Where to stay in Rome

Trastevere is my favorite neighborhood in Rome.

How difficult is it to see the Colosseum, etc. from that location without a car?

If the major attractions you want to see are Vatican City, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, etc., your apartment address is a bit far for walking and public transport. Google maps show the distance to Trevi is 30 min. for the bus and 52 minutes to walk. Distance to Vatican City shows 49 min. for the bus and over an hour to walk there. It’s doable, but will take more time
You could opt to use taxis which would be quicker, but that will cost more.

The distance to the port only matters if you’re going on a cruise. Whatever you decide, have a wonderful time. Rome is fabulous!

Thank you for this information
What area should I look for on air bnb to be closer to those attractions , but still have some quiet at sleep

Trastevere is indeed wonderful in so many ways. Maybe look at the Piazza Navona area for apartments. I've stayed in that area every year for nearly 2 decades. Now, about distance and walking. Between Trastevere (or Piazza Navona) and any final destination is not as far as you may think. Inbetween you'll discover so many other interesting things and places to explore, I can almost guarantee you'll not notice the amount of walking you really do. 7-10 miles a day is my goal and I usually have not trouble meeting it. Remember that along the way you can stop for gelato, aperitif (with snack), or a full meal. It's all a part of being on vacation. It's all a part of being in Rome! Tired at the end? Take a bus or taxi back. Or, just linger for a while and solidify the great memories you and your son are making. Do your research for places to see and things to do. You'll want to make as many advance reservations as possible.

It is not a bad location, the neighborhood is quiet, but you are away from the center.

From the apartment, you are only a couple blocks to the tram line and Trastevere Station. The tram line will take you right to the city center via Ponte Garibaldi (Largo Argentina) and easy walking distance to most of the sites from there. You can get to the vatican by taking the tram to the river and then the bus up the river to the Vatican area.

Most of the Trastevere nightlife would be done by taking the tram toward the river near Ponte Garibaldi. You are close to the Testaccio area and some good restaurants.

Overall, if you don't mind riding the tram to see things, the location is OK.

FWIW, to get to the apartment from the airport, skip the Leonardo Express, take the other train, the local FM1, which stops at Trastevere Station.

Rick Steves’ Rome Guide Book includes an excellent description of then various areas to consider. Well worth checking it out from your library or, better yet, packing along a copy. Unbeatable advice on sites, logistics, connections, day trips.

The Italy Guide Book would be helpful for the rest of your trip and while it has a section on Rome, I believe the .Rome Guide Book is so much more robust it is worth looking at both.

We stayed in an apart/hotel near Piazza di Popolo, not far from the Spanish Steps. We were able to walk to almost everything, and we thought the location was fantastic.

https://incentrum.it/en/home-page/

You do know that it’s a Jubilee Year and Rome will be very crowded? Please book everything you can as soon as possible! Have a great trip!

If the place that we picked is walking distance from those places or even a quick bus ride, I don’t mind the walking and bus ride home. I’m assuming there’s Uber there as well.?
The air bnb fits my budget with a lot of amazing reviews .
I did order the Italy book and can download the Rome book , but I feel like I need to book something now with free cancellation because I see a lot of the things on my list are already getting taken!!

What is a Jubelee year ?!?

It’s a Catholic celebration and pilgrimage that happens every 25 years. Here’s the official website:
https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en.html

If the place that we picked is walking distance from those places or even a quick bus ride, I don’t mind the walking and bus ride home. I’m assuming there’s Uber there as well.?

Like I said, to most of the sights, you would need to hop the bus or tram on Via Trastevere to get to the Centro Storico. With some walking, that is about 20 minutes. You can use Google maps on Public Transport mode to look at how you would get to sights, just adjust the departure time so it is during the day. Uber is not really a thing in Rome, it operates as Uber Black, which is just reserving a car, usually at a higher cost than a taxi. Taxis need to be caught from a taxi rank, there is probably one near the Trastevere Train Station.

The air bnb fits my budget with a lot of amazing reviews

Probably a good enough reason to book, since it is a bit further out, they likely cannot charge a high premium price.

I did order the Italy book and can download the Rome book , but I feel like I need to book something now with free cancellation because I see a lot of the things on my list are already getting taken!!

Like others said, the Jubilee Year will mean some lodging fills up quick. If this place works, book it.

JMO-
Since you are a first time inexperienced international traveler I strongly advise you to stretch your budget for Rome and stay in the historic center in a hotel.
The problem with apartments is you have no front desk to help you when needed- directions, recommendations, calling taxis, etc.
Apartments usually have late in the day check in times and if you are flying in overnight from US you will arrive in the am. You need to be able to drop your bags somewhere til check in time. Apartments usually don’t offer that but almost every hotel will hold your bags before check in.
Hotels offer bkft- which is hard to find on your own in Rome- unless you are OK standing at a “bar” for an espresso and sweet pastry- they don’t really do bkft in Rome.

If you stay in the historic center- near Pantheon/Campo de’ Fiori/Piazza Navonna you can walk everywhere and won’t need public transportation. We have only ever used a taxi a few times- to the Vatican and to the train station for departure, fare is usually around 10 euros more or less. Rome is a walking city.
Your mention of a car concerns me- there is no need at all for a car in Rome-
Not sure why “the Port” is a concern either- are you coming off a cruise or leaving on a cruise?

The location you listed looks way too far from all the sights. Rome will be jam packed crowded due to the Jubilee. Staying closer to the historic sights will save you time and the hassle of public transportation.

We have always stayed near Pantheon but last trip we decided to try Trastevere- it's nice to walk around over there but has become a huge party scene- very crowded and noisy most of day and all night, the lines for tables at restaurants were blocks long at lunch and dinner- crazy. At least that was our experience in May 2022.

You will need to prebook all your tickets for major sights so be sure you know when and how to do that.

I think you need to do a bit more reading- the RS book will be a great help.

I never even considered these points thank you so much! I will definitely start looking at hotels!
Any suggestions would be appreciated!!
I will be traveling with my 22 year-old and I definitely answer Peyton going to frustrated with me already so making things easier is the goal!!

A good place to start your search is Booking.com
Use the filters for location, budget, #beds, amenities like AC, bkft, elevator etc
You can book there or find the hotel website- your choice, sometimes you will get a better rate on the hotel site but not always
It’s nice to have all bookings in one place

Booking.com also has a lot of a Mobile Only specials so do look at their site on your smartphone as well

Here is forum search Rome hotels past 1 year
Smeraldo and Lancelot are favorites ( I think both are used on RS tours)

You could also look at convent and monastery stays ( budget friendly)
There are posts on that here as well

https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&date_range=1y&filter=Travel+Forum&query=Rome+hotels+&utf8=%E2%9C%93

These are the apartments in which we have stayed during our many visits to Rome since 2010. The location cannot be beat…just steps from Campo dei Fiori and a short 5 minute walk from the Ponte Sisto bridge crossing over to Trastevere. Almost everything in Rome is within walking distance from these apartments.

The apartments are extremely comfortable and have everything you could want…including a washer and dryer. Plus the rental rate cannot be beat for the location.
We just returned from an 8 day visit to Rome the end of November. We stayed in the Blue apartment this last time…it is our favorite…but we have also stayed in the Red on previous visits.
Cristina is the owner/manager and is wonderful to work with.
https://www.floraliahomes.com/

I know many are big fans of Trastavere but it is not centrally located especially if your time is short. We prefer to stay in the Termini area mainly because of convenience to public transit and good restaurants. Others will knock it for being too busy and crowded. We have used hotels Sonya, Aberdeen, and Contilla, All are close to Termini. Most of Rome transportation -- buses, trams -loop through the Termini transit center. So if you are lost somewhere in Rome and a bus goes by with Termini in the overhead sign, then you know that bus or tram will get you home. Our preference.

Someone on this thread mentioned using Uber in Rome. You can use the Uber app, but rather than a private car a Roman taxi will be dispatched. We encountered a few difficulties in getting a taxi to Trastevere this last June. I credited this to how popular the area is among young people. Still, using the Uber app we could hail a car and follow its progress exactly the same way. I think there are quiet corners of Trastevere, particularly close to the base of the Gianicolo hill, but otherwise peace and quiet are not descriptors I'd associate with the neighborhood. We stayed on the periphery of Piazza di San Cosimato. With the windows closed and the air conditioning on it got respectably close to being quiet. There was a film festival in the square every night of the week, which was usually jam-packed for the nightly screenings.
We utilized the H bus a few times to get to the vicinity of Termini, but at most times of the day this bus is super-crowded. What we found to be the most useful was Tram 8. Sometimes crowded, but we mostly always got seats, and paid conveniently using Tap & Go on our phones. We didn't mind the ride most times, we got to look at things without needing to be present enough to steer ourselves. We also used the busses that run along the various Lungoteveres on the Trastevere side of the Tiber. Sometimes this involved lengthy waits on the side of noisy, hot Roman boulevards, but at other times worked like a dream.
I liked the little vicolos that snake throughout the neighborhood, and all of the charming backstreet restaurants. I had been to Rome before, so I was satisfied without doing quite as many of the blockbuster activities. So, staying in Trastevere made sense to me. However, we are also not pretty young things trying to make the scene, so I think next time I'll look in/around the Centro Storico.

hey hey bearfootlady
your trip sounds great even though it will be packed like sardines with jubilee 2025. they are expecting millions (30+ million for the year long celebration from all over the world) owner says port is an hour, are you on a cruise?
visittaly.eu/jubilee 2025
theromanguy.com/rome's jubilee 2025 (the holy year)
many people are wanting to travel on a "budget" during this busy season. my own opinion is like the others here, stay near the city center with many attractions/activities to walk to, even though it will be bumper to bumper, pushing & shoving, packed trains/trams. taxis, restaurants, closed roads around rome and the vatican, like Christina H mentions. find a hotel nearby and enjoy it. we have rented apartments but not as first time visitors. pros & cons for apartments. remember check-in is 2-4pm unless approved ahead of time; check out is 10-11am, storage of bags at most hotels if early not like apts. may save money being outside of rome but you will be paying for public transportation every day which you can add up so raise your budget.
so many people will be planning things you are planning with other cities you noted. book very early and if price is in your realm book it check cancellation options). there doesn't seem to be an off season for italy anymore, busy all year. plus your time is harvest/wine festival season with festivals all over. some small and some large.
so many things to do in rome, get your son involved with research what he wants to see and do. when you book your hotel, come back for more ideas for you guys. i'm assuming peyton is your son? make a list of must do's, if time will do, and a miss.
you will need to make reservations for attractions as soon as you can at their own website (most may be date/time slot for days you want. get early as possible), if it says skip the line, that is line to buy tickets, there is still a security line to get into which lines will be long
what other cities are you visiting? food tours, day trips, painting party, markets, other parts of rome to explore, getting away from the crowds in rome. hope this helps and do come back with more questions. people here are volunteers and willing to help with lots of info with good bad and ugly things to expect.
aloha

Oh boy , my head is spinning with all the research !
I’ve decided to expand my budget and stay in city center as suggested .
Wondering with the Jubilee if I should skip Rome?
The plan was to fly into Rome 9/3 -9/8
Then Vernazza ( my favorite area )9/8-9/12 then somewhere else for 4 days
Either AC or Lucca / Florence
Then back to Rome to fly home .
I’m struggling finding a hotel I can afford in the middle of it all . If I can make the Hotel Lancelot work , is it a good choice?
I’ve checked all the hotels in the RS book they’re all booked or way more than my budget .
Would anyone be able to suggest any options there in the city center where everything is walkable ?

Thank you, everyone for the great advice ideas . I think after really considering everything we will skip Rome this time around. Die to the lines and crowds it doesn’t sound to enjoyable to me .
The advice given here has helped me with planning the trip a lot . Thanks so
Much