There's so many details to take care of in traveling. Please excuse me if I'm repeating myself. I have not yet taken care of my tour details while in Rome. I am traveling with my elder mother and I want to make sure things are taken care of. I would like to see the pope on Sunday the morning after we get there. From there I'd like to head to the Rome Collosseum then ??? I would prefer to book a tour in advance. Since it's Sunday I believe they close early and there is no Vatican tour on Sunday. So after service we'll head to the Colosseum. What tour might you suggest booking through touring on a Sunday starting in the afternoon?
I would also like to book a Vatican tour that is guided, that would be on Monday and would love the best recommendations that are somewhat reasonable.
Thanks in advance!
Posted by
California
1625 posts
You did not say the dates you were traveling. Hopefully far enough into the future to make reservations. I would do Collosseum with Walks of Italy, the tour starts at 2:00pm but it looks like all Sundays are mostly sold out (2 dates in May and one in June and 2 in July are still available.). They also offer a Vatican tour before it opens. There is a lot of walking on both tours.
Posted by
OP
19 posts
Thank you Letizia. The dates would be Sunday, May 28th and May 29th. Thinking of touring the Collosseum Sunday afternoon and the Vatican Monday May 30th. Is there a specific site you would suggest?
Posted by
Dartmouth, NS, Canada
213 posts
Helene - On Sunday, May 28th the Pope will pray the Regina Coeli - also known as the Angelus at 12 noon. He is not offering a public Mass,
The Angelus is held in St. Peter's Square - several thousand people arrive in the square up to an hour before and wait under the papal apartment window. There is no seating and only a few shady spots under the portico. The prayers and the Pope's words and blessing last for about 15 minutes. The experience is wonderful but be aware that the papal apartment window is quite high up and the Pope is far way,
Posted by
OP
19 posts
I really appreciate that, thank you!
Would you suggest a site to book tours ?
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
If your elderly mother has any mobility issues at all I would suggest skipping guided tours and instead using audio guides. This way you can go at her pace and not need to keep up with a group tour. You can rent audio guides for each site at their official websites along with entry tickets that allow you to bypass the long lines. I wouldn't wait much longer to book entry tickets to the Vatican museums as they are timed entries and tend to sell out.
http://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm
https://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?weblang=en&do
Donna
Posted by
USA
151 posts
Walks of Italy is my favorite tour company - used them in 2015 and have booked
the Pristine Sistine Tour and Gladiator Gate Colosseum Tour for Oct 2017. You also
get a 10% discount if you have one of Rick's recent books.
Posted by
6 posts
God bless you and your Mother. My family (wife, daughters 14 and 16), were in Rome early this month. We discovered that it was best to focus on one area/site in a day. Lots of walking, long lines, and waiting. We attended the General Audience on a Wednesday, (left the Piazza by 11:00 am), and had an early lunch at a restaurant close to the Vatican museum entrance. We entered the museum at 12:30 (pre-purchased tickets online from the US). We save a lot of time by have pre-purchased tickets. The museum was very crowded. Someone told me that Wednesdays are generally more crowded than other days because Papal Audience attendees go directly to the museum.
We completed our unguided Museum visit by 3:00. The museum is huge and very tiring. Seeing the Sistine Chapel alone was worth it. Of course, we could not complete our visit to the Vatican without entering the Basilica. It was a 2-hour wait to go into the Basilica. Again, it was worth the wait. After seeing the Basilica, we were ready to return to our hotel. We had an early flight to Venice the next day.
We visited the Colosseum/Roman Forum on a Monday Afternoon. Again, we purchased tickets online in advance, which saved us a lot of time. As with the Vatican Museum, a proper visit involves a lot of walking.
So, my suggestion to you, is to take your time, explore the smaller streets and find a small cafe to rest. Again, focus on one sight/area per day. Don't try to do too much, especially in consideration of your mother.
Posted by
OP
19 posts
I do have a recent Rick Steves book, although it's Spain 2017 and I don't see any discounts in the book? I'm sure none for the Rome Tours since its from Spain. Thank you for all the replies. It's very helpful.
Posted by
California
1625 posts
Helena-I also suggest tour company Walks Of Italy for the Vatican and Colosseum. I just looked at the website and Sunday for the Colosseum is sold out, you can probably still book the Vatican on Monday. For the discount code you can go to the library and get the book, you will need the whole book because it is a code and other data that must be entered from the book.