Ten Days in Rome - lots of questions!

Oh well, Lane, that answers my question to you in the PM. 😊

It's been quite a while since I have been in Rome (although I've been there twice), but I can tell you that for me, seeing the Colosseum from the outside was wonderful and I felt no need to brave the crowds heading inside. I'm sure others will feel differently but that's my opinion.

The only other thing I would highly recommend and I'm not sure if Rick has it in his itinerary, is to visit Ostia Antica. It's a set of fascinating ruins about 30 minutes outside the city. The whole town was covered in silt thousands of years ago and is very well preserved. If you go, you can take a picnic lunch and after touring the ruins, have a relaxing picnic in the green shady grass. It's usually not crowded there, so it's a good way to get away from the crowds of Rome.

I can’t imagine traveling to Rome and not entering inside the Colosseum. It is really shocking to me that Rick Steves would make that suggestion! Actually I am flabbergasted that he said that!!
Tivoli was a wonderful day trip for us, a big wow! I think we took a bus there. We did a self tour, which we usually do. I highly recommend that you visit Tivoli, the fountains are amazing, one after the other.
In Rome we have only done one tour in several trips there. It was a Rome Eats tour, was excellent and also a lot of fun. I have kept my list of the diverse and wonderful restaurants for future trips.
Considering your visits to Naples, Sorrento, Amalfi Coast, I can’t imagine doing a day trip there. No way. Stay overnight one or two nights to be able to visit and learn about these treasures. We preferred Sorrento to staying on the AC.
I hadn’t heard of the Key Masters Tour but though pricey sounds like a fabulous and very comprehensive tour. What time does it take place?

I didn't have the chance to go into the Colosseum on my first visit, and really regretted that. It was top of my list of things to do on my 2nd visit, and I really enjoyed my time there.

IMO a day trip to Pompeii from Rome is for the young and very energetic, and best attempted in cool weather. It will be a very long day. If you do a tour combining multiple places like Pompeii, Sorrento and the AC then you are short changing all of them and not getting much out of any of them. I could see doing Pompeii, with a stop for the Archeological Museum and then pizza in Naples on the way back. But you can easily do that DIY, without a tour.

We enjoyed the Forum and Palatine Hill considerably more than the Colosseum, however it's worth seeing the inside if you can work it.

We spent 11 days in Sorrento last Apri and I can't imagine doing the Amalfi Coast or Pompeii on a day trip, let alone overnight. The region is worthy of an entire trip on its own.

For tours of Rome sites we've done 3 with Through Eternity Tours and each have been fantastic.

...a day trip to Naples and Pompeii.

Pompeii can be done as a day trip from Rome, but it will be a long, long day. We would choose to stay overnight in Naples so as to not have a very tiring trip, and also to have time for Herculaneum.

Agree with Mardee about Ostia Antica. Very short trip on public transit, usually not crowded, and very well preserved.

1. Disagree. But this is a case of “what you don’t know won’t hurt you”, I think. If you don’t go, you have no way to know what you missed - and that’s ok. I don’t believe in “must see’s”. However, I really was fascinated with my tour of the underground and the upper (third?) tier and would do it again. I don’t know what’s available now. It was also nice to have visited the Basilica di San Clemente first.

It's great that you like the Rick Steves guidebooks--and this is his website after all--but with 10 days in Rome, you might want to expand your horizons, dig a little deeper, and look at additional books. Check out a DK Eyewitness guide, Michelin Green Guide to Rome, Blue Guide to Rome, or National Geographic Rome. If you don't want to purchase, try your library.

Re: question #3 - at your age, you might want a tour to Naples/Pompeii. I don't know anything about that particular tour. We have been to Naples, Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast a few times, but never as day trips.

And please go into the Colosseum!

Rick suggests skipping the Colosseum and just enjoying the thrill of
seeing it from the outside

He may have recommended that for visitors who have very little time in the city. You have 10 days; plenty of time to see the interior as well...as you should. Understand that the design of a Roman arena was so successful at being able to efficiently handle the entry and exit of thousands of spectators that the design is still in use today.

Are there any actual live-person tours you think would be worth
considering for any areas or attractions in Rome?

Yes. The Forum and Palatine are more complex sites than the Colosseum so I'd highly recommend a tour which includes all three. Walks of Italy, The Roman Guy, Context tours, Through Eternity... all resources for this sort of tour that others have recommended on this forum.

Rick suggests a day trip to Naples and Pompeii. But I found tours from
https://citywonders.com/ to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast (one goes to
Positano and one goes to Sorrento). Thoughts about these options?
Maybe do one of these tours and then on another day take the express
train to Naples? Or should I consider an overnight?

If these are bus tours, I'm not a fan. They spend over 6-7 hours of the day on the road, and not nearly enough time at Pompeii. Those are hours that could be spent not sitting on a bus. I definitely would not do one of these and then turn around and go BACK to Naples - which you go by on your way to Pompeii - another day. Take the train to Naples, the local commuter to Pompeii, return to Naples for an overnight stay, do some sightseeing and then take the train back to Rome. You can hire a guide at the entrance to the scavi, or take a look at the 2-hour Mondo RS shared tour "Pompeii Walk":

https://www.sharedtours.com

You can spend more time exploring the scavi after the tour wraps up; you can't do that with a tour bus back to Rome to catch! You also won't get the good out of the Amalfi Coast with just a brief look.

Although the Key Master's tour
(https://www.walksofitaly.com/vatican-tours/key-masters-tour-sistine-chapel-vatican-museums/)
is very expensive, I think I might splurge on it. Anyone done it and
can offer feedback?

Haven't done it and personally wouldn't spend the $700+ to do it but then, it's your budget so if you have it to spend and it would make you happy, then go for it! :O)

You will love Rome. So much to see and do.
From my visit in 2019 and my plans for September, here’s a few answers to your questions:

1) Rick is wrong about the Colosseum. It’s iconic and worth a visit. We took this Walks of Italy tour https://www.walksofitaly.com/rome-tours/vip-ancient-rome-tour-caesar-s-palace/

2) I can’t help you with a Tivoli guide. We stopped there on the South of Italy tour. Our guide gave a brief walk through and then we had free time to see more of the ruins.

3) A day trip to Naples and Pompeii would be a killer day, way too long and too much to see. Either do an overnight trip or opt for a day trip to Ostia Antica (an hour from Rome). The RS Audio App has a walk through Ostia.

4) Eating Europe does really good food tours. I’ve done Rome, London and two in Paris. I will be doing Venice, Florence and Rome this year. They are a great way to see parts of cities you may not visit otherwise. As a solo traveler it’s really nice to have dining companions. https://www.eatingeurope.com/rome/

5) We did the Pristine Sistine early entry tour which is no longer available as it was. I don’t know anything about Key Master’s tour other than it’s expensive. I think there’s a thread on the forum within the past week or so asking about Vatican early entrance tours. I think the answer was the Vatican doesn’t do early entry tours as of Jan 1. So check it out carefully.

Have a great trip!

We absolutely loved our guided tour through Palatine Hill, the Roman Forum and the Colosseum. I randomly met Rob, the owner of Through Eternity on a subway platform in NYC and then when I realized the company was also recommended in a few different tour books, it was a no brainer. My husband and I also did an early tour through the Vatican with them as well and I know they offer other structured tours, as well as private/custom walking tours/options. All their guides are historians, such lovely people! and I can't recommend it enough.

The Key Master's Tour info states the start/end hours as 6:00-8:00 AM so would really be the rare "early entrance" tour.

That said, if you're an art fan then please get advance tickets to Galleria Borghese! Due to their crowd control - only so many tickets are sold for each 2-hour slot and the galleries cleared between them - we enjoyed that one so much more than the mob at the Vatican. The construction of the villa was expressly commissioned by a Cardinal (Borghese) to display his vast collection (some of it sadly confiscated or stolen) and each room has a theme. Along with the paintings and sculptures, take note of interesting trompe l'oeil decoration of ceilings and walls. My favorite "David" is here versus Florence. :O)

Lots of great info here to explore before your trip!
https://galleriaborghese.beniculturali.it/en/il-museo/la-villa/

One more opinion: Colosseum interior is interesting. But the Forum and the Palatine cannot be missed. I don't see a reason to miss the interior of the Colosseum if time and budget permit, however.

Lane,

Love Rome, been there twice (2018 and 2023) both in May/June. You have received some good feedback from Forum members. Here are my recommendations based on what went well and what didn't in these two trips.

1. Colosseum can be crowded. However, with a good tour company, it is easy to navigate through the crowd. We took Walks of Italy Premium Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and Forum tour: https://www.walksofitaly.com/rome-tours/roman-colosseum-tours/. Our tour guide was a native of Rome, history major in college and knowledgeable about the history. She really brought the Colosseum to life. We took an afternoon tour and I would recommend if you can, take a tour in the morning. It can get warm in the afternoon. My recommendation is to take a tour of the Palatine Hill and Forum. Our first trip, we followed the RS guide and it was inadequate. Also, if you want the best view of the Forum, do follow the RS guide for the Capitoline Museum and you will see one of the best views.
2. Tivoli: we were going to take the train, however, it was raining and we just didn't want to be miserable in the rain and opted to stay in Rome. You might want to hold off in booking something in case the weather is not to your liking or something that is easy for you to cancel if the weather is bad.
3. A day trip to Naples and/or Pompeii is a long day, mainly in transit. If you can, would recommend you stay the night either in Naples and/or Sorrento. I can highly recommend Mondo Tours if you stay in Naples for Pompeii tour. While we took a private tour, we found their guides amazingly knowledgeable. Here is the link to their Shared Tours for Pompeii: https://www.sharedtours.com/. One other thing you can consider doing is contacting them directly to see what they might be able to do if you take the train from Rome to Naples (very easy) and then have them pick you up at the train station and drive you to Pompeii, tour, and get you back to the train station.
4. RS Audio Tours: I took most of them last time I was in Rome and I had mixed feeling about them. It was good to get the highlights with some commentary, but it was a bit disorienting to navigate the city with the audio tour. My husband hated it and we used them a guidelines, but did not follow them exactly.

We took tours from Walks of italy for the Vatican Early Entry: https://www.walksofitaly.com/vatican-tours/pristine-sistine-chapel-tour/ along with the Colosseum links I already provided. The Walks of Italy tour was excellent. in 2018, we went to the Vatican in the afternoon on a private tour and it was a miserable experience, too crowded. I had to twist my husband's arm to go back and going in the morning with a knowledgeable guide made all the difference. Even he admitted it was worth going back.

I would also recommend you take the guided tour by the Borghese Gallery guides. We have gone twice and the time we took the tour we learned so much more. The gardens are open now, so make sure you go into the gardens. This was my husband and friend's favorite museum in Rome.

For Food tours, would recommend either Eating Europe's Twilight Trastevere: https://www.eatingeurope.com/rome/twilight-trastevere/. If you go to the early time, you can get cookies at the Vegan bakery. Regardless, you will get to learn your neighborhood, so take it early in your trip. The other tour that was fun was Taste of Testaccio: https://www.eatingeurope.com/rome/taste-of-testaccio/ where you will shop at a local market in an area of Rome in which locals live.

Hope this helps. Have a great trip.

I'm really appreciative of all your helpful responses! I have a lot of planning to do between now and October, but you have given me a great deal of guidance that will help me figure everything out.

Ostia Antica is in Rick's 7-day itinerary, and it will definitely be in mine. And I am looking at all the tour providers for the Forum, Palatine Hill, and yes, the inside of the Colosseum.

Since most of you advise against a day trip to Naples/Pompeii, are there other day trips you would suggest that would not be such a long day? Maybe Viterbo, Subiaco, or the other destinations described at https://www.througheternity.com/en/blog/travel-tips/10-best-hill-towns-lazio-day-trip-rome.html. I suppose I could rent a car for a day, but I'd prefer to travel by train or bus.

Thanks again to all who have responded.

Good day,
I will answer in order as best as I can:
1. Disagree- I have been to the Colosseum several times and have never been deterred by the crowds. I have utilized the Roma Pass a couple of times too, and it is a good option. Just be sure and arrive 15-20 minutes before your entry time and make sure you're in the correct place when it's your time.
2. Never been there.
3. I am not a guided tour person. I prefer to be my own guide. I have done Pompeii as a day trip from Rome twice in the past. It's easy to get to Pompeii from Rome before the park opens at 9:00. We usually arrive at Napoli Centrale around 8:00 and either take the Circumvesuviana or a private taxi to Pompei. One time we did a day trip from Sorrento and spent the whole day in Naples. I do believe if you want to give Naples and Pompei enough attention, you might consider spending the night. Either one can be a day trip but both will end up cutting something short.
4. Monetti Taxi is about all I can recommend. Rafael Monetti drove us around the Amalfi Coast one time. We didn't hire him as a guide, so to speak, but he was very charming and knowledgeable about the area. We are taking a day trip to Pompei from Rome again in a few weeks, this time with our grandchildren, and we hired Monetti Taxi to get us from Napoli Centrale to Pompei and back to the station again.
5. I have not done this. One time we booked the earliest entry into the Vatican Museums and walked straight to the Sistine Chapel so we could be in there alone. It was magnificent. Walking back to the museums was akin to a salmon swimming upstream. Overall, it was worth it at least once.

I hope some of this was helpful. Good luck!

For a day trip…Orvieto. A little over an hour by train.
My family & I did the combined Colosseum/Forum/Palatine tour with the Tour Guy last June. Terrific guide.

I've been to Viterbo and consider it a worthwhile destination. It has a nice, walled, medieval center. It also has the virtue of being pretty much off the foreign-tourist circuit. However, I'd give a higher recommendation to Orvieto due to the wide variety of sights there (including a fabulous cathedral and some good museums) and the entrance to the upper town by funicular, which is a neat experience. The tourist office in Orvieto offers several walking tours. Orvieto, it must be said, is a lot more touristy than Viterbo, but there probably won't be as many visitors in the town on a weekday as on a weekend; I suspect a lot of the folks visiting Orvieto are actually residents of Rome, etc.

The travel time to Orvieto is a good bit shorter than to Viterbo.

Hi there! Well you've gotten some great advice & are asking the right questions. IF you do go on a early-entry tour to the Vatican, please let us know as there's some confusion about whether it exists any longer or not!

Many people go to Ostia Antica when they can't get to Pompeii, and since it's only 30 min by train from the Pyramid subway station, it's an easy day out.

Tivoli is FANTASTIC, and having been to Rome & it's environs a lot, it's the one day trip I would recommend most, IF you love gardens & fountains. Hadrian's Villa is also nearby, you could easily do both in a day, sure you could go on a tour, but it's easy to do on your own.
"Trenitalia offers a combined rail/bus ticket from Tiburtina to either of the two sites there.
If taking a train directly to Tivoli, Villa d'Este is closer to the train station but still a walk [there is a bridge that serves as a shortcut across the river]. Roma Tiburtina -Trains depart approximately every hour (make sure you also look for trains headed to Avezzano: they’ll stop at Tivoli, too!) from the train hub at Roma Tiburtina, one short subway ride away from Roma Termini. Roma Termini also has trains, but fewer as it's mainly for commuters and doesn't run often."

I'm just guessing Rick wants to please his audience suggesting a grueling day tour to Pompeii AND the AC. Yikes. No way, too much travel time for little on the ground time. Do you want to do an overnight i Naples? It's a gritty, but fun city but you've already booked your nights in Rome, which frankly I think is the way to do it, save Naples, Pompeii, AC, etc for a separate trip.

I consider the Palazzo Massimo across from Termini train station one of the best, least visited museums in Rome, given how uncrowded it is, I think we saw less than 10 people in 3 hours. https://youtu.be/s6g75E6Lzls?si=a_el8D13aPoClQG8. Second or third the idea of getting advanced tickets to the Borghese Gallery, it's my favorite museum in Rome. We were in Rome over NY 2023 - 24, here's my trip report with some foodie and other museum recommendations - https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/rome-was-jammed-over-ny-but-still-fun.

Agree that a walking food tour is wonderful way to see a Roman neighborhood, we loved the Eating Europe Walks of Testaccio, but have heard good things about the sunset walk in Trastevere as well.

I forgot to mention we loved our tour of "Vicus Caprarius", the underground aquaduct & roman villa remains very close to the Trevi fountain. Ideally you need to book via Whatsapp 24 hours ahead, we had to wait an hour to get in when we arrived early in the day without reservatios.

I also highly recommend going to and getting advanced tickets to the Borghese Gallery. Definitely not to be missed! Also, I read somewhere, maybe on this forum, to take binoculars to see the Sistine Chapel ceiling. I'm so glad I did. The ceiling is quite high and everyone was asking to borrow them. It was a really nice shared experience. They were small Vanguard binoculars. Enjoy your trip!