Rome Intinerary

Hi Ron,

This might be helpful--it's in Rick's "Travel Tips:"

Jet Lag and the First Day

Hi Ron,

Sharon's concerns about jet lag are well-founded, however depending on the people in your party, you could still make a fairly effective use of your time. I find that jet lag TO Europe doesn't actually affect me all that badly, and fresh air and exercise seems to help.

For your first day there, I would plan something that lets you move around and that doesn't require a lot of mental energy. I would also stay somewhat close to your hotel in case naps become a necessity.

Possible options would be: Palentine Hill, Roman Forum, just wander around and explore, or do one of Rick's recommend walks. I would probably not try to visit a lot of museums or churches as I think it would be hard to appreciate their beauty while fatigued.

Considering that you have four days, the fact that you intend to skip three of the major sites, and that (imo) Ostia Antica is a WONDERFUL place to visit, I would definitely suggest you fit that in. You could spend an entire day there, but most people can do it in about half a day and sometimes they combine it with a visit to the catacombs.

I know that this goes against what Rick says but I usually like to take a short nap when I arrive in Europe. Usually no more than an hour and then I try and stay up till 11 or so local time and then go to bed. I will still feel just ok, but better than with no nap.

Hi Ron,

On that first day, I would start with the Trevi Fountain and walk torwards the Pantheon and Piazza Naviaro. It a nice relaxing walk for the first day after a long flight.

I think you could see most site in Rome in 2 day and could take a day trip outside of Rome.
In Rome, you might consider to Borghese Gallery and Castle San Angelo.

Tomorrow will be one month since our arrival in Rome. Sigh....

We, too, arrived at 7am. We took a pill and slept on the plane and we were fine until 3:00ish, when we took a nap before dinner. The big surprise was that we were all WIDE awake at sunrise. The bigger surprise was that we did that once we got back home, too, no matter what time we went to bed.

Upon arrival we had a car take us out to Tivoli and we loved that. The next day we spent the morning on the Appian Way riding bikes and visitng the catacombs and the afternoon exploring Ostia Antica - which we loved, loved, loved. We took a cab to the Appian Way and a bus back (which we waited over an hour for grumble) right to the Pyramid bus-stop/train station, which took us out to Ostia. EASY.

As an aside, we also day-tripped to Orvieto, which was awesome.

I highly recommend Ostia Antica. It is just what they say - very hands on, very understandable, very insightful into how Romans lived. They have a great restaurant. We were there in the afternoon and benefitted from the shade of the trees. Early morning would probably be the same. It is very easy to get to and the 45-minute train ride really didn't seem like 45 minutes at all.

Other than the Vatican we didn't do any museums in Rome. We wandered, did all the "walks", did the Colosseum/Forum area, but we really did love our excursions and strongly encourage folks to follow their interests and not just a check list of things to see.

Have fun!

ps - bring allergy medication b/c we all had issues in Rome even though most of us don't have issues at home.