Rome advice needed

The Freccia trains from Roma Termini will take you to Florence in an hour, to Naples in an hour then a not too long ride on the Circumvesuviana line directly to Pompeii. Don't bother with a tour group. Ostia Antica is actually my favorite of all the ruins and can be done in a half day. Hint: keep walking even when it looks like there isn't anything more to see . . . there is! The site really is big.

Now about your schedule: you have 6 days and are looking at 3 day trips? May I suggest looking carefully at the RS sections on all 4 places and make a "must see" list. That might help with your planning. Rome on 3 days sounds really short to me. Florence in a day works if you make specific entry times at the museums you want to see (otherwise you may be waiting in very long lines!).

Venice is about a 4 hour trip on the Freccia train. It stops in Florence first. Tickets for all the Freccia trains for late May are now for sale at trenitalia.it. If you are willing to commit to a set schedule you can save a bundle by reserving now. Enjoy!

The train is the way to go. Pompeii will be a long day since you have to transfer at Naples. I would hire a tour guide at the entrance to Pompeii. With only six days in Rome you don't have a lot of time for trips outside of Rome. Personally I would save Florence for anytime when you can spend more time in Florence. This will open an argument but in someways Florence is a miniature Rome. OA is not a day trip - just an afternoon but you can combine it with sightseeing in the part of Rome. The Appian Way would be more interesting especially if you could do it on a Sunday.

Robert is a little optimistic on his times. Florence is a good hour and half and you do have to allow for getting to and from the train. Naples is a bit over an hour but you do have to allow another hour on the Circumvesuviana train plus some time on the platforms.

Mal,

As someone who just returned from a two week trip to Italy, I really can't recommend taking a day trip to Florence from Rome. Both cities have way too much to offer and trying to cram Florence into a short day just doesn't do it justice. I would spend that day in Rome and plan to go to Florence for at least a week sometime in the future.

Good luck and have a great trip.

Todd

While it's good to decide your priorities in advance, you need not commit to the daytrips, since train tickets are for sale right up until departure. Even when buying on short notice, you may be able to get a "Bimbi Gratis" offer: One child age 5–15 free per adult who pays the full base fare (about $50 each way from Rome to Naples or Rome to Florence). I don't agree that you need to save Florence until a time when you can dedicate a full week to it.

If you want to maximize your 6 days in Rome, stay in Rome. Florence is not a good day trip as it deserves its own several day stay. The Pompeii trip can work if you want to put in a 12 hour day to do it.

Look at the Rick Steves' Rome guide and how he recommends structuring a stay of 5 or 6 days in the city. If you choose Ostia Antica (which is great!) you can probably skip Pompeii.

In Venice, I hope you have 3 nights so you have two full days. Again I point you to Mr. Steves and his guides on how to get the most out of the city during the time you have. Look under "Planning your time" in the books or on this website. See here for Venice.

Zermatt is really about hiking and scenery. Do you like to hike, or just ride the lifts for the views? We've done a bit of hiking there and may be able to help if I have a better idea of what you like to do. The month of May might be early.... Did you perhaps also post this request under the Switzerland board? It will invite more responses there.

Ostia Antica is definitely worth a visit and it is easy to get there using public transit. With a reasonably early morning start (not the crack of dawn) you can do it in 3/4 of a day. Florence is not a good day trip. It simply has too much to offer. Save it for a later trip when you can spend several days there. Pompeii can be done as a day trip if you want very, very loooong day. Rather than six days in Rome and two in Venice, consider five in Rome and three in Venice. For planning, check out the Rick Steves' guide books as they can point you in the right general direction and then use this forum for specifics.

Just as a side note - Over the past dozen years we have spent nearly a month in Rome and still have a lot we want to see and do. I would not think six days would be too much and OA or Appain Way would be good breaks from the hustle and bustle of Rome.

I cannot compare Pompeii with Ostia Antica. We didn't want to give up a full day in Rome so we chose Ostia Antica. My 13 year olds loved Ostia Antica because it was only a 25 minute train ride from the tourist area of Rome---but the real positive was that they were outside listening to Rick Steves audio guide on their iPods...and most importantly they could run around a bit not disturbing anyone. They could climb up on things and jump down. It is a very large area and they really enjoyed seeing the ruins, imagining living there, yet it was not an all day excursion. I think it's easy to forget how kids like to be active and on some trips, especially if you're in the cities, taking mass transit, going to museums, and doing all sorts of interesting but passive things, you forget the kids like to run around. My 2 are pretty tame, not athletes...but those 3-4 hours at Ostia were great for them.

Note: there is little shade and it can be hot (we were there in April). Hats, sunscreen, water. There is a cafeteria and restrooms on site...not great food, but it is something to eat. Also, I was very worried about how I would find the site after getting off the train, but it is super easy just perhaps two blocks from the train station and well marked. Tour buses do go there so I would try to arrive by 9:30 ish ( check opening times). Private message me for more kid friendly Rome activities. Have fun!