Italy with 15 year old, single mum

[Minibreak2023]

15 year old is really keen to go, especially the Vatican.

I've never been. I know it sounds silly, but I'm a little nervous as I'm a single mum so will be just me and him. Please give me some tips on how to enjoy travelling on our own and stay safe abroad.

Also, is right now a good time to go? Will attractions be open? Do we need to book for the Vatican? And any other must sees/must dos?

Thanks in advance.

Also looking for decent hotel recommendations that don't cost the earth.

Rome is a pretty safe city to travel to, usual advice for travelling in cities applies. Pickpockets can be an issue so don’t keep things in pockets but have a bum bag or rucksack that sits in your front.

But it is often very hot there in the summer, usually 30s with very little shade.

If that’s not a problem for you, then August is a fine month to go. Traditionally things would shut down in August but it’s not really the case now, apart from some small shops / family run businesses. All the touristy things are open as usual.

Definitely book tickets for the Vatican Museums in advance, the queues can be super long for on the day tickets. You can book onto a tour or just go around by yourself.

Entrance to St Peter’s Basilica is free but you may have to queue for a long time. If you’re on a tour you often don’t have to queue, so that can be the best way of doing it if you’re tight on time or it’s too hot to be queuing outside.

You can pay to climb the dome at St Peter’s - definitely do this it’s so worth it. Amazing views.

Other recommendations for Rome:

• Pantheon
• Colosseum
• Roman Forum
• Castel Sant Angelo
• Borghese Gallery
• Villa Borghese
• Capitoline Museums
• Catacombs

From Rome I can also recommend day trips to Tivoli and Ostia Antica (Archaelogical park). We did both via train.

I took my 12 year son in February and we had the best time. He just told my parents it was his best trip ever and he's been lucky enough to travel widely.

Rome in August is unbearable though imho. It's not just the temperature on the thermometer but the way the whole city heats up to furnace-like conditions. And I don't mind heat.

This is a blog post I wrote about our trip

affordacool.wordpress.com/2023/02/15/rome/

Rome is great with teens. Definitely book the Vatican and the Colosseum ahead of time otherwise the queues are crazy.

We stayed in an AirBnb that was on the metro line and we travelled on the metro every day. We felt very safe.

If you’re the active types we did a full day mountain bike tour of the Appian Way and catacombs which was fantastic. The bikes were e-bikes so you don’t have to be super fit but it is a bit of a tiring day. Our 11 and 13yos managed fine.

Do book the Vatican as others have said.
It's worth doing a walking tour your first day to get your bearings, there's so many free things to see.

I took my dd on my own after her dad left, she was a little older. I chose a med cruise that included a stop in time, booked the cheapest cabin and it was ai on the ship. We then used public transport at the ports, the train to tone was about €10 for both of us, return! Spent under €100 on spending money including transport and extras on the ship which we could have avoided easily.

Thanks all.
@LondonMummer your blog is fab, thanks for sharing. I am now planning to go to Italy in October, I don't think i can bear the summer heat.

Can anyone recommend anywhere other than Spain that is short haul, cheapish and with temperate weather?