So, my fam is leaving from the Civitavecchia/Rome on a Med cruise in February. Because it doesn’t touch Naples and I really want to see Pompeii, we’re going to spend 2 days beforehand in Rome, take the high-speed train to Pompei for a day and spend the other day walking around Rome.
I got an apartment about halfway between the Termini station and the Colosseum right by a Metro station. Everyone has a crossbody bag to wear in front so we can keep an eye on our belongings while walking about. So, does anyone have any other tips for staying safe, navigating the area, or what to not miss?
I was there last March with my family. Many attractions now require pre-purchased tickets and some sell out very quickly. Pantheon, Colosseum, and the Vatican Museum are all worthwhile visits. There is a good food hall right in Termini Station.
We used the Metro or walked everywhere in the city.
Virtually everywhere takes credit cards, Apple Pay, or Samsung Pay.
We did 3 days and yes! Pompeii is incredible.
Tour the Colosseum. Tour the Vatican. Tour the Pantheon. But a lot of these sites you need to get tickets well ahead of time.
And what we did (except it is a whole day) is get a tour where they take you around all of Rome and you see a TON of sites like the Theater of Pompey, Circus Maximus, churches, views, &c. over 8 hours. If you want to do this DM me and I’ll get you the info.
Eat dinner at Alfredo alla Scrofa and get the original fettuccini alfredo. It is unlike any that you have eaten before. It is so rich, you can split a plate or two to feed a family.
We did Uber, mostly because from our hotel you couldn’t get to the metro station to visit the sites.
Now for the warning: 2025 is the Roman jubilee. I don’t know how crowded it will be in February but our tour giudes warned us not to return until 2026.
For 1 day in Rome I’d do the Caesar Shuffle (Colosseum, Forum, Capitoline Hill, and Pantheon) and a tour of St Peter’s Basilica. That will be a full exhausting day, but it’s doable. Get tickets to everything in advance, and book a tour of St Peter’s to skip the lines.
Did anyone mention book in advance? They did! And that means get online before the end of October for a trip in February. Not everything books out that far ahead, but last year when I was there the Villa Borghese was booking a full twelve weeks ahead. Conversely, we did just stroll up to the Capitoline Museum and pay on the door after a twenty minute wait.
For just one day, I’d suggest EITHER the Vatican Museum and St Peters OR the Collosseum and Palatine / Forum, with a stroll over the Capitoline. In the evening a stroll around Piazza Navona and the Pantheon after dinner.
I sailed out of Civitavecchia a few years ago for a Med cruise. We flew into Rome and toured there, then did the cruise, then rented a car in Civitavecchia and toured southern Europe. We flew home from Venice. We never had a problem with pickpocketers, but they are out there. It was a fantastic trip! You will enjoy it!
Credit cards are convenient, yes, but watch out for those FTXs! Foreign Transaction Fees. Check your card and how they handle that. FTXs can add up.
Your plan for keeping your items safe with a crossbody bag is a good one. Always (always always!) carry your passport with you. That seems to be common sense, but common sense isn’t always very common. Keep it on your body, always. Not in your bag, but on your body. And keep some of your valuables (extra cash, etc) on your body at all times. If your pockets don’t discourage pickpocketing then put that in your sock or a money belt.
Rome doesn’t really have a good metro system, unlike some other capital cities.
So unless you want to spend a fortune on taxis, I’d advise doing quite a bit of research on the bus system.
The last time I was there the Pantheon was free to enter (but that was a few years ago, so check).
There is often an incredible line for the Vatican, and if you can book any kind of advance ticket I would strongly recommend it. Similarly for the Colosseum: the line may not be quite so bad, but if you are on a tight schedule you don’t want to waste time in lines.
These are excellent ideas! I’m trying to figure out how to carry our passports on our persons…I thought the crossbody under our jackets would be adequate…hmmm…
In any Rome thread, I will always recommend the restaurant Spirito di Vino, in Trastevere. I had one of the best meals of my life here, so much so that I’ve gone back each time (well, twice) that I was in Rome since. I cannot recommend the pork shoulder enough. The restaurant is very small, so make reservations. The owner is super friendly and chatty, his wife cooks the meals (or did when I was there, it’s been a few years). They have a big wine cellar that you can visit which is also the location of one of the first synagogues in Rome. A really authentic and lovely place, and Trastevere is a cool old neighborhood to visit in any case.
I got this…that front pocket is open so I can slip my phone in and I can get it out easily or put a water bottle in it. There’s a slip pocket in back but I think it’d be better inside a zipper pocket.
Same!