Family Trip To Italy-First Time In Europe

Order or buy the RS Italy guide book. Loads of pertinent information that would help you define an itinerary.

Have to agree about checking the site here for information on Rome and general travel tips, get a RS book or two and watch his videos on travel, packing, and attitudes.

That being said with 6 nights you are right to stay in one place and think about day trips. Florence is about 1.5 hours by fast train from Rome and could easily fill a whole day. Pompeii can be long day from Rome - especially because the site itself is so big and takes a lot of walking. If you decide it's too long Ostia Antica is a much closer possibility. But you get to decide what your "must sees" are plan for those and look into buying tickets ahead for time for those that you can,

Forget about driving - the train is faster, much cheaper and will help you keep your sanity.

Hope that helps, have a great trip!
=Tod

I googled your hotel location, it’s close to the Vatican but far from everything else. I wouldn’t stay there. Look for a hotel in the area between the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and Via del Corso. I don’t think you need those tours, you can buy tickets online to most attractions without waiting in line. You need to be careful to buy from the real websites, not 3rd parties. With only 5.5 days, I would skip Pompei. If you go Florence, take the train. Walk around the Duomo, Piazza della Signoria, Ponte Vecchio area. Go up the Duomo for a great view. The Uffizi Gallery is the best museum but you may not have enough time to see it, so maybe go to the Accademia Gallery instead as it’s smaller.

Here is Rick Steves suggested itineraries for Rome over various days. You can use this as a template to customize it for your interests.

https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/rome-itinerary

Florence itinerary/must sees:
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/florence-itinerary

It is better (and less stressful) to take trains in Italy. Use the Trenitalia and Italotreno websites to look up schedules and prices.

https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html

https://www.italotreno.it/en

I agree when people say Pompeii is a long day trip but i have done it 3x, most recently last October. My mom and I caught the 740 train to Napoli Centrale and took the Circumvensia to Pompeii (packed shoulder to shoulder on the latter). Prebooked tickets to avoid the line, which was a good plan. We probably were in there by 10am and didn't leave until 6pm. Very long day but saw practically everything. Couldn't get a train back until 830, which put us like 10pm+ back to our AirBnB.

If you want to do it, leave early. I'd pre-book the return trip too, much cheaper that way. And do your research on where to go in Pompeii. There's a pdf with descriptions of most sites. Pick the ones you want to see, mark on the map, and bring the description pdf on your phone. Otherwise you're just wandering aimlessly and don't know what you're looking at.

Regarding your hotel location, it's in the Prati district. While removed from the larger tourist attractions, it's also less touristed. We were just one block off of Viale Giulio Cesare and enjoyed that area very much. I will note that we are also hearty walkers - were in our 50's on that trip - and hoofed it everywhere; from our accommodation down to the Colosseum, to the Vatican, through Villa Borghese, etc. Rome is such an interesting city to experience from the sidewalks and backstreets!

There are two metro stops for Line A along Viale Giulio Cesare: Lepanto and Ottaviano: Ottaviano is scheduled to close at some point this spring for work related to the 2025 Jubilee. Spagna, near the Spanish Steps, will also close and the metro trains won't stop at either of them during the renovation work. Lepanto, also on Line A along V. Giulio Cesare, will be unaffected as will Cipro, nearer the Vatican. As closure dates haven't been posted yet, it's possible that won't happen until May. Even if it does - and the metro lines don't service the heart of the historic center anyway - there are always your two feet or buses. :O)

You will only have 5 full days in Rome - arrival day is a partial that doesn't usually count due to potential jet lag - so I'd go easy on the day trips. No, do not rent a car: take the trains.

Yes, get a guidebook and read up on the what Rome (and Florence) have to offer and what appeals. Understand that the Italian State Museums are generally closed on Mondays, and private museums can have a weekly closure day as well. Your trip is also occurring during high season, and the most-desired/least expensive tickets, if available at this point, are quickly disappearing. For end of April, I'll highly recommend booking tickets or tours for the most-visited attractions as soon as you can; don't dawdle!

ALL advance, timed-entry tickets or tours are "Skip the Line". That does not mean they skip the security-check lines. No one can skip those.

What to see in Florence? Depends on your interests but its biggest claim to fame is as the "Cradle of the Italian Renaissance" so it's very heavy on art and architecture. With limited time I'd skip the Uffizi and Palazzo Pitti unless you're REALLY into art. Both were must-sees for me but I had considerably more time to work with than you will.

Both Rome and Florence are busy, touristy cities with a lot of big "must see" sites. Many of which either you should book ahead of time or have to. With 5 days you can easily fill those in just Rome and I would save Florence for when you can give it more time. Part of the charm of Italy and Europe is having some downtime to wander the streets and relax. Personally I would consider either only your daytrip to Pompeii, which will be a long day, or if you want to experience something different a daytrip to somewhere like Orvieto. It is closer, a nice hill town in Umbria, but would give you a feel like you think of in Tuscany. You can train there in an hour, take a funicular up to the town and can just wander.

In terms of location. If you are planning even one day-trip maybe try to be closer to the Rome train station ( Termini) then where you are. I think the area near Santa Maria Maggiore, into Monti towards the Colosseum would work a bit better for you. If you think about it, you can train to and from the airport, and then with your daytrip(s) you could be at that station up to 6 times in your 6 nights.

In terms of your question re skip the line tickets, I think is a bit of both. i don't tend to book tours, but I know for the vatican that it may be the best way to see it. Others can give better information, but a family member recently did the early morning tours at it and colosseum and said that was the way to go. He was not getting two 20 year olds moving however. For some of those tours you will want to book soon if it is this April.

Be aware that the situation at the Vatican Museums has changed recently. Before this year, there were tours that entered the Vatican Museums before they opened to the public, guaranteeing a sane (if somewhat costly) experience. The Vatican Museums are now opening to the public an hour earlier, and there are not longer tours that get you inside before public entry. The tours may still be worthwhile for many visitors, due to the information imparted and the guides' ability to navigate through the Museums (sections of which can be unbelievably packed).

Hi Allyson,

Lots of good information shared above. If you haven't purchased Rick Steve's Italy, please do so. If you don't want to take the entire book, just do what Rick suggests: break the spine and slice out the pages for Rome, Florence, and other places you will visit (you can purchase plastic "slide binders" from the RS site, or report covers to keep the pages intact; they can be cut to size).

The walking tours, printed from the guidebook and downloaded via the Rick Steves audio tours are extremely helpful. Purchase a lightweight portable power charger battery bank (Anker makes reliable ones) in case your phone battery runs low as you're listening to one of the tours or navigating via an offline map you've loaded onto your phone; they don't weigh much and can be a tour saver.

Enjoy your time in Rome!