Kid-friendly tour of Rome?

[AndyB]

We'll be in Rome in October on Century, and are thinking of a private tour to see as much as possible. Anyone have experience with romeinlimo's kid-friendly Rome & Vatican tour? Looks like a very full day, with a lot of time allotted for the Vatican. We know from experience that with a long touring day we have to plan for plenty of rest stops (gelato?!). Are the guides flexible about this sort of thing? Would love to hear tips from anyone who has taken this (or similar) private tour. Thanks!

[mpb43]

First, let me begin by saying that our kids were 10, nearly 8 , and 3 when we traveled. We were on a land trip in Rome, so we had time to spread out the sightseeing, but I'll share my kids favorites:

1) You mention time at the Vatican. You stated that you have a private guide? This was key for us. Our guide did a great job of tailoring the tour to be interesting to the kids and they loved it. I learned a lot too! A private guide also allows you to skip the long line to enter the Vatican. We used Vatican Tours and Beyond.

 

2) The piazzas

The kids never seemed to tire of hanging out near the fountains. Their favorite was Piazza Navona.

 

2) Gelato!

Our favorite was San Crispino near the Trevi Fountain, a great break as you are visiting the Trevi.

 

3) Colosseum and Roman Forum

It was really hot when we visited these sites (late June) . The kids loved the Colosseum--lots of imaginative play-- but it was too hot to stay for long. The Roman Forum just takes you back in time. In October, visiting these sites should be great.

 

4) Search for the drinking fountains

We did a lot of walking while in Rome, and there are neat drinking fountains sprinkled through town--all different, and some quite ornate. The water is clean, fresh and delicious.

 

If it's just your group, your guide should pretty much tailor your tour to your specifications. Just let them know what you would like to see, and when you need a break. Enjoy your day in Rome!

[dutchclogs]

First, let me begin by saying that our kids were 10, nearly 8 , and 3 when we traveled. We were on a land trip in Rome, so we had time to spread out the sightseeing, but I'll share my kids favorites:

1) You mention time at the Vatican. You stated that you have a private guide? This was key for us. Our guide did a great job of tailoring the tour to be interesting to the kids and they loved it. I learned a lot too! A private guide also allows you to skip the long line to enter the Vatican. We used Vatican Tours and Beyond.

 

2) The piazzas

The kids never seemed to tire of hanging out near the fountains. Their favorite was Piazza Navona.

 

2) Gelato!

Our favorite was San Crispino near the Trevi Fountain, a great break as you are visiting the Trevi.

 

3) Colosseum and Roman Forum

It was really hot when we visited these sites (late June) . The kids loved the Colosseum--lots of imaginative play-- but it was too hot to stay for long. The Roman Forum just takes you back in time. In October, visiting these sites should be great.

 

4) Search for the drinking fountains

We did a lot of walking while in Rome, and there are neat drinking fountains sprinkled through town--all different, and some quite ornate. The water is clean, fresh and delicious.

 

If it's just your group, your guide should pretty much tailor your tour to your specifications. Just let them know what you would like to see, and when you need a break. Enjoy your day in Rome!

 

This is really great information! We've booked the RomeinLimo kid-friendly tour for July with our 9 yr old son in mind. I thought twice about the expense of a guide but reading this, I'm glad we took RiL's advice to do so. BTW, I did ask what made what made the tour 'kid friendly' and was told 'Not much, just few spot that are more interesting for the kids, but it's more less the same tour..[as the standard Highlights]

PS do you have any tips for lunch? We'll be a party of seven, 5 adults, 2 children (9 and 13)

Thankx

[Grandpaul]

We used Romeinlimo last October for a ROme tour and it was great. AS MPB43 mentioned they will fit the tour to your needs. We had a great tour but no kids with us. We did see a lot of kids with other groups and they seemed to be happy. As far as lunch. our driver, Duman, took us to a restaurant right across the street from the entrance to the Vatican. Good food and not expensive. We also had gelato at San Crispino. They almost couldn't get me away form there. I'm sure you'll have a camera to take loads of pictures you will never forget. I can't wait to go back again. Maybe I'll take my Grandkids next time.

[chipmaster]

We'll be in Rome in October on Century, and are thinking of a private tour to see as much as possible. Anyone have experience with romeinlimo's kid-friendly Rome & Vatican tour? Looks like a very full day, with a lot of time allotted for the Vatican. We know from experience that with a long touring day we have to plan for plenty of rest stops (gelato?!). Are the guides flexible about this sort of thing? Would love to hear tips from anyone who has taken this (or similar) private tour. Thanks!

 

I'm not sure what Romeinlimo is promising you as "kid friendly" I'd say that they know how to make it "kid sensitive" touring.

 

The trip from Port to City and back will be long. Their minivan will be cool and comfortable. The tour will be as kid friendly as you want it to be based on your stops, pace, and what you might bring on the long rides ( food, entertainment etc. ).

 

We did it this past summer with kids 7, 11, 13 at the time. Rome port was one super packed day with 7 stops. The kids loved some parts more then other. What is kid friendly will depend highly on your kids disposition, interests, and what you plan to do and its pace. Lets be frank most kids can't appreciate the historical aspects of many of the sites in Rome, but generally all kids enjoy simple things that can easily be done in any city. Since its a private tour you can tailor it to your and your kids disposition, something simply not possible with any big cruise tour! ;)

 

What made our trips "kid friendly" with Romeinlimo in the 3 ports was the stop for gelato, climbing the ruins ( where appropriate ). It is a unique child if one is 8-10 and appreciates a two hour visit to Vatican :D

 

The Gelato date become the one event we all looked forward to. The drivers in Naples and Florence/Pisa talked it up. Right before you go into the Vatican if you do the standard Romeinlimo schedule, you'll eat across from the entrance. Around the corner and across the street about a 2-5' walk are two very busy and decent gelato vendors.

 

Romeinlimo will treat you well and the drivers will run to your wishes, a good choice!

 

PS. here are 3 happy kids before the long afternoon Vatican tour :D

[AndyB]

Thanks for all the great tips! I guess I really didn't expect a tour tailored just for kids, but was just wondering how flexible they would be regarding how long we spent at each stop, adding an extra break in when needed, that kind of thing. We did a similar private tour in St. Petersburg with Alla Tours, and our guide and driver were very flexible, but that was a customized tour. I expect our son will be about as excited about the Vatican as he was about the Hermitage.:rolleyes:

[tocruiseguy]

We used Romeinlimo last October for a ROme tour and it was great. AS MPB43 mentioned they will fit the tour to your needs. We had a great tour but no kids with us. We did see a lot of kids with other groups and they seemed to be happy. As far as lunch. our driver, Duman, took us to a restaurant right across the street from the entrance to the Vatican. Good food and not expensive. We also had gelato at San Crispino. They almost couldn't get me away form there. I'm sure you'll have a camera to take loads of pictures you will never forget. I can't wait to go back again. Maybe I'll take my Grandkids next time.

 

Hi, do you have a link to the Romelimo website? I googled it an several variations come up. Thanks.

[AndyB]

It's simply romeinlimo dot com

[chipmaster]

Hi, do you have a link to the Romelimo website? I googled it an several variations come up. Thanks.

 

http://www.romeinlimo.com/

 

There is a smug picture of Duman on the front page.

Must be all them euros we gave him ( well deserved I might add ) :D

[Cruisin D]

We'll be in Rome in October on Century, and are thinking of a private tour to see as much as possible. Anyone have experience with romeinlimo's kid-friendly Rome & Vatican tour? Looks like a very full day, with a lot of time allotted for the Vatican. We know from experience that with a long touring day we have to plan for plenty of rest stops (gelato?!). Are the guides flexible about this sort of thing? Would love to hear tips from anyone who has taken this (or similar) private tour. Thanks!

 

We used RomeInLimo for all of our tours while in Italy last October. We have 2 kids they where 6 & 2 when we travelled. We chose tours to get the most out of the short time that we had and all I can say is that the guides are so fantastic and very flexiable. Even when our daughter was all toured out and getting a little snakey they adapted the tour as we went.

Our private tour of the Vativan was the same, RomeInLimo arranged a private guide and again the tour was very flexiable and paced to suit.

The cars and vans that are used are very clean and comfortable. We will be using them again this September when we are back in Italy.:)

[samavarcruiser]

Consider it a mission impossible to make a meaningful visit to Rome in one or two days. Rome is not like Florence or Venice, where most major sights are crowded into a compact central tourist district within walking distance.

Just getting from one place to another, with children in tow, is a daunting task. It is difficult to overstate how much more sprawling, chaotic and confusing Rome is compared to any other Italian city or even compared to Paris, London or New York :o

But we love Rome :D