Boats on the Tiber

I'm not so sure the boat trip on the Tiber will meet your expectations. Rome is not Paris or London, so the view from the boats is, well... often memorable for the wrong reasons. I'd recommend spending your time and money elsewhere.

Nah, don't waste your time or money. There is a lot of flotsam floating around in the Tiber (tires, soccer balls, trash...), and it has concrete walls so you can't see anything anyway.

It would be a huge mistake to pay for a boat ride on the Tiber. An even bigger mistake would be a dinner cruise. The river is dirty and sits well below the two concrete walls on either side.

Many thanks folks- that must be the reason RS does not mention this in his book.

We have an afternoon free(been to Colosseum, Borghese Gallery, Forum, Vatican(Museum & Church)Pantheon & National Museum by then. Is there much to see in the Trastevere area- we not explored this area in the 3 times we have been to Rome but will have dinner there one of the nights.

We ladies would probably like to shop around the Spanish Steps but the men would probably not enjoy that.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Trastavere is interesting for walking around, seeing a famous church, and dining out. On a RS tour a few years ago we taxied up the hill a mile or so to our lunch destination. The upper neighborhood near the restaurant was nice and more modern than most other parts of Rome. I walked along that side of the river to the Vatican on my first trip to Rome.

Some of the women on another tour went together on shopping trips. Free time is meant for individual activities. In Spain some tour members went off to the baths or a bullfight. Like other tours, you can take off on your own if you like. When I feel like skipping a meal or opting out of an activity, that's what I do. I figure "it's my vacation, so I'm going to make it suit me."

Shelley, now that you've changed topics (Trastevere instead of the Tiber), you might get better responses starting a new thread. As for the Tiber, you can take a tourist boat from there down to Ostia Antica but I've yet to hear anyone who enjoyed doing that. In Rome proper, the Tiber sits so far down below the city that it's not something you'd want to do.

I did enjoy the boat ride to Ostia Antica, but for very different reasons than most people. I wanted to experience, as close as I could, what it might have been like as an ancient traveler. There is nothing of antiquity along the river to view till you get to Ostia Antica and it is one of the most polluted rivers in the world, but you can get a sense of the distance, the climate and some of the plants and animals they must have also seen.

I always stay in Trastevere. There are tons of restaurants and a vibrant nightlife. The main drag is Via Lungaretta and from there you will find all sorts of bars and restaurants to choose from. The Santa Maria in Trastevere church is one of the oldest in Rome and is quite beautiful.

Walked along the Tiber last week. There really isn't much to see by walking it or by boat. Save you boat trip for somewhere else like Amalfi or CT or Venice.