We have previously visited Rome on our own Vatican (including comprehensive private tour of Museum), Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, a day and evening just walking around the city including time in Trastevere, including several great meals alfresco. We arrived in Rome at the Termini and used the Metro to move around the city and a taxi to depart Rome via the Termini.
This visit we will arrive August 16 via cruise ship at Civitavecchia at 800 hr and depart Civitavecchia at 2000 hr. We are considering a DIY visit, but possibly a private tour.
DIY: Assuming 45 minutes each way to get to/from the ship to the Civitavecchia train station and an hour each way to/from Termini, another hour moving between venues on the Metro and another hour for lunch, we’d have 6 to 6.5 hours in Rome. We want to visit Capitol Hill/Forum/Palatine Hill, the Colosseum (possibly including the “underground” and “third ring”), and, hopefully the Baths of Diocletian. We’d use the Metro from Termini to Colosseo station first, then take the Metro to the Republica station (or the reverse order), then back to the Termini for the train back to Civitavecchia. Is this doable in 6-6.5 hours without rushing considering that there will likely be “crowds” in mid-August? If we do a DIY, what passes would be prudent to have for transportation and admission to the sites we want to visit?
PRIVATE TOUR: Since we’ve previously visited the places noted above, we do not want to use the limited time we have to re-visit. Is/are there private tour providers who will visit just the places we want to visit, or will we have to take a pre-arranged itinerary that will be at the places we really want to see only briefly? If there is/are “customizable” tours, could someone suggest the tour operator and how to contact her/him (preferably by email)? If we decide on the Private Tour (and assuming the private tour may be more temporally “efficient”), might we sneak in a visit to the churches in the “Pilgrim’s Rome”? We are on a limited budget and if we decide on a Private Tour €150-175 each would be about our limit; is this doable?