Trip to Rome

[SauvignonBlonk]

DD says she’d like to go to Rome.
I’m going to attempt to make the trip as budget friendly as possible, anyone got any top tips?
I’m planning on booking a package but leaving off the extras like transfers since it looks like the bus is cheaper once you arrive.

I prebooked a shuttle bus from Fumincino Airport to Rome Termani train station. I think it was only about £6 per person return fare. It took about an hour as the bus goes around a bit but it was very straightforward and comfortable. If you Google there's a few different companies operating this service.

Don't eat anywhere near the Colluseum. They add £££ on for the location (even if they sit you in the basement level of the restaurant where you don't even have a view 🙈). Walk 10 minutes away from the main tourist areas and get much better and cheaper food.

We walked everywhere. It was tiring but there was no need for buses or trains or taxis. Rome is quite small.

Book Colluseum tickets in advance and direct from the Colluseum. Children are free on that site and the ticket prices are very reasonable compared to the private tour companies.

Have fun. It's a fantastic city.

Bag thefts are rift so don't put your bag down under tables etc. Keep a cross body bag attached to you at all times when out and about (preferably an anti theft bag with things that make it more complicated to open it quickly). Separate money/cards between you both and keep some at your hotel so if one bag gets stolen you have backup options.

The metros, metro stations and certain buses are the worst places for thefts.

Make sure any taxi you take puts the meter on and doesn't just give you a price. The price will be higher than a meter would be.

You'll have lots of people trying to put roses into your hands and trying to sell you stuff. Be firm and say no firmly. Some will try to throw bracelets at you or put them on your wrist so that you feel obliged to buy them as you've touched them. Be firm.

It's a very walkable city so you shouldn't need public transport too much.

It's a great city in lots of ways but be prepared for to avoid thefts and be aware there will be more litter and graffiti than you expected.

Visit the Pantheon and the Roman Forum. Well worth a visit!

I think Rome is great but not a place to go on a budget.

There are people their basically trying to fleece you in every way possible.

Every where you try to eat you will probably end up paying a massive "tourist tax".

You don't need a package - just flights and a hotel.
For the main sights - especially the Colosseum - book at least 4 weeks in advance online.
Try to plan your sightseeing so that you aren't constantly criss-crossing the city.
You don't need to use public transport once you get there - you can walk everywhere.
I would say avoid July and August, but I guess this may not be an option for you.
Don't try to pack in too much - I have been 9 or 10 times, and there are still things I want to see!
Allow yourself some downtime to just sit in a cafe or loiter in a piazza.

Do not go in summer. It is boiling and really crowded, The metro is fairly cheap, but we walked most places. Prebook tours (no idea if that's cheaper but it's easier).

We went a few years ago in May and that was plenty hot enough. We walked everywhere and covered miles. The Roman Forum and Colluseum do a combined ticket and are both really worth seeing. There is a recorded audio your that's really good. The food markets are amazing if you're in any way interested in food. Have an amazing time!

How old is your DD?

Re timing - we went in the October half term and that was good sightseeing weather.

We went last August and it was boiling (37° ish). we walked a lot but also used buses and the metro, we bought 48 hour tickets at the metro IIRC. We were very careful regarding pickpocketing but didn't encounter anyone trying to push flowers, bracelets etc on us. We took refillable water bottles everywhere and used the plentiful drinking fountains a lot because of the heat.

Just back from a cruise which included a day in Rome. We just got dropped off and went round by ourselves rather than a tour. Obviously not the same as a mini break but my thoughts:

1. Dont go in June it was 35 and very humid.
2. I pre booked a timed ticket for the coliseum one week in advance for 1.00 pm, just showed them on my phone on entrance , no problems.
3. while it is “walkable” it’s still a lot of walking!
4. it was crowded but bearable.
5. we got a lovely pizza slice (by the weight) and drink near the Trevi fountain, came to 14 euros
6. didnt have trouble with pickpockets but didn’t use public transport
7. as a pp said, use a taxi with a metre not a quoted price.
8. theres a lot of traffic and scaffolding around
9. someone on our cruise did a walking tour and hated it - too much information to take in (and walking!).

Rome is perfectly doable on a budget. Have a look at British Airways if you can easily fly from Heathrow or Gatwick because they have some great flight and hotel deals. Some of the hotels are a little old fashioned but clean and comfortable and really you’ll only use it for sleeping.

The metro is cheap and easy to use. You can get various passes for 24 hours +. You buy the tickets from a machine in the entrances.

There’s lots of gorgeous street food to be had at incredibly reasonable prices as well. Don’t sit in any restaurant within a few blocks of a ‘sight’ and avoid places with pictures of food on the menu.

The Leonardo Da Vinci Express train from the airport is pricier than the bus but worth it in my opinion. Takes 32 minutes. €14 per person one way.

It doesn’t really have an ‘off season’ any more but January might be a good bet for a quieter calmer experience.

There’s a website called Romewise I found very useful for planning things.

Have an amazing time. Rome is incredible.

We had a great deal on a normally ££££ hotel with Expedia - it was still probably not exactly 'budget friendly' but they may be worth checking. The flight was Jet2 from Manchester.

We've been in July and August. July was sweltering.

Don't be cajoled into a restaurant we made the mistake of loitering outside one at the Spanish Steps and paid over the odds for mediocre food.

Agree about the taxis.

We stayed in the Kolbe hotel and it was really nice. Had a nice garden. Staff were lovely.

We went to Rome on a Groupon deal. Had a great time and the hotel was lovely.

I love Rome. We had a small apartment close to the coliseum that wasn't too pricey and we walked alot because we were central. Restaurants near anything are expensive but often delis will make up baguettes for you and there's usually street vendors. Try the side streets.

We took a sightseeing bus to see the main things which was good.

I really want to go back near Christmas time!

I think Rome isn't the worst price wise. Like all great cities, the sky is the limit if you wanted to splurge but out and about, it can be done fairly cheaply. My daughter got a large pizza slice to go which she declared the best she'd ever had for 3.50. Do like the locals and stand at the counter to have your coffee and pastry and it's way cheaper and all part of the fun. Buy fresh fruit from street vendors and other bits and pieces and eat on benches or green areas and people watch. Yes, your attractions are going to cost you but I'd only book one or two things at most. Rome itself is a giant museum, full of life and interest and incredible architecture and history everywhere you look. It's free to look! Accommodation seems to have gone up in price in recent years, I was there in winter 2021 and our hotel was ridiculously cheap (50 euro a night!) and you wouldn't get that now, but I think there are still bargains to be had in the less obvious places.

We usually don't book breakfast in hotels - this may depend on the age of your DD but going to a local coffee shop for drinks and pastries suited us much better.

I went to Rome in Feb (without kids but on a budget), stayed on the Via Nazionale and walked everywhere. Bit dodgy up by Termini but felt safe everywhere else.
Pay by weight pizza is a good way to eat on a budget if you need to (even the little supermarket near me had some nice looking pizza). I also researched some places to eat beforehand and made a few reservations so I didn't have to wander round looking for a restaurant when hungry. A plate of one of the classic Roman pasta dishes near the Colosseum at lunch was about €14 euros.
There are quite a lot of 'pay what you like' walking tours, i did one which was a food tour (you had to pay for the food but it was good and not expensive), there are lots of non-food ones too but mine got cancelled due to low numbers. I also found the open top bus tour quite a good way to get your bearings.
I flew into Ciampino and the airport transfer bus was about 5-6 euros each way. You can pre book and as long as there is space you can use the ticket on earlier/later buses. Takes about 40mins to Termini.

This is brilliant thank you everyone. DD will be 12 when we go, hoping to go Autumn time. Interesting to hear where the dodgy areas are since it’s just the two of us.

DD and I did a trip booked with viva holidays - 2 nights Rome, 2 nights Florence, 2 nights Venice. It was very reasonably priced (about £500 each and this was a few years ago). It covered flights, reserved seats on trains between cities, and hotels (with breakfast). It was a great trip.
We took the Leonardo Express from Rome airport into central Rome, and then the waterbus from Venice to Marco Polo. Hotels were within walking distance of the train stations.
It was a great trip for bolstering DD's self-confidence and independence skills as she had to help me find the right trains etc.

I went in May/June half term... lovely weather..warm but not unbearable.
Stayed at the Domus Sessoriana... which is a lovely but odd little hotel ..it used to be a monastary. Only 15 mins walk from the Colosseum and Palatine Hill.
We got a 3 day hop on hop off bus ticket (you can get on at the Colosseum) and it was great...took us to the main sights, like the Vatican (incredible)

It wasn't expensive.
#The museum/crypt of Capuchins is worth a visit... (central Rome easy to walk to) ...all the rooms are made of the bones of dead monks!

Highly recommend this free audio tour rather than paying for the (boring) hand held devices. You just download it to your phone Rick Steve's Audio Europe.

Loved Rome, we stayed in an apartment near the pantheon. It’s a city that people still live in so if you walk away from tourist sites you’ll find cafes and restaurants with locals in or pizza by the slice places.

the gelato is amazing, have a wander in the evening, loads of people walking around with ice cream. Don’t try and do too much.

The best pizza I have ever had - https://ivoatrastevere.it/

We went in October half term last year and it was lovely. Nice weather but not too hot. We ate in some very touristy areas like the Piazza Navona and it was fine for a pizza. Really nice people watching too.
Definitely book in advance for the Colosseum, a tour is good as there’s lots of interesting info. We also went to the Vatican which was VERY a crowded and I didn’t love, but it was hot and busy and my feet ached!

We loved the Pantheon and actually ate right next to it and it was delicious and not crazy pricy. There was a queue but it moved quickly.

We kept our wits about us in terms of pick pockets but it didn’t feel unsafe. We had been to Barcelona earlier in the year and I felt constantly that people were looking and deciding whether I looked worth robbing but I didn’t get that in Rome at all. We even had to walk past a square in the evening to get back to our apartment and it seemed to be where lots of young men gathered to drink heavily but they didn’t give us any concern at all.