bit as I can't remember the name of the hotel.

Kazooie

I was there in March with my OH. We flew into Ciampino with Ryanair. There is a bus into the city center which cost 6 euro each if I remember. The stop is just outside the terminal of the airport.
If I remember right the hotels were not that cheap (maybe we booked a bit late), but we ended up in a cosy one called Hotel Siena just off the Trevi fountain which was perfect as a base for seeing everything. It cost about 400 for the 4 nights. The rooms are small but you are really paying for the location. We did the bus tour on the first day to get our bearings but quickly realised that most of the attractions were within walking distance of our hotel.
It wasn't overly busy when we went and I wouldn't like to see it in July or august. The queues for stuff must be insane. You should be fine in April also.

My advice would be watch out for the hawkers and people selling you crap. They are everywhere and pounce if you even give them the slightest eye contact. Also the graffiti on the way in will shock you! Well it did for us.

But they are just minor things, all in all it's a lovely city and you'll have a ball.

Pecker31

Strumms wrote: »

Fiumicino is the main airport and probably the best one to fly into as it is closer than the secondary airport Ciampino and it also has a direct train link into the main station Rome Termini. I generally stay by the airport for work purposes but I stayed on downtown 2 years ago and had a nice clean 3 star on a quiet street near termini with a few family run type bars and restaurants that were good. I'll try and see if I still have the booking in my email in a bit as I can't remember the name of the hotel.

Thanks for that! It's great to hear the distance from one place to another I wouldn't have a clue by the map!

Pecker31

Kazooie wrote: »

I was there in March with my OH. We flew into Ciampino with Ryanair. There is a bus into the city center which cost 6 euro each if I remember. The stop is just outside the terminal of the airport.
If I remember right the hotels were not that cheap (maybe we booked a bit late), but we ended up in a cosy one called Hotel Siena just off the Trevi fountain which was perfect as a base for seeing everything. It cost about 400 for the 4 nights. The rooms are small but you are really paying for the location. We did the bus tour on the first day to get our bearings but quickly realised that most of the attractions were within walking distance of our hotel.
It wasn't overly busy when we went and I wouldn't like to see it in July or august. The queues for stuff must be insane. You should be fine in April also.

My advice would be watch out for the hawkers and people selling you crap. They are everywhere and pounce if you even give them the slightest eye contact. Also the graffiti on the way in will shock you! Well it did for us.

But they are just minor things, all in all it's a lovely city and you'll have a ball.

Hey! Ya I was looking at the rooms and they are all around that mark, I don't really mind about the size of the room once its clean and in a good location.

Would you recommend to get a guided tour or would you do things yourself?

Gatica

Rome is absolutely amazing. We got the Roma Pass and that gave discounts and access to a couple of the main sites. We used it for the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, as the normal ticket queues are insane for the Colosseum. Some people do the clever thing and get their tickets at the Forum as I believe the same ticket can then be used at the Colosseum. The Forum would be my number 1 must see in Rome.

We stayed in residenza Gens Julia in Rome. It's opposite the Largo di Torre Argentina where Caesar was murdered. I would highly recommend them. The room was huge and really beautiful. Great area too, walking distance to everything. We also really liked the hosts.