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Four nights in Rome before joining a tour

My wife and I and two friends are joining a 10 night tour (3 nights in Amalfi, 6 nights in Montepulciano, 1 night in Florence) at the end of May. We've decided to add four nights in Rome at the beginning. Here's our tentative itinerary.

Day 1 - Sunday
- Arrive at FCO at 2:30 and go to AirBnB in Monti
neighborhood (we use carry-ons and will already have cleared passport
control in Iceland).
- Do a modified version of Rick's "Heart of Rome" walk with an inside visit to the Pantheon.
- Apertivo and Dinner in Piazza Farnese

Day 2 - Monday
- Guided tour of Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill
- Lunch near Colosseum
- Taxi to Catacombs of San Callisto and tour the catacombs.
- Walk. back toward our lodging via the Via Appia Antica
- Visit the Baths of Caracalla and see the Circus Maximus
- Taxi back to Airbnb to freshen up before apertivo and dinner in Monti

Day 3 - Tuesday
- Guided tour of St. Peter's, Sistine Chapel, and Vatican Museums
- Lunch in Prati
- Visit Castel Sant'Angelo
- Shopping or walking before dinner in Travastere

Day 4 - Wednesday
- Taxi to Ostia Antica and visit that site
- Taxi back to Monti and have lunch
- Visit Piazza Venezia, Victor Emanuele II monument, and Imperial Fora
- Dinner somewhere near the Imperial Fora

Day 5 - Thursday
- Free time for shopping or other sites (churches, etc.) depending on interest.
- Lunch in Monti
- Taxi to train station and depart for Salerno (Amalfi)

It's packed, but that's the way we roll! Did we miss anything important (so much to see)? Restaurant / bar recommendations? I'm getting mixed information on whether the Baths of Caracalla, Castel Sant'Angelo, Ostia Antica, and the sites around the Victor Emauele II monument (Imperial Fora, etc.) need timed-entry tickets. Anybody know?

Posted by
7843 posts

You do not need advanced tickets for Ostia Antica. You can get to and from Ostia easily on public transportation. Take the train from Roma Porta S. Paolo.

Posted by
1008 posts

For us, walking a couple hundred yards on the Appian Way was enough to get the idea. To save some time in your packed schedule, you could pick up the bus back to the baths. But, it might be a good idea to build in a little extra time for waiting for the bus. It only runs a couple times an hour and on a Sunday (maybe that makes a difference) we had to let a couple go by because they were so crowded we couldn’t get on. Depending on your walking speed, it might not pay, but for us it was worth it the wait.