1.5 days in Rome on your own... Please share your tips!

[marazul]

11 minutes ago, eiloo said:

Thanks marazul.  So if i were to buy tickets for Spanish or Italian tours, aside from the lost understanding of the tour, what am I missing?  If we go in and roam on our own, that’s sufficient.  Maybe there is an app I can download to describe what I’m seeing?

The advantage is that you actually get to go to the underground.  And COOP Culture has a free app where they have descriptions of everything you will be seeing. Search for "coop culture" and the Parco Colosseo official app shows up. It will all be cheaper than buying the same tour from a tour company.

Edited May 11, 2023 by marazul

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, marazul said:

The advantage is that you actually get to go to the underground. 

 

Be careful -- not all of the non-English tours visit the underground area. Some just do the basic tour. 

 

As I mentioned earlier, read all descriptions carefully and be sure you understand exactly what is included in the ticket/tour you're purchasing.

 

It has unfortunately become a high-stakes gamble to get tickets for the Colosseum. The powers-that-be in Italy really need to fix the situation. 😟

 

[marazul]

6 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Be careful -- not all of the non-English tours visit the underground area. Some just do the basic tour. 

 

As I mentioned earlier, read all descriptions carefully and be sure you understand exactly what is included in the ticket/tour you're purchasing.

 

It has unfortunately become a high-stakes gamble to get tickets for the Colosseum. The powers-that-be in Italy really need to fix the situation. 😟

 

True. Read the descriptions. The Spanish tours offered last year were the exact equivalent to the English tours. I didn't check the Italian versions to see if they were the same.

[sofa.king]

Wow.  All good tips here.  Appreciate the insight. 

[sofa.king]

Rather than start a new thread, I'll seek the wisdom of folks in this thread first.

 

We have Vatican tickets for noon.  Is it feasible to see St, Peter's Basilica, with line up for security first and then go to the Vatican to tour there?

 

IIRC, there was a way from Vatican to St. Peter's but I don't think you can go the opposite way right?

So we'd go to St. Peter's first and the have to leave and walk to Vatican entrance?  Is that right?  From what I've read, it's a 15+ minute walk to get from St. Peter's to Vatican and then go through security.

 

Any tips you folks have to share on this?

 

I think we originally set this up to see St. Peter's in the morning so that it's "relatively" cooler then.

[euro cruiser]

Yes, this is what you'd do.  

 

For what it's worth, everything within Vatican City is the Vatican.  You are distinguishing between St. Peter's basilica and the Vatican museums.

 

There used to be a one-way passage from the Sistine Chapel (part of the Vatican museums) into the basilica but that has been closed for a few years.  When it was open it was supposed to be only for authorized tour groups, but individuals did sometimes slip through.

[sofa.king]

Thanks euro cruiser.  
 

Am I correct about the walk from one entrance to another in terms of time?  Do we need to have a guide for the Vatican museums?  Could a downloaded app suffice?

[euro cruiser]

I've never tried with an app, I suppose it's not much different from an audioguide.  

 

Your time estimate is correct, it's about 1.2 km/three quarters of a mile on foot from the basilica to the entrance to the museums.

Edited May 29, 2023 by euro cruiser

[KKB]

On 5/4/2023 at 1:50 PM, CCJack said:

Agree with euro cruiser.... Our last visit we stayed right next to the Pantheon... excellent location.   We walked to the Vatican no problem.   It is a safe and enjoyable walk.   We also walked to the colosseum (different day).  I just think you will get to both places faster on foot rather than any other options...

 

The Pantheon is beautiful and very historic, but you don't need to really plan any time for that.   It can be a quick trip as time allows especially since you are staying close by, you can hopefully avoid the busy times (visiting in the morning or later in the evening.) .  

 

You need a lot of time at the Vatican.   Colosseum could be short or medium visit depending on what you want.  

 

Jet lag rules say try to stay awake as much as you can on arrival day.   Colosseum may not be out of the question on arrival day depending on how you feel.   Then you could pick up Pantheon after Vatican on day 2 or even the morning of the cruise...

 

 

May I ask where you stayed & would you stay again?

[CCJack]

20 minutes ago, KKB said:

May I ask where you stayed & would you stay again?

Hotel Abruzzi..      We booked a room with Pantheon view and it is just as advertised.... right in front of the Pantheon.   For our young adult children traveling with us, we booked rooms in their annex which is a couple doors down and does not have a nice view, but still a very adequate room.  Included breakfast was actually in a cafe across the Pantheon plaza and was very good.  No complaints, I loved it and would stay there again. 

[gail-s]

I can attest that the coopculture website is ridiculously buggy.  I kept refreshing the page I wanted and different tickets would show up.  I was finally able to get the tickets I wanted w/ the Arena and the Underground, paid, and on the final confirmation page it went to an error.  I got the confirmation from the site I paid, but no link to print the tickets.  Apparently this must be common because there were instructions on the FAQ page in coopculture with the email to send the receipt to to get a new link to print the tickets.  Definitely a frustrating morning for me.  Now I'm waiting to hear back from them.  

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, gail-s said:

I can attest that the coopculture website is ridiculously buggy.  I kept refreshing the page I wanted and different tickets would show up.  I was finally able to get the tickets I wanted w/ the Arena and the Underground, paid, and on the final confirmation page it went to an error.  I got the confirmation from the site I paid, but no link to print the tickets.  Apparently this must be common because there were instructions on the FAQ page in coopculture with the email to send the receipt to to get a new link to print the tickets.  Definitely a frustrating morning for me.  Now I'm waiting to hear back from them.  

 

Good luck -- they really need to do something about these issues!

[gail-s]

Of course this morning I get an email that they money was never withdrawn from my account and the tickets were rejected.  SO now I get to hop through hoops again.  Does anyone know if you have tickets through the Roma pass can you add on the arena and underground?  

[sofa.king]

Asking here as I’m sure someone will know this.  For the Atac Metro, can you change from Metro A to Metro B without going through turnstiles?  From what I’ve read, the 1.5 euro tickets allow for only one validation at a metro station but unlimited buses for 100 minutes.  

 

Trying to figure out the best way to go from Vatican to Colosseo.  I’m thinking MA from Ottaviano to Termini and the transfer to MB to go from Termini to Colosseo.  Is this viable?  

Edited June 22, 2023 by sofa.king

[cruisemom42]

48 minutes ago, sofa.king said:

Asking here as I’m sure someone will know this.  For the Atac Metro, can you change from Metro A to Metro B without going through turnstiles?  From what I’ve read, the 1.5 euro tickets allow for only one validation at a metro station but unlimited buses for 100 minutes.  

 

Trying to figure out the best way to go from Vatican to Colosseo.  I’m thinking MA from Ottaviano to Termini and the transfer to MB to go from Termini to Colosseo.  Is this viable?  

 

Yes, you can change lines as long as you do it via the correct pathway (e.g., do not go through the turnstile).

 

Are you coming from the Vatican Museum or from Saint Peter's? The museum entrance/exit is closer to the Cipro station; St. Peter's is closer to Ottaviano. Yes, you can transfer at Termini to the B or Blue line to go to Colosseo.

 

[sofa.king]

4 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Yes, you can change lines as long as you do it via the correct pathway (e.g., do not go through the turnstile).

 

Are you coming from the Vatican Museum or from Saint Peter's? The museum entrance/exit is closer to the Cipro station; St. Peter's is closer to Ottaviano. Yes, you can transfer at Termini to the B or Blue line to go to Colosseo.  
 

I foresee that we’ll be leaving from the museums as we plan to go to St. Peter’s first.  Thanks for the tip about being closer to Cipro vs Ottaviano.

 

4 hours ago, cruisemom42 said: