Rome: 5 hours between arrival at Termini station til flight.

Kind of yes and kind of no. It all depends on several variables. First is luggage - there is a luggage check on the lower level of Termini, left side as your face the front of the station from inside. There can be lines for both check in and pick up and no good way to predict. Second, there is a subway stop at the Colosseum ( Colosso) so that would be a better choice than the bus and the Metro is on the lower level of Termini anyway. At best you would have an hour at the Colosseum and that is barely enough time to walk around it. There are a couple of sites near Termini that would be walkable - Baths of Diocletian, Santa Maria Maggiore church. I would forgo the major site until you had more time. You could push your airport time a bit closer to 1.30 but later afternoon at the airport also can be unpredictable. Good luck.

Thanks for the replies. We are carrying minimal luggage, one carry on bag for each of us and maybe one medium sized suitcase with wheels. How does the luggage on the trenitalia work? I am not sure where they will have to be placed and how long it may take to retrieve them upon arrival at Termini.

As I mentioned in my original posting, even if the stop is just to stand and see the Colosseum in its original splendor, I would be okay with that. We are traveling the 1st week in March if that helps any. So I have time to figure all of this out. It is supposed to be shoulder season at that time I have heard. So we should not consider the bus?

The luggage works like this: it is with you all the time and you are the one who stows it, either in the luggage racks by the doors or in the overhead rack. So when you get off the train, you will be carrying your luggage. No waiting, no fuss, no muss.

just to stand and see the Colosseum in its original splendor

If it helps, you're a tad late. It's a ruin that used to be covered in marble which migrated over to Saint Peter's somehow.

Rome is always crowded. Even in March the crowds will be decent but the Rome traffic will be the same - bad. A bus would be slower but you have the advantage of doing a little site seeing as the bus crawls along. The Colosseum and Forum are completely fenced off so you have to have a ticket to enter the area. (The Forum used to be open to the public) However if you just want a walk around you can get a pretty good view from outside the fenced area. The area between the Colosseum and Form in front of Arch of Titus is open to the public. The back side of the Victor Emmanuel Monument will allow you to look down into the Forum. Taxis in Rome are very reasonable so you could take a taxi from Termini for about 10E.

Thanks to all for the helpful advice. Ed, didn't need what you may have considered to be a witty reply. I need helpful information as to answer my questions. I am quite aware that the Colosseum doesn't look like it did in its original form. Perhaps you took my phrasing too literal, but I would appreciate a response that elicits information to help me with my goal.

Thanks.

One thing that hasn't been pointed out to you is that you probably don't need to get to the airport as early as you're thinking. Because your flight is within Europe, it's considered a domestic flight.

And feel free to ask for your money back if you didn't like Ed's comment. (I thought it was funny and not remotely at your expense.)

Thanks Michael. Maybe I was being sensitive. I am a travel virgin and am so nervous about timing with all of this. I am really just trying to make the most of all of the time that I have.

I didn't know that the Colosseum and Forum were fenced off, so that definitely helps to have that knowledge now!

The Colosseum is partly obscured by scaffolding at this time but our most recent visitor says it's not that bad. (Don't bother trying the Trevi fountain on a quick trip, since it's all torn up.)

Any chance you can leave Florence earlier? This tight timing would make me anxious, even with plenty of travel experience.

For more tips about luggage and train stations see {All Aboard](http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains) and the first segment of Rick's Travel Skills video.

If you take a look at googlemaps for Colosseum, Rome, Piazza del Colosseo, Rome Italy you can see where the fencing is, but there is plenty of area where you can walk around just to look at the outside. Back out to one of the streets surrounding the Colosseum and take a look.

Another thought occurred to me depending on how much money you want to spend. We took a Rome Cabs (romecabs.com ) ride from the airport and it included a 1 hour tour of Rome. I thought it would help us get oriented on arrival (laughing, it did not!) but perhaps they can do a short sightseeing drive for you and either drop you back at Termini or take you to the airport so you could keep your bags with you. There may be another service like this as well, it's just this is the one I'm familiar with. You've got plenty of time to do some searching.

If you decide not to visit the Colosseum or the Forum, consider walking over to the fantastic National Roman Museum. It is right across the street from Termini, and it houses frescoes, statues, mosaics, jewels, and coins in a 19th century Roman palace. Afterward, you could go up to the rooftop for a snack, and take in views of the city, or you could relax at one of the cafes in the area. If you are in Rome on a Monday, though, this won't work, since the museum is closed on Mondays.

Four points:

. I enjoy my humor more than others.

. I try to be informative. Not many people know that Maderno was a marble thief. Or, related, that Hadrian's Wall became houses and barnes, and that over a thousand of the Carnac stones became fence parts.

. If you ever get serious and uptight about traveling, you're doing it all wrong.

. I forget.

When you are new to International travel, it is hard not to be serious and somewhat uptight, especially in the planning stages. As you work thru your first trip and each successive one you do have a better handle on how things work and more importantly gain confidence on how to problem-solve on the fly. Those with years of international travel under their belts can do this subconsciously but those of us who are new or back in to travel after a hiatus can only prepare by looking at what-ifs. The helpline/forums here can often provide the concrete information and reassurance those with less experience need to formulate a successful travel plan. Indeed, the inexperienced traveler is Rick's audience.

Humor can be perceived a number of ways and sometimes it can seem belittling and demeaning for those of us who are not insiders and experienced travelers.

Take it easy people. Humor is good, even if sometimes it's taken wrongly and gets you in trouble.

Many years ago, as a youngster, I was in Florence and a stiff English couple asked me where they could find Michelangelo's tomb. I had no idea at the time where it was (it's in Santa Croce's church) but my smart answer was: "Michelangelo's tomb? I don't know, I didn't even know he was sick!". The English couple didn't appreciate it. Hadn't they heard of British humor?

As mentioned, don't let the fact that some of these sights are fenced in keep you from going by. Here's a picture I took showing the fence in front of one of the famous arches: Nuns, Arch and fence

One thought would be for you to take the Metro to the Colisseum (short ride) and then keep going on the Via dei Fori Imperiali toward the ginormous Vittoriano monument (aka The Typewriter, aka The Wedding Cake) at Piazza Venezia (photo here. Take the Sky Elevator on the backside (clearly visible in Google Maps satellite view) and you'll be looking back over the ancient Forum with the Colisseum at the end. Quite a visual treat.

Thank you all for the wonderful responses. They have helped me more than you can know.

I came on this forum in the first place because I wanted to get some help in my planning phase. I am extremely new to this and I know I cannot be 100% prepared for everything that comes my way but I want to understand how most things work. I am a little sensitive about this because I have never been in a position to travel in my life, and now that I am it is a little intimidating to me. That's why the thought of someone thinking I was ignorant made me defensive.

Thanks all for the help, Ed, I assure you I will take this trip and bask in the beauty of it. I understand now that you were trying to make a joke, I didn't understand it at first. No harm done. Thanks again.

Hrumph ! If I thought you were a twit I would have said so.

I was trying to get you to think about why things are the way that are and how they got that way.

Next trip, go look for the recycled roman bricks incorporated into Canturbury's walls Or Pictish stones that should be in a museum that are peeking out of a stone wall in the far beyonds of Scotland.

And remember to laugh like hell when everything gets screwed up, because it's going to -- first trip or zillionith trip.

I'm hoping others who are more expert than I can chime in on this idea - not sure if the traffic in Rome would support this option, but since you are a first time traveler to Europe, would it be worth the money to hire a taxi from the station for an hour's drive around Rome? You wouldn't have to worry about logistics, which as a first timer can be the hairiest part, and would both be able to just enjoy staring out the window, with the ability to have the taxi let you out for a few minutes here and there to get a quick view of the places you are interested in. Not an in-depth look, by any means, but with your limited time, you wouldn't get that anyway. But you could still experience the thrill of seeing the Colosseum (huge!), and the taxi driver might know where the best views would be and the best way to avoid the worst of the traffic. I am a firm believer that even when traveling on a tight budget, there are times when it is worth every penny to make things easier, especially when on a tight time frame or when the logistics are going to be super stressful, and making sure you get to the airport on time seems like it might be one of those times:) If you could swing it, (I have no clue how much it would cost), you could just hire the taxi to drive you around and then take you to the airport. Or use Romashuttle.com or another airport shuttle service - they might be able to pick you up at the station, do a quickie driving tour and then take you directly to the airport. No need to worry about checking any luggage with that plan!

Whichever way you decide, have a wonderful trip!!!

While the taxi idea has merit I would not support the idea of grabbing at taxi at Termini for a guided tour. First, guides in Rome must be licensed so while the driver may be able to drive around and point out a few things he is not going to be a good guide. However, hiring a licenses guide/driver for an hour or two would be a good idea. Solves the luggage problem.

One issue that we had indirectly address with you is that you will be slower and probably much slower than you anticipate. It is function of just not knowing what to do and when. I can walk off a train at Termini and with no thought hit the stairs to the Metro, drop a few coins in the ticket machine, find the platform and be at the Colosseum in 15 minutes. For you, it probably will take 30 minutes or more. You get off the train, where is the metro? someone said go left, find the sign pointing to the metro, there are the stairs, how do I work the ticket machine, read directions, fumble for coins, slowly put in coins and fumble for tickets, now what?, where is the correct platform, am I headed in the right direction?, maybe ask someone, opps, just missed the train, finally get to the Colosseum stop, walk out, now what? And so it goes ! You are just naturally slower. So you really need to factors all of this in your time frame. And that didn't including handling your luggage.

Hiring a private car/driver makes a lot of sense even through it will be expensive.

Good for you for thinking of seeing a bit of Rome as you pass through.

If I had five hours in Rome and I wanted to see as much I could see in that amount of time, I would hire a private guide/car without question. I would include in the package transport to the airport as well.

If that is an impossibility due to finances, the next best would be to take the metro to the Colosseo stop, walk around the monument, walk up the street and overlook some of the Roman Foro and if you have time, walk up to the Camplidoglio and over look the Foro from another angle. Then, walk back to the metro and head back to the train station. In five hours, that is about all I would plan upon.

You would need to allow time for the left luggage drop off and pick up. That alone could absorb an hour of your time.

You've received lots of good suggestions so far!

To add to Frank's last post, using a Taxi from the rank in front of Termini may not be the best option for a tour. As someone else suggested, you could take an earlier train from Florence, which would allow a bit more time to see some of the main sights in Rome. If you pre-book a tour service such as THIS one you wouldn't waste any time and would be able to see as much as possible under the circumstances. Their costs start at €40 per hour (see their Tour No. 11), which seems quite reasonable. I've never toured with this firm, but just using them for an example. A Google search will reveal lots of different firms offering similar service, and you can check each of them on Trip Advisor (this particular firm seems to get excellent reviews).

If you've already purchased your ticket for the Florence-Rome rail trip, you may not be able to take an earlier departure as you'll likely be travelling via Freccia high speed train. If that's the case, your ticket is specific to a particular train, date and departure time, and can not be used on any other train.

If you were planning to use the Leonardo Express for the trip to the airport, DON'T forget to validate your ticket prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or you'll risk hefty fines which will be collected on the spot! Another option for the trip to the airport, if you book the private car service for the tour, would be to have your driver just continue to the airport after your tour of Rome is concluded. You'd be dropped at the correct terminal for your flight, which would be the easiest solution.

Buon Viaggio!

Rick gives the National Museum of Rome his highest rating. The "portrait" gallery is magnificent (busts of people from antiquity who literally sat for the portrait-busts). You get one inch from their face to see the most insignificant facial imperfection to Caligula's chewed-up ear. I look like Socrates, circa 420BC, no joke! Wifey took a pic and we put it on our Christmas card. More importantly, you can stow your luggage in a locker at train station (maybe at Museum too). Walk out the front door of Temini and look at about a 45 degree angle to your left on the far corner of the block (front door's around the corner), rarely crowded, part of the University I think, wonderful mosaics and sculpture and you only have 21/2 hours.