Arrival Day in Rome - Family from USA

A fun way to be active is to go to Villa Borghese and rent a bici, see pictures and info here. There is a location right by the Zoo (Bioparco) and another by the National Museum of Modern Art. Just riding around the park is fun for an hour or so. Yo can also go to the Zoo to stay out of doors and in the light. These are not things people usually do on organized tours, and are fun for kids.

Just wanted to let you know, you shouldnt experience any jet lag if your traveling from the east coast to Italy. My wife and I traveled from California to Italy last month and had no jetlag whatsoever.

With the kids in tow, my answers are significantly different than they would be otherwise.

If the kids have not previously traveled abroad, half the fun (and challenge) of the first day will be to get their legs underneath them and have them feel comfortable when the tour starts. To do this, I would wander. Quite honestly, there is so much to take in just by wandering the back streets (pick a place like Piazza Novena where the streets are fairly easy to walk and the kids will recognize some of the stores). There is an absolutely amazing place for food/drink/gelato on the Piazza -- Ai Tre Tartufi. Prices aren't bad and it would give the kids a good experience. I know you said you may hit it on the tour, but the experience of sitting at a cafe would be fairly unique.

I would steer clear the first day of the very crowded areas (Colosseum, Vatican). It can be overwhelming for anyone, let alone teenagers that have never experienced it before. Also, like Disneyland, the crowded areas give you the most headaches (and chances for pickpockets!)

And, if you are just wandering, you don't need to tow the camera, the backpacks, etc....... Just enjoy the experience.

With respect to pizza places... Like gelato, there are four on every corner and they are a great place to grab a quick, cheap lunch.

I am in Rome right now, so feel free to msg me if you have any other questions....

We recently returned from Rome staying at St. Regis also not far from the Rail Termini. We agree the Villa Borghese park is an excellent way to spend the first day especially with children. You can rent bicycles. Very big park with rides and zoo for kids. It also has an excellent museum that probably is not on your RS itinerary. You must have reservations in advance for the museum. They are made in 2 hour time slots.The park was easy walking distance from our hotel. Not more than 15-20 minutes I think.

We encourage you to be as active as possible the first day and stay up as late as possible to your normal bedtime in Rome time. This will greatly minimize your jet lag. Then you may want to be a bit lazy on the second day before joining the tour. Going to bed early or napping the first day will result in jet lag.

FYI I carry a PacSAFE metrosafe G II man bag with Rfid safe and and other nifty anti-theft features. Holds camera ipad, passport, etc. In Europe 50% of men are carrying some type of bag. It is the norm unlike the states. We also take stuffbag backpacks that stuff into their own pouch. They are great for day trips with rain gear. Mine is Patagonia LWT pack, wife's is REI as it is smaller. If you do not want to travel with a huge DLSR the Sony RX100 II is amazing especially in low light conditions such as museums where you can not use.flash.Many Pros also carry this camera. Best in class.

ditto to Debby's post. My second choice and excellent is just to wander. Everything will be amazing to you and the kids. Seems like everyone has maps including Italians. You can't have too many gelato stops.

The previous commenters' ideas are excellent and what I would recommend as well.

Visiting the Villa Borghese Gardens is one of the things Rick recommends in the "Rome with Children" section of the Rome guidebook. Here is an excerpt on the gardens:

The sprawling Villa Borghese Gardens are Rome's version of New York City's Central Park. The best kids' zones are near Porta Pinciana, where you’ll find rental bikes, pony rides, and other amusements (Metro: Barberini, Spagna, or Flaminio). Summer weekends at the gardens, sure to be a hit with kids, include classic Roman puppet shows at Teatro dei Burattini. Rome's zoo, Bioparco, in the northeast section of the park, houses about 900 animals--including the endangered black lemur, pygmy hippopotamus, Gila monster, and painted hunting dog (free for kids "under 1 meter tall," €12 for kids over 1 meter and under age 12, €15 for adults, daily April-Oct 9:30-18:00, Nov-March 9:30-17:00, last entry one hour before closing, café and picnic areas, Piazzale del Giardino Zoologico 1, Metro: Spagna or Flaminio, then a 20-minute walk through the park, tel. 06-360-8211, www.bioparco.it).

I also think the idea of wandering around as an introduction to the city is a good one, and agree that the area around Piazza Navona is a good choice.

Below are some additional tips out of the "Rome with Children" section of Rick's Rome guidebook.

For a fun overview of the city, the topless double-decker 110open Bus tour offers a 1.5-hour swing past all of the major sights--and kids nine and under ride free.
The spooky tunnels of the catacombs are goblin-pleasers (the Catacombs of Priscilla offer half-off entry for kids 15 and under). The macabre Capuchin Crypt, decorated with bones, fascinates children and adults alike.
Ask at Rome's TIs about kid-friendly activities. TIs often have a helpful "kid's pack."
Public WCs are hard to find: Try museums, bars, gelato shops, and fast-food restaurants.
Give your kids a business card from your hotel, along with your contact information, just in case you get separated.
Any person under 39 inches tall travels free on Rome's public transit.

I was with my early-20s nephews and they thought the Vittorio Emmanuel Monument was very cool. We ran out of time before we could actually find the elevator to get to the top, so we missed that. We walked there from the Hotel Sonya near the Termini where we were meeting our Heart of Italy tour.

As I was reading your OP, my first thought was the same advice given by Stephanie....have each kid put a hotel business card in their pocket along with a few Euro. The hotel will no doubt also have maps they tear off from a pad at the front desk, so make sure the kids have one to get them started on how to navigate in the city.

As far as jet lag, your kids may do better than you! They will be so excited! What a wonderful way to create family memories.

I would be surprise if you didn't have a little jet lag. Very common for most people even from the east coast which is a six hour adjustment. On our first few trips with sons in that age range we tried the "gut it out it you drop." but it did not work for us. Couple with most restaurants not opening in the evening till 7 or even 8pm made for a very tired dinner. By accident we discovered that for us a quick nap in the range of 1 to 3, 2 till 4, was the key. We set the alarm for a max of two hours but we seen to wake up natural after about an hour and half. Just seems to recharge our batteries so we can have a pleasant dinner, walk an hour or so after dinner then hit the bed around 10, 11 which is our normal time. For us, this work so that the next we were functioning closer to European time.

Around Termini you have Santa Maria Maggiore to the south, Baths of Diocletian to the north. Or for a little more adventure, take the subway (Metro) from Termini to Circo Massimo stop. Big open park area and see the Baths of Caracalla - very impressive. From there you could walk along Circus Maxmus towards the river. Now you are about an hour, maybe 45 minutes walking back to Termini - no subway in the area. Or grab any bus headed to Termini. The great advantage to staying in the Termini is that a lot of bus go to Termini and they say so on the front which makes it easy. If you are going to that buy your bus tickets in Termini. When you get on the bus find the validation machine (time stamp) on a pole near the door and stamp you tickets. There is a huge TI on the south side of Termini that can provide bus information, tickets, other suggestions, etc.

Ville Borghese is a good suggestion for a park but it much more than a 15 min walk for the Termini. It is closer to an hour.

Suggestion for pac-saf packs, RIFD protectors, etc., is little over the top in my opinion. Use reasonable precautions - money belt, etc. - and you will be fine. Good luck.

If you are staying in a tour hotel in the Termini area. It could well be Hotel Sonya. Our favorite hotel with a great pizza place about four blocks south

Your kids will sleep on the airplane -- the younger ones more than the older time, and the flights are during the overnight hoiurs. You and your husband will be more tired than the kids. (I took my 11 year old granddaughter to Paris last year, and she had no problem!)

Since the plane arrives very early I'd take the kids to Campo di Fiori! It's truly beautiful with the flower vendors, and they sell souvenirs of all kinds too, as well as "spreads" and T-shirts, etc.

The others recs regarding Borghese are good as well. Then, there's always the safe "hop on hop off" red bus that will give all of you a great overview of Rome. I usually take a 2 hour nap on arrival -- with a wake up call! It usually works for me, and gets me acclimated to the time zone quicker. That way I can stay up till 9 or 10 and awaken the second day on "Italy time"

Almost forgot, there are also segway tours that are lots of fun, but you don't want to do that if it's raining. Trip Advisor people rave about them for families. Don't know if they'll take you 9 year old though.Extended school year probably because of snow!

Thank you very much for the replies and suggestions -- exactly what I was looking for. The Campo di Fiori and the Borghese are both great ideas. The kids have been involved in the planning and think that renting bikes looks like fun (we do a lot of biking at home). We will have to check out the area to make sure it is safe for bike riding as we are not used to city life -- let alone city biking. I was looking at the catacombs tour but the kids did not seem very interested. I think we are going to mainly wander and explore the area.

We are going to be very flexible that first day and we will play the "jet lag" as it comes. While we are planning on powering through the day, we will go back and do a quick nap if truly needed. My husband and I are much better suited to deal with sleep deprivation - we are pros! -- but the kids may need that nap to make it through the late Italian dinners. If they are still going strong, our plan is to walk it off and get an early, quick dinner (6-7pm) and then turn in early (8-9 pm) for the night.

If there are any other suggestions for walks, destinations, or sights to see (especially for older children, teens) please keep them coming. Many thanks.

So, I have a "piggy back" question - I guess I can start a new thread if needed. We are now all very excited about visiting the Villa Borghese - seems like the perfect arrival day destination. Thank you for the recommendation. After some more online searching, we are now interested in also seeing the Borghese Gallery Museum. There seem to be tickets available for our arrival day in June and also our second morning prior to meeting up with our tour. We have to prepurchase tickets and I am unsure about making the commitment for our arrival day.

We are not sure how long it will take to arrrive, clear immigration, arrive and check in to hotel, etc... We do not anticipate any flight delays (does anyone??) but they are common. We are not sure how the jet lag will impact our day. With all of the uncertainty of arrival day we are hesitant to purchase tour tickets that lock us into a day and time in advance. We were thinking of purchasing the first tickets of the day (9am) for the following morning. It seems like a easy enough walk from our hotel that we could take in the park and gardens on arrival day and return for the gallery the following morning. Are we on target?

I'd make the reservations for the following day. Make SURE you arrive 30 minutes prior to the reservation time. They are strict about how many get in, and you are only allotted a certain amount of time inside the museum. They will make you leave your purse, etc. in a checked area. It is perfectly safe, don't worry, I just didn't want you to be surprised. They will give you a claim ticket to retrieve it after the museum visit. The Borghese is absolutely stunning! Ask at your hotel desk how long it will take to walk there, just to be sure not to be late. I still think the hop on hop off bus is a good thing the arrival day :-) But you can decide that when you arrive. No need to buy the tickets in advance.

I totally agree with the previous comments of many posters. My husband and I made late afternoon reservations at the Borghese Gallery the day we arrived in Italy, and then wandered around the park afterwards. It was a great way to acclimate to Italy. We stayed at Hotel Sonya's sister property, also near termini. A pizza place 4 blocks south was also mentioned in a previous post, and I second the recommendation. We ate there our first and last nights in Italy. Buon Appetitio.

A couple of things to add based on our experience with two sons.
1. We never plan anything rigid for the day of arrival. Time lines are very had to keep. Too many variables. In general international flights have a good on-time record, once on the ground who knows? Last time in Rome, it took us over two hours to clear immigrations.

2. An early dinner at 6 pm may be hard to find other than a quick food place. Most restaurants, even pizza, will not to 7 pm or later.
3. While we are big fans on the hop on/off buses we don't do there the first day. Sitting in a swaying bus seat will put us to sleep in about ten minutes.
4. Someone posted that the kids will sleep fine which is true IF you can get them to ignore the activity on the plane. Given the excitement of the trip, they probably will not. The airline goes through a routine of service, and dinner, and movies that is designed to keep you occupies during the long flight. Without the kids, we will get on the plane, use eye shades, ear plugs and ignore everything. The boys were eager to watch movies, play games, etc., so they rarely got much sleep on the way over.

I will add something else. There is a small grocery store in the Termini. I suggest you also pick up some water and other beverages, plus some snacks (crackers/cookies/chips) in case people get hungry at odd times during the night or wake up way before breakfast is served. There are also a number of fruit carts around on the streets which have fruit, lol, but also some boxes of cookies and usually Ritz crackers. If you are at the Hotel Sonya, there was a small grocery store across from there but it was not open last year when I was there.

Does anyone care to part with the name of the pizza place near the Sonya?

Ricci Est Est Est Pizzeria is the one I was thinking of. It's in the Italy guidebook.

Thanks! I appreciate it.

Ya, it is up a dead end alley off of a dark side street. If it is dark you will think twice about walking in that alley but it is worth it. There is a Chinese place on the other side of the alley which we may be tempted to try the next time. It is really off the tourist beat.

Yep, that's the one! We thought it was humorous there was a Chinese restaurant across the street.

I have never eaten Chinese in Italy so I have always wondered what the Italian version of Chinese would be like. We may do it next trip.

We thought the same thing too! Maybe the next time we go. That's why you throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain, right?

Na, just a whole roll of pennies. Make a splash like rain drops. My wife insists, no matter the time, of always walking by the fountain on the last night.