Which of these 1 day Rome plans would be the best?

[vfrfreak23]

I'll be with a group of 7 who aren't able to take a tour/excursion due to financial reasons and are wanting to do Rome on our own as a port of call day.

Background: I've done a previous cruise excursion and have seen St Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Necropolis, and the Colosseum so I personally won't be too disappointed about missing things.

 

The port of call day will be 12 Oct with the times of 0700 to 2000 (and assuming an all aboard time of 1930). The group has a must do of the Colosseum and a would like to do of St. Peter's Basilica. I know the wait times are long and want to be able to curb expectations as well as allow the group to have fun with only a little - moderate level of stress.

 

We are planning on hopefully taking the 0744, 0758, or 0835 train out of Civitavecchia which would put us at Roma S Peitro around 0830-0930.We are taking a 1657 train back from Roma Termini to be back on the ship around 1830 as the next train would arrive at the station at 1845 and be tight.

 

The plans are:

1. Go to Roma S Pietro station to see Vatican City. Check to see if the St Peter's Basilica line is doable so no more than 2-2.5 hours of waiting + experiencing, metro to Spagna and walk the streets until a Colosseum ticket time of around 1500 and catch the train back
2. Go to Roma S Pietro station to see Vatican City with no plan to see the Basilica, metro to Spagna and walk the streets until a Colosseum ticket time of around 1500 and catch the train back
3. Go to Roma Termini and do the Colosseum either morning or afternoon and the rest of the time is spent walking the streets and going back to the ship
4. Go to Roma S Pietro station to see Vatican City. Brave the line at St Peter's whatever the length, quick lunch, and metro to Colosseo for afternoon Colosseum time

 

Personally I'm thinking that option #3 is the best and wanted to get opinions.

 

I'd absolutely love for the group to see the Basilica and the inside of the Colosseum but I don't want to kill them. Any help would be great! Thanks!

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by vfrfreak23

[euro cruiser]

None of your options are furthered by going to Termini, that just wastes time.  If the Colosseum is your first stop get off at Roma Ostiense and take the metro two stops to Colosseo.  You'll be on the metro or even at the Colosseum before the train you got off pulls into Termini.

[vfrfreak23]

18 minutes ago, euro cruiser said:

None of your options are furthered by going to Termini, that just wastes time.  If the Colosseum is your first stop get off at Roma Ostiense and take the metro two stops to Colosseo.  You'll be on the metro or even at the Colosseum before the train you got off pulls into Termini.

Ah thank you for that. I didn't realize how the train line physically went around the city and that Ostiense was also 2 stops away from Colosseo like Termini; just earlier. 

[marazul]

I would go for option 1 and you can decide on the spot whether to turn it into option 4 (or even option 3).  The only difference between them is whether to walk around in central Rome in between St Peter's and the Colosseum.  There is no need to decide this ahead of time. You will find that the lines in October are likely to be faster than in July and you might get in within your time limits.  In any case, the group will get to see St Peter's square.

[John Bull]

For Vatican first then Colosseum, train to San Pietro and back from Ostiense (Piramide metro is adjacent & well-signed).Or reverse if you choose Colosseum first.

 

45 minutes is fine to get from Civi station to ship, but yes - plan to go back on the 16.57 (it'll be later at Ostiense and San Pietro) and leave the later train in reserve in case of a problem. Trains will be packed, expect to be standing all the way to Civi.

 

JB 🙂

Edited August 15, 2023 by John Bull