My son and I (16) will be heading to Rome (3 nights) Cortona (1 night) Florence (2 nights) Venice (2nights) in March over spring break. First time and life long dream! I want to take guided tours with small groups. I don't know if I should buy the Roma Pass if I go with a tour group. Also, all tour groups look good on the Internet, so how do I choose? Should I arrange my tour of the coliseum prior to arriving at the coliseum , or are there tour guides standing by outside?
Same with the Vatican? I guess in general. I like to plan things in advance, but we arrive at 7AM and I am not sure how much energy we will have with little to no sleep. I wanted to follow Rick Steve's 3 days in Rome, Florence and Venice, so any help about chosing tours would be helpful. Thank you.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8158 posts
Sue: You really need to read some tour guides, like Rick Steves' Italy. These subjects are covered. Check your local library for travel books. Another great source for information about Rome and Italy in general is RonInRome.com. It's unfortunate that your flight gets in so early. Just take your time getting through customs and taking the Leonardo Express train into Rome. It'll probably be late morning before you get to your hotel. They may let your store your luggage and come back check in time. Then, it's nap time until supper. The first day in Europe is basically a waste, as is the last day before you leave.
When visiting Rome, you should figure out quickly how to negotiate the mass transit system. Riding buses and the subway will greatly save you footsteps.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
8947 posts
The one thing you shouldn't do is nap until dinner time. The best suggested way to get over jet lag is simply to go outside and walk in the sun, and go to bed early that evening. Arrival day does not have to be a waste. If you simply must nap, make it only an hour, and then get up and get outside. Customs in Europe is a nothing. All you have is passport control, pick up your luggage if you have checked it and then walk out. If you arrive at 07:00, you have a nice long day for sightseeing. The coffee in Italy is great, so have a few cups to rev up your energy and enjoy your day in Rome.
Posted by
Denver
787 posts
One factor about taking guided tours is then you're committed in advance to doing that tour at a specific time on a specific day, with no flexibility if you change you mind, or perhaps a rainy day makes you want to spend that day at a museum, rather than out in the rain. Consider using a guide book's walking tour of the Colosseum or the Vatican - Rick Steves' are actually pretty good for both places. (I'm compulsive and really into history, so I usually use two guide books.) Yes, there are tour guides standing outside the colosseum and the Vatican, but you then have no idea as to the quality, ability or knowledge of that guide. If you decide to visit the Vatican museums with a guide book, definitely buy your tickets in advance - you'll then be able to skip the very long line to enter.
Posted by
Truro, NS, Canada
3941 posts
What Jo said...all our flights over
(to Heathrow) leave at 11:30pm, getting us into London at about 7:30am (we are lucky as we only have 4 or 5 hr diff depending on time of year...they didn't jigger with daylight savings time) so we don't have jetlag as bad. But really, we maybe get a few hrs sleep on the plane...you just gotta hit the ground running, and go to bed early the 1st night. First day doesn't have to be a waste...just do some walking and sightseeing and take it easy...(but I will say our 2nd trip we arrived morning...actually flew thru Nfld and arrived 6:30 am, caught the Eurostar to Paris - I rem approximately 20 min of the train...I was totally zonkered for the whole thing!) When we did the coliseum, we had just bought a Roma pass, but we joined up with a tour guide outside (totally unplanned). The pass got us free admission, we still paid for the tour (either way you can bypass the line)...also included a short guided tour of Palatine hil...we thought it was worth it. If you don't want to pay for a tour guide and have an ipod or smartphone, there are great Rick Steves walking tours app avail...we used his St Marks Basilica, St MArks Sq in Veince, as well as Accademia tour in Florence...fun, informative, free! Will def be using them next trip.