Any advice on travelling to Rome?

Niallzer

Hi,

Boards newbie here so I hope I'm doing this right. I'm planning on heading to Rome for around a week in September with a couple of friends.

Does anyone have any recommendations about good hostels, restaurants, tours or things worth doing that are perhaps a little less touristy? also how expensive is it as a city, are there any good ways of avoiding spending too much while there? Any advice is welcome, although you can be sure I'm aware of the obvious stuff, go to the forum, go to the coliseum etc. I'm a student so please keep price in mind.

Thanks

mrsnewbie

hello,

Rome isn't cheap but you can do it on a budget.. the metro is great for getting about and the food is reasonable enough and tasty if you stick to main courses, soups etc.. about the same price as home. Don't eat at the main squares.. get away from these and you'll save money. The Vatican is free (we paid for guided tour but was worth it to skip queue.. I think approx 50 euro for the two of us but meant a lot to us)... if you go on Wednesday you will get mass and see the Pope though I think during the summer he resides elsewhere.

I thought it was worth doing the open bus tour. The Colleseum is a must see but be warned.. long, long queue's so you will get lots of one's asking you to pay to be your tour guide which is a bit more expensive. Be aware that the tours rush you around and you might not get to see everything you want in these places. Just be aware coffee's etc work out expensive in cafe's at tourist sites.. maybe stop off at supermarkets and bring packed lunch.

We went to the Opera one of the nights.. worth doing and wasn't dear at all.. check out the flyers at your hostel when you get there.. they seem to be on every couple of nights.

We did a lot ourselves on foot and metro.. didn't think it was any dearer than other cities. We stayed in a 2 star hotel.
Lots of things are free to see.. Spanish Steps etc. Have a great time!!:cool:

lc180

I was in Rome last December for 3 days and loved it. I did it on a very tight budget and surprisingly found Rome wasn't as expensive as I expected. Just stay clear off the tourist areas when you want to drink or eat.

I stayed at a hostel called the Yellow. I really liked it, it has a bar in it with a cheap bar (1.50 for a glass of wine during happy hour!), great for meeting folk and a bit of banter.

Food wise I lived of pizza, paninis and Italian deserts for 3 days, it was cheap and cheerful, the food stalls and little pizzerias over there were pretty great I thought.

jayteecork

Do as the Romans do.

kerry4sam

Niallzer wrote: »

Hi,

Boards newbie here so I hope I'm doing this right. I'm planning on heading to Rome for around a week in September with a couple of friends.

Does anyone have any recommendations about good hostels, restaurants, tours or things worth doing that are perhaps a little less touristy? also how expensive is it as a city, are there any good ways of avoiding spending too much while there? Any advice is welcome, although you can be sure I'm aware of the obvious stuff, go to the forum, go to the coliseum etc. I'm a student so please keep price in mind.

Thanks

Rome was one of the few cities we would always return to as students! Their was just something about the city that has us returning time and again. It also helped that we were so close to Switzerland for our skiing

We would stay in 3* hotels but tbh they wouldn't be the Irish equivalent of a 3* though.
As said above, stay clear of the main thoroughfare for restaurants and tourist hot-spots for anything like snacks, lunches etc. We had this one shop on the corner, directly opposite the train-station in the city whose staff got so familiar with us they knew what we wanted as we went in & just went to the shelves & counters and brought them to the tills!
We'd go in there every morning on each trip for rolls, baps, choccies and beverages and carry our back-packs on our travels! Perfect for us back then.

Walk, walk, walk everywhere within the city. Stroll up all the lane-ways, some absolutely beautiful gems in the lane-ways off the main thorough-fair and fractions of prices too.

We'd fly into Da Vinci airport and get the train then into the heart of Rome where accommodation was in plentiful supply. We did get the under-ground to Vatican City alright and that should be a definite. Mass on Wednesday in St. Peters' Square was always on our list, but everyone would be different. Another must for us each visit were the Vatican Grottoes especially Pope John Paul II, but expect queues around there. (They had security around his Grotto and would prevent people from taking photos, but once it's quiet you can though ).

Trevi fountain is stunning. Expect crowds there also, but definitely worth a visit or few!

Tbh, as students, just bring a backpack and be prepared for anything. Don't plan things to the 'T' you know, just go with the flow and take everyone and their 'must-visits' into consideration and just have fun.

The locals were really nice when we were there, and always friendly and didn't hesistate in giving 'local' advice for pubs, music, local events etc etc so speak with them & look around for brochures.

Hope you enjoy. Reading this thread has be wanting to get back there again soon, but won't happen for some months though!

Hope that's of some help for you.
kerry4sam

Naid23

One restaurant I would 100% recommend to go in Rome is called 'Marco G's'. Easily the nicest restaurant I ate in, in Rome.

Very reasonable prices (as compared to Rome prices) and Marco is the nicest person you could ask to meet.
Food is exceptional and just an all round good atmosphere in the place

Niallzer

Thanks guys this is all very helpful, Definitely using this site again. Keep the advice coming!

purcela

Be careful of pickpockets. They are all over the public transport. Rome is notorious for pickpocketing, almost as bad as Barcelona, so be vigilant with your wallet, phone, camera, passport, etc.

mikemac1

Bring comfortable shoes and clothes, you'll be baking in the concrete

You'll get burned at the cafes in the squares, avoid the obvious tourist traps

Get a bottle of water and you can refill in the fountains, the water is safe to drink. Lovely and cold

If you want a big meal to keep you going for the day there is a cafeteria in Roma Termini. It's where the rail staff and the carabinieri and the locals eat.
8 euro and you can stack your plate with salad, a carvary main course, desert and water.
It's where the locals go, when in Rome

On your first day get the open top bus and do a lap, listen to the tape so you get your bearings.
It runs all day so on the next lap you can hop on and off wherever you want
Ticket is 20 euro and lasts two days.

Vatican is a must and yeah, it's worth it to pay for the tour and skip the queues.
Coliseum is a must, the queues are huge so I say plan a day and get there realy early, do it first thing in the morning

Loads of accomadation options but as said above a 3 star in Ireland and a 3 star in Rome are very different.
There are small tiny hotels around Termini and Tiburtina where you'll get a very basic room for about 25 - 40 euro. May or may not have a bathroom.
Dodgy areas, not the best but it's just a place to crash, you will be out all day

Metro is cheap, euro for a ticket, full of Roma beggars
The Roma in Roma, there's a pun there somewhere. Also be wise to pickpockets.

Be nervous crossing the road! Drivers are lunatics and the moped riders are suicidal :eek:

Express train from the airport to Termini is 14 euro, Da Vinci Express

Local train to Tiburtina is 2.60 and it's only a euro and two stops on the metro to Termini. Money saver

In general, prices are a little cheaper then Dublin and once you avoid the obvious rip offs you'll be fine on a budget

Sergeant

It has been a few years since I was there, but you can skip the queues for the Colosseum by purchasing a ticket to the Palentine Hill, visiting there first, and then using the same ticket to skip the queue to the Colosseum. It was also the case that you got a discount if you were an EU citizen, so bring a passport.

I don't think there is any other city in the world that has so many amazing things to see.

Enjoy.

BailMeOut

Two pieces of advice

1. get yourself a Roma Pass in advance of departing. It will save you money and a lot of time queuing.

2. eat! The food in Rome is just so good. No need to go to fancy expensive restaurants. Any street side café will have very simple pasta and pizza and delicious deserts and coffee that are just ridiculously good. As the day gets on replace coffee with Chianti!