three days in Rome - all ages - siesta time needed?

Airport transfer- We use Rome Limousines, competitive prices, reliable. They meet you in airport.

We are a multi-generational group that will be in Rome for 3 full
days.

Sandshine, on another of your posts you mention that your trip (Rome, Florence or Siena, and Venice) is next month, and it appears to begin in Rome? How many NIGHTS are you staying in the city, and are you coming in on an long, international flight?
It makes a difference when considering how much sightseeing time you realistically will have. Arrival days usually count only as a partial, given time through immigration, transport into the city center and either settling into a hotel or dropping luggage until check-in time. Jet lag can also take some managing on Day 1.

What attractions do you have on your must-see list, and have you ordered advance tickets to any of them? That's really important for a couple of the most-visited tourist sites to avoid standing in VERY long, hot queues in during high season.

As to your general plan of using a siesta schedule, that's what I ended up doing a month ago. The heat gets to you after a while, especially in places like the Forum where shade is limited. I found a mid-day rest/shower to be refreshing, and then I'd go out again until late.

Which things are open late depends on day of the week, but there are plenty of things to do in the evening even if it's just enjoying the passagiata or seeing the monuments lit up at night.

We fly into Rome, arriving at the airport about 4:30 pm on a Weds. Then we are in Rome 3 full additional days, then leave early the following morning. So 4 nights total. We want to see Colusseum, Vatican, and Borgehese Gallery. Thinking about Friday night for Vatican to ease crowds, but realize St. Peter's would have to be separate, since that would be closed by 7pm. Figure we will use tours to avoid general lines, but haven't actually made the reservations yet.

You'll have to consult a good guide book on how late things are open since there are so many "things" we cannot address them all not knowing what you are planning on seeing/visiting. Taking advantage of late hours is smart, though, especially when it is hot!

We like the afternoon pausa when we travel. After lunch, at least from 14:00-17:00, we tend to hole up. Remember, too, that Italians dine late with good reason in the summer. It's much more pleasant to dine outdoors after the sun goes down, so have a late lunch, a little aperitivo about 17:00 or 18:00, then dinner at 21:00. Go local!

There are also evening events that can enhance your stay like the Imperial Forum shows and Notti d'Estate a Castel Sant'Angelo in which Castel Sant'Angelo is open late with special tours. Also, through the end of August, there is a festival along the Tevere with restaurants, kiosks, and entertainment every night.

OK, so you do have 3 full days...which I consider bare minimum for Rome but you can cover some ground in that time. Keep in mind that herding 11 people around is also going to be interesting and probably not especially speedy, especially as none of you have been to Rome before.

Figure we will use tours to avoid general lines, but haven't actually
made the reservations yet.

You do not have to use tours to avoid lines: that's easily done simply by pre-booking entry tickets. This may also be a better idea with a group as large as yours as not everyone may be up to moving along at the same pace. I won't say "don't" but you may have issues even finding organized tours that can accommodate that many at this late date (I assume your trip is next month?)

Vatican: Friday night is a very good idea, and you could visit the basilica BEFORE you go to the museums. You can choose a tour of the museums or just opt to self-tour them. Tickets here:

Self-guided tour:
http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/visita-i-musei/scegli-la-visita/musei-e-collezioni/musei-vaticani-e-cappella-sistina/-i-aperture-notturne--i---visita-libera-musei-e-cappella-sistina.html

Guided tour:
http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/visita-i-musei/scegli-la-visita/musei-e-collezioni/musei-vaticani-e-cappella-sistina/-i-aperture-notturne--i---visita-guidata-musei-e-cappella-sistin.html

Colosseum:
Pre-purchase general-entry tickets here:

http://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm

Buy only tickets for the adults, and choose the option of picking them up at the reservation desk. Your teens under age 18 will be free BUT need to show proof of age at the reservation desk (bring their passports) to pick up their free tickets so you'll need to go to that desk anyway. Audioguides are available for rent. Tickets are good for the Forum and Palatine as well: those two must be visited together, at the same time.

Tours of the Colosseum in English are offered for € 5.00 but must be reserved by phone, and may be sold out for your dates but you could try. Info under "Individuals guided tours" about 3/4 of the way down this page.

http://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm

Borghese: you need to buy these right away if trying to purchase for 11 people. This is a very popular attraction and tickets can sell out well in advance during high season. Buy them here:

http://www.tosc.it/tickets.htm?affiliate=T2C&sort_by=event_datum&sort_direction=asc&fun=erdetail&doc=erdetaila&erid=912678&language=en

More info:
http://www.ticketone.it/obj/media/IT-eventim/pdf/en/galleria-borghese-5-en.pdf

Again, your children under age 18 will be free but choose the € 2.00 reservation fee option for them and bring their passports.

Whether you break for a nap or push through the day is entirely up to you. Once we leave our hotel in the morning, we're usually gone until after dinner at night so you'll just have to judge how well everyone is doing. You may want to consider breaking your group up so people who want to go back for awhile can and those who don't can keep going. I'm thinking you're also going to need to make dinner reservations if all 11 people will be dining together.

Where did you book your accommodations?

Good idea to let people go back to the hotel to rest if they want to, then meet you later. Taxis are fairly cheap in Roma, but they tend not to cruise for fares. Taxi stands are at every major monument/sight.

I think Rome in August--even after giving you the first night for free to combat jet lag--will require you to build some down time in, especially if it's hot. But that's just me. My friend Kathy would think differently. However, having only 3 days, rather than the six nights we had this last March to stroll at a more leisurely pace, might make me bypass the nap/chill time. But I will say that just zoning out & people-watching at an outdoor cafe for a couple hours, sipping on an espresso or a Negroni, was a part of experiencing Rome that I'll never, ever forget. Unlike anything else I've experienced--you're soaking up the history while watching Romans go on with their daily lives.

Use Kathy's links to get on the Vatican tickets pronto. We did the Museum/Sistine 7 years ago, self-guided, and it was sensory overload in a cattle call environment. More enjoyable to me was a morning visit this last March to St. Peter's. Got a 'bypass the line' ticket for 15 Euro--probably similar to Kathy's link--and saved an hour waiting in a queue, all the more important with your limited time in town. It was spectacular, and we didn't even go up into the Basilica. Don't miss it.

If you're the ringleader, you might think you're 'herding cats' at times with 11 people. You have more intestinal fortitude than I do! But remember, Rome is a hanging-out kind of town, more than anyplace else in Italy I've visited. Do your attractions, but please don't forget to just chill at some point. You won't regret it.

Enjoy your planning!

But I will say that just zoning out & people-watching at an outdoor
cafe for a couple hours, sipping on an espresso or a Negroni, was a
part of experiencing Rome that I'll never, ever forget.

LOL, my friend Jay and I agree on that: a non-negotiable part of our daily routine in Italy! 😉

we didn't even go up into the Basilica.

You meant that you went into the church but didn't go up in the dome, right? The Vatican website doesn't offer a skip-the-line option JUST for the basilica: they do offer combo tours of both the museum and church but not with the Friday-night museum openings.

I'm thinking you're also going to need to make dinner reservations if all 11 people will be dining together.

Kathy's advice is excellent here. Eleven as a walk-in is tough. For some great pizza, try Dar Poeta in Trastevere. I believe they will reserve for a group that size. Ditto La Pratolina in Prati, but you need to reserve 3 or 4 days in advance. Both will take reservations in English.

Yeah, it is a necessary 'daily routine', Kath.

Check this out. I'd take an early morning walk from our tiny apartment--sometimes along the Tiber (while watching out for speeding cars on the street along the river), sometimes just wandering aimlessly through the little neighborhoods, but for some reason I'd be walking in a somewhat circular pattern, and I'd always seem to end up at this little piazza (Largo dei Librai) where I'd walk into the tabacchi shop/cafe, and order an espresso at 0,90 a shot. Sip it at the counter bang-bang, put down a 2 Euro coin, wave at the barrister and say, 'Domani', meaning tomorrow. And I'd be back the next day.

I think he was amused with my trying-to-be-native antics and we started communicating about the third day in broken Italian/broken English. Just fun stuff, and during the course of each day my wife & I would inevitably find a place in the afternoon for a more stretched out chill session. That was my Roma.

Like I said, we did see St. Peter's and that included a pass to see the Basilica but we didn't do it, I forget why. Probably lunch or another coffee shop to visit, or some out-of-the-way attraction like Mussolini's residence at Villa Torlonia or the Baths of Diocletian next to Termini.

Like I said, we did see St. Peter's and that included a pass to see
the Basilica but we didn't do it.

Jay, my good man, you've got me in a head-scratch here..... St Peter's/San Pietro IS the basilica. So if you didn't do it, what DID you do?

With 11 people differing in age by up to 50 years, it's likely that some people will want to take a midday break and others won't, and that mix could change from day to day. Those feeling more active could use the rest period to do things of less interest to the group as a whole.

Like I said, we did see St. Peter's and that included a pass to see
the Basilica but we didn't do it.

Jay, my good man, you've got me in a

head-scratch here..... St Peter's/San Pietro IS the basilica. So if
you didn't do it, what DID you do?

Before we left, I bought through the Rome Toolkit, two fast track tickets for St. Peter's and I think the Basilica. We walked around the huge chapel but never went up to the top of the dome.

Does that explain it?

Saint Peter's is a Basilica.