Rome: For five days

Need to check map. Venice is much too far for a decent day trip. You might stick in Florence.

Since this is your first time to Rome I would suggest not doing any day trips. There is more than 5 days worth of things to see in Rome. Grab a good guide book to help you decide what else you'd like to see. Donna

Hi Bill, of course do all of the sites that you have mentioned, but get yourself a guide book and look through it and see what else there is that might interest you. The Pantheon is certainly a must see. Rome is an amazing place , just being there and walking around is fantastic. You never know what is around each corner. To me 5 days is just enough time for a first timer. Why rush to do day trips when there is enough to do just in Rome.

Hi Bill. I tend to agree with the others that your 5 days are probably best spent in Rome itself but you can always play it by ear and if by the 5th day, you decide you really want to take a day trip, then I would suggest Orvieto or Ostia Antica. I loved Orvieto & it's 90 minutes each way (by train) from Rome. I personally wouldn't consider Venice to be a day trip from Rome. As for the "must see" things in Rome, I would add a Vatican Museums tour to your itinerary (set aside a minimum of 3-4 hours for this). We also enjoyed touring Trajan's Market which is close to the Forum and Colloseum. Another suggestion is to take the elevator to the roof of the Vittorio Emmanuel Monument; the views from the top are outstanding over Rome. Have a great trip.

You could take a mini-day trip to Ostia Antica ruins http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/67723/colosseum-tour-and-ostia-antica-in-one-day.html

I add my voice to the others here. As for a side trip or other Rome-specific info, try browsing at "Ron in Rome's" website. It is an excellent resource, even though is not in Rome at this time.((sigh)). He even gives excellent guidance about day trips from Rome with very detailed instructions. His website is Roninrome.com

Hi Bill, There is so much to see in Rome that 5 days is a great amount of time to devote to the city. Definitely check out everything you've listed as well as the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, The Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Basillica, and I would recommend the Borghese Gallery. You have to reserve a time but it's well worth it if you enjoy painting and sculpture. On my first day I got in late afternoon and did a hop on hop off bus tour just to get my bearings, so that's an idea if you just want to get to know your way around.
I didn't do any daytrips from Rome, but I'm looking into Ostia Antica and Orvieto for some easy ones when I'm there in the fall. They seem to be nearby. Venice would probably be too far. You'll have a great time in Rome!

Do you have the RS Rome book? It recommends itineraries based on the number of days you'll be there.

Check out the Rick Steve's guided tour of Rome under the "Tours" icon on this web site. Since you will only be there 5 days, the tour itself won't work for you, BUT by checking the day-to-day itinerary, you will get a great sense of what Rick considers the top highlights, so you could pick and choose what you might want to do from that. But, definitely buy his guidebook....so worth it. Had friends do the same thing for a last-minute trip to Italy they were planning...as they looked at Rick's guided tour and price, they decided to take the last two spaces that became available on the tour and they had a blast (convinced they could have not done it on their own as efficiently and as enjoyably). Any chance you can stretch your trip by a day or two? His guides are incredible and they really bring sights to life. For side trips, maybe take the train to see one hill town , but would not suggest trying to also take in Venice on the same trip....too much to see.

Venice is too far for a quick trip and deserves several nights. You could go do a day trip to Pompeii or Tivoli/ Frascati. We had 4 nights in Rome and struggled to see everything we wanted to.

Bill, We just did 5 nights in Rome and 3 nights in Venice and are now going back to ROME alone just to spend a good two weeks there b/c we loved it so much and just could not fit in things we planned b/c of being tired after all the walking and to see things we couldn't have done in that time frame!! My opinion, 5 days/nights...definitely see the Colosseum, the Imperial Forums, the Borghese Gallery, the Vatican and then what you feel you want to see... You MUST pick up a RS guide if you don't have one yet...then after you read it, come back here and ask more questions!! :) Edited to say: Venice is way to far for a day trip...Read the RS book then come here to edit your itinerary!!

Here's a useful website that I stumbled onto...with some good info...
"10 things not to miss on a 2nd trip to Rome" http://www.wheninrometours.com/Articles/Rome-News/10-Places-not-to-miss-on-a-2nd-visit-to-Rome.html

We also did 5 days in Rome this spring, and as first-timers it wasn't enough! We didn't do any side trips, since there wasn't enough time to see what we wanted as it was. My favorite thing to do was just to sit and people watch while having fantastic wine and food. We'll go back and plan to spend at least another 5 days there! I don't know that you could ever see it all no matter how many trips you make.

I did a 5 day trip to Rome with my daughter a few years back. We had a great time for 4 days, then spent the last day just wandering around. We felt like we'd seen all we wanted to see. Thought about a day trip to Florence, but it was too much of a hassle. We didn't feel like a long train ride and really wished we could have had one night in Florence (but we were on a packaged Orbitz Vacation and our hotel was in Rome, and we flew into and out of Rome) We did a Vatican museum tour, but for museums, that was it for us, no interest. We did walk everywhere, and had some great gelato. Did take a side day trip to Orvieto and a day trip to Ostia Antica. Both were great, I'd highly recommend.

I would also recommend scheduling some downtime too. My husband and I just got back from Italy last month and we did 5 days in Rome. Due to the crowds/heat in the midday, we tended to do the most sites in the morning and then set aside the afternoon for a long lunch/shopping to avoid the crowds and heat.

Spend all five days in Rome. Get Rick's Italy book and tear out the section on Rome. Read it thoroughly and use his food recommendations and guided walks. I felt safe where ever I went at any time of day or night and just took standard precautions I would take in any large city. It's an incredible place.

Pompeii is a doable side trip. If you do Florence as a side trip (if you can stay for one night, do it and you can go to Pisa for a couple of hours) you must leave early, early n the morning, if you want to be back to Rome that same day (if you can stay for one night Florence, do it and you can visit Pisa for a couple of hours). Keep it simple in Florence, go to Uffizi.com and pre-purchase your tickets. You might be able to do the Academia (it's small) but not the Uffizi (it's bigger), but if you can swing it, do it. Do a Hop on/off tour to see some of the city and when you get to Piazza Michalangelo you might want to get off and see this beautiful city from this vantage point. Do the Duomo, walk the Ponte Vechio and see the Medici Chapel. That should cover a days activities in Florence and then some. And you have to make time to sit and eat. The food in Florence is probably the best in Italy. I'm sure that someone will add to my suggestions. Check the train schedules on Tren Italia site to plan when to go and come back. But buy the tickets at the train stations.