Honeymoon in Rome advice?
 

Hi all, my future wife and I will be travelling to Rome in 3 weeks for our honeymoon. Staying 6 nights in city center. This will be our first visit to Italy, so we will be doing the typical popular sightseeing. Coliseum, Forum, Vatican etc. Just curious about the best places to book tickets ahead of time for these sights. Vatican website says prebooking allows skipping line. True? Also, I see mixed views about Roma pass. Is it worth it? From what they have listed, Im most interested in Col. and Forum and probably some sights on the Appian Way. Not sure about the rest. And are the guided tours worth the extra money? Im kinda fond of seeing things at my own pace. Since this is a honeymoon, we'd like to keep it as leisure as possible.

Final q! Considering a day trip on the train, favoring Pompeii right now! Thoughts?

I know alot of this info is here already. Just hoping to get some updates specific to our needs. Thanks ahead for the info, and I love the forum! Its been really helpful with my travel plans so far!

May be, this can help:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/italy...-florence.html

Where will you stay in Roma? There is a busline, which brings you from the Villa Borghese to the Vatican for 1 € per 75 min, or buy a day ticket for 4 €.

Pompeii good. Prebooking TRUE. Roma Pass YMMV. Guided tours certainly informative, but rarely romantic.

There's plenty of good info out there, and just like Roma, it merely awaits your discovery.

That is, your inquiries may not receive suitable replies here considering their breadth and depth and more research on your part might be the better course.

We will be staying very close to the Pantheon, so hopefully will be walking to most locations we want to visit. Im sure the bus and metro will be used as well.

Trust me, Ive been doing alot of research. As you know the info available is overwhelming. Im looking forward to making my own discoveries. Im trying to stay away from the tour guides as much as possible, but the vatican seems somewhat daunting for people who have never been there before.

BTW, any suggestions on carrying a backpack around for our walks around town. I dont want the tourist stamp, but it would be convenient. Thanks for the info, hopefully I can contribute after my visit to Rome!

Are you staying at the Minerva near the Pantheon? If so, it's a good choice, but it's a great neighborhood regardless. I would suggest Fortunata and Lucia for dinner in that area. Reservations a must.

If money is no object, the after-hours tour of the Vatican is a very big highlight. The one we went on was with www.italywithus.com.

We used ContextRome for our other tours. Six or less people. Outstanding guides.

And we went to Rome by private car with Gaetano Manfredi as a guide on site and were very pleased. PM if you want additional details.

Not the Minerva, its a B&B. I wish money were no object, the after hours tour looks great. But its a little more than I want to spend on a private tour. I would rather splurge on dinners, thanks for the restaurant advice btw. I will def. check those out.

Correction
 

In my prior post, I meant that we went to Pompeii by private car, not Rome. Sorry for any confusion.

Anyway, you picked a terrific neighborhood to stay in.

First off, congratulazioni on your upcoming wedding! (OT but I always find it fascinating to witness Italian newlyweds in Rome. I've seen them, still dressed in there gown and tux, posing all over the city on their special day. Charming!).

I've inserted numbers in your posts to make it easier for me to attempt to help - here is the information that I'm aware of, along with my completely subjective, singular opinions:

(1) If you intend to visit the Borghese Gallery you will need to prebook. (In general, I don't like pre-booking and I hate pre-paying so I avoid this whenever possible).

(2) Yes, you can skip the line at the Vatican Museum by pre-booking. What I did was prebook the tour (I originally was tipped off to this by some Roman acquaintances who would book the tour in order to bypass the long lines and then would just ditch the tour once inside). However, I see on their website now that by just making an entrance booking that you also bypass the lines. (And I have full confidence that the Vatican machine would be honest - with their claims of avoiding lines that is ;) )

Regarding the lines at the Coloseum, you can avoid it by buying the ticket at the Palatine, buying the RomaPass, or buying the Archeological card.

(3) The Roma Pass is a savings for some people, those that pack in alot of siteseeing in a short amount of time for example. It does not save me anything, rather, it would be more costly than my other choices. You sound like you have a clear idea of what you'd like to see and how you'd like to pace yourselves, so you just need to add everything up and see which costs less. I assume you are already referring to these sites for prices, opening times, etc:
http://en.turismoroma.it/
http://www.060608.it/en

I find the Archeological Card to be the best option for me.

The 3-day unlimited transportation feature of the Roma Pass can also be quantified helpful or not. Your location is ideal, and if I were staying there I wouldn't be using the metro or buses except for when I went to the Appian Way or further. I might grab the metro here or there if I wanted to get from the Vatican to the Palatine for example, but that's a cost of €1. If you're the sort that doesn't like to walk you may want to consider the 7 day "CIS" ticket which gives you unlimited metro and bus rides for €16: http://www.atac.roma.it/index.asp?p=19&i=14. But the magic of Rome is found by walking through its streets, not by sitting on its crowded buses and taking its limited metro which will have you doing the Termini shuffle gauntlet to change from its Line A to Line B... I avoid it as much as possible and your location IS really ideal for you to avoid it as well (except, as mentioned, for your outings outside the city center).

(4) What guided tours are you referring to? This is a very general question. Some are worth it, some are not. It's dependent on the quality of the tour but also, it depends on what your interests are. Some people seem quite content to just gaze at sites and walk past them. Some people enjoy learning about what they are looking at. My interests are the history of Ancient Rome, its architecture and art. Therefore it was worth it to me to have several Context Rome tours (and I am budget minded too). Based on the sites you are interested in you may also be interested in booking one of CR's tours. As mentioned, the groups are small, 6 ppl, so one afternoon spent doing this may be a worthwhile splurge and a nice option for you two.

Conversely, my interests in the Vatican Museum were completely addressed by the tour offered by the Vatican itself and I appreciated the economical price which included admission as well. I found this museum to be way too crowded and overwhelming and so was very happy to be led around and navigated through the mass of humanity. And I found the Vatican guide to be well informed, enthusiastic and very able - and I had much more confidence in the quality of the information that I was receiving from her, as opposed to if I had picked some guide hustling outside the museum walls. Lastly, I see now that they also offer a tour of the museum combined with a tour of the basilica for just €5 more - for me this would be very interesting and I find it relatively economical as well: Vatican website Ticket Office

My favorite museum is the Capitoline, and there I'd hate to be led around on someone else's timetable. I posted recently on a ST thread comparing the Borghese to the Capitoline (my ST user name is Jady): Borghese or Capitoline

I would think a good option for you two at many of the sites would be to rent one audio guide. It's like a cordless phone (no headset) so you could share it between you and get the cursory info and remain in your own newlywed world, so to speak.

And a general suggestion - on your first day when you are still jet lagged you could take the 110 Open-Top Tourist Bus. The idea is to take the ride the full route, without getting off, so you could get your bearings in the city and you'd see all the sites (and the traffic!) and could just sit there and be groggy while enjoying the excitement that you are there! Married and in Rome!! Here are the links:
http://en.turismoroma.it/benvenuti_a...citta#110_open
http://www.trambusopen.com/en/110open.cfm

I'll continue this post later.....

Part 2
 

(5) Am I understanding your question correctly: You want to take a day trip from Rome and you're considering Pompeii but are open to other suggestions?

If this is the one and only time that you plan to travel to Italy and you've always wanted to see Pompeii, then sure, it's doable by train.

I haven't made this journey yet for several reasons. From what I've researched it seems quite a challenge to navigate from the train station in Naples to the archeological site, fraught with potential tourist-crime issues. (Others post they have no problems with Naples, but I'm a solo female traveler on the timid side and I admit to being intimidated by Naples!) Also for me, when I do visit Pompeii I would also very much like to see Herculaneum and Naples' Museum so I'm planning on one day combining a Rome trip with perhaps Sorrento, and from there I'll explore Pompeii. Or I'm also currently debating visiting Pompeii on my next scheduled visit to Rome in May '11, using Viators shuttle. I came across this when looking at American Airlines AAdvantage Vacations which had this listed as a Rome activity. It's a shuttle bus that will take you directly from Termini to the archeological site with a roundtrip price of $87 (note that it's in dollars not euros). To me this seems a decent price given that I'll be in a comfortable bus and will be able to avoid all the "scary" Naples navigating. The huge downside is it leaves at 7:30AM and it's a 3 1/2 hour bus ride. Here's the site. On SlowTravel someone suggested to avoid this third party operated company but opt for the less expensive Marozzi bus, but in this instance I don't mind paying more for something more geared to English speaking tourists.

However, because of the length of this bus ride and your limited time in Rome, I do NOT recommend this as an option for you (merely posting the info in case it's helpful to someone else).

If you're not married to the idea of visiting Pompeii on this particular trip but are merely looking for day trip options I think there are much easier, and still fascinating day trips to consider. This is a topic addressed in all the guide books, and there are many threads here and on SlowTravel of suggestions for day trips from Rome.

Since you show interest in the archeological site of Pompeii, I recommend a visit to Ostia Antica instead. To get there is a very easy €1 ride and it's amazing. I visited it through a Context Rome tour, but you could navigate it on your own and it could be a lovely day exploring this huge site without the massive crowds.

Another popular day trip that I can personally recommend is to Tivoli, with a visit to Hadrian's Villa and Villa d'Este. This also is extremely easy to get to and is fascinating. I visited this also through a Context Rome tour and we started with Hadrian's Villa, then Villa d'Este - having a delightful alfresco lunch at Villa d'Este - and it was a terrific day.

Another thought, since the weather there is still quite warm, is to have a day trip to one of the seaside towns. Again, this will be a short, easy and affordable commute to get there.

Lastly, I'll throw out another suggestion that some may think heresy, which is to take a day trip to Florence. Firenze lovers will be aghast at the notion of only going there for a few hours but my thought is that you'll have the opportunity to take a sip from that lovely glass, as opposed to consuming the whole bottle. It will be a taste of something, that one day you'll experience to a more thorough degree. I suggest this since you seemed happy to take a train trip - and in this case, it's a very easy thing do to (vs a train to Naples and then onward to Pompeii). Because in this instance you go from Termini directly to the heart of Florence on a one hour eurostar ride. You could explore it very easily, seeing the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, maybe at the least going to the Accademia and seeing The David. (You can strike off another bullitt point from your list). Have a florentine lunch. And at the end of the day easily walkback to Firenze's train station and back to Termini. Again, these are just my subjective opinions, but I found Florence very "user friendly" and felt very safe.... and it was a stress free experience. (I, however, stayed there 4 nights, but I did take the ES back and forth from Rome).

As you can see I'm very verbose, so I'll continue this later...

Visiting the Appian Way
 

The OP mentioned his desire to visit the Appian Way so here's my recent experience (from this past April).

I head read that you should take the bus line 118 and to go on Sundays when the route was closed to traffic. I did alot of research b4 my visit and saw that the 118 runs every hour whereas line 660 runs every 15 minutes or so - and since I hate waiting for buses I took the 660.

Take the metro line A, towards Anagnina. Here's ATAC's map (the map takes awhile to load): http://www.atac.roma.it/files/doc.asp?r=385

I opted to keep things as simple as possible so I chose to take the bus from its originating stop at L.go Colli Albani, (I figured this way I was guaranteed a seat), but you could also take the A Metro one stop further to Arco di Travertino. The 660 bus route goes from L.go Colli Albani ending at Cecilia Metelli.

Here's google's map in street view showing the Cecilia Metelli bus stop at the T intersection of Via Cecilia Metelli and Via Appia Antica. "Virtually" pivot around and you can see the bar/snack shop on the corner where you can get waters, snacks, etc, and where you'll be able to rent bikes if you desire.

Taking the 660 means you'd have to go in one direction to see some sites (and the catacombs) and then back track to see the rest of it, but that didn't bother me. (BTW through Google you can virtually walk alot of it).

Here's Appia Antica's website (I downloaded alot of info from this site and brought it with me as a guide):
http://www.parcoappiaantica.it/en/default.asp

Here's Context Rome's guided tour (it's expensive, I didn't take it) but this website gives a nice snapshot of experiencing the ancient road.

The George Costanza in me makes me share the following ( ;) ) - I found a new, clean, good restroom that I didn't see on the website. It's located in the visitor's center of a new-ish revealed archeology site "Capo Di Bove". Here's google's street view of the entrance. Refer to the street map in the corner of the page that I linked to see where to find it on the Appian Way. You need to go past the excavated area to find the visitor's building with the restroom.

I first ventured to the Regina Viarum (Queen of All Roads) on the suggested Sunday, and found the Capo di Bove installation, but then it started to rain and I hadn't come prepared with an umbrella so I left and returned on a weekday. (I was amazed at how easy it was to get there and back). The day turned out to be one of my most cherished Rome excursions (to date!) Walking southward, there was no traffic, no people - well, an occassional jogger or cycler went by. I actually did see one car come out of the driveway of one of the estates on the Appian Way (can you imagine living there!) but it had to go about 5mph to manage the ancient uneven stones. So in terms of thinking that if you didn't go on a Sunday that you'd be caught up in some kind of freeway environment, think again. The traffic is only bothersome towards the beginning of the road where there's no area for foot traffic, but that's avoided altogether if you take the 660 bus. My experience was fantastic - being that it was filled with views of idyllic Roman umbrella pines and ancient tombstones, possessed that great calming country quiet and all the while my feet trodded the very same basalt stones that the legionaries marched on!!! As an aside, I must say I found it incredibly impressive to think the soldiers marched up and down this road - for me, I had to navigate the stones as if I was crossing a stream, gingerly going from rock to rock (can't imagine the Roman army doing that!) Why it was such an incredible experience for me is that aside from the fact that there were no umbrella pines in ancient times (the pruning started during the Renaissance period) and the tombstones were in a somewhat ruinous state, that what I was seeing, hearing, smelling was very darn near to what was experienced more than 2000 years ago. It's hard to have this same appreciation viewing the remains of Ancient Rome in the city center since you see the 2000 years of succeeding history plainly evident.

Hope this info is of use to someone - I know I got carried away with exclamation marks - but it was enjoyable for me to relive the experience sharing it here.

Edited to add: correction to info on bus line 660. I was checking the links and the 660 does run every 15 minutes on SUNDAY, but the rest of the time it runs every 30 minutes (so this is a reason to go on Sunday if you can).

sk3, thanks a million. As I have seen on other threads, once again you have truly outdone yourself. I greatly appreciate the detailed information. As for an update to my current plans. I decided to book the vatican tour directly from their website, it was the cheapest and I definitely want someone leading me through the museums to get the full experience. My original question about which tours are best was mainly geared towards the vatican and ancient Rome. I think the audio guide for Coliseum and Forum will be the best option for us. I expect to spend alot of time at these locations and would like to do it at our own pace to fully take it all in.

As for the day trip. I hope this will not be our only trip to Italy, but even so I would rather enjoy as much of Rome as possible and not spend our honeymoon in transit. After seeing the train schedules, I've decided to forego Pompeii. But Ostia Antica seems like an ideal substite, Im also open to a coastal town visit within short travel time. Any suggestions on which locations would be best for spending a romantic afternoon gazing out over the mediterranian?

Thanks for the info on Appian Way, Im def. looking forward to visiting this location. And the suggestion for the open air bus on day 1 seems like a great way to relax and get out of the room while recovering from the long flight.

Finally, Id like to replug my question about carrying a backpack around town? Is this safe, or should I just as well tattoo "American Tourist" across my forehead? Thanks again for all the great info.

I was going to get to this question next - I write way too much is my problem!

I had a site bookmarked somewhere, but I haven't found it yet. It gave advice in how to be a respectful, savvy tourist - as opposed to the "Ugly American" loudmouth...

Bottomline, IME, is that we will always stand out as tourists no matter what, but we can lesson it to a degree. My completely subjective suggestion is to use a messenger bag in lieu of a back pack. You don't necessarily have to get one from Gucci, but IMO a messenger bag does contribute to a more stylish look for a man. And this to me is the key difference between Romans and American equivalents (meaning Americans from large cosmopolitan cities, i.e. NYC, Chicago, D.C., L.A.). I've noticed Romans from all walks of life (like Parisians) pay a great deal of attention to looking smart and being well dressed, of creating the "bella figura" at all times.... as opposed to us who'll opt for "comfortable attire" whenever possible.

About projecting that "target" image.... it's a fascinating topic for me. I'll read over on ST about ppl who use hidden money belts, and old ladies pinning money in their bras... and I get this mental image of these skittish Americans clutching for dear life their bags... and THAT to me is THE target sign. Conversely, I watch these elegant Italian women, sauntering down the street with that Roman, "indifferent" expression, casually trailing a gorgeous Prada bag behind her..... but they don't seem "targets" at all. I have come to believe that it's mostly one's attitude that contributes to being pickpocketed, etc, or not. When someone looks all jetlagged, dazed and with his face in a map, that's a "target". When someone looks alert, is moving in a direction with purpose, that person seems safer. Exactly the same demeanor you'd want to project in Manhattan for instance. But in my visits I do always see tourists with backpacks - I've seen men wearing them in front, on their chests alot. The good thing is there are two of you, so you can watch each other's backs so to speak. And this is only necessary in your super crowded environments, the metro, by Trevi fountain, on buses - places where its wall to wall people. Most of the time, though Rome will always be crowded, you'll have "personal space" and won't need to be so hypervigilant.

In general, regarding the level of risk in Rome, I regard it as very safe. It's the Capital of Italy and has loads of government builidings, which means it has loads of police and security details. It's not known for having a high crime rate of random acts of violence. I would never walk around Los Angeles at night the way I do in Rome. If the Appian Way was in the hills of L.A. I wouldn't walk there even duriing the day! We have serial killers, rapists and psychos of every variety here.... in Rome you just have pickpockets. Meaning if you act savvy in Rome, and use common sense, you'll be fine. That said, it's always good advice to never bring anything you'd be devastated if you were to lose it, to have copies of your Passport, CCs and important phone numbers somewhere other than your wallet - to not keep your wallet in an obvious pocket, etc.

My thoughts regarding what to wear when traveling is that I should wear what's appropriate to my environment. When I go to Kauai I wear cut-offs and gauzey blouses over my bathing suit, etc.... When I go to Paris and Rome, I try to wear nice, stylish outfits, and since I pack light, I usually wear alot of black. Nice shoes, leather jacket, black trenchcoat, etc. I feel I look like I fit in, versus the guy in the baggy t-shirt, baseball cap, shorts and white socks and tennies. That said, I was in Paris a few years ago, in front of Notre Dame and a guy across the length of the large plaza calls out to me, American? I nod, yes. Then he calls out, from California? (How did he know!)

Similarly my thoughts in how to behave when traveling is that I should be respectful and appropriate to the location. I think it's incredibly arrogant when Americans assume that everyone they encounter on their trip should speak English. Imagine how we'd feel if a Frenchman, or Italian was in line in front of us at our local Starbucks speaking his native language to the befuddled kid behind the counter and then got indignant that the kid didn't understand French! I've been attempting to learn Italian for years now, I wish I was further along, but regardless, I think if we learn some key phrases and niceties, that that also goes a long way with improving our interactions and decreasing the chances of being taken as dumb American yokel ripe for the picking.

About exploring the Palatine, Forum and Coloseum on your own, I posted here with a link to the best guide book (IMO obviously), you may want to check it out.

Regarding a coastal town... I did some research for my sister's trip but don't have first hand experiences to report. Try doing a search over on SlowTravel or even of starting a thread there with your specific question - I bet you'll get a lot of good info.

Finally, I do actually have some suggestions that are "specific to your needs" - that are suggestions for romantic activities - and I would like to post them but I'll have to do it later. (I've gone overboard today with this thread! - The longer and more frequent my posts is in direct proportion to the amount of work I'm avoiding in my personal life!) Buona notte signore.

Thanks, although I am usually against the "man purse" I think an exception can be made for the sake of Italian style. Seems like a good way to make my necessities transportable without the tourist tag.

Could not agree more with this statement, which is why Ive spent the last few months doing an Italian crash course. Obviously I wont be fluent before the trip, but hopefully the locals will appreciate the effort of me learning the basics.

Chaviator, you would be wise to follow Sk3's advice. I am halfway through a 10 day trip to Italy and she was extremely helpful in all aspects of my planning several months ago. I made a few rookie mistakes the first day I arrived but after my 3rd day, I am having a great time. You will enjoy Rome (hopefully). I am on my way to Venice in a few days. A trip report will be posted in that section after I get back to the US.

You're so sweet! And thanks for checking in while traveling - I wish I was there too! Hope your adventure continues wonderfully. Safe travels. :)