Hello everyone, we will be in Rome for 5 days in July, 4 adults & 4 kids, age 11 - 17. This is our first time and we will aim for the must sees. Are there any tours that we should book in advance? Thank you in advance for all your help.
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
It depends on what you want to see and do. What sites are you interested in? Without knowing that bit of information it's impossible to suggest if you might want a tour or not.
donna
Posted by
Truro, NS, Canada
3943 posts
If you want to do the Borghese Gallery, you must book an entry time - you can't just show up. But yeah - what Donna said - what are you interested in seeing? Where are you staying? I prebooked an after hours tour of the Vatican with Walks of Italy for my upcoming trip in Sept (they also do an early morning tour called Pristine Sistine - which people really seem to like - I've never used them before, but they have great reviews). Oh - you don't have to book with a tour company for the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel, but you most likely would want to book your entry time to avoid a long wait, and check what other people have to say about best time to go and days of the week to avoid.
We are staying within spitting distance of the Colosseum (we will have a lovely view of it from our window!), so I'm not worried about booking a tour there as we should be able to be up and out before the line-up starts...but that may be another thing you want to book. Note - if you get a Roma Pass - it allows you to bypass the line at Colosseum, which can get into a 2hr + wait. And you'd either want to get to Col early (or later in the afternoon) - I imagine the July heat will be crippling by about 11am til 5pm or so (good time to hit a museum). We were there mid-Sept in 2008 and the heat was pretty bad then.
I don't know if there is much else you may want to book...
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Not tour, but: If you have a car or can rent bikes, ride out to Aqueduct Park, the kids can run around the aqueducts after being in museums and churches. Take a soccer ball and a picnic lunch. The Via Appia itself is a nice ride.
Visiting the various fountains in Rome is a nice break. There is a section of ancient walls that can be walked near the Via Appia.
If you google "Rome with kids" you can find info. Lonely Planet guides always have a kids' interests section for large cities.