Rome On Our Own

[wobblybob74]

Good afternoon,

 

We've booked the 'Rome On Your Own' shore excursion from the Grand Princess on 12 June and have a few questions.

 

1. Will the coach drop us fairly near the Vatican Museum?
   
2. If it does, what time (roughly) will it get there? We leave the ship at 0815.
   
3. Is it worth booking Vatican Museum tickets in advance? Which company is best for this? I've been told that myvaticantour.com are very good.
   
4. How long should we allocate to the Museum?
   
5. We intend to use the City Sightseeing open top bus which stops outside the Museum. Where would you recommend getting on and off at once we leave there? We need to be back at the pick up point for 1715.
   
6. Talking of which, the return time on the Princess website is stated as 1715. Is this the depart time from Rome, or the time by which we will be back at the ship?
   

Sorry about all the questions - I only had two when started typing! :D

 

As always, thanks in advance.

 

Rob & Sue.

[cruisemom42]

I can't help with all your questions, but it's my understanding that the "Rome on your Own" coaches let passengers off near the Vatican -- that could still be a half hour from the museum entrance.

 

As for your tickets, why not book directly through the Vatican? There's less markup. You do have to choose a time. If you truly leave at 8:15 -- my experience with Princess shore excursions is that it will be later -- then you should be okay with a 10:00 am time. There is apparently a little latitude if you are a few minutes early or late.

 

Unless you have limited mobility, I don't really recommend the HOHOs in Rome. Be prepared for significant waits if you get off the bus and have to wait for another one -- traffic is bad. Also, you cannot see all the sights from the bus, some of them are impossible to get to due to pedestrian-only areas.

[wobblybob74]

Thanks, Cynthia. Good point about the HOHO buses - we're only in Rome for a day so we don't want to waste too much time waiting for buses.

 

Can anybody tell me roughly how long it takes to walk from place of interest to place of interest please?

 

For example, how long to walk from:

 

1. The Vatican Museum to the Spanish Steps
   
2. The Spanish Steps to the Coliseum
   
3. The Coliseum to St Peter's Square.
   

Thank you! :D

[euro cruiser]

Cynthia and I often seem to see things in similar ways, so I'm sorry if my responses are somewhat repetitive.

 

what time (roughly) will it get there? We leave the ship at 0815.

You're heading into a world capital at rush hour, along with lots of commuters. Under perfect conditions, Rome is about an hour drive from Civitavecchia; as these are not perfect conditions, I'd assume 90 minutes. So, if you leave about 15 minutes late, I'd say you'd be at your dropoff point by 10 AM.

 

Is it worth booking Vatican Museum tickets in advance? Which company is best for this? I've been told that myvaticantour.com are very good.

It absolutely is, especially if you are planning to visit the museums in the morning; I'd consider doing it on my own via the vatican's web site. My other suggestion would be to consider flip-flopping your day - the lines to enter the musuem all but disappear in the afternoon, so since you need to be back in the area for your pick up, why not make the musuems your last stop of the day rather than your first? Especially if the drop off/pick up point is closer to Piazza San Pietro than the entrance to the museums, you could exit the museums into the basilica and be closer to your bus.

 

How long should we allocate to the Museum?

This depends on what interests you, but even if you just want to focus on the Raphael Rooms and the Sistine Chapel (the usual highlights for first time visitors), you still need to allow a minimum of 90 minutes to two hours. More, if you're going to do anything more than that.

 

We intend to use the City Sightseeing open top bus which stops outside the Museum. Where would you recommend getting on and off at once we leave there? We need to be back at the pick up point for 1715.

I think this is a terribly inefficient way to get around Rome, unless you have significant mobility problems and won't/can't walk much. You'll waste a lot of your very limited time waiting for buses, or walking from the stops (often not very close to the sites) to the sites and back.

 

Talking of which, the return time on the Princess website is stated as 1715. Is this the depart time from Rome, or the time by which we will be back at the ship?

If your in port time is 7 AM to 7 PM, this is likely the time you leave Rome in order to get back for sail away.

[euro cruiser]

Can anybody tell me roughly how long it takes to walk from place of interest to place of interest please?

 

For example, how long to walk from:

 

1. The Vatican Museum to the Spanish Steps
   
2. The Spanish Steps to the Coliseum
   
3. The Coliseum to St Peter's Square.

Fortunately, walking and HOHO buses are not your only two alternatives.

 

Personally, the Spanish Steps would not be on my list if I only had one day in Rome. They are out of the way, and it's just a staircase. A beautiful and large staircase, to be sure, but still ... If you want to see a staircase, go instead to the Cordonata designed by Michaelangelo, heading from Piazza Venezia up to Campidoglio.

 

You can use the metro or buses. I've walked it many times, but this was on longer trips when I wasn't trying to hit a number of specific sites all in the same day.

 

On foot, from Piazza San Pietro to the Spanish Steps is about a mile and a quarter, not bad, but it depends on how quickly you walk.

 

The Spanish Steps to the Colosseum is a mile and a half.

 

The Colosseum to Piazza San Pietro is about two and a quarter miles.

[wobblybob74]

Lovely, thank you :D

 

I think you're right about the Spanish Steps.

 

I've been doing a little research on Google maps and our itinerary for the day seems to be leaning towards doing the Vatican, then walking to the Pantheon (about 45 mins), having a spot of lunch somewhere - any recommendations around there? Then walking to the Trevi Fountain (about 10 mins), then walking to the Coliseum (about 30 mins) then having a very very large beer! I've researched that the best way to get back to St Peter's Square from the Coliseum is either an walk of over an hour (hmmmm) or to use the metro. Has anyone done this? How long will it take and is it easy?

 

We don't really want to use taxis as I have a pathological fear of being ripped off. I might be being unfair there, but I'd rather be safe than sorry!

[euro cruiser]

I've walked it many times, and I agree that by the end of the day you're not going to want to do it on foot. Also, your day may take longer than you plan, so you'll need to get back faster.

 

Sorry about your taxi issues, it really is the best way at that point. One option is to agree on the price before entering the cab.

 

Using mass transit, you could go by metro but it's really quite out of the way and long, due to the extra ground covered, the need to change trains at Termini, and the distance from the Ottaviano stop back to Piazza San Pietro (about a half mile on foot).

 

By bus, you could get the #87 from the stop in front of the Colossem metro, then switch to the #40 at Largo Argentina. That's probably the fastest option.

 

For a one-bus option, you could walk through the Forum to Piazza Venezia and pick up the #40 bus there.

 

Or, if you find you have some time and are willing to walk a little farther, you could walk past the Palatine and Circus Maximus to the mouth of truth (bocca della verita) and pick up the #23 bus there. This bus runs along the river.

[Softball20]

We've done cabs in Rome - in fact, we typically prefer them over busses, subways, etc. They're fine, and we've never felt ripped off, especially if you do agree on a price up front. We've had some interesting drivers, but it's all part of the adventure. Just remember that you can't just hail a taxi on any street corner in Rome. You have to get one at a taxi stand, which are usually located in the Piazzas.

 

We did a similar day like that on HAL a couple years ago. The HAL bus, however, dropped us off nearer to the Triton fountain -- I forget the name of the Piazza off the top of my head. Our schedule was similar, and we did a mixture of walking and cabs. We did start with the Trevi/Navona/Pantheon area as we made our way towards the direction of St. Peters and the Vatican. There, we met up with a private guide we had lined up before we left home. That was great, and not too costly splitting it in four. There is so much to see in the Vatican, and your time is so limited, you might want to check out having a guide - you'll get more out of your day and be more directed. We were in there about three hours - which clearly doesn't scratch the surface. After that we walked to a pizza place for a late lunch (Pizzeria San Marco - I highly recommend it) and then we did a cab back to the meeting point, by which time we had about a half our or so to kind of wander the streets and get some gelato before the bus came. There was just no time to get to the Coliseum, too.

 

Just one beer? With a day like that, a few along the way seem to be in order as well :)

[cruisemom42]

Lovely, thank you :D

 

I think you're right about the Spanish Steps.

 

I've been doing a little research on Google maps and our itinerary for the day seems to be leaning towards doing the Vatican, then walking to the Pantheon (about 45 mins), having a spot of lunch somewhere - any recommendations around there? Then walking to the Trevi Fountain (about 10 mins), then walking to the Coliseum (about 30 mins) then having a very very large beer! I've researched that the best way to get back to St Peter's Square from the Coliseum is either an walk of over an hour (hmmmm) or to use the metro. Has anyone done this? How long will it take and is it easy?

 

We don't really want to use taxis as I have a pathological fear of being ripped off. I might be being unfair there, but I'd rather be safe than sorry!

 

On my last visit to Rome, I stayed near the Colosseo metro stop, and I'd venture that it will still take the better part of an hour to get to the metro, transfer at Termini, arrive at the Vatican and walk to your pickup point.

 

I'd strongly encourage you to cast aside your fear and take a taxi, for several reasons:

 

1) You'll be tired.

 

2) If you write down exactly where you were dropped off and give that info to the driver, you'll get point-to-point service, no wandering or wondering if you're headed in the right direction.

 

3) A cab from the Colosseum area to St Peter's vicinity should run 10-15 euro on the meter (perhaps a tad more if traffic is really bad). Even if the driver VASTLY overcharges you -- say double the legal metered rate -- that's a 5-7 euro per person "rip off". I submit that missing your transportation back to the ship and having to figure out an alternative would be considerably more expensive.

 

 

For lunch around the Pantheon area: any of the side streets offer reasonably good restaurants. You'll pay the most if you want to sit on the Piazza and eat (and probably get "okay" food), but for some it's worth it for the view and the people-watching. If you want specific recommendations for some sit-down restaurants, let me know and I can list some I've tried.

[euro cruiser]

I've been doing a little research on Google maps and our itinerary for the day seems to be leaning towards doing the Vatican, then walking to the Pantheon (about 45 mins), having a spot of lunch somewhere - any recommendations around there?

My recent favorite restaurant in this neighborhood is La Pigna, located at Piazza della Pigna 54. Both times I've had lunch there the crowd seemed to be comprised of local office and government workers (from what I could understand of the conversations going on around me - several attorneys). The food was excellent, fairly priced, and if you are in a hurry, they move quickly. If you're not, they'll leave you be to sit and enjoy as long as you like. In nice weather, there is outdoor seating on the piazza.

[CathyCruises]

And just to chime in here, if you are willing to do all that Roman wandering on your own, why not take the train instead of the bus? All of us have done it many times and it is very easy. Best of all, if you have a fear of being ripped off, believe me when I say that "Rome on Your Own" is the BIGGEST ripoff!

 

The train ticket is 9 euros r/t and includes buses and the metro once you get to Rome. You can set your own schedule and pick up the return train from multiple places, obviating the need to get back to St. Peter's. There are many many threads on train-taking that you can read. The only word of caution is validate your ticket on the platform!

 

Good luck!

 

Cathy