Hi Everyone :) Finally the plane is booked and the apartments are reserved so now I will need advice on tours in Rome. We are first timers, so I am wondering what you suggest as far as guided tours vs. seeing sites on our own. I think we will book a guide for the Vatican, but what about the Colloseum and Forum - is it best to spend the extra money and have a guide? Also, has anyone done the "welcome to Rome tour" the first night you are there to orientate yourself, or is it fine and not too scary to just wonder the streets and follow one of Steve's walking tours? This is kind of a once in a lifetime trip for our family, so I want to get the most out of it that I can, but I don't want to waste money either. Also, is the catacombs worth a guide or do on your own? I don't want to feel like we are rushing from one site to the next, but we want to see it all :) We have 3 full days - not including the day we arrive (9:30 am) and the day we train out to Venice. Unfortunetly we are arriving on Friday - so we will be limited with what days things are open. My thoughts so far: Arrive in am - check into apartment at 13:00 Evening walk or tour guide around popular sites (staying near Navona area) Sat: a.m. guided tour of Colloseum, Forum, Palantine Hill - wander around that end of Rome after. Sun: Borghese Gardens and Museum or Appian way and catacombs ( though largest is closed on Sunday ) Mon: guided tour of the Vatican and Basilica - would love to go to mass there also, but not sure on times. So any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. We are a family of four - two children are 23 and 18 - not little. We love walking and being outside - are not as crazy about art and museums, but want to get some culture :) Thanks again for all and any input!
Donna
Posted by
OP
Shelby
71 posts
Thanks Donna :) We will be there in July.
Posted by
OP
Shelby
71 posts
Has anyone taken the tour that lets you into the Sistine Chapel early - before it officially opens? Is it worth the extra money? I think it is offered by Walks in Italy tour company. Donna - I was wondering if the official Vatican tour is really crowded and hard to hear? For the audio guide at the Forum, do you get that there or here? Does everyone have to wear head phones? I'm sorry for being so uneducated in these things, but I don't even have an ipod or anything - so how does this work? Thanks :)
Donna
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
The only sites I like a guide for are the Vatican museums and the forum. The museums are very large and having a guide is a great help. The forum is not well signed so having a guide or an audio guide will make sense out of the jumble. For the Vatican museums I suggest doing the official tour. It takes 2 hours, three if you book the one that includes the basilica. You can book that directly through the Vatican website: http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?weblang=en&do For the forum, I really like to use audio guides. The one I like the best is by pocketvox.com. It allows you to go at your own pace on your own schedule. As far as the catacombs, those can only be seen with a guide. The catacombs provide the guide so paying extra for someone to take you there makes no sense to me. If you wish to tour one of the catacombs just check out their websites. With the limited amount of time you have in Rome you may not get around to it. Be sure to make your reservations for the Borghese gallery before leaving home. It is capacity controlled so if you wish to visit be sure to make the reservations. I think the first night you'll be fine doing one of Steve's walking tours. Rome is a very safe city so you need'nt worry about that. Just take a good guide book and a good map. Don't forget to stop into any of the churches you happen to pass. The artwork inside is incredible and should not be missed. Donna
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
When are you going?
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
There's never been more than 15 people on the tour when I've taken it but I usually travel in off season. They give you headsets so you can clearly hear the guide. For the audio guide for the forum it's something I downloaded from the internet and put on my ipod. My husband and I both listened to the tour as we walked around the forum. It is really well done and easy to follow. We had taken a tour on a previous visit that we didn't enjoy that much. The guide didn't spend as much time as we would have liked at some sites and went on and on at others. This is why I prefer audio guides to actual people guides. If you don't have an ipod you can use a portable CD player or MP3 cell phone. Donna
Posted by
Portland
38 posts
I'm sure the tours promising to get you into the Sistene Chapel vary, and I think we just had bad luck. We took one recommended by some folks at our hotel who had taken it the day before. In our case the tour started later than the guide wanted (she was exasperated - we never found the reason for the delay)> We were part of a long line outside, and the Chapel was quite crowded by the time we got in. However, our guide was just excellent, and in some cases the rooms she took us into were uncrowded, and in all cases not rooms we would have found on our own. So if we are fortunate enough to go again this fall, we will take the same type of tour.
Posted by
Mission Viejo, Calif., USA
1010 posts
We booked Gray Line tours at Gray Line Tours.com. They subcontract the tours out in Rome. We were very happy with the tours we took of the Vatican, all around Rome, the Forum, etc.