Family trip

Two nights in Rome does not equal 2 1/2 days. It equals one full day and two partial days. Find two nights to add to Rome or it will be a blur.

Not much time in Rome.
We are planning to spend a week in Umbria in the near future.
I think that I would skip Cinque Terre and spend more time in Rome.
Donkey trek! Do you ride the donkey's?

If you're already locked into the dates for your 5-night donkey trek, then you already know that your time in Rome will be extremely limited. There is so much to see and do in Rome, you will want to narrow it down to the sights that are absolute top priority for you.

Especially with kids, you never know how much time it will actually take to get to a certain destination and appreciate its points of interest. I would sit down with a city map that shows the transit lines, and stake out your top priorities. Then you can add optional sights that are near your top-priority sights. If things are going smoothly and you have the time, include an optional sight.

In case you're not already familiar with Rome's public transport options, see https://www.rome.net/transportation
With a family of 5, in some cases you may actually save money by taking a taxi versus paying for bus tickets. However, if you're going to be going all around the city during your short stay, check out the transit day pass (BIG) and 3-day tourist pass (BTI).

Thank you for all the responses! 🙏it’s exciting to get info from fellow travellers.
I thought as much Rome too short. I said 2 1/2 days as we arrive early morn and can drop bags. Obviously jet lag so I thought just one sight and exploring Monti where we stay. Luckily this is close to many things. Then we have the next full day and leave mid pm on the 3rd day ( again are able to leave bags for the bulk of the day)
The donkey trek is a bit random but we are walkers and the kids animal lovers. We have a night before we trek and a night after so that’s why 5 nights. We walk through little villages over hills approx 15 km day. We stay in family run hotels along the way which have stables for our donkeys. We do this on our own. No guide only the first day to help us get started! Only my son could ride the donkey. We have 2 donkeys and take few belongings which they carry some of. It’s an experience I hoped they’d enjoy and feel achievement from ..... but the cop out is less time in Rome . I could set all back a night I’ll try . Where would you suggest losing a night further along the track. Cinque Terre? Again we want to do lots of walking there and really feel the villages not rush.
Might be useful if any of you can suggest priorities to see in Rome.? It is late September.
I’m wishing I booked us to go 2 days earlier now! But it was all about flight prices too.

I'd absolutely reduce some time in the CT + eliminate San Gimignano to add time to Rome. However you're trying to mentally stretch the time you've given it, it's not nearly enough. It's a big, very old city with a LOT to see, and it involves a lot of walking to explore well.

The donkey trek might not be all that much fun on a rainy day but we'll hope that doesn't happen!

Thanks Kathy
I’ll see what I can do thanks for your opinion.
Im not mentally stretching time in Rome I was just outlining the time we have as that’s what it is. It’s not arriving one afternoon one day then leaving next morning .... but I agree it’s not enough. We couldn’t do 6 days there it wouldn’t work for us. I’ll think about moving things by reducing cinque Terre.... the donkey trek doesn’t worry is if it rains... we are prepared. It won’t be a sight seeing experience more a cultural experience and my kids will get the feels of that.

Have you spent extended time on horses or donkeys? I am remembering a trip to Utah with my three kids where we went on a horse tour in the mountains. It wasn’t much more for the four hour tour than the two hour so we went for it.

Frankly it all lost its charm after about 1.5 hours and we would have paid to get off those horses.

I frankly am not sure that days on the back of donkeys will be quite what you hope it will be.

Beth, she said "Only my son could ride the donkey." I assume she meant the youngest. Sounds like the rest will hike on foot and they'll be using the 2nd donkey (there are only 2) to pack along some of their belongings.

Just to clarify we won’t ride donkeys
Only Hugo if he is tired. We will have little luggage for those few days and the donkeys will help carry that. We love to hike and meet locals and are walkers . We have read many wonderful reviews on this hike and we stay in lovely family fun authentic hotels with swimming pools and restaurants. We wanted our kids to have some kind of off the path adventure away from the tourists and my kids will enjoy caring for the donkeys those few days
I’m more interested in comments about time in Rome.

I’m more interested in comments about time in Rome.

OK, so what do you want to see or do as a family in Rome? We can't make suggestions without knowing what appeals to all of you. We also need to know what time of year you'll be traveling? If you only have one full day (as your plan is currently) then your options are somewhat limited. It's also important which day of the week that is as not ALL attractions are open every day.

Sorry, I know this sounds like I'm asking for a lot of details but for the very little time you're giving Rome, it matters.

Hi thanks Kathy

If I don’t extend Rome this is how it goes
We arrive on a Wednesday morning ( in 6 weeks time) at 6.30 am and leave on the Friday afternoon at 4 pm.
We are in Monti and dropping bags at 8.30 am
We will do 1 or 2 sites that day as will be tired. For our time in Rome The colosseum and Roman forum ( maybe Capitoline museums as I believe near here) is a definite and the Spanish steps and fountain. Archaeology interests my husband and son so I wondered about the church Basilica of San Clemente. Have you been there? I would love to climb Palatine hill if we had time. Have you done this?

The Vatican City , Sistine chapel appeal very much but I think that’s needing more time so maybe the pantheon instead.
Open to any suggestions . Architecture and churches appeal to my husband . Both of us visited Rome 25 years ago so we imagine sone changes. Obviously with kids good gelato and pizza a must so I’ll go on our hosts recommendations for that!

As a hiking, outdoorsy kind of guy, I think the donkey trek sounds really cool.

Thank you for your comment Dave! I’m realising it’s not for everyone from comments on this forum but it suits our Aussie family I’m sure as we do like to hike and explore. Might not be all smooth and easy but that’s part of the adventure right?

Archaeology interests my husband and son so I wondered about the
church Basilica of San Clemente. Have you been there?

Yes I've done it and I'd definitely include that one if one has an interest in Roman history/archeology. The current church - well worth seeing itself - is just the tip of that iceberg! There is a fee for touring the subterranean levels.

http://www.basilicasanclemente.com/eng/index.php/informations/excavations

I would love to climb Palatine hill if we had time. Have you done
this?

I'm not exactly sure what you're asking here? The Palatine - which yes, I have done - is part of the Colosseum/Forum/Palatine complex and involves a ticket to see. Most tickets to the Colosseum include entry to the Forum/Palatine as well but in what order depends on what sort of ticket or tour you have.

This is a rather complicated subject and time can be of the essence for buying Colosseum tours/tickets as certain of them sell out very quickly. Budget also comes into play as well: tour prices vary depending on just HOW much of the Colosseum you want to see, and if you want a guide for all three archeological sites. I might recommend the latter option if one has a keen interest in archeology/history as the Forum and Palatine, especially, are complex sites that benefit from a knowledgeable guide.

ONE CAUTION: as you are researching your options for the Colosseum/Palatine/Forum, do not use a guidebook for gathering your ticketing/tour info, and be careful of just how old online info - even on these forums - can be. There have been many, many changes to tours/ticketing options for these three sites this past year so there's a LOT of outdated info out there. There could be even more changes coming for 2020. This is the official website and best source for most CURRENT info:

https://www.coopculture.it/en/heritages.cfm?id=3&id_c=58091

Tours provided by independent companies - such as Walks Of Italy, The Roman Guy, Context, Dark Rome, etc. are also available.

The colosseum and Roman forum ( maybe Capitoline museums as I believe
near here) is a definite and the Spanish steps and fountain

The Spanish Steps and Trevi fountain are merely walk-bys: do those on arrival day as trying to do museums or major archeological sites in a jet-lagged state is not advised. Suggestion? Many guidebooks, including Rick's, provide self-guided walking tours. These are good fresh-air activities for staying awake and also for getting your bearings in the Eternal City.

Whenever you might choose to do them, your other children may not find the Capitoline Museums all that interesting. Some of the many churches posters found interesting are listed in this thread:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/churches-in-rome