Naples will steal a lot more than that!! If you do go through Naples, keep your backpack in the front, and be careful with purses. The crime there is ridiculous. I’ve been to three dozen countries, and that city is the very worst.
You have an awesome plan so far. I loved Pompeii and Herc!!
Everyone mentions the pickpockets. I have zipped pockets and a money belt, but since I lost my passport on my last trip I’ll be double paranoid.
That’s an awfully long walk! Anyway St. John Lateran/San Giovanni en Laterano isn’t just the mother church of Rome, it’s THE mother church. It’s literally the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, i.e. where the Pope’s cathedra is. St. Peter’s is some kind of special Papal Basilica, but popes are actually installed as pope in St. John Lateran, due to its history as the actual home church of the Bishop of Rome, and where until the 16th century, the Popes and the church were administered from. That’s why there were so many Lateran councils instead of Vatican councils.
The walk down the Via Merulana between Maggiore and Laterano is quite beautiful and not that long. I have always walked around the City and the walk from the Vatican (the hotel I stayed at the last 4 trips was down the steps from the entrance to the Vatican Museums) to San Giovanni is a piece of cake.
From a non-Catholic, thanks for the info on San Giovanni:)
The Amalfi coast is so amazingly beautiful, as is Capri. Sorrento is also a great town. If you only have a few days, I would advise skipping Naples. On our 11 day trip to all of these places I just mentioned, we saved the last day for Naples–from where we were flying back home. It was the worst day of the trip; it was probably the dirtiest and most unsafe city I’ve ever visited; and I grew up going through the worst sections of Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx.
I just want to echo what a couple others have said. Rome’s hot. Like, really hot. True, I was there during a particularly bad heat wave, but it was early June and my wife and I were just totally unprepared for how hot it was. And when you’re walking around all the excavated ruins, there isn’t a lot of shade to be found. We had water bottles and filled them up from almost every fountain we passed, which is in fact was what the Romans were doing. There are a lot of fountains in Rome.
Anyway, no matter how hot and exhausting it was, it was totally worth it. I would go back tomorrow if I could. Have fun! Can I come with you?
I think I’ll make sure we both have good sun hats.
Good luck just crossing the street in Rome and Florence. The traffic is just as crazy for pedestrians as for drivers. There aren’t a lot of traffic lights in Rome, so the traffic just races by continuously. Sometimes the only way to cross the street is just to start walking. Amazingly, they’ll stop for you.
Ostia and Herculaneum are must-sees. Pompeii is way too crowded most days and overrated.
The Pantheon is a huge disappointment, and the litter problem in Rome overall is astoundingly bad. Just keep your expectations low.
I’m very curious as to what your criteria is for stating that the Pantheon is a “huge disappointment”.
This is a rebuilt structure (after a fire) by the emperor Hadrian and completed in 126 AD. It still, after 1889 years, has the world’s **largest unreinforced concrete dome **(from the Wikipedia article on the Pantheon, Rome). In respect of the Pantheon and its construction, Michaelangelo designed the diameter of the Basilica of San Pietro dome to be slightly smaller than the dome of the Pantheon. The diameter of the interior circle and the height from the floor to the oculus are both the same at roughly 43 meters.
From Wikipedia: It is one of the best-preserved of all Ancient Roman buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history, and since the 7th century, the Pantheon has been used as a church dedicated to “St. Mary and the Martyrs” (Latin: Santa Maria ad Martyres) but informally known as “Santa Maria Rotonda”.[5] The square in front of the Pantheon is called Piazza della Rotonda.
This is also a structure that now exists within a very confined and narrow space. BTW, Hadrian was also responsible for the building of his tomb which, like the Pantheon was later converted to a Catholic church, is now known as the Castel Sant’ Angelo.
Yea, I usually tell people to skip Pompeii and just go to Herculaneum. Its much less crowded, and they let you wander around the ruins much more freely. There’s less in the way of exhibits, but if you’ve already spent a couple days in Rome, you’re probably already close to saturation with classical statues and inscriptions anyways.
I thought the Pantheon was pretty neat. There isn’t much in it, but its pretty cool just to stand inside it and look at the architecture. And there aren’t many intact classical buildings you can just enter and hang out in.
People not liking Naples. People being disappointed by the Pantheon. People telling us to keep expectations low about Rome (Rome!).
Non vi capisco. 
No worries, we’re planning to enjoy Rome.
MY BIL & SIL went on a trip to Italy for their 10th anniversary.
When they got back, they griped about how they didn’t like the food.
Talk about non vi capisco!
Although honestly they’re among the most boring of eaters and not the most savvy of travelers, so I’m not 100% surprised that they managed to eat non-delicious Italian food. My wife and I on the other hand, almost certainly gained weight, despite all the walking and stairs in Italy (so many stairs!).
To clarify my post – I absolutely loved visiting Rome. It was one of the best trips I’ve ever taken (I say “one of” only because we had been in Paris the week before, and while Rome is awesome, Paris probably edged it a little in my opinion.) Anyway, great, great place to visit. Just remember to wear your sunscreen. And drink lots of water.
One of the high points for me was Trajan’s Market. At least when I was there in 2003, you could just wander around all through the building unsupervised. I was amazed at how accessible it was. Throughout Rome, I found myself being more interested in the artifacts of day-to-day life than in the amazing works of art. At Trajan’s Market, I remember looking at the marble floors and imagining someone dropping coins on the floor and the sound they would make. I don’t know why. The mundane things like that really connected with me for some reason. You’re just strolling along the same corridor where people haggled over prices 1900 years ago. Amazing!
Two places I’d recommend are Ostuni and Cinqe Terre.
The article was talking about St. Peter’s to St. John Lateran, not from Sta. Maria Maggiore (which IS a fairly short walk).
I’ve walked somewhere between 2/3 to 3/4 of the St. Peter’s/St. John Lateran walk, and while it’s not like 15 miles or anything, it’s still 2-3 miles. You do get to see the Forum, Colosseum, etc… on the way though.
We regularly hike 10+ miles, so we’re OK with long walking tours. Anyone ever rented bicycles in Rome, especially out by the viaduct and Appian Way?
I rented a scooter while there. It made viewing everything really easy as I could just drive right up to all the places I wanted to visit without wasting time looking for parking. There is always a place to chain a scooter for an hour or two. I highly recommend going this route, or at least renting a bike like you’re thinking.
My problem was that people mention crime and pickpockets everywhere, so I just gave Naples the benefit of the doubt and did not concern myself much when everyone talked about the crime there. I am not quick to say negative things about the places I have visited. I never found the French to be rude or unwelcoming despite the stereotype and so many people mentioning it, for instance. Please take all warnings about Naples seriously, though. It really is as bad as you’ve heard, if not worse. Beware of people on scooters riding up and snatching shit out of your hands, too. Just be careful!
If you don’t already know your way around Pompeii, go online beforehand and figure out where all the cool stuff is. Unless you’re getting a guided tour, of course. I never got the tour, and even though I really enjoyed it my first time, I got a lot more out of it the second time. The maps they hand out on location don’t really tell you about anything. If you don’t already know which houses and locations you want to visit, and why, the maps they give you will be of no help. Have a plan before you go walk around. You will stumble upon a lot of neat stuff, but the place is large and complex. You will definitely miss a lot.
Except for my first trip, I have avoided any wheeled vehicles in Rome. I have relied on walking except for several rides on the subway though I have avoided the buses as the ticket handling back in 1974 was confusing as all get out.
The walk down Via Merulana (mentioned earlier) was actually a walk to all four of the Vatican churches though we did not actually go into San Pietro as we had been there on a previous day.
Even though no one has mentioned it the “clothes police” at San Pietro were always active and prohibiting entrance to improperly dressed men and woman (no bare shoulders and short skirts as I recall). None of the other extraterritorial churches ever conducted such inspections.
The last time I was there was 2003, so are they still doing the "clothing inspections at San Pietro?
As another note I should also point out that Romans eat dinner late and many restaurants (those worthy of going to) do not open until 8:00 PM. Most of my dinner reservations were for 9:00 and 9:30 PM sittings and these were not the really expensive places but rather the more “non tourist” trattoria and osteria establishments. You may want to adjust your eating schedule if you are already not aware of it.