Recommendation on hotels, Airport transport & ground transportation in Rome

Our last trip to Rome we stayed at Hotel Smeraldo by the Campo de’ Fiori. We liked its location and enjoyed our stay there. That was in 2012 so no idea what it’s like now. We arranged transportation to/from the airport through the hotel.

A nice hotel, but above our budget, is Grand Hotel de la Minerve right by the Pantheon.

Transportation from the airport. Take the train... easy, fast

First, 3 full days just isn't very much to see Rome, so I would have a careful look at how much 1) Walking you really can / want to do. 2) Do you want to have sit down meals? 3) What time are you booked into Vatican museums? If you can get in before 9AM visiting hours, so much the better 4) Are you taking taxis? Know the places they will pick up passengers ahead of time, it's a limited number. 5) However much you can stand to plan, yep I am a planner, do it ahead of time. Already having a list of restaurants on Google for example helped a lot.

We've just come back from Rome over NY & stayed at Hotel Smeraldo, they really are very nice people & the hotel is very centrally situated. If you do stay there, consider booking a car from the airport through the hotel, (E65) versus an additional 20 minute taxi ride from the train station (termini) where you would arrive by public transport. Also, rooms vary, some are very small even by European standards.

I've attached my Dec trip report, it has lots of small restaurant recommendations. Hope you can leave some time to stop and enjoy an espresso & watch the world go by, Rome is a fabulous place to just take a stroll, wander away from the heavily visited spots, and relax! Personally, I would take a sunset stroll via the Roman Forum viewing spot behind the Capitoline museum, walk down the Foro Romano to the Colosseum, maybe end the evening in Monti for dinner, and skip actually going inside the Colosseum. And enjoy your first of hopefully many visits!

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/rome-was-jammed-over-ny-but-still-fun

For transportation from the airport to the hotel I would use a regular taxi. There are taxi stands in front of every terminal with dozens of taxicabs lined up ready to load passengers. The flat all inclusive taxi fare is 50€. If you rely on a limo service booked by yourself or your hotel, plan to pay at least 65€. I've always used a regular taxi, a car is a car, and I'd rather keep the extra 15€ for myself.

The train (Leonardo Express) which connects the airport to the Termini station every 30 min. is a viable option if you select a hotel near the termini station. The cost of the o/w train ticket is 14€ per person. If your hotel is not near the Termini station and need a taxi from the Termini station to the hotel, then two or more people might as well take a taxi directly from the airport to the hotel, because taxi from the station to the hotel will be at least 15€ on top of the train tickets, which are 14€ p.p.

For taxi app, you can use ItTaxi or FreeNow

All the info related to bus/metro tickets are below in the ATAC website (the city transit agency):
https://www.atac.roma.it/en/tickets-and-passes
Their app is called TicketAppy

www.Trenitalia.com is the train company and if you go online you can download their app too. However you may not need it if you plan to stay in Rome only. In case you want to take the train from the airport (see my comments at the top), you can also buy that ticket at the ticket office or one of the automatic kiosks. Remember that on a regional train, such as the Leonardo Express, you must remember to validate (date stamp) a paper ticket before boarding at one of the machines along the tracks (if you pay by app that is not necessary).

There are a number of "favorite" hotel locations, from the Trastevere, to Campo di Fiori/Piazza Navona area, to the Pantheon area, to the Vatican area, and the Termini area...all are fine, all easy to get to the needed sights.

For transit, Outside of Rome, use the Trenitalia app, within Rome for bus, tram, metro, and urban trains, you can just use a credit card, phone, or watch with contactless/Tap capability. Each of you will need your own card or device, details are here: https://www.atac.roma.it/en/tickets-and-passes

The Metro, buses and trams in Rome now have tap to pay capability using your contactless credit card - look for the red box on the vehicle - may be at the front or middle door - it is different from the yellow box, which you use to validate paper tickets.

Someone DM'ed to ask where is the view overlooking the Roman Forum from the Capitoline Museum I mentioned above as an example of something fun & sort of relaxing to see ancient Rome.

Walk up the long stairway to the Capitoline museums, continue straight across the plaza past the statue of the horseman (Marcus Aurelius) & past the 2 museums which are to your left & right, continue slightly to the right down a slope and you will usually see a crowd to your right gathered looking out over the Forum. You should then be able to retrace your steps, but stay to the right in the square & I think there's a way to bypass the long stairway but walk down a gentle slope to the Via Foro Romano, best enjoyed at sunset.

You can also climb the stairs to the coffee shop at the top of the Capitoline Museum without paying a ticket to enter, (turn right immediately at top of staircase before statue, about 40 yards on left there's an en to cafe. Then go out onto the viewing area. I was feeling fatigued after what seemed climbing many stories to get to this cafe, until a tiny, elderly Italian lady told me it was her 90th birthday & she'd just made the same ascent! There is also an elevator to the top of Victor Emmanuel monument, but we decided to go to the Capitoline museums later, so cafe wasn't out of the way.

These are great responses. Thank you!!