Rome trip with 9 and 11 year old

A private tour, just you and your family, will cost several hundred euros(500-800). They are not cheap. If you wish to book skip the line tickets for the colosseum and the underground tour you can do that at the official site: http://www.ticketclic.it/Gb/HTML/musei/colosseo.cfm click on the "collect onsite" option and enter your dates to see the tours available. For the Vatican museums you can book entry tickets or a tour at: http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?weblang=en&do \You might also want to check out this tour offered by the Vatican: http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/z-Info/Didattica/MV_Info_Didattica_09_family_tour.html Donna

We will be in Rome in July and have booked private tours through a contact in the Rick Steves book for a number of days, including a half-day for the Vatican and another for Archeological Rome. The Vatican tour is 3.5 hours for 220€ and the Colosseum/Roman Forum/Palatine Hill tour is 3 hours for 180€. We discovered that for a lot of the things we wanted to see on our trip, the per-person cost of joining a small group tour was not much cheaper than hiring a private tour guide.

How old is the third kid? I went to Rome earlier this year with 3 kids (8, 10
& 12). You don't need to do a guided tour to get "skip the line" priviledges. Go to Palantine Hill first thing in the morning to buy your combo tix and you'll be able to skip the line at the Colosseum. (Just walk to the left of the line) The Underground tour would have to be booked in advance. It was not running when we were there, so I don't have more info to offer. We did the RS self-guided tour and found it quite good an sufficient for our family. As for the Vatican - read the information about the Vatican museums and lines that is on the Ron in Rome website. We followed his advice and walked right in to the Vatican Museum. It's a lot for a kid, and we didn't even make it through the whole RS self-guided tour. I honestly could not imagine dragging my kids through a 5 hour guided tour there. (And we've done guided tours of other places; this was just not a place that holds kids' interest well) By the time we made it to the Sistine Chapel, they were done and ready to walk out. St. Peter's is neat, and they really liked climbing the dome. My parents were with us on that trip and we split up so they could do a full guided tour of the Vatican and although they loved their tour and tour guide, they said there was no way it would have held the kids' interest. Big contrast to Pompeii which was interesting to everyone.

Great advice - and I am bringing just TWO kids, not 3! ( (I was thinking about the 3 nights) I was in Rome years ago and remember doing St Peters - so I believe you can just enter that on your own, without doing other things at the Vatican. And see the Sistine Chapel? I like the idea of booking ahead for the underground tour. I have been dealing with a tour guide trying to see me a "private car" to take us around and think the price is ridiculous. They keep telling me that a family of 4 cannot fit in a taxi. Is this true? Will no taxi take 2 adults and 2 kids - meaning we'd have to take 2 taxis?
Any other suggestions for 2 daughters to keep their interest is welcome!

Just did the Underground tour earlier this week and it was fantastic! We bought our tickets online at that website listed in the first response (21.50€ I think for the underground tour, as well as access to Roman Forum and Palantine Hill), and then went straight to the entrance, bypassing all the horrendously long lines! The tour itself was about an hour but you could roam around the rest of it for as long as you want. I honestly can't imagine going on a 300+€ tour or one that took several hours, especially with kids. I think you would be pleased with the one we did. Elena was our guide and she was great!

Last May with our 11year old grandson we did the Under ground Colosium tour(ticket included the Forum, which he wasn't "that into" and we skipped the Vatican museum for all the resons givenfor an 11yo it would be long,long, long. He really enjoyed going though St Peter's however he loved going to the top of the dome and climbing all the steps and the rope at the end to get to the top. None of this was on a private tour, because the Underground tour was limited to about 30 people and(I think) you want to make sure you are going on an English tour. As an aside, we stumbled into the Rome cat sanctuary walking along VE to St. Peter's after going to the Forum and he thought that was pretty cool.

My family of 4 adults have fit just fine in every European taxi we've ever come across, and some of us aren't the tiniest specimens, either. And some of us always keep our daybags with us inside the car. This includes 4 carry-on-sized bags, and usually 1-3 daybags, in the trunk, too. No problem. How 'into' this trip are the kids? Are they doing lots of research themselves and helping to drive the itinerary? Otherwise, this could be a death march, for all of you :-( They need to be invested in their trip. The tour guide reviews I've read often say that the tours are too boring for kids (= adult-oriented), and kids get very bored, very quickly.

Great info for the taxi - we should fit just fine if that's the case. I think my kids will be bored to tears with the Vatican tour (they are NOT invested in planning any of this) but I think the Colosium would be really interesting - also for them - and the underground tour sounds cool. I went on the web site to buy those tickets and it is a little bit confusing - there is just the "Underground" tour seperate from the regular tour. I wonder if we can buy the one for the Underground and if that gives us entrance to wander by ourselves throughout the place after the tour is over. ??? Or does that need to be a serperate ticket?
I'm inclined to take the kids just to see St Peter's and spend an hour or so and then leave the Vatican.

A few posts above, you seemed to be asking if you can see the Sistine Chapel as part of St. Peter's. You can not. The Sistine Chapel is part of the Vatican Museums, and can only be seen by going there. Admission fees, possible long lines, definite large crowds, and the "death march" through the rest of the museum to get to the Sistine Chapel are all included as part of the "experience." You couldn't pay me to do this with kids, unless they themselves indicated a direct interest. As said above, they should be reading and researching this trip too, and have some input. Do be sure to go to St. Peter's Square and the Basilica. in addition to the church and the piazza itself, the Swiss Guard uniforms are something to see, and I think kids would be intrigued by them (MGM costume designers had nothing on Michelangelo).

Harold is right-I remember the Vatican museum with my kids (same ages) as a death march until you got to the very crowded Sistine chapel. And it wasn't just the kids who had a hard time with it-I found it overwhelming as well. On the other hand, St Peters was a highlight for us all. We got up very early on the morning we visited and walked from our hotel at Trevi fountain. It was cooler and not as crowded and we felt that we had the square almost to ourselves. Climbed to the top and loved looking out over the city. An absolute joy! They also liked the colosseum, Piazza Navona, and in general just walking around. Not sure where you will be taking taxis - I know our family of 4 took a cab from the airport upon landing, but took the train back when we were picking up our rental car. Otherwise we didn't need a taxi on the street. Italy is still their favorite European country, you'll have a great time!

thank you everyone! Great tips. The only item I'm still unsure about is buying the Underground tickets. I am a bit confused on the options - if I get JUST the underground ticket, do I need to also buy the Forum and regular ticket? Or is the Underground tour inclusive of those? Anyone know?
Thanks,

The underground ticket can be bought in one of two ways. If you need tickets to the colosseum/forum/palatine hill you can book the tour and tickets online. If you're using the romapass for entry you'll need to call to book only the tour. If you book the underground tour online it will come with tickets that include entry into the colosseum, forum and palatine hill. Donna

We took our 2 boys to Italy at almost exactly the same age as your kids are now. I would suggest immersing them in Roman and Italian culture, history and stories now, before you go. Just like adults, the more they know what they are looking at, the cooler it is. Otherwise, Rome is just a crowded pile of dusty rocks. I have a wonderful book called "Ancient Rome for Kids" but I fear it may be out of print. Check out the travelforkids.com websitethey have excellent sightseeing ideas, but the highlight is that they recommend books for each place. We have bought MANY books based on that website over the years; it makes the kids' experience so much better. In Rome, I would also recommend buying one of the "plastic overlay" books that are sold everywhere in town. They show the famous sites as they are now, then you can flip over the plastic page to see how they looked long ago. Really helpful for kids (ok, and us grown ups too!) Other kids tips for Rome: Taxi for 4 is no problem. Eating in the taxi is a problemmy kids got yelled at by the taxi driver for opening their snacks in the car! Get to St. Peter's before it opens and you won't have to wait in line. Definitely go UP UP UP. Gift shop on the roof! Kid reviews: Top 3: Catacombs, Ostia Antica (worth a half day), St. Peters, and Castel Sant'angelo (so-so for adults, but they didn't want to leave!) Palatine Hill = boring Forum = also boring Coloseumcool, wished they could go underground (not avail. at the time)
Water spouts that turn into fountains when you cover the little hole=priceless

Our daughter is a little different than most kids her age; we first took her to Rome when she was 10, and she loved the Vatican Museums (for hours), the Borghese, Palazzo Barberini. The latter, in addition to being a nice smaller museum with very good Raphaels, is an actual palace. One great idea is San Clemente church - it has beautiful mosaics and frescos, and a lovely cloister area out front. It was built on a 4th-century Christian church, which was built on top of a Mithraic temple and school, and which was built on top of a Roman home. You can visit all the different levels; amazing. Also interesting is the church of St. Ignatius, with a really neat trompe d'oiel dome. Don't tell your kids when they enter, just have them look up, and see if they figure it out. Churches can be a good way to experience art for those who are less into it; you see a couple of superb pieces, and before anyone has time to be bored, it's time to leave. Also rare to get to see art "in situ," hanging in the place that it was painted for. San Luigi is like this, with three works by Caravaggio. And Saint Peter's in Chains and Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, which each contain a sculpture by Michelangelo.

You might check out the Catacombs of St. Priscilla. The nuns who live in the convent there often give the tours, and these particular catacombs have some of the better preserved ancient artwork in them. So it provides something interesting for both groups: adults can enjoy learning about the artwork and so forth; kids get to be in catacombs and it may be an added bonus that a nun in a habit is giving the tour (something you don't see everyday back in the States). Enjoy!

Hi, We've just visited Rome with our 9 and 11 year old. We spent three days there. Good match with you! So, here's my advice: 1) Do one thing per day. We did: Day 1: St. Peter's, with the dome climb (don't waste money on the elevator). Day 2: Colleseum and Forum
Day 3: What we called "join the dots" which was basically doing the two walks in the RS book (Dolce Vita and Heart of Rome) 2) The Rome Uncovered (I think that's the name) book is great. It shows Rome 2000 years ago and now, with good descriptions. It's spiral bound, and had kind of cut-out overlays to show how things have changed. Loads of the tourist shops have these books in all the languages. About 12 Euro. I enjoyed reading it too! 3) We've always been advised to do the open top Red Bus tour of a town. We did not for Rome as we had so much time, but our kids always love these, and they get to sit down and relax for 2 hours. RS recommends two bus routes and the 116 electrobus. We did these instead of the open top bus, and it was a good rest. 4) Plan gelato stops. We loved sitting in front of the Pantheon eating gelato and watching the world go by. 5) Vatican Museum...it's MILES to get to the Sistine Chapel, and then it's a packed zoo in there when you do, with the guards shouting every five minutes to get people to be silent! My kids really couldn't be bothered with it at all. 6) If you follow the RS tips for when to show up, and where to skip the line, the lines are way shorter. Hope that helps!

David makes some great suggestions. And if I may chime in on gelato, I have four places to recommend, where they make it in-house and it is excellent (this won't matter as much to the kids, as to the adults): Near the Vatican: Old Bridge Gelateria (on the way to the entrance to the Vatican Museum) Near Piazza Navona: Gelateria Frigidarium (on Via del Governo Vecchio, great street to walk down) Near the Pantheon: Della Palma (tons of flavors) Near the Trevi Fountain:
Gelateria Valentino (very friendly older couple runs it, they love kids, the guy speaks English) You can easily find all of these places on TripAdvisor.com, typing in the names as I have them above (for getting the address, etc.) A lot of books (maybe even Rick's?) recommend Gelateria di San Crispino, which sells sort of colorless organic stuff, and I have to say, I didn't like the taste. YMMV. Have fun!

Great ideas! One last question on the Underground tickets. I assume the tour includes the regular Colosium tour as well? And is the entire thing about an hour? Lastly, you have to sign up for a specific time, so is it suggested to print your tickets and home and bring them (for a small fee) and then just be there right before you time slot, walk up to the front to skip the line, and present your tickets?
Thanks.... Not sure if we should pick them up there or have them first and how it works.