Rome in a Day....Help

The Planning Your Time section of this website has some insights into planning one day in Rome. I would get to the Vatican museum well before it opens and to try to avoid the long lines. Then, use Rick's tip to sneak out the side of the Sistine Chapel by drafting behind a tour group. The exit deposits you right at the steps of St. Peter's. For transportation, use taxis to save time. If there are really long lines at the Coliseum, you can buy your ticket at Palatine Hill. If you don't have a full day because of the transportation between the city and the port, you might want to consider skipping the Sistine Chapel and just going to St. Peter's and the Coliseum.

How long is your day? The Trevi is always open, so you could do that after dashing through the other 2. Do the coluseum in the am & the Vatican in the pm.

I'd do the Coliseum in the morning and try the Sistine chapel in the afternoon. I did a tour of the Vatican museums and the guide said that the afternoons were better especially on a Tuesday. Also if your time is so tight I'd suggest taking taxis too. The Spanish steps aren't far from the Trevi and you can go any time so you may want to squeeze that in too.

We will not be able to make it to Rome until about 10am, since the drive from port to Rome is 90 min. We have until 5 pm. How late in the afternoon can one arrive at the Vatican, and still get in to see the museums and Sisteen chapel, and have time for St Peters also???????

Take a day tour. Really very little other option with just a day.

Tahe the ATAC city bus hop on hopoff red bus tour. You can get it at the Termini station. It covers over 80 sightseeing destinations. Great overview of the city. It has an audio plug in guide. If you see the Sisteen it will, in all likelihood, be the only thing you see with your limited time.

I lived in Rome for three months last winter, so I will try and lay this out succinctly. I would first find out what time you will be arriving in Rome, and where your "drop off point" in Rome will be. Then, study a map of Rome very carefully...make it part of you! I would then pinpoint the Vatican and the Colisseum on the map. I would then highlight on your map these streets: Via della Conciliazione (runs straight into the Vatican), this connects to Corso Vittorio Emmanuele II, which runs into Via Plebescito, and then Via dei Fori Imperiali. Once you have figured out where you will be dropped off, you can follow this route and hit many of the major highlights of Rome, with the Vatican at one end and the Coliseum at the other. In between, very close to the main route you just highlighted, you can see the Forum, il Vittoriano, the Pantheon, and Piazza Navona. I would reccomend skipping the Vatican Museums for time reasons, but you should have time to enter the St. Peter's Basilica.

Hi. We are also traveling by cruise ship and we have the chance to do a private tour of the vatican. (somewhat costly)I am wondering how far the vatican is from the colisseum? Our tour of the vatican begins at 12:45 from the port. We were trying to decide if any way possible of seeing the colisseum before that? Thanks for any information. We planned this cruise very spur of the moment and are trying to learn fast.

To make the best use of your time take taxis. They aren't very expensive and will keep you on schedule. It is helpful to have your destination written down so you can show that to the cabbie.

would it be unreasonable to take a taxi from port into Rome? is that distance too costly by taxi? maybe train into Rome n taxi back? we don't have to be onboard till 9pm. i'm trying to make back up plans in case the trains r on strike or not running properly. or full!

I agree with JS...you need to book the tour through the cruise line...for a few reasons..they'll talk you up on the way with entertaining info..get you to the chapel on time (no pun intended) and get you back to the boat on time...and if for some reason there's a problem..the boat will wait for their tour group...if you're out on your own...they'll depart without you if you don't get back on time....

We too considered a 14 day European cruise but decided against it for just this reason..we're going polar opposite in regards to luxury...we're doing a RS tour!!!