Timing of Food Tour in Rome - first day or later?

By 5 pm on Saturday you will be zombies unless you are very good at managing jet lag. I really doubt if you would enjoy a 5 - 9 pm tour. Two would probably work.

Hi mj,

I don't know if you have a specific budget, but take a look at this https://theromanguy.com/tours/Rome/trastevere-food-tour. TRG gets many good reviews.

I've not been on a Roman Guy tour, but I read their blogs, updates and watch their YT videos. Their website has a ton of useful information. And, it's also an enjoyable read.

Even if a person doesn't take their tours right now, their information is very good; especially for first timers to Rome, Florence, Venice or Italy in general. They give a lot of tips. Their videos are fun to watch and down-to-earth.

If you book a tour, it's important you check out all the conditions and what ifs. They do have a good cancellation policy or alternatives if the need arises.

Another tour guide alternative is walksofitaly.com They too are a good group with a lot of choices.

Hi MJ,

My family and friends (6 of us in all) took the Eating Italy food tour of Trastevere this past June. It is an amazing tour, our only regret is that we did not take the tour earlier in the trip as our two girls wanted to go back to a few of the places that we closed on Sunday and then we had an early flight on Monday.

Going on a tour early in the trip has the advantage of being able to learn about the local food scene and the guides are knowledgeable about all parts of Rome and eating well on a budget. The Saturday evening is going to be tough for you unless you take a nap in the afternoon and then it is probably going to be fine as this tour is on the move and very engaging. The only advice is go hungry, because it is really a lot of food. Eating Italy also allows up to 48 hour cancellation and you can get cancellation insurance (for a very modest fee) that allows you to cancel at the last minute if you decide not to go.

Note: on the nap front, lots of debate here on the question of napping. When I travel alone or just with my husband, we try to plow through to local dinner time. When I traveled this past June with my two friends and our two college-age girls, we arrived at 9:00 a.m. in Venice. I had arranged for us to check-in early to our flat. This was the best decision of the trip. Dragging 6 people who are not only jet lagged, but sleep deprived through a foreign country would have been a nightmare. We checked in, got showers, and then went out for my friends birthday dinner and everyone was in a much better mood. I have traveled with 12 and 15 year olds (to France) a number of years ago and tried to power through, the two boys did not do well with that and we had a rough start to our trip.

You know your family the best, but if you can arrange for an early check-in, then if you need a nap, you can take it.

Have a great trip, you will love Rome and Venice.

It sounds like you are taking a relatively quick trip over spring break soon. We are going to be in Rome this summer and have booked a food tour for our first full day in order to find out about local foods and nearby restaurants. Have you booked your hotel yet? Is there a “neighborhood” food tour that is within easy distances from your hotel’s neighborhood? This might be a good strategy for a quick trip with hungry kids. OTOH it would be fun to explore a neighborhood where you aren’t staying.

I think the most important thing is to book it early so you can use the information and recommendations you get from your guide. I too vote for #2 just to be on the safe side in case you or members of your group don’t deal well with the jet lag on day 1.

I would not do the 5PM on arrival day. You are most likely to be just able to get through it and not really enjoy it.

Of your 3 choices, I like #2.

Hi MJ,

We are an active couple,ages 40 and 52. We flew into Rome 2017 and did this exact tour on our first evening in Rome. It was an easy walking tour and took the guessing work out of finding dinner that night. We DID NOT nap once we got off the plane. In my experience this is a nightmare and starts the "jetlagged" feeling. I would go to your accommodations, shower, freshen up, and take a stroll. Once you are finished with the tour then go home to rest and wake in the morning refreshed. We are thinking of taking a tour with them again this year! We enjoyed ourselves!

FYI- In the event you are taking the tour that takes you to the bakery, BUY COOKIES TO GO!!! You will wish you did.

I would do the one on the first night. Yes, you will likely be a bit jet lagged, but you will be that way regardless. Use it as part of your jet-lag strategy. With the tour that first night, you have something to do. You’ll be walking around and eating. When you’re done you will be ready to hit the hay, and on a bit of a normal schedule.

The tour gives you a lot of good info to take along for the rest of your stay (how to spot a good gelato place!) It’s good to do a good tour early in your stay, so you can use that info. It also adds to your immediate comfort level with the food and the city.

My preference is to do a food tour on the first night--as somebody else mentioned above, it gets you outside walking, takes care of dinner, and gives you ideas for the rest of your trip.

Whether you nap or not is a personal decision. I've tried powering-through. I find stumbling around I endanger myself and others. 😁
I need a 2 hour nap to feel halfway human, and wake up ready to have a decent evening.

I SPECIFICALLY chose my food walking tour on the evening of my first day in Italy for two reasons:
1) To force me to stay up, being active and not go to bed earlier than "local" time so I go the rest I needed and awakened in "local" time for Day 2.
2) So I would see places I might want to go back to. If you wait too long in your visit to a certain city, you have limited time left to get a full meal someplace you discovered on the tour.

Our food tour didn't start until 7pm, so you get the chance to get started two hours earlier and likely finished two hours earlier than we, thus getting to bed earlier if you are worried about being completely wiped out.

Thanks to all of you for your answers -- quite helpful. I'm still debating, but I've ruled out #3.

Hi all! Just wanted to provide a quick update. We ended up booking the Sunday 10:30 am food tour in the Jewish Ghetto, hosted by Eating Europe. Our guide was Sarah, and it was a fantastic tour. I'd highly recommend Eating Europe after this experience.

Thanks for reporting back!