Rome

Don't take what you see in one book by one travel writer in a world of many as the final word. It all depends on the person. 3 days maybe enough for a person that has been there before. travel is business with tailored tours that make money

Absolutely not overkill. On my last trip, I spent 8 nights in Rome and was just getting started. I barely saw the highlights though I went hard to see everything I could. 10 days in one gulp would be wonderful.

Thanks all appreciate it

Rick's itinerary is based on seeing as many places as possible in a given time span. If you want to see places in more depth, you may want to get a second guidebook, since Rick's (while extremely helpful) don't cover all the sights you'll be able to visit in a longer visit.

Last May we were there for 3 days. We were just there for 5 days. Already planning our return for another 5 days. We like to concentrate in an area. This last stay we stayed near Villa Borghese to explore the sights right there. One day we took the metro and local train to Ostia Antica. You will find plenty to do.

We did a fly-by of Rome, 3 days 2 nights, as part of our first trip to Italy in 2010. Saw a few of the attractions via the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus. Appreciated the city but frankly never connected.

After reading reports from many on this forum, we gave Roma another chance & returned for a week last March, staying in a 2nd-floor apartment over the Campo de' Fiori market. Omigosh, what a place! So easy to integrate & assimilate into daily Roman life, albeit with a tourist bent. Rode the bus & Metro all over. Walked mornings along the Tiber River. Did laundry around the corner. Found a favorite spot for a morning caffe. Yes, we saw some sights--St. Peter's--but the stuff that stays with me are the unheralded sights that maybe rate one line in the RS Rome book. Bottom line--oft times when you get out of the tourist areas, you're not treated like a tourist, but more like a local. Amazing.

If you stay the 10 days in Rome, preferably not in the middle of the summer, the Eternal City's workmanlike but intoxicating vibe will envelop you within a couple days and you won't want to leave.

Enjoy your planning!

Nope, 10 days are definitely not too much! We have more than that under our belt over a couple of trips, and will stay another week or more the next time around.

We did a fly-by of Rome, 3 days 2 nights, as part of our first trip to
Italy in 2010. Saw a few of the attractions via the Hop-On-Hop-Off
bus. Appreciated the city but frankly never connected.

Jay makes an excellent point. Too many visitors allow just a couple of days, and spend those surrounded, elbowed and trampled by the mobs at the most heavily visited attractions. No wonder some of them come away with a dim view of the Eternal City! A longer stay eliminates the need to run from one of those attractions to the next, and to explore many interesting parts of the city where fewer tourists go.

The Roman story is much more than the Colosseum, the Vatican, the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. If you enjoy history, architecture and/or art, you'll be spoiled for choice! :O)

Editing to add, Rome is an easy city to manage on your own so you don't need to be nervous about that. I'm sure you'll have umpty questions about going solo but that's what this forum is for; you'll get lots of help!

Trying to buy tickets in advance for the Colosseum. For the full ticket-entrance there is no date. This allows you to go in anytime in 2018?

For the underground tour and it looks like you can only get them a few weeks in advance, Is this correct. The calendar on the site is blank from March on and you cannot pick a date, only in February.

This is the site . http://ecm.coopculture.it/index.php?option=com_snapp&view=event&id=AE920DE1-C66F-415B-BECB-B96E11FF811C&catalogid=C6B27741-8186-C280-49AB-015D7A47282D&lang=en

Do either of these come with a guide or do you hire one?

Tickets for Underground tours (and they are guided tours; you can't access it on your own) go on sale on the third Monday of every month for the following month at 9:00 AM ROME time. March tickets will go on sale on Feb. 19, and they usually sell out very quickly. To get them, you'll need to be up and ready to book at whatever 9:00 AM Rome time is where you live.

From the Coopculture website:
"Opening of reservations for Undergrounds of Colosseum and Belvedere for March 2018
We inform you that on February 19th 2018 it will be possible to book the undergrounds and Belvedere tours for the month of March 2018. Any online bookings made before 9.00 am will be not valid."

In addition to the tour you'll also need to purchase general-entry tickets which include the Forum and Palatine as well as general areas (tours not mandatory) of the Colosseum. You can do this at the special events desk when you arrive for your tour. Once you leave the Colosseum, you can't re-enter again with your general-entry tickets.

If you decide to purchase just general-entry tickets and not a tour, yes, those tickets can be used anytime in 2018 that the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine are open. The Forum and Palatine must be visited at the same time as you pass from one to the other inside a secured area.

Do be aware that you can skip the ticket line with the payment confirmation of your tour but not the security queue so allow yourself plenty of time to get through that and to the events desk on time.

I spent twelve days on the ground in Italy in late 2016 and five of those nights were in Rome. (Fourth of of sixteen Europe trips for me that included Rome, others were 2, 3, and 5 nights). I think ten might be a bit much relative to what you might otherwise see, but sure there are things to do in Rome for that many days. Rome can be exhausting, but with this much time you could slow it down. Don't think of "Rome as a base" day trip strategy though, just don't see this as practical. I am not a big fan of big city as a base and day trip in general, but it especially does not make sense in Rome.