Itinerary for 5 nights in Rome?

[NCteacherlovescruising]

I planned out most of our vacation last summer, made several changes along the way, then I went back to work and have been crazy busy and just left the final plans hanging. 
 

Now that we’re trying to get all the details sorted out, one thing I’m having trouble deciding on is our 5 nights in Rome. Too much to do and not enough days!  

Day 1 - We’re staying at Albergo del Senato so thought we’d visit the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, walk around whatever is near our hotel and go out for a nice dinner.  
 

Day 2 - We have a private tour of the Colosseum, forum and Palatine Hill 

 

Day 3 - Private tour of the Vatican and Sistine Chapel

 

Day 4 - Thinking about doing a wine tour to Tuscany. Sounds nice to have a relaxing day after 2 days doing a lot of walking. 

 

Day 5 - day trip to Florence or stay in Rome?  I’d love to visit Florence but are there any must sees in Rome we would have to miss to do this?  Also, isn’t Florence where they make the nice, leather bags?  I’d like to purchase a purse, belt, and perhaps gloves while we’re there.  
 

The tours days 2 and 3 are in the morning. What would be a good to do in the evenings?

 

When should we fit in the Trevi Fountain?  Super early before our tours on day 2 or 3, or one evening? 
 

Day 6 - Joe Bananas is picking us up at our hotel early to take us to Pompeii for a 2 hour guided tour, then off to our hotel in Amalfi. 

 

 

[Gourmet Gal]

Can’t answer most of your questions but wondering who you booked for the private Colosseum tour?

 

As for Tuscany and Florence, I would combine them into an overnight trip, otherwise you're spending a lot of time traveling.  Better yet, concentrate on Rome and plan another trip to Tuscany.  I spent a week in Florence, two weeks in Tuscany and still didn’t do everything.  The leather in Florence is really nothing special but the Ferragamo museum is fun if you love shoes!  I wouldn’t go to Florence just for the leather.

 

And Trevi fountain is worth 10 minutes.

Edited February 24 by Gourmet Gal

[NCteacherlovescruising]

10 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Can’t answer most of your questions but wondering who you booked for the private Colosseum tour?

 

As for Tuscany and Florence, I would combine them into an overnight trip, otherwise you're spending a lot of time traveling.  Better yet, concentrate on Rome and plan another trip to Tuscany.  I spent a week in Florence, two weeks in Tuscany and still didn’t do everything.  The leather in Florence is really nothing special but the Ferragamo museum is fun if you love shoes!  I wouldn’t go to Florence just for the leather.

 

And Trevi fountain is worth 10 minutes.

Our tours are booked with Marissa at Rome with Marissa.com. We wouldn’t be going to Florence just for leather goods, just something I wanted to do while we were there. I’ve always wanted to visit a beautiful winery in Tuscany so we’re just debating on a private or group tour to do so and if we should spend our last day in Rome or Florence. We would lose our Pantheon view room in Rome if we split the week and did an overnight trip to Florence. We can skip Florence if it would be too much traveling. 

[marazul]

2 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

When should we fit in the Trevi Fountain?  Super early before our tours on day 2 or 3, or one evening? 

It is between the hotel and the Spanish steps.  Plot a walking route using google maps.  Go in the afternoon of Day 2 or 3.  You can also add Piazza del Popolo and Mausoleo de Augusto.

 

The other afternoon you could go to Castel Sant'Angelo. (Same side of the river as the Vatican.)

 

In the other direction near the hotel: Pantheon, the church of San Luigi dei Francesi (Caravaggio paintings), Piazza Navona, Campo de Fiori, Piazza Farnese.

Roscioli Salumeria e Cucina is near the Campo de Fiori.

[Gourmet Gal]

27 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Our tours are booked with Marissa at Rome with Marissa.com. We wouldn’t be going to Florence just for leather goods, just something I wanted to do while we were there. I’ve always wanted to visit a beautiful winery in Tuscany so we’re just debating on a private or group tour to do so and if we should spend our last day in Rome or Florence. We would lose our Pantheon view room in Rome if we split the week and did an overnight trip to Florence. We can skip Florence if it would be too much traveling. 

Believe me, the location and Pantheon view are the only thing going for that hotel.  Maybe I’ve traveled too much but once you’ve seen something IMHO no need to see it again and time to move on.  Anyway, can you do Tuscany/Florence at the beginning of your trip?  If not, start in Rome, go to Tuscany and come back to Rome and stay in a different area.  Still, a lot of travel.

 

Thanks for the info on your guide.

[Gourmet Gal]

1 hour ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Our tours are booked with Marissa at Rome with Marissa.com. We wouldn’t be going to Florence just for leather goods, just something I wanted to do while we were there. I’ve always wanted to visit a beautiful winery in Tuscany so we’re just debating on a private or group tour to do so and if we should spend our last day in Rome or Florence. We would lose our Pantheon view room in Rome if we split the week and did an overnight trip to Florence. We can skip Florence if it would be too much traveling. 

Believe me, the location and Pantheon view are the only thing going for that hotel.  Maybe I’ve traveled too much but once you’ve seen something IMHO no need to see it again and time to move on.  Anyway, can you do Tuscany/Florence at the beginning of your trip?  If not, start in Rome, go to Tuscany and come back to Rome and stay in a different area.  Still, a lot of travel.

 

Thanks for the info on your guide. It’s actually RomewithMarisa.com.

[cruisemom42]

Rick Steves has a walk through central Rome (self-guided tour) in his book. It covers Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and more. I would take this and do it on your Day one (arrival).

 

If you do a wine trip to Tuscany and a day in Florence you are backtracking. Really no reason to spend the night in Rome if you are in Tuscany one day and then going back to Florence the next...

 

I am also concerned because you do both Tuscany and Florence, you're really only spending 2.5 days in Rome. 

 

If you want to shop for leather, there are ample opportunities in Rome. The area around your hotel is full of little shops, some of which carry Italian leather goods.

 

And you can't go wrong, if you want gloves, buying them at Sermoneta in Rome, a store that's been around for decades and sells quality leather gloves, most of them made in Italy. They have expanded globally but their first and flagship store is in the small piazza across from the Spanish Steps. I bought gloves there years ago and it is a real experience as they sit your down, measure you, and bring you boxes of gloves to try on.

 

 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

5 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

Rick Steves has a walk through central Rome (self-guided tour) in his book. It covers Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and more. I would take this and do it on your Day one (arrival).

 

If you do a wine trip to Tuscany and a day in Florence you are backtracking. Really no reason to spend the night in Rome if you are in Tuscany one day and then going back to Florence the next...

 

I am also concerned because you do both Tuscany and Florence, you're really only spending 2.5 days in Rome. 

 

If you want to shop for leather, there are ample opportunities in Rome. The area around your hotel is full of little shops, some of which carry Italian leather goods.

 

And you can't go wrong, if you want gloves, buying them at Sermoneta in Rome, a store that's been around for decades and sells quality leather gloves, most of them made in Italy. They have expanded globally but their first and flagship store is in the small piazza across from the Spanish Steps. I bought gloves there years ago and it is a real experience as they sit your down, measure you, and bring you boxes of gloves to try on.

 

 

Thanks!  I will check it out. 
 

Another option is to fly into Florence first and hit Tuscany on the way back to Rome, canceling the first night in Rome. Would this give us adequate time to see the main attractions in Rome?  Our direct flight from Charlotte is to Munich and we haven’t booked the flight from Munich to Rome yet.  The main things I want to see are booked with our tour guide, although this would cause us to need to change our dates with her, and then the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. 

[Gourmet Gal]

 Neither Trevi Fountain nor Spanish Steps are places where you would spend more than 15 minutes each.  Honestly if I had only 5 days I would do Florence/Tuscany or Rome, especially since you’re heading on down the coast.  Which cruise will you be joining?

[NCteacherlovescruising]

23 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

 Neither Trevi Fountain nor Spanish Steps are places where you would spend more than 15 minutes each.  Honestly if I had only 5 days I would do Florence/Tuscany or Rome, especially since you’re heading on down the coast.  Which cruise will you be joining?

I guess we might as well not try to get to Florence this trip.  We are cruising from Athens to Venice.

 

Edited February 24 by NCteacherlovescruising

[marazul]

Actually,that is a very good suggestion. Fly from Munich to Florence. You will probably arrive early in the morning. Enjoy the say and evening there. Next day do your wine tour with one of two options:  bring your luggage on the tour and have the tour either take you to Rome or take you to a train station for a train to Rome (Siena or Florence). Evening in Rome.

[Gourmet Gal]

That’s a scramble but could be done…with the connection though, realistically, how early could you arrive in Firenze and how awake will you be?  I don’t usually plan anything my first day in Europe.

[cruisemom42]

6 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I guess we might as well not try to get to Florence this trip.  We are cruising from Athens to Venice.

 

 

It's a call that is ultimately up to you but as I may have said during your previous planning discussions, I still feel you're trying to squeeze 10 lbs into a 5 lb bag when it comes to how many places you can see. 

 

Whenever I've traveled, the places I've liked best are the ones where I have had enough time to get beyond the mad scramble of "oh today I have to be A, B, C, and D and all before lunch".

[NCteacherlovescruising]

I’ve taken everything you all said into consideration, slept on it, and discussed with my husband. We are going to stick with our current plan of staying in Rome 5 nights and doing a day trip to Tuscany. We will skip Florence this time. There are many areas of Italy left for us to see and we hope to return. @cruisemom42 While we take many vacations around the states where we stay somewhere for an extended period of time, when we travel outside the states it’s typically on a cruise where we get a snapshot of several places. For instance, over Easter we’ve rented a home in the mountains for a week. 
 

I greatly appreciate all the help everyone here has provided! 

[Thisguylikestocruise]

Rome at night is beautiful. If there’s ever a question what to do, just strolling around seeing the various fountains, Coliseum, Piazza Navona lit up at night is worth it. Spanish steps are massively overrated IMO. When I go back I plan on not seeing the steps at all. 
 

Consider the Baths Of Caracalla in Rome, they tower over you and it’s pretty impressive.

 

Another place to see is Ostia Antica outside Rome, it’s an old port city and the ruins are in great shape. It’s fun walking around. 

Edited February 25 by Thisguylikestocruise

[marazul]

For the 5th day you could also visit the Villa d'Este and Hadrian's palace just outside of Rome.

[Gourmet Gal]

3 hours ago, Thisguylikestocruise said:

Rome at night is beautiful. If there’s ever a question what to do, just strolling around seeing the various fountains, Coliseum, Piazza Navona lit up at night is worth it. Spanish steps are massively overrated IMO. When I go back I plan on not seeing the steps at all. 
 

Consider the Baths Of Caracalla in Rome, they tower over you and it’s pretty impressive.

 

Another place to see is Ostia Antica outside Rome, it’s an old port city and the ruins are in great shape. It’s fun walking around. 

Ostia Antica is great and you may not feel you must see Pompei after a good tour there.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

3 hours ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Ostia Antica is great and you may not feel you must see Pompei after a good tour there.

Not sure what this is. Will need to look it up but dh wants to see Pompeii. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

We’ve now booked all our air and we are not planning on visiting Florence this trip. I have transfers booked from Rome to Amalfi (with Pompeii tour) and Amalfi to Naples, where we’re just spending one day then flying to Athens. Now my questions. From the airport in Rome would it be cheaper to take a taxi to our hotel or book Joe Banana again (they are $109). And from our hotel in Naples just take a taxi to the airport?  Is that something our hotel could arrange?  
 

I have no idea what we will do on our last day in Rome but I will investigate your suggestions. I have some places on a list as well, just nothing I felt was a must do. I feel like we could even wait until we get there to decide as long as we don’t want to book a tour. 
 

update: Google says a taxi is 48 euros. Sound right?  
 

Edited February 25 by NCteacherlovescruising

[Gourmet Gal]

We use Rome in Limo in Italy for transfers.  Excellent but don’t really know about pricing.  I’ve been warned about sketchy cabbies though.  Your hotel can always arrange transfers for you and will usually be the most expensive option.

Edited February 25 by Gourmet Gal

[marazul]

22 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

We’ve now booked all our air and we are not planning on visiting Florence this trip. I have transfers booked from Rome to Amalfi (with Pompeii tour) and Amalfi to Naples, where we’re just spending one day then flying to Athens. Now my questions. From the airport in Rome would it be cheaper to take a taxi to our hotel or book Joe Banana again (they are $109). And from our hotel in Naples just take a taxi to the airport?  Is that something our hotel could arrange?  
 

I have no idea what we will do on our last day in Rome but I will investigate your suggestions. I have some places on a list as well, just nothing I felt was a must do. I feel like we could even wait until we get there to decide as long as we don’t want to book a tour. 
 

update: Google says a taxi is 48 euros. Sound right?  
 

Good plans. You can wait until you sre there to decide what to do with your extra time. The hotel can even help you book something while you are there, like going to Villa d'Este.

The taxi from the airport to central Rome is about 50 euros. It is a fixed rate. Also check the Stefano's Rome Cabs website for their prices.  romecabs.com 

In Naples have the hotel call you a taxi.

And let us know how you enjoyed your trip. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

10 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

We use Rome in Limo in Italy for transfers.  Excellent but don’t really know about pricing.  I’ve been warned about sketchy cabbies though.  Your hotel can always arrange transfers for you and will usually be the most expensive option.

I’ve sent them an inquiry but haven’t received a response yet. 

4 minutes ago, marazul said:

Good plans. You can wait until you sre there to decide what to do with your extra time. The hotel can even help you book something while you are there, like going to Villa d'Este.

The taxi from the airport to central Rome is about 50 euros. It is a fixed rate. Also check the Stefano's Rome Cabs website for their prices.  romecabs.com 

In Naples have the hotel call you a taxi.

And let us know how you enjoyed your trip. 

Stefano’s is 75 euro. Would there be a reason to use them or a private transfer over a taxi?  Are taxis lined up outside the airport?

[marazul]

2 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I’ve sent them an inquiry but haven’t received a response yet. 

Stefano’s is 75 euro. Would there be a reason to use them or a private transfer over a taxi?  Are taxis lined up outside the airport?

Taxis are lined up outside the airport.

We have always used Stefano's because of their excellent service, but there is no reason not to use a taxi.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

14 minutes ago, marazul said:

Taxis are lined up outside the airport.

We have always used Stefano's because of their excellent service, but there is no reason not to use a taxi.

If there’s a reason to upgrade we would be open to it. We’re doing several private transfers on this trip. We are sharing a minivan and private water taxi with another couple going from Trieste to Venice as well. We don’t mind paying for security and convenience. 

[marazul]

36 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

If there’s a reason to upgrade we would be open to it. We’re doing several private transfers on this trip. We are sharing a minivan and private water taxi with another couple going from Trieste to Venice as well. We don’t mind paying for security and convenience. 

We prefer the convenience of the transfer and the nicer vehicle, but I think the taxi would be just fine.  

We do take taxis for short rides in Rome with no issues.