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diy rome

ronnie64

By ronnie64,
in Italy Ports

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ronnie64

ronnie64

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Anyone recommend a fabulous all-in-one guide to do a day tour of Rome from start to finish (Civitavecchia to Rome and back)? Sure could use it!

 

After all this research, I am thinking if there isn't one maybe I should write one--lol

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janina

janina

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More cost effective you could take the train to Termini. From there you can get tickets and board the Ho Ho Bus. The Bus hits all the main sights in Rome. I would take it one time around, see everything than go back to what interests you. It comes with headphones explaining the sites. Sit on top for great pictures. At the Forum you can get a tour there and the colliseum. At the Vatican, there are many american students in front of St Peters that offer a tour inside. They gather a small group and than enter, which is free. At the end you pay them. You don't need a tourguide at the Spanish Stairs or the Trevi fountain area, which also has great shopping. They also give a small tour onsite at the Pantheneon. So there you go, ride the bus back to termini, and train back to the port.

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cruisemom42 Great Review Rare

cruisemom42

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Several posters have written detailed posts after their visit that pretty much give a step-by-step from Civitavecchia into Rome, sightseeing, and back. If you do a little digging I'm sure you'll find the info.

 

One post I remember was by a poster named MavisMarie. I'll see if I can dig it up. I've got step-by-step directions for Pompeii (from Naples) and for a day in Athens, but I know Rome so well that I've never written up a step-by-step for that!

 

I do agree that Rick Steves has great info. Also if you Google the website of a certain guide, he posts detailed info on getting to Rome using the train (complete with photos). Just Google using the words "Ron Rome Guide" and I'm sure you'll find it. ;)

 

 

Edited to add: Here is the post by MavisMarie: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=627680&highlight=

 

Her facts contain a few errors, but she's got some great directions for getting the most out of a single day in Rome.

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ronnie64

ronnie64

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Once again thanks to all. I guess we could go to Europe "blind" and just see what we see, but I truly have been blown away by all of the information I have been able to get here. True, some of it is overwhelming but armed with a lot of the experience here, I am feeling like we can really do Rome on our own. Gosh!! Hope we don't miss the boat!:)

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euro cruiser

euro cruiser

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Is it reasonable to get from Civitavecchia to Rome in time for a tour at the Vatican at 10:30? We dock at 7am and would be taking the train to Rome.

Yes, it's quite possible. There are three trains that will get you there in time, even allowing a half hour to hoof it from the Roma San Pietro train station to the entrance of the Vatican museums:

 

Depart Civitavecchia, Arrive Roma San Pietro:

 

7:33, 8:25

7:59, 8:53

8:41, 9:24

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cruisemom42 Great Review Rare

cruisemom42

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One more question...What is the best time of day to visit the vatican? Be there in mid july. Opinions?

 

For the museum, the best time is around 1pm. Mornings are quite crowded. If you allow time to do St Peters after the museum, you can take the "shortcut" from the Sistine chapel to St Peter's entrance without having to backtrack all the way to the museum entrance -- this is a significant time savings. Also, ending at St Peters will put you relatively close to the train station (San Pietro) for your return to Civitavecchia.

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ronnie64

ronnie64

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There is a chance that we will do a private tour but we need to have at least 7 in order for this to be worth the cost of us(we are 3 to start). So I have ben gathering information to "go it alone" in case it goes that way. If we do the private we will also get a private guide, otherwise I think we will go with Rick Steve's downloads or the ipod tour.

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Susan-M

Susan-M

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Have you seen the free MP3 downloads for Rome?

 

http://www.ricksteves.com/news/travelnews/0602/italy_downloads.htm

 

We are doing our own thing in Rome when we arrive two days before our cruise. I've listened to a couple of Rick's MP3s of places we've been and found them quite good.

 

We used them for our pre-Cruise stay in Rome, and they are excellent!

 

RS doesn't have an audio tour of the Vatican Museums (just the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica). We took the Vatican Museum's guided tour on our first visit to Rome and it was quite good. The next time we took a Vatican Museums tour with Angel Tours Rome and enjoyed it even more.

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Grannycb

Grannycb

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ronnie64 - We went to the Vatican Museum with a guide in a group of 18. The museum was so crowded we couldn't work our group through to reach some of the art we were looking forward to seeing. This ipod application looks like it would work better than what we did. It's much easier for individuals to move closer than a group.

 

http://www.italyguides.it/us/roma/download_audioguide/free_ipod_mp3/iphone-applications.htm

 

We've been debating getting an iPod Touch for each of us. Seeing this type of application is available makes it more likely we will get them as a travel aid.

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dogged

dogged

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If you are planning on going to the Forum and or Colisseum - get your ticket (one ticket covers both) at the Forum. The lines there are much shorter!

 

Good luck! You will LOVE Rome!

 

PS - There is great gelato in Termini!

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ronnie64

ronnie64

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Grannycb. Thanks so much for the link. I didn't even realize that there are downloads for the Vatican--all I had seen were the Rick Steves ones. Think this will work out great for us--one $10 download for the 3 of us and missing the lines to rent the audio tour and being able to skip going back to return the tour so we can sneak throught the secret door to st peters. Once again, thanks!!!

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