Tour or DIY IN Rome?

[Disneymum]

Hello all!!

 

Will be in Rome on March 3rd of next year and was wondering if we should book a tour or try and DIY Rome. If tour, any recommendations?

 

We would like to see all the highlights if possible.

 

Ant recommendations in Genoa?

 

Thanks in advance,

Cindy

[BaseballMomof4]

We found Rome very easy to DIY. Borch has a fantastic map that makes it very easy to locate all of the places you may want to visit. I highly recommend buying Colosseum tickets online if you want to go there. It will save hours of standing on line, you just walk right up to the front and go in.

[CruiserBruce]

The first, and most important question is, do you know Rome is 75+ minutes from the ship? Followed by how long is your stay in port? Or is this a day in Rome, before or after you get on the ship?

 

Many people, including us, would recommend a private tour, but one of the many recommended venders on this board, like the wonderful Rome in Limo (huge thread just down the board) to make the best use of your probably limited time.

 

If it is a day not related to being on the ship, yes, Rome is very easy to DIY, and would recommend a little research to make it work well.

Edited March 18, 2015 by CruiserBruce

[Disneymum]

Thank you both for your replies. We will be in port from 9am to 7pm.

[CruiserBruce]

Thank you both for your replies. We will be in port from 9am to 7pm.

 

OK, so it is a port day. Strongly recommend a private tour as the best use of your limited time.

[BaseballMomof4]

We had a much shorter time in port sailing on NCL and managed to go to the Colosseum, Palantine Hill, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps DIYing with a good map. We even had time to sit down and have a leisurely lunch at a lovely little restaurant.

 

We had HoHo tickets which were utterly useless due to the traffic. It was faster to walk.

 

It's all in what you feel comfortable with. We chose to spend our excursion money in Naples (Pompeii, Sorrento & Positano with RIL) and Florence (Pisa and Florence with RIL).

[cruisemom42]

It's mostly what you feel comfortable with. If you enjoy planning and touring on your own, Rome is pretty easy for sightseeing on your own. There have been many posts on this forum of folks who have done it successfully on a port day.

 

If you have an idea of what you want to see and do, there are several of us here who can help you with detailed directions and information.

[John Bull]

Cheap & easy by train & metro (about €12 all-in) & shanks's. Lots of folk do it.

You should be able to fit in, for instance, a tour of the Colosseum, a walk thro the Forum, probably the Trevi, a look into the Pantheon & wander outside the Vatican. Or some other combo that fits the same time-scale - eg a look round the Vatican & be content with seeing the Colosseum from the outside.

However you do it, by tour or DIY, you'll only scratch the surface on a port-of-call visit, especially since it's foreshortened by the journey to / from Rome.

 

Yes, as Baseballmom found out, Rome's ho-hos are useless in your time-frame though they can be a very economical use of time in other cities.

 

And I'm no great fan of ships' "Rome-on-your-own" transfers, by coach or by train. As well as being poor value, such time as they may save is lost by having to return to the same point for the return journey. By train you can get off at one station (eg Ostiense for Colosseum) and return from another (eg San Pietro from Vatican).

So if you opt to go with the ship, make it a tour rather than a transfer.

 

If you choose to DIY, tell us your priorities then we can argue amongst ourselves about how to do it :D

 

Just MHO as always :)

 

JB :)

[Hlitner]

There is no correct answer to "tour vs DIY" It is just personal preference. DW and I are avid independent travelers and would not dream of using tours in European cities. But there are plenty of others that always prefer to be in a group on a tour. Just keep in mind that Rome is a large sprawling city and if you want to DIY then you should invest a few dollars in a decent guide book (we recommend the Rick Steves book).

 

Hank

[BaseballMomof4]

My sons and I simply bought one of those plastic coated "maps for dummies", they are usually carried by Borch or MapEasy and then used the little sticky arrows to highlight the places we most wanted to see. Once we had that, it was pretty easy to plan a route.

 

The HoHo ticket was a combo ticket for the Colosseum or we would not have purchased it, and to be honest, it actually wasted some of our precious in port time going to areas in heavy traffic that we were less interested in seeing. While I loved the HoHo in Lisbon, I would not choose it again in Rome.

 

I do highly recommend purchasing Colosseum tickets, or any other entrance tickets you may need, online pre-trip. Lines at the attractions are insanely long and I would hate to run out of time due to waiting on line.

[euro cruiser]

We've discussed HOHO buses often here. I think they make a lot of sense in more spread out cities (like Paris), and newer cities (like New York) where the layout and design of the streets accommodates buses and the key sites are miles apart.

 

Older cities like Rome and Florence aren't set up for the service that a HOHO offers.

 

Additionally, they have to be managed well. Barcelona is set up properly for HOHO buses but they are so poorly managed (at least in my limited experience) that they still didn't work (not enough buses for all of the passengers).

[chubbypiggy]

It's all in what you feel comfortable with. We chose to spend our excursion money in Naples (Pompeii, Sorrento & Positano with RIL) and Florence (Pisa and Florence with RIL).

 

How was your experience with RIL for their Pisa and Florence excursion? We (27 people) will be going there in early August (port time from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.) and we are thinking of booking two 6-person minivans and two 8-person minivans with them. Thinking of doing the booking either today or tomorrow.

 

We are also considering RIL's Pompeii/Sorrento/Positano excursion. How was your experience with that excursion?

 

Thank you in advance for your assistance. :)

[CruiserBruce]

How was your experience with RIL for their Pisa and Florence excursion? We (27 people) will be going there in early August (port time from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.) and we are thinking of booking two 6-person minivans and two 8-person minivans with them. Thinking of doing the booking either today or tomorrow.

 

We are also considering RIL's Pompeii/Sorrento/Positano excursion. How was your experience with that excursion?

 

Thank you in advance for your assistance. :)

 

There is a huge thread just down the board on Rome in Limo with tons of recommendations. We traveled with them in Florence/Siena last June, and has a wonderful time. We have also used them in Rome and Naples, for a total of 7 trips. All excellent.

Edited March 19, 2015 by CruiserBruce

[Disneymum]

Thank you so much for the replies!

 

Lots of research for sure! The Highlights of Rome that RIL offers is pretty much what we'd like to do since we have never been to Rome. I would love to visit Pompeii, but doubt it would fit into the time given.

[BaseballMomof4]

How was your experience with RIL for their Pisa and Florence excursion? We (27 people) will be going there in early August (port time from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.) and we are thinking of booking two 6-person minivans and two 8-person minivans with them. Thinking of doing the booking either today or tomorrow.

 

We are also considering RIL's Pompeii/Sorrento/Positano excursion. How was your experience with that excursion?

 

Thank you in advance for your assistance. :)

 

We actually missed Florence due to high winds (oh the irony of leaving Florida to encounter hurricane strength winds in Italy) so can't comment on RIL for that. We did, however, use them in Naples and the Pompeii/Sorrento/Positano tour was great! If I were to do it again, I would have preferred less time in Pompeii and more in Sorrento/Positano but other than that it was wonderful.

[John Bull]

Just keep in mind that Rome is a large sprawling city

 

Hank

 

Permission to respectfully disagree, Hank? ;)

Getting off the train at Ostiense station then two stops on the metro gets you to the Colosseum. From there to Forum to Trevi to Pantheon to Vatican to San Pietro station is something over 3 miles, little more than an hour on foot excluding the inevitable dawdling & stops. And that distance can be almost halved with short bus (free travel with your rail ticket) or taxi rides from Pantheon to Vatican and Vatican to San Pietro station. :)

 

Thank you so much for the replies!

 

Lots of research for sure! The Highlights of Rome that RIL offers is pretty much what we'd like to do since we have never been to Rome. I would love to visit Pompeii, but doubt it would fit into the time given.

 

Are you getting confused or is it me?

(OK, it's usually me :D)

Pompeii is a five-day hike from Rome.

But a twenty minute train ride from Naples.

 

JB :)

[CruiserBruce]

Thank you so much for the replies!

 

Lots of research for sure! The Highlights of Rome that RIL offers is pretty much what we'd like to do since we have never been to Rome. I would love to visit Pompeii, but doubt it would fit into the time given.

 

Agree with Hank. It would be very easy to see Pompeii if you are docking in Naples. But not from Rome.

[chubbypiggy]

Thank you for the replies.:)

[Hlitner]

Hi JB,

 

I am intrigued! You do not agree that Rome is a "large sprawling city?" I guess in the UK world a 500 square mile city is not sprawling, but having walked miles in that place my feet say otherwise :). But we also agree that if one wants to limit their visit to the usual central Rome sites that its relatively easy to DIY.

 

Hank

P.S. JB, have you started to like Guinness?

[John Bull]

Hi JB,

 

Hank

P.S. JB, have you started to like Guinness?

 

No, Hank, I'm afraid that's not possible.

You see, I have an elegant and educated palate :p :D

 

JB :)