Rome Review - How we covered all of Rome in a day on our own

[rotgot6614]

Hello VirtualRain - first of all, thanks for the excellent post! We followed your recommended route a few weeks ago and it was great. Your tip to purchase combo tickets at Palentine Hill was fantastic! The only thing that I would add is that we were constantly pushed for time. The earlier posts comparing this itinerary to the Amazing Race were 100% accurate! We had to skip lunch entirely and then were literally SPRINTING along the Vatican wall trying to try to get to the museum by 2:00pm (NOTE: It is a LONG walk from St. Peter's Basilica to the Vatican Museum entrance!) That said, I would not advise going later than 2:00pm because it takes at least 2 hours to get through the museum, and then you have to take the metro to Roma Termini and finally catch the train back to Civitavecchia.

 

For anyone considering this route: please note that it involves a LOT of walking. It is not for the faint of heart! My wife and I are in our mid-40's and in decent shape, and we were literally exhausted by the time we got back to our ship.

Edited October 19, 2013 by rotgot6614

[fuzzywuzzy]

Hello VirtualRain - first of all, thanks for the excellent post! We followed your recommended route a few weeks ago and it was great. Your tip to purchase combo tickets at Palentine Hill was fantastic! The only thing that I would add is that we were constantly pushed for time. The earlier posts comparing this itinerary to the Amazing Race were 100% accurate! We had to skip lunch entirely and then were literally SPRINTING along the Vatican wall trying to try to get to the museum by 2:00pm (NOTE: It is a LONG walk from St. Peter's Basilica to the Vatican Museum entrance!) That said, I would not advise going later than 2:00pm because it takes at least 2 hours to get through the museum, and then you have to take the metro to Roma Termini and finally catch the train back to Civitavecchia.

 

For anyone considering this route: please note that it involves a LOT of walking. It is not for the faint of heart! My wife and I are in our mid-40's and in decent shape, and we were literally exhausted by the time we got back to our ship.

 

I totally agree. That's why my DH and I stay in Rome precruise or post cruise. We are still exhausted but at least have some time to stop and enjoy the moment.

[VirtualRain]

Hello VirtualRain - first of all, thanks for the excellent post! We followed your recommended route a few weeks ago and it was great. Your tip to purchase combo tickets at Palentine Hill was fantastic! The only thing that I would add is that we were constantly pushed for time. The earlier posts comparing this itinerary to the Amazing Race were 100% accurate! We had to skip lunch entirely and then were literally SPRINTING along the Vatican wall trying to try to get to the museum by 2:00pm (NOTE: It is a LONG walk from St. Peter's Basilica to the Vatican Museum entrance!) That said, I would not advise going later than 2:00pm because it takes at least 2 hours to get through the museum, and then you have to take the metro to Roma Termini and finally catch the train back to Civitavecchia.

 

For anyone considering this route: please note that it involves a LOT of walking. It is not for the faint of heart! My wife and I are in our mid-40's and in decent shape, and we were literally exhausted by the time we got back to our ship.

 

Thanks for sharing! It's interesting, but we felt it was a leisurely day - maybe we'd enjoy the Amazing Race! ;). We never had to sprint, had a relaxing lunch, bought an oil painting from one of the vendors at Piazza Navona and even stopped for Gelato by the Spanish Steps all without feeling rushed. But I do agree it is a long ways around the wall to the Vatican museum entrance. At any rate, for others reading this, if you think you might be back in Rome again one day, and want a less action-packed itinerary, I would do the Vatican Museum another time. It's one of those places that requires time to see, and would be best if you can avoid peak crowds if at all possible. I felt like a herded cow through there and that's not how to enjoy that magnificent place.

[Texas booklady]

Would you recommend this way or hire a private guide

[austinhoops]

Virtual Rain,

 

Thank you so much for this helpful review!

 

Another big admirer of your pictures here. Could you please share what settings (ISO/ shutter/other) you used to capture the indoor photography of the basilica and Sistine Chapel? I would appreciate your recommendations for settings that allow enough light yet maintain the crispness your photos have. I'm assuming you used the 10-22 Ultra wide angle lens for these shots.

 

Planning a trip to Europe and will be trying to capture the indoor of many cathedrals, etc. Also, if you care to contrast with your outdoor picture settings, I would appreciate.

 

If you don't remember exactly, just some recommendations would help.

 

BEAUTIFUL - thanks!

[qbay46]

Hi Virtual Rain,

 

I have just returned from my cruise in the Mediterranean and would like to thank you for your DIY advice on in the ports we called into.Your advice on getting to Rome from Civi worked great, got tickets to Colosseum with not another person anywhere and when we got there there was a people every where and we walked straight up to the entrance. WAS GREAT. In Atherns we where the first ones through the gates to the Acropolis thanks to your advice to get a taxi early, it cost 20 euro but well worth it to avoid the crowd. Also got to Ephesus with hardly anyone there so we really enjoyed wondering around with the ruins and not having to try and dodge the people WAS GREAT.

Your advice in other ports came in handy as well, made our holiday.

 

Again thank you

[thamanrp]

I have read the DIY not just for Rome but for other ports in Greece and Turkey as well. Thank you so much for taking the time to write all these DIY reviews and wonderful photos!

[lanceholt]

Virtual Rain, your pictures are simply gorgeous! I wish there hadn't been criticism of how you did Rome.....you were very very happy with your day there so you did Rome right for you. That is really what counts. We have been to Europe a number of times and what works for us may not work for others. Even on a cruise we tend to try to find a feel for the country or city and seek depth. We were in Rome on the Jade 2 years ago, originally planned the Vatican and Sistine in the morning and then Navona etc in the afternoon. We were so enraptured with the Sistine Chapel and St. Peters t hat we ended up deciding simultaneously to spend the day there. For us that worked, for others it may not work. The point is to make your own memories.

[CDN_silly]

saving this for future trips

 

We recently spent a day in Rome from Civitavecchia (can anyone actually pronounce that?) and here's how you can easily avoid some lines and cover all the sights in a very effective and efficient way on your own.

 

Our plan was the result of the research here on this forum and from other sources, and so is nothing original, but it is a good validation that some of the advice I found was truly beneficial.

 

Getting to the train station

 

This is covered well elsewhere but it's worth a recap and a few special notes.

 

The ships dock in the Civitavecchia port which is extensive. Shuttle buses take you from your ship to the port entrance (near the castle). What was a bit confusing and annoying the day we got off our ship, was the fact that we were among the first off at 7:30 hoping to catch an 8AM train into Rome. However, at 7:30, the pier was a bit disorganized. There were several shuttle buses parked but it wasn't at all clear which one was leaving first. None of the bus drivers spoke a word of English and the only person on the pier from the cruise ship didn't really know what was going on either. Once a mass of people started to collect near the buses, one of them opened the door and let people aboard. Then we had to wait several minutes until the bus was full before it departed. All of this meant that we were dropped off at the port entrance about 7:55. According to my schedule there was a train to Rome at 7:59 and the next one wasn't until 8:40. I was obviously a bit concerned and annoyed that we would probably miss the 7:59 and end up on the 8:40. However, I had read that trains are notoriously late, so we double-timed it to the train station.

 

From the port entrance it's a short 10 minute walk along the water front to the Train Station (5 minutes if you walk fast). When you see a road angled upward to the left, take that to get to the trainstation at the top of the road.

 

Catching the train

 

The train trip to Rome is well covered in many places on this forum, which I can summarize as follows:

- Buy a BIRG ticket from the newsstand at the train terminal (or at a shop along the way). The ticket machines in the train station will have a line of people.

- Validate your ticket using the yellow ticket box or risk a fine

- Check the monitors for the next train leaving Civi for Rome Termini and what "Bin" or platform it's on

- Go to that platform using the undergound tunnel

- Wait on the platform in an area clear of crowds so you have a fighting chance of getting a seat

 

If you don't know what a BIRG ticket is, that's a Rome transit ticket that costs about 9-Euro and covers your travel for the day on trains, metro, and buses. You can search the forums or web for additional information on the BIRG ticket.

 

Check train times using the Trenitalia site

 

Use stations Civitavecchia and Roma Ostiense (one way) for the date and approx time you desire. You will see a time table that shows the trains and the length of journey. Don't bother to buy reserve tickets online - they only work on certain trains and the BIRG is a much cheaper and better way to go.

 

Some additional advice based on our experience:

In our case, we arrived at the train station at about 8AM after double-timing it from the port. When we arrived, a train was sitting on the near platfrom... we thought we were lucky having caught the 7:59 train before it departed. Without really thinking, we quickly purchased BIRG tickets and along with several others, tried to board it. However, the conductor realized we were tourists and didn't let us on. At first we were confused and annoyed, but that caused me to check the monitors. Of course the train to Rome was not leaving on platform 1, but platform 3 and it wasn't supposed to be here for another 5 minutes. So had we got on that train, we would have ended up going the completely wrong direction. The moral of the story is, no matter how pressed for time you are, take time to check the monitors and make sure you know what platform your train is on and when it's leaving.

 

Avoiding Lineups

 

There are three potential line ups you will want to avoid (thanks to others who've posted similar advice in the past - it saved us a ton of time!)...

 

1. Coliseum tickets: The line up for Coliseum tickets can wrap around the building. I can only imagine that by 10AM it can be an hour or more long. Don't waste time in this line. Buy your combo (forum/coliseum/palentine) ticket at the Palentine Hill ticket office which is half a block south of the Coliseum. There is absolutely no line up there.

2. Vatican Museum tickets: The line up for the Vatican museum tickets can wrap around the Vatican wall... Again, I can't imagine how long the wait in this line is, but I would guess an hour or more. Buy your Vatican Museum tickets in advance online. I suggest picking the 2PM time slot for the day you are in port based on my walking itinerary below. Print the voucher out and take it with you. Proceed right inside without waiting in line and save valueable time.

3. Entrance to St. Peter's Basilica: This line is to clear security for St. Peter's Basilica and it can wrap all the way around St. Peter's square. This line up is probably visible from space! Even if you don't plan on going to the Vatican Museum, but still want to see St. Peter's Basilica, I would recommend buying Vatican Museum tickets online, swallow the added cost, and in doing so, you bypass both the museum and the Basilica line. Enjoy the museum (or breeze through it if it has no interest to you) and when you get to the Sistine Chapel, use the group tour exit to land yourself in the Basilica secured area without having to wait in the security line (since you already cleared security to enter the museum). At the back end of the Sistine chapel, there is the regular tourist exit on the left and the group tour exit on the right (with your back to the altar). Take the right exit. If there is security there, just blend into one of the tour groups there to get through. You will decend a long stair case and end up at the Cupola ticket line (short) which you can join if that's on your todo list or go down to the Basilica from there.

 

Walking tour - the most efficient way to see all the sights

 

There are plenty of alternates to this, and you can obviously plot your own route, but this particular itinerary and route was planned with a lot of thought and consideration. The primary goal was to cover all the key sights in one day without killiing ourselves. It assumes you can get off the ship around 7:30AM and don't need to be back on board until around 8PM. You may need to cut or adjust accordingly if your ship's time in port is different.

 

Besides seeing everything easily in a full day, it has a few other side benefits:

- You won't be among the massive crowds that opt to visit the Vatican in the morning (although I'm not sure they are any better in the afternoon when several ships are in port on the same day)

- You will avoid some walking late in the hottest part of the day when you are most tired

- You will see all the sites that have opening hours while they are open

- You will be able to skip the least important sights at the end of the day if you're short on time

- You will have a seat on the train back to the port at the end of the day

 

My recommended route is shown on the attached map.

 

The blue line represents a rough walking route, red lines represent metro travel

 

I'm not going to explain what these points of interest are. They either need no explanation or Google and Wikipedia are your friends in that regard.

 

1. Start by getting off the train at Roma Ostiense station.

2. Walk to Paramide metro station through the tunnel and ride to the next station, Circo Massimo

3. Walk up the street and notice Palantine Hill on your left... mid-block buy your combo ticket at their ticket office (see avoiding lineups above)

4. Proceed to the Arch of Constantine and the Coliseum

5. Enter the Coliseum without waiting in line as you already have a ticket

6. Head to the Forum and explore that using your combo ticket

7. Leave the forum via the north west corner and come around a large building there to get an excellent vantage point of the forum from above at street level

8. Head out front of the giant white marble monument to Victor Emmanuel II

9. Proceed to the Pantheon by zig zagging up the streets

10. Enjoy the Pantheon (free)

11. Head to Piazza Navona for lunch. If you followed this itinerary so far, you will probably arive here around noon and you will want to leave here around 1:15 or 1:30. There are lots of sidewalk cafes, arts and craft vendors in the square, amazing architecture and a few beautiful fountains.

12. After lunch (around 1:15 to 1:30), cross the bridge towards the Supreme Court building and then pass by the Castle of St. Angelo

13. Head towards the Vatican, but before entering the main square, turn North and head around the wall to the Vatican Museum Entrance. With your pre-purchased ticket in-hand, proceed directly inside without waiting in line. If you follow this itinerary, buy tickets for 2PM.

14. Enjoy (or not) the extremely crowded museum and Sistine chapel (there are some stunning rooms but they are hard to appreciate in thick crowds). Exit through the group entrance (see Avoiding lineups above)

15. Head up the Cupola (top of the Basilica). You can pay either 7-Euro for an elevator ride part ways (and climb 350 stairs) or 5-Euro to climb all 550 stairs. It's probably worth the extra 2-Euro to save your energy.

16. After the Cupola, you will end up in St. Peter's Basilica (see Avoiding Lineups above).

17. Head out through St. Peter's square and the main gate of the Vatican but turn north again and retrace your earlier route but instead of going to the Museum Entrance continue north a few blocks to the metro station.

18. Use your BIRG ticket for the Metro and Watch out for pickpockets - this is where they like to operate

19. At this point it will probably be around 4PM. If you still have time left in your day (see below about calculating what time you need to leave Rome), take the train to Spagna and complete the rest of the itinerary outlined below. If you are short on time, you can simply skip one or both of the last two points of interest and continue on the metro to Termini to catch the train back to port.

19. Exit the metro at the Spanish Steps. Good designer shopping is in this area if you prefer and have time.

20. Work your way to the Trevi Fountain.

21. Get back on the metro at the nearest station and head to Termini

22. Exit the Metro at the Termini train station.

 

Calculating when you need to leave Rome

 

Be sure to work backwards from your required back on board time, subtracting 15-20 minutes for getting from the train to the ship and subtracting the duration of the train ride. Then I would pick the train leaving before the last one that meets your schedule needs. This gives you some added buffer in case the train is late or something else happens. Of course, if you get to Termini earlier than planned, just take the next scheduled train.

 

Example:

Back on board: 8PM

Train to ship: 20 min

Train Ride: 65 min

Leave Rome by: 6:35PM

Last train before this: 6:28PM

Train before that: 6:00PM <- Shoot for this train

 

Returning to the Port

 

At Roma Termini station, check the monitors for the next train to Civi or talk to the ticket agents in the station. Your BIRG ticket covers your return trip. It may be a 10-15min walk from the main terminal to your train platform so be prepared if you are trying to catch a train that is leaving in minutes or are cutting it close to your required departure time.

 

Check train times using the Trenitalia site

 

Use stations Roma Termini and Civitavecchia (one way) for the date and approx time you desire

 

You will see a time table that shows the trains and the length of journey

You should find that trains run about every half hour or so around the end of the day.

 

Summary

 

We had a fabulous day, saw everything we wanted to without being stressed, and did so without spending much money at all.

 

I hope this helps and saves you from feeling like you need to spend a lot of money on a private/ship tour in order to see and enjoy everything.

 

Our total cost for this day was:

BIRG: 9

Combo ticket: 12

Vatican ticket: 14 (purchased in advance)

Cupola ticket: 7

= Total: 42-Euro per person plus food/drinks