Revised touring plan

jenn,

I'd have to spend some time considering your overall Itinerary, your plans for arrival day seem somewhat "ambitious", to say the least. I doubt that you're going to be able to cover all those locations between 11:40 and 18:55.

A few points that will affect how much time you'll have available.....

• Although your flight is scheduled to arrive at 11:40, it may be late.
• By the time you deplane, collect luggage, go through Passport Control and get to the airport rail station, it will likely be at least 12:30 - 13:00.
• The trip to Termini on the Leonardo Express will take 35 minutes, plus waiting time. DON'T forget to validate your tickets prior to boarding the train, or you'll face hefty fines which will be collected on the spot!
• When you arrive at Termini, there may be a long queue at the Deposito Bagagli (luggage check).
• When you arrive back at Termini after touring Rome, there may also be a long queue to pick up your luggage.

If you already have tickets for the train to Venice, you may be travelling via Freccia high speed trains. DON'T miss your appointed train as tickets are specific to train, date and departure time, and will be worthless if you miss the train listed on your ticket. If you happen to be travelling via Italo high speed trains (which looks likely given the departure time), you'll have to get from Roma Termini (where your luggage will be) to Roma Tiburtina by Metro, which will take more time. Which arrival station did you specify in Venice?

Some of my comments are based on assumptions, so it would help to have some further details on your plans.

Jenn, it's a lot to try to do. The Arch of Constantine is part of the Colosseum/Roman Forum area, and Trajan's Column is something you will pass by bus later in your trip. In the time you have on your first day, go to the Pantheon and the Victor Emmanuel monument (take the pricey elevator to the top, have a light lunch at the cafe there, and get the lay of the land from the views on the roof - Rome in 360 degrees, with labeled photo murals).

Forget the Trevi fountain and the first-day stops. As far as I know, the first general public admission to the Vatican museums is 8:30 or 9am, unless you go with a tour company at 7:30am. With or without a tour, you will be hard-pressed to get through the museums and St. Peter's before 1pm (my tour started at 7:30 and ended at 2), so probably no time for the Capitoline museum that day. Keep in mind that the airport is at least 35 minutes from Roma Termini, without waiting time for the Leonardo Express, then you have to get to your meeting point.

I'm not clear on how many trips you plan to make from Cortona to Rome.
Hate to be discouraging, but I don't think you can accomplish all this in the time you have.

I have moved these comments over from the duplicate thread so that it may be easier for us to keep up with all the comments::

I'm sorry to say it sounds like a check the box fly past visit without any time to experience anything.

Save some for when you can return and enjoy things.

Aren't you spending any time with the family at the wedding and after?

You'll be in the most beautiful city in the world and you will leave it for a trip across Italy to Verona (a very nice place, don't get me wrong, and when we are in the western Veneto we do stop in for another dose but it isn't Venice)?

Do you already have the Borghese reservations. They can become very hard to get and they are mandatory.

Thank you everyone for your advise, but I do believe I can fully get it all done and with time to spare. I have set it up the way I have so we can push the things in iur landing day to other days if we don't have time completely that first day. We have the Roma pass for fri sat and Sunday, as well. I will have time before and after the wedding, as the wedding is the 28th and we will be in cortona the 23-30th. We won't be taking a tour of the Vatican with a touring company, my sister and I aren't one to sit and talk about each piece we see, we just want to get a feel of the museum and take a look at some of the stuff inside it. If we don't have time for the capitoline museum on the Saturday, it's something to do on Sunday. We have all day we plan on coming down Sunday after our catered breakfast at the villa in cortona and not being back in cortona until late Sunday night. Most do the family and guests are coming into Rome for, either canada or Australia on Saturday morning, so they will be spending Sunday recovering from jet leg and won't be doing very much, which is why we're taking advantage of it to come back to Rome. In response to going to Verona, my sister wants to see it almost as badly as she does Venice and as we are staying in Venice it was the most logical choice to go then, it's on,y 1 hour and 10 min away from Verona, versus the 3+ hours (just one way) to go from cortona to Verona.

My 2-cents….

You have too much scheduled for those few hours between landing in Rome and catching your train to Venice. As Ken has pointed out, it's going to take you longer to get through luggage collection, passport control and into Rome than you may think, Your itinerary also has you running all over the city, jet-lagged and disoriented.

Skip Arch of Constantine: as Zoe said, it's part of the Colosseum/Roman Forum area.

Skip Trevi and the Spanish Steps: they are simply walk-bys, and can be done some evening on your return trip after everything else with specific hours have closed.

I really think it's going to be all you can do to cram in the Victor Emmanuel (yes, absolutely go to the top). Trajan's Column (which is nearby), Pantheon, the Baths of Diocletian and maybe grabbing some food before collecting your bags for your train. A note on the baths? Some of the the ruins were incorporated - by Michelangelo - into the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli so be sure and see that too. Little of his original design remains but it's an enormous and impressive structure with a fascinating gnomon. The Baths of Caracalla are more impressive but as these are close to Termini, this stop makes sense.

Another good reason to skip Trevi; this is what is currently looks like while under restoration (which will go on for 18 months or so):

http://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/italia/lazio/roma/fontana-di-trevi.html

Jennf5, you asked " how does this sound to everyone" and yet everyone has explained to you that your itinerary is too ambitious. I'm not trying to be rude but if you're not going to take the advice of those who have been there and done that then why did you ask the question?

There is simply no way you'll fit all of those sites in on your first day with checking your bags at the termini and then picking them up again unless you plan to spend so little time at the sites that it won't be worthwhile. The lines at the bag check counter can be very long and it often takes 40 minutes to an hour to get your luggage back.

That being said, You won't get into the city before 1pm. By the time you get to the termini and check your bags it will be at least 1:30 pm. If you take the metro to the colosseum stop you can be at the arch of Constantine by 1:45ish and then take the 15 minute walk to Trajans column. This will put you 2pm if you don't spend any time at the Arch and just look at it and move on. If you spend 15 minutes at Trajans colomn and then walk the 10 minutes to Victor Emmanuel monument it will be about 2:30pm. If you only spend a half hour inside the monument (not a lot of time) that puts you exiting at 3pm. Then the 15 minute walk to the pantheon and 15 minutes inside ( a crime to spend so little time in this wonderful site) puts you at 3:30pm. Then the 20 minute walk to the trevi fountain for 10 minutes and another 10 minute walk to the spanish steps for 10 minutes puts you at 4:20pm. Then you have the 20 minute walk to the Baths of diocletian. This puts you at 4:40ish. If you spend only a half hour inside (a complete waste of time because you won't get to see much of anything) that will put you taking the 10 minute walk to the termini at 5:10. Then you wait in line for an hour to get your luggage and get on the train.

These are times based off of walking very fast and spending the absolute minimum amount of time at the sites. When I say minimum I mean you walk up to a site, snap a quick pic and then leave. It's no time to visit or explore anything. If this is the way you want to tour then you should do it but if you actually want to "see" Rome you should slow down.

The rest of your trip is just more of the same. You're planning to much with not enough time. You say you've left some time on other days for things you can't fit in but I don't see it.

I hope this works out for you but based on my experience....it won't.

Donna

Agreed to skip Trevi as it is under complete scaffolding, or at least it was when we were there a couple weeks ago. I think Arch of Constantine is the one in front of the colosseum right? (sorry I can't remember). If so, that was half under scaffolding when we were there a few weeks ago too.

I would never plan stuff I really wanted to see for arrival day - too many things can go wrong.

Also, I have never been to verona, but we just had 2.5 days in Venice and so I wanted more... I can't imagine having only one day there, and day tripping somewhere else and skipping venice.

Kim

Arch of Constantine is now uncovered. Colosseum has scaffolding on half the exterior.

Jenn, keep in mind that nearly everything in the plan is changeable or skippable, if necessary. The biggest roadblocks to flexibility will be a) the few things that you might have reserved ahead (Borghese entry, train tickets) and b) you and your sister staying on the same page about your priorities. If one person wants to push on and the other is exhausted, give yourselves permission to split up for a few hours.

Rome - Hot in August!.....yes, the schedule is too much. The good news is that any pickpockets' won't have a chance to catch up with you! : ) Pick the 1-2 "must-do's" for each location and be okay enjoying those. Add more IF it works out. Dare I say, stop & have a gelato and enjoy being there.

I appreciate everyone's feed back and input but I also know my sister and I and our traveling styles and the way we travel and look at things. There are some things we don't need to do do more then a few minutes and we certainly don't need hours upon hours in museums or galleries. I'm sure it will all get done, in fact I can count on it. But thank you for ur concerns.

Jenn, one thing to consider that has nothing to do with your traveling style: it can take longer than you think to get from Point A to Point B. You may want to plan some things for night (visits to piazze, for instance) rather than daytime, just in case public transportation or heat slow you down.

jenn,

Be sure to let us know whether your trip works out as planned.

Wow. If you're so sure you can do it, I have to wonder why you asked?
Better have a very good map: that 1st day has you all over the place, and there are very few straight-shot streets in Rome. Many street names also change every 5-8 blocks or so. Add the high-season crowds, August temperatures and possibly even a day of pouring rain...

Another good reason to skip the Spanish Steps; besides the fountain at the bottom being under renovation, it looks Trinita Dei Monti - at the top - is under scaffolding as well.

http://www.skylinewebcams.com/it/webcam/italia/lazio/roma/trinita-dei-monti.html

Good luck.

Just saying....last time I flew into Rome from Toronto it took 1.5 hours for the luggage to arrive at the carousel...

You don't say if you have been to Rome before; it can be quite intimidating for first timers. The buses and trams do work well, once you figure out which one to get. Also the Metro. But if you insist on doing everything on your list on the day you arrive, consider renting a car and driver ( Romataxi charges EU30/hour so for 6 hours (12.30-6.30) it would cost you $180). You get picked up at the airport, will be driven to wherever you want to go and then deposited at the station. You will see a lot more of Rome doing it this way and your baggage will remain with you so you won't have to worry about it. An expense yes, but the easiest way to see something of Rome after a long flight.

Have you thought about food? Air Canada (I assume) breakfast won't get you far so you will need to grab something for lunch. And what about supper ? You have a nearly 4 hour train ride with nothing but coffee/bar service. Termini has a lot of food outlets plus a supermarket downstairs. I guess if you decide to check the bags for the day, one of you can get the bags and one can grab some food. The trains do leave on time so make sure you allow plenty of time at the station. If you miss it you will need to rebook your ticket and pay the cost - no refund. And as Ken would say, don't forget to validate your tickets!

@Lesley,

In addition to the main meal served an hour or so after departure, Air Canada typically serves a "Continental Breakfast" on that route about an hour before arrival in Rome. You're absolutely correct, it doesn't keep most people going for too long, which is why I usually have to get something more substantial when I arrive at Termini.

Just saying....last time I flew into Rome from Toronto it took 1.5 hours for the luggage to arrive at the carousel...

I had a similar situation on one flight to Rome. In that case, the airline didn't know which carousel the luggage had gone to. They were very apologetic, but it took them awhile to sort it out. It turned out that the luggage from my flight had been directed to another terminal, which meant standing in a long queue and going through security again, even though I was arriving. It was as Inspector Frost would say "a right cock-up", but I tried to take the attitude that "oh well, this is Italy and this type of thing happens at times". I was mostly happy just to be out of the aluminum tube and IN Italy.