A Roman Holiday - Trip Planning Tips

I am writing this to share some trip planning tips that I hope will be useful to those who intend to visit Rome in the near future. Rome is a city always buzzing with tourists. Planning ahead will definitely save you from unnecessary stress and headaches.

Also check out this post for our Rome itinerary.

Roman Forum

RECOMMENDED ATTRACTIONS

In my opinion, the best way to plan your itinerary is to first list down the must-see attractions, and then plan everything else around these must-sees. For Rome, I strongly recommend the following:

Colosseum + Palatine Hill + Roman Forum

(book tickets here: http://www.coopculture.it/en/colosseo-e-shop.cfm)

• I suggest booking the tour to the third ring and underground of Colosseum. Tickets are limited and hot in demand, so do book 2-3 months in advance (regrettably, I found out about this too late, it'd be great to hear feedback from those who managed to go). Third-party private tours also provide access to these areas, but I think they are all rather expensive. The official tour is by far the cheapest option (€9 euro in addition to the entrance ticket).
• Plan to spend almost the whole day visiting these three sites. It could be quite exhausting by the end of day, and having dinner at a nearby restaurant is definitely a good idea; remember to book early though, as you will probably be "competing" against other tourists for seats at popular restaurants.
• We visited Colosseum at around 10am, and there was already a long queue at the entrance. Besides the special entrance for private guided tours, there were actually two lines, one for those with pre-booked tickets, and those who had to buy ticket onsite. The pre-booked ticket line moved quite fast, we didn't have to wait very long to get into the Colosseum.

Colosseum

Gallery Borghese 

(book tickets here: http://goo.gl/QTA71k)

• The highlights of this gallery are definitely the masterpieces of the famous artist Bernini. It doesn't matter if you cannot differentiate between Bernini and Panini, you will eventually learn about the artist and many others through the audio guide.
• Visitors are allowed inside the gallery for two hours only; they are quite strict with the time limit and do clear the site when the time is up.
• Book your ticket at least one month in advance, and get an audio guide as well. We think the audio guide was very informative, and designed just right to be completed within the two-hour tour.

Bernini's Apollo and Daphne, at Gallery Borghese

Vatican Museums + Sistene Chapel + St. Peter's Basilica

(book tickets here: https://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do)

• If you are interested in meeting the Pope, try to schedule to be at St. Peter's square on Wednesday morning (around 10am) for the general mass. Mr. Yu was quite lucky to have been able to take a selfie with the Pope.
• It is free to visit St. Peter's Basilica, but you do have to pay to climb up to the Cupola (Dome), which gives you a good view of the city.
• Avoid the long queue at the Vatican Museums by booking your ticket online; you can also pre-book an audio tour or guided tour. Go to the entrance with your booking confirmation and you will find the line for ticket collection is so much shorter.
• I joined a guided tour back in 2005; I had very little knowledge about the Vatican, and thought the tour was a very good introduction to its history and museums' collections. Mr. Yu opted for an audio guide this time and was also satisfied with his experience. The main difference is that you get to explore at your own pace with an audio guide, while you do have to keep up with the guide as there is a time limit for the tour.

Mr. Yu met the Pope at St. Peter's Square

Wish we had gone to the Appian Way (Via Appia Antica)

• As per my understanding, this was a "highway" backed in the ancient Roman days built for military purpose (such as sending soldiers and military supplies to regional areas). 
• It is now a recreational park where you can take a walk, cycle as well as visit some of the Catacombs along the way.
• It is recommended to visit on a Sunday when the road is closed to traffic.
• Read all about it here: https://www.rometoolkit.com/whattodo/appian_way.htm

RECOMMENDED EATS & DRINKS

Il Peperoncino D’oro <http://www.ilpeperoncinodoro.it/>

• This is small restaurant in a relatively quiet street, not so touristy and serves good food.
• We booked a table through TripAdvisor and managed to get a 20% discount on the meal.

Carbonara at Il Peperoncino D'Oro

La Carbonara <http://www.lacarbonara.it/>

• The carbonara did not disappoint. I also recommend the Pasta Pistachio which I thought was quite special. Pay extra to get freshly made pasta and you will not regret it.

 Pasta Pistachio and Carbonara, at La Carbonara

Grezzo Raw Chocolate <http://www.grezzoitalia.it/>

• This shop is a gelato heaven for vegans and people who are lactose intolerant, because their gelato are made of almond milk and coconut sugar!

Gelato in hazelnut, almond and chocolate flavours

Sant’Eustachio il caffe <http://www.santeustachioilcaffe.it/>

• It is interesting to learn that the locals drink their coffee quite differently; instead of sitting at a cafe, they usually drink a small cup of coffee standing at the "coffee bar" counter, finish within minutes and move on with life.
• Sant' Eustochio is within walking distance from the Pantheon. You have to order and pay at the cashier, then collect and consume your drink at the bar counter. They have outdoor seatings, but it costs more to sit down and drink.
• Read more about Italian's coffee drinking culture: http://www.italymagazine.com/featured-story/italian-coffee-culture

Gran Cafe and Monachella (coffee+chocolate+whipped cream)

Forno Campo de’ Fiori <http://www.fornocampodefiori.com/main.php>

• This place looks and feels like a neighbourhood shop rich with tradition. They serve all kind of pastry and pizza. It is a good option for affordable and delicious takeaway meal.

ACCOMMODATION

• I recommend staying near Roma Termini (the main train station) area. The location is strategic to get to/from the airport, as well as convenient for those who are planning to travel to other cities via regional train/bus.
• From Roma Termini, major attractions such as the Colosseum and Galleria Borghese are within walking distance (20-30 minutes). The Vatican City is further away, but is still walkable if you make stops in between, otherwise, you can always hop on a metro or bus to get there.
• There are many affordable options around the Roma Termini area. We stayed at Hotel Marcantonio <http://www.hotelmarcantoniorome.com/> which fulfilled my requirements of "good location, affordable price and positive reviews". My review of the hotel is as follows:
• Positives: within walking distance (5 minutes) from Roma Termini, clean, breakfast included, free in-room wifi (good enough to stream videos)
• Negatives: small, sound-proofing of the room is not great, smoking at the lift lobby area (you can smell smoke in the reception area, but luckily not in the room)

TRANSPORTATION

Getting from/to the airport

• Bus is a cheaper option than train, but the traveling duration is two times longer. Train takes about 30 minutes to reach Roma Termini from Fiumicino Airport, while the bus takes about one hour.
• For bus, we recommend using Terravision <http://www.terravision.eu/airport_transfer/bus-fiumicino-airport-rome>. It is cheaper to buy online than over the counter (€4 vs €6 per one-way trip). The last bus from the airport departs at 11pm.
• Our return bus trip to the airport was almost full. Therefore, I do suggest you get your ticket in advance so you have a guaranteed seat on the bus. 

Getting around in the city

• We walked a lot and only had to take the metro or bus less than five times over five days. Therefore, we don't think any daily/weekly transportation pass is necessary.
• It costs a flat rate of €1.50 per trip to take the metro/bus. The ticket is good for 100 minutes of travel; you can use the same ticket for any transfer within the 100 minutes after you validate your ticket. There should be a machine on the bus or at the metro entrance to validate the ticket.
• You can buy ticket from the metro station or any tobacco shops (the equivalent of kedai runcit or newspaper stands in Malaysia).

Traveling by regional/intercity train

• If you plan to travel to other cities via train, I recommend using Loco2  <https://loco2.com/> for ticket-booking. The ticket price is exactly the same as Trenitalia's website and there is no extra service charge.
• Although Trenitalia has a English version website <http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en>, I find Loco2's booking system easier to navigate. I used Trenitalia's website mainly as a reference to cross-check train schedule.
• I also recommend Seat 61 <http://www.seat61.com/> as a go-to website for anything you need to know about train traveling, especially in Europe.

OTHERS

These are the websites that I find useful for my trip planning:

• Rick Steve’s Europe <https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/rome>
• The Rome Toolkit <https://www.rometoolkit.com/>
• reidsitaly.com <http://www.reidsitaly.com/destinations/lazio/rome/index.html>