To Hire a Guide or Not to : That is the question

[xcomet]

Help!!!!

After weeks of researching, tons of emails, piles of papers, and every website know to man, I am so confused and overwhelmed!

I have rcvd prices and tour packages from

Rome In limo,Enjoy Rome, All Around Italy,Your Italy Tour,RomeCabs,Tours.Italy,and several others!Yikes! All from research from CC members, (thank you very much)

So some say you need a guide for the Coliseum,Pantheon,Forum,some say no! Quite a price difference. There are 6 of us, 2 adults, 4 teens and I am not so sure, we would know what the heck we were seeing without a guide accompanying us,but they claim, the driver is enough. How does that work, if he stays outside while we go into the sites?

plus even though we are alloting two days, they all want to pack it into a 7 or 8 hr tour, isnt that a lot?

We are seeing Coliseum, Forum,Pantheon,Catacombs,Church of the Capuchins, St Peters and the Vatican! Whew, I cant even say it all much less see it all in 7 hours! This is pre cruise,So, who has done it a with a guide and who without?> thoughts , opinions, ideas! :eek:

[ab0si]

Assuming you would get a "good" guide (because a bad one is worth a negative amount) ...

 

It all depends upon:

a) how much you know about the site in question

b) what you want out of your visit to that site

 

So, I don't think there is a right or wrong answer.

 

Doing all that you listed in 3 days strikes me as fine if you are a "check-off" traveler but not otherwise.

 

For example, the Vatican Museum is huge. there is a lot of second rate (and worse) there and it is not well curated. Never the less, there are quite a few masterpieces. Unless you know a lot about art (ancient to romantic) AND are familiar with the museum, a guide can be very useful. On the other hand, to the majority of people the "Vatican" means Sistine Chapel with maybe a quick look at some of the over the top Rococo room decor. If that is you a guide (other than skipping the entry line) is a waste of money.

[cruisemom42]

Take a deep breath......

 

You have two days and it sounds like you feel you'll be rushing if you try to cram it all into a one-day tour. I agree. (Others may see it differently....)

 

What I would suggest is a compromise. Get a guide where it counts the most -- the Vatican museum. You can hire a private guide just for a couple of hours for your group and it would probably make financial sense as your group is a fair size. The guide may or may not include St Peters, but Rick Steves has a free podcast you can download (with 4 teens you're bound to have several mp3 players....) for that part.

 

For the rest, get a guidebook that appeals to you (I like Rick Steves for his good walking tours and his sense of humor might appeal to teens; the DK Rome book may also be appealing as it generally has a lot of photos, cross-sections of buildings, reconstructions of ancient sites, etc.)

 

Rick Steves also has audio tours for the Colosseum and (if I recall right) Forum. You could spring for a guide here, if you think your family will get a lot out of it. Or you can give them a few basics and then let them wander (the Forum is particularly suited to wandering, IMHO...:)) If you decided that you did want a guide, there are English speaking ones readily available outside the Colosseum and they are happy to form groups (generally 10 or so in a group).

 

The catacombs are a bit difficult to get to on your own and I'm not sure I'd put them on the list for a 2-day visit to Rome, although I have enjoyed seeing them. Perhaps the capuchin crypt would suffice?

 

I suggest doing Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and Piazza Navona either right before dinner or right after (including dinner in the area). This is one of the prettiest and liveliest areas of Rome at night. BTW, There is an audioguide for the Pantheon too.

[UKBayern]

We are seeing Coliseum, Forum,Pantheon,Catacombs,Church of the Capuchins, St Peters and the Vatican! Whew, I cant even say it all much less see it all in 7 hours!

 

This is way too much for one day, even when a local is driving you. You will have the feeling just running around/being driven around without actually seeing anything, and are just going to go home stressed out that you didn't see it all. It sounds to me you are not going to go inside anywhere, or only for a very short period of time. Rome is a living museum, and you could easily spend 2 weeks there without seeing everything. I would say you need about half a day for the Vatican museums, the Sixtine Chapel and the St. Peter already if you really want to appreciate what you are visiting (you have to take heavy traffic and lines at sights in consideration too). Why not just limit it and pick 2 or 3 things you really want to see? We always regard a port of call-day or one day pre/post cruise as an opportunity to get the feel of a place, if we like it and would maybe like to come back. That way we are never disappointed.

 

You also indicate you are with 4 kids. Even though they are teens, they probably do not have the span of attention you would have. Make sure it is fun for them too. What do they want out of this? Maybe they read something or picked something up during history lessons or saw something on TV they would like to see in Rome.

 

Whether you need a local guide depends on your historical knowledge or previous reading on the subject, and again, what you want out of your trip. A guide might overfeed you with a lot of information you cannot remember afterwards. The way you planned it now, it is going to be a very tiring day already, without somebody yepping in your ear the whole time. I have to be honest: we are very DIY, and hate listening to guides. We take our own guidebook with us and find a quiet bench or rock opposite a landmark and check out the story.

[tricialee]

We hired a guide for the Vatican and St. Peters, a 5 hour tour. Hired a guide for the colosseum and Forum, a 3 hr tour. And we did the Capuchin Crypt, Piazza Navona, Trevi, Pantheon by ourselves. On three separate days. We enjoyed it all, and I don't think I would have enjoyed the Vatican or the Forum as much without a guide.

 

BTW, we were travelling with 4 adults and 4 children aged 6, 10, 11, 13.

[texancruzer]

We did the Vatican in the morning with a private guide. Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peters. All 3 of us went for pizza in a little hole-in-the-wall place and then did the Coliseum/Forum/Palatine Hill in the afternoon. Just the guide, me and dh. Perfect day. We went at our own pace and I agree - would all have been a blur without our guide. Not driver ...... guide. Licensed guide. We used taxis instead of a driver to get from A to B. Worked great.

 

The other sites, Trevi, Spanish steps, Pantheon, Piazza Navonna etc. we did on our own by just walking. You WILL do that alot in Rome. The piazzas all come alive in the early evening and it is the best time to stroll !

 

There is so much in Rome to do and see......one 2 day visit will not even scratch the surface....... so pick your favs and also remember to slow down and ENJOY this wonderful place :D It took us a return trip to figure this out...... and we will go back again ! Soon !!!!

[chipmaster]

Let me understand all those sites in 7 hours from one day. I'd say a guide in Vatican and the Basilica is all I'd recommend. You won't have much time at the Coliseum, Pantheion and Forum to make it worth your while IMHO to hire a seperate guide. BTW RIL drivers, ours were very good at telling us stories, history and anything else you wanted to know, they just couldn't go inside any of the attractions with you. Buy a good book or podcast and I think you are going do fine. Unless you think your teens will really really interact with the guide you may be throwing info/money away.

 

If you are doing this pre cruise I think you should consider the value of a private driver. Those major sites you listed are very doable DIY with local transportation over two days. You get to take your time, linger, and ave a LOT of money. Why squeeze it all in one day when you can stretch it out and savior it over more days.

 

Good luck!

 

Help!!!!

After weeks of researching, tons of emails, piles of papers, and every website know to man, I am so confused and overwhelmed!

I have rcvd prices and tour packages from

Rome In limo,Enjoy Rome, All Around Italy,Your Italy Tour,RomeCabs,Tours.Italy,and several others!Yikes! All from research from CC members, (thank you very much)

So some say you need a guide for the Coliseum,Pantheon,Forum,some say no! Quite a price difference. There are 6 of us, 2 adults, 4 teens and I am not so sure, we would know what the heck we were seeing without a guide accompanying us,but they claim, the driver is enough. How does that work, if he stays outside while we go into the sites?

plus even though we are alloting two days, they all want to pack it into a 7 or 8 hr tour, isnt that a lot?

We are seeing Coliseum, Forum,Pantheon,Catacombs,Church of the Capuchins, St Peters and the Vatican! Whew, I cant even say it all much less see it all in 7 hours! This is pre cruise,So, who has done it a with a guide and who without?> thoughts , opinions, ideas! :eek:

[Nebr.cruiser]

We just got back from three days in Rome post-cruise, our first time there. We did most of the things you listed, except the Catacombs, plus a lot more, in 2.5 days on our own. We walked everywhere because we like exploring a city by foot when possible. BTW, we're both 64.

 

I really think all of those sights in one day in seven hours is just too much, unless you just want a quick overview and a run through. I don't even know if it's possible if you hire a guide in several places. Also, how patient are your teens? Do they enjoy museums and ruins, or does a little go a long way?

 

Like others have said, can you divide it into two days? I think you can see the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Piazzo Novano and Cappuchin Crypt on your own--they are not all that far apart, if everyone is in good walking shape. (Note: the Cappuchin Crypt is really not very large, maybe takes 10 minutes or less and I probably wouldn't bother again. But then, teenagers might really enjoy the creepiness factor.)

 

We got to our B&B and walked to the Colisseum and Forum area the first afternoon. We didn't hire a guide for either one. I did not bring my guide book that day and regretted it mostly for the Forum area. I already knew a lot about the Colosseum and it's mostly pretty self-explanatory anyway, but I would have liked to know more about what I was actually seeing in the Forum, just to get a better idea of what all the various ruins meant. The signage is not very good, either here or most places, so a guidebook really is necessary--or a guide.

 

The second day we walked to and toured Piazzo Novano, Pantheon, various churches, fountains, piazzas, along the way, Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps, the crypt and the National Museum, all on our own. This day I had my guidebook and found it sufficient. (Note: My husband is not very good at following guides around.) Also, we were there during a 'free' week, so most entry fees were free.

 

The Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps were extremely crowded. You don't need much time there. I know they would be nicer in the evening.

 

The third day we walked to St. Peter's and the Vatican. We did not take a guided tour there either, but did buy tickets for the museum ahead of time so we didn't have to stand in line. This worked fine for us; we saw enough of the museum, ending with the VERY crowded Sistine Chapel and got done just in time to meet the one tour we did do, the Scavi Tour.

 

Do the Vatican Museum first, ending with the Sistine Chapel. Continue out through the 'Secret Door' which takes you right to St. Peter's without going back out through the museum and the long way around back to the basilica.

 

When we got to St. Peter's Square we did not realize just how far it is to the Museum--the entrance is outside the square, to the right, and was quite an additional walk. We would have missed our museum entrance time if other people hadn't helped us out as we saw no signs pointing to the Museum entrance--there may have been some that we missed; also, I should have researched this better so this wasn't such a surprise.

 

I really enjoyed the Scavi tour, but my husband was too hot and a little claustrophobic on it. We were able to go directly up into St. Peter's on our own afterwards.

 

If (when--I did throw that coin in the fountain, you know!) we return, we'll go to the catacombs, some more of the famous churches and ancient sites we missed and especially Castle San Angelo, which was closing by the time we were done with St. Peter's, the Borghese Gallery, etc.

 

I'm sure we wasted some time finding our way around the city by ourselves and missed out on some interesting facts and insights, but we were very satisfied with our days in Rome.

[euro cruiser]

What I would suggest is a compromise. Get a guide where it counts the most -- the Vatican museum. You can hire a private guide just for a couple of hours for your group and it would probably make financial sense as your group is a fair size. The guide may or may not include St Peters, but Rick Steves has a free podcast you can download (with 4 teens you're bound to have several mp3 players....) for that part.

 

For the rest, get a guidebook that appeals to you (I like Rick Steves for his good walking tours and his sense of humor might appeal to teens; the DK Rome book may also be appealing as it generally has a lot of photos, cross-sections of buildings, reconstructions of ancient sites, etc.)

I agree with Cynthia and would add one thing - although I love wandering around in the Forum, without some research or tools (book, audio tour, or live guide) it could easily be just a pile of rocks. On one trip I bought a book for the kids that really helped me too - it's a book of pictures as the site looks now, with acetate overlays that show what it might have/probably looked like in its prime. For the kids, seeing that made all the difference. I bought mine in Rome, but have since seen others for sale at bookstores here as well as on line.

[CTCruisers]

A guide will save you lots of time and also point out all of the interesting things you will see around you.

 

 

We had 7 hours in Rome and Ron Phillips (Roninrome.com) took us on a walking tour that allowed us to see pretty much every major site in Rome using the buses and metro. We saw the forums, coliseum, arch of Constantine, National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II, Tomb of unknown soldier, Trajan's Column, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica. Along the way we visited several churches with notable artwork and sculptures. The only site we did not have enough time to visit was the Sistine Chapel.

[D4]

Don't forget to factor in the horrible heat and crowds if you'll be there in the summer.

[salboz]

Help!!!!

After weeks of researching, tons of emails, piles of papers, and every website know to man, I am so confused and overwhelmed!

I have rcvd prices and tour packages from

Rome In limo,Enjoy Rome, All Around Italy,Your Italy Tour,RomeCabs,Tours.Italy,and several others!Yikes! All from research from CC members, (thank you very much)

So some say you need a guide for the Coliseum,Pantheon,Forum,some say no! Quite a price difference. There are 6 of us, 2 adults, 4 teens and I am not so sure, we would know what the heck we were seeing without a guide accompanying us,but they claim, the driver is enough. How does that work, if he stays outside while we go into the sites?

plus even though we are alloting two days, they all want to pack it into a 7 or 8 hr tour, isnt that a lot?

We are seeing Coliseum, Forum,Pantheon,Catacombs,Church of the Capuchins, St Peters and the Vatican! Whew, I cant even say it all much less see it all in 7 hours! This is pre cruise,So, who has done it a with a guide and who without?> thoughts , opinions, ideas! :eek:

 

Just got back and will add to the variety of opinions you will get. GET A GUIDE You may not always need them, but they can get you around much faster than you can navigate on your own, plus with such a stressful itinerary, it is nice to know someone is waiting to take you to the next point and do so in the best manner for you. I use allarounditaly and had Peppe for a guide. He also was the selected guide for officials of the Smithsonian because of his knowledge (he is also a professor at university). He will give you as much or as little info as you wish. You should get tickets in advance for the coliseum and the Vatican. They have to be purchased for a specific time of day. This allows you to enter immediately without waiting in line. Even if you buzz through the Vatican to the Sistine chapel, it will take at least 2 hours. I don't see the need for a guide in the Vatican, as most everything is clearly described. Stopping at the Vatican post office on your way out to buy a couple of stamps makes a nice and unique momento. Again, just in my opinion, the only other site that I would consider having a guide would be the coleseum. Depends upon how thorough you want to be. Again, many signposts and there is a little 3 euro booklet which is very good. Not that much to see at the Forum.

[Roma Belle]

We were in Rome for about two days pre-cruise and did not use a guide for anything. We didn't need to know every little thing that we were seeing or the history of it. I knew enough to explain a few things to DH and we had really great guidebooks.

 

We arrive in Rome at 8:00 and by 10:30 we were on our way to the Pantheon after dropping our bags at the hotel. We then went to the Coliseum, Palatine Hill, and Forum before the heat got to me and we had to have a late lunch. We took a nap back at the hotel before dinner and walked to the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, and Via dei Condotti for some shopping. We walked back toward the Pantheon and to Piazza Navona. We found a great restaurant back behind the Piazza and had dinner. We crashed right afterwards and strolled back to the hotel.

 

Day two: Walked to the Vatican and got in line for the museums. We waited awhile (this was before you could get a reservation time and pre-order tickets) but were in and out (with spending a good amount of time in the Sistine Chapel) in 2.5 hours. We are not art people but really enjoyed seeing everything (I had been a few times before, but it was DH's first time). We walked around St. Peter's for awhile and went back to Campo dei Fiori for a late lunch. AFter a break, we walked to Via del Corso and shopped for a little bit before we went to an early but amazing dinner by the Trevi Fountain. We walked back to the Pantehon to stop by my favorite gelato shop and sat by the fountain and was entertained by some of the musicians.

 

day three: Walked back to St. Peter's to climb the dome. Unbelievable experience. Highly recommend. Spent some more time in St. Peter's and headed back to the hotel to pack up. Stopped at a grocery store for sandwiches and snacks for the ship and headed to to the train station.

 

So I guess my LONG answer is you don't need a guide. It sounds like you have done a lot of research. Your kids aren't going to care about every Etruscan pot that is in the Vatican. Have them read Angels & Demons just for the entertainment value and the descriptions of the places they will see. DH did that and really liked seeing the places in the book.

 

I started writing about our 2008 cruise. You can read it here (though I am sorry that it is not finished).

 

Enjoy your trip! Rome is beautiful!