1 day in Rome - please help!

My parents and I will be flying into Rome on July 28 and staying there until the evening of July 30 (planning to drive down to Naples on the 30th). However, my mother has already visited Rome and says one day should be enough for sightseeing, also considering the hot July weather and crowds on tourists. We would like to spend the 30th visiting little towns around Rome and escaping the city bustle. Any towns/places we should include on our itinerary? We were planning to visit Florence but we feel like we would like to escape the touristy sights and cities for a day. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Just looking for some additional advice or recommendations - here is what we have so far;

8/26 - Arrive at FCO 745am, will take car service to our hotel (Hotel Martis Palace) to drop luggage and start exploring Rome.

8/27 - Rome. Vatican museum.

8/28 - Rome. Colosseum tour.

8/29 - 710am Fresciarossa train to Milan. Arrives 1050am. Already booked the tickets. Pick up car rental and drive to Lake Como. Staying in Diamond Apartments in Bellagio.

8/30 - More Lake Como. Staying same place.

8/31 - Driving to the Dolomites. Staying at the Hotel Angelo Engel in Ortisei.

9/01 - Dolomites. Won’t bore everyone with the list of hikes, but the hikes and scenic pass drives are the main reason for coming to the area. That and some of the lakes in the area.

9/02 - Dolomites

9/03 - Dolomites

9/04 - Dolomites, then driving back to Milan, staying at the Sheraton airport hotel that is literally in the terminal.

9/05 - 1020am flight back to US.

I think having basically 3 full days/nights in Rome is this plenty. Not sure that a day and a half (2 nights) will give us much time in Lake Como, but we’ve never been and would like to check it out unless someone has a better option. I think our time in Dolomites will give us enough time to do some hikes and explore the area. Obviously I’d rather have weeks to spend in each area, but unfortunately that isn’t an option haha.

Any suggestions or recommendations for these areas?

I am currently in Rome and said I would do up a trip report to share my experiences and to hopefully give an idea of what Rome is like to visit right now.

As background I am a solo male traveler. I am spending 5 nights in Rome before going on to visit Capri (2 nights) and Naples (4 nights). I was in Rome in 2016 but it was a brief visit so I am treating this trip as if it’s my proper time here.

Monday 23 August:

My day began at 3am as I made the drive up to Dublin airport. It was my first time back at the airport since December 2019 and I had a mixture of nerves and excitement. However, everything went smoothly and my flight landed in Ciampino airport on time. I had arranged through my hotel for a airport pick up and I arrived at my hotel (Alberto del Senato) at 11.30am.

After unpacking some essentials I was straight out the door to start exploring the city. As my hotel is on Piazza Della Rotonda, the Pantheon is literally on my doorstep. I was going to visit it first but the line was very long so I said I would wait until later in the day to visit.

I proceeded to make my way over to Piazza Navona but on the way I stopped off to visit San Luigi dei Francesi. An impressive church with the highlight being “The Chapel of Saint Matthew” which has 3 paintings by Caravaggio. I then went on to Piazza Navona to admire the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi and the other 2 smaller fountains. Sant Agnes in Agone was just after closing so I decided to go for lunch myself. I had a larger then planned lunch (pizza) but at least it would keep me going for most of the rest of the day.

I then made my way up to Piazza di Spagna and walked up the Spanish steps and visited Trinita dei Monti. I enjoyed the views from both the top and bottom of the steps. I then started back walking in the direction of my hotel and on the way I detoured slightly to stop off at the Trevi Fountain. It was busy but nothing like the last time I visited. You could sit in comfort and enjoy the view and the atmosphere. There was also barely a selfie stick in sight!

I went back to the hotel for a quick rest and to recharge the phone. I had tickets booked for Galleria Doria Pamphilj for 6pm so I had some time to kill before this. As the line for the Pantheon was much smaller I visited here after my rest. It was my second visit here and was equally as enjoyable if not more so than my first visit. After the Pantheon I went around to visit Santa Maria Sopra Minerva but unfortunately it looked like it was closed for renovations. I did however get to admire Bernini’s Elephant statue outside it.

From there I strolled down Via del Corso to Galleria Doria Pamphilj. This was a wonderful visit. The palace itself contains beautiful rooms and halls which are full of the family’s private art collection. There is an audio guide narrated by one of the family members which helps to guide you around. Your visit is for a 2 hour time slot and I used used the majority of this time here.

As I was on Via del Corso I decided to walk north all the way up to Piazza del Popolo. Most of the shops were closing up for the day but I enjoyed the walk up and simply just sitting down and relaxing up at the Piazza and taking in the sights. On the way back to the hotel I got something light to eat. It was a long (but enjoyable) first day so I decided to have a early night.

Hi guys,

I am thinking whether it is worth trying visiting Syracuse this July or leave it for next year (2022).

I would fly from Toronto, Canada to Rome and then take a train to Syracuse.

Would you be helpful with a few questions?

1) Would Sicily or Syracuse allow for vaccinated foreign tourists visits starting in July?

2) I checked train schedule from Rome Termini to Syracuse (italiarail), and there are no connections at the beginning of July (10-12), while there are available trains to book in August.

Are there any restrictions for train transportation in July vs August?

3) Would you expect that crowds are less this year, or it is business as usual?

Thanks.

Hi there,

If anyone could help with the following, we would be hugely grateful!

My partner, our very active and walking/ climbing/ running 14 month old anc me need to spend a night in Rome in mid-July. We will be coming via train from Florence some time on aSunday and taking a flight out of Rome on Monday lunch time. We are looking for somewhere with easy access to the station, but also somewhere that might provide a little bit of luxury and a treat for the final night of our trip. We imagine it maybe too hot to see much of the city with our toddler (and we will only have the afternoon) so wondered if there was a hotel that was set up to receive families or couples with children - or if anyone has had a really good hotel experience in central Rome they can recommend!

We usually stay in Airbnb’s or camp, so this is new for us.

Our budget is around 200 euro of the one night, give or take.

Thanks in advance

(Oh, and we are up to date on all the necessary covid tests/ quarantines as well as being fully vaccinated)

My family and I (3 people in total) are flying into Rome on the evening of July 28. From there, we will be spending all of the 29th in Rome and then driving down south in the evening. We will be spending 2 days on Amalfi Coast and eventually making our drive to Puglia on July 31. We have a masseria booked near the town of Grottaglie from the 31st until August 6 (a beautiful but isolated masseria that we stayed at before Covid but it's pretty far from the major cities). However, despite the beauty that our stay offers, what is worrying us is that we have already visited the main attractions and towns near our masseria on our trip to Puglia pre-Covid). On our last trip we visited:

- Lecce, Nardo, Taranto

- Ostuni

- Matera

- Alberobello

- Bari

We have included Monopoli and Brindisi in our itinerary as of yet. We would love to explore new places and towns that we have not seen before. Please give us any recommendations where we should go and what to include on our itinerary. Would love if anyone could share any hidden gems around our location. We would also appreciate if anyone can share beautiful beaches around the region.

Thank you in advance!

Hopefully, all things will be safe for travel. Our son would like to go for my 75'th BD , DIL 50'th and Granddaughter's 16'th birthday to Rome. We plan on arriving a few (5 days) before them and using Marriott points. A few years ago, we stayed at the Palazzo Naiadia , but not now, no longer a Marriott. Have narrowed down to Rome Marriott Grand Flora or the Pantheon Iconic Rome Hotel, AC. Any information or which you would select, or comments. After, our five days, we will move to our son's place he has book for us, for 8 nights, at Villa Spalletti Trivelli. Any comments/suggestions appreciated.

Hello everyone

Thanks for any help you can provide with this planning query. We plan to visit 4 places over 10 days late March next year. For few different reasons we have to do those 4 places and have only 10 days. Therefore I am looking for the best/efficient way to get these places. Our flight in and out is from Rome. We need to visit friends/ business in Venice, Tuscany and Naples. My initial thought was to stay in Rome for couple of days then travel to Venice then Tuscany , Naples and back to Rome via direct train. But wanted to see if we should instead travel first to Venice, then Tuscany, Naples and finally Rome to make the flight out easier? We are hoping to take flights and train but could get a car if need be especially thinking of Tuscany. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks again

Hello!

I just rescheduled my cancelled trip to Oktoberfest and rebooked for December at the Carpediem Roma Golf Club outside of Rome at Via Di Marco Simone 80, Guidonia Montecelio, Roma(RM) Italy. If anyone has been there or knows the area, I would appreciate some advice on whether I would need to rent a car, use taxis, or the train for the week.

As an example, I used Google Maps for directions for the Coloseum, and the train looked reasonable but about 4 km away. I visited Rome once 25 years ago with a tour group but want to be more self-guided this trip.

I mostly plan on visiting Rome for the full duration of the week, but will book an additional night on each at a hotel that provides shuttle to FCO so the airport transportation is not a factor.

So here are some of questions for anyone that can answer:

1. What is the best transportation option?

2. Anything around the area that I should see or do?

3. Are there any grocery stores in the area to stock up my kitchen in the condo?

4. Any advice for single traveler, besides the obvious, in Rome?

5. Any cooking schools or classes that might offer a single day or several hour class?

6. Best things on a budget is always welcome!

Thank you all!

Long story short, I had two other trips in planning that my teen daughter eventually vetoed :)

She has requested a culture/sightseeing/city trip over the 'nature' and 'beach' options. She's had a really tough year and with all the anxiety about heading into high school, I would love to make this happen for her. I have about a month to plan this trip, so here's my first attempt at an itinerary. We will be flying in and out of Rome (only option for a direct flight), which we'll be skipping as we have previously visited:

Day 0: overnight flight into Rome, arrive 7:30 am

Day 1: Rome to Naples via high speed train, Napoli, Overnight in Napoli

Day 2: Pompeii tour, Overnight in Napoli

Day 3: Amalfi coast tour (bus tour or private driver), Overnight in Napoli

Day 4: Napoli in the morning, leave for Florence via high speed train, Overnight in Florence

Day 5: Florence, Overnight in Florence

Day 6: Tuscany day trip (bus tour or private driver), Overnight in Florence

Day 7: Train to Cinque Terre w/ stopover in Pisa, Overnight in CT

Day 8: Cinque Terre, Overnight in Cinque Terre

Day 9: Train to Milan, Overnight in Milan

Day 10: Milan in the morning, train to Venice, Overnight in Venice

Day 11: Venice, Overnight in Venice

Day 12: Venice in the morning, Venice to Rome via high speed train or flight, Overnight Rome near airport

Day 13: fly home

Would love to hear your thoughts:

- We like fast paced, but is it too fast paced? Any suggestions?

- I feel like Milan is a bit of a 'detour' and I wonder if it's worth just for one day?

- Should we get TrainItalia passes? Which one?

- I would love to have some flexibility and not prebook hotels in case we want to linger in one area more - is this too much of a risk? (I wouldn't have considered it but i feel like we could 'wing it' this year?)

- Is there anything else I need to pre-book? (ie. tours, transportation, admission tickets, etc).

Thanks all in advance!