INTRODUCTION
Have you ever dreamed of going to Rome, a city full of history and romance, but don’t know where to start? This question is common among travelers planning their vacation without using resources like travel agents. There isn’t anything wrong with using one, but we much prefer to immerse ourselves in the culture and sightsee without having every minute of our trip planned. In this blog, I’ll cover tips on when to get started, where to start, the best time to visit, and our itinerary for what we did to explore Rome in four nights.
FLIGHTS
First, as I mentioned, figuring out where to start is the hardest part of planning a trip. My husband and I live in Columbus, Ohio. Unfortunately, we’ve learned from experience that the airport of Columbus does not offer direct flight options to many cities, especially international. But on the contrary, there are many large airports within a couple of hours provide more direct flight options, for a cheaper price. Direct flights allow you to travel with less stress. You don’t have to constantly worry about making your next flight, and that’s worth the additional cost to have. We focus on our international flights first, before booking our domestic ones. In order to make the international flight, we arrive in the departure city at least a half day early. This gives us additional time to minimize the risk of flight delays or cancellations.
Google Flights search engine has been an enormous help in our travels to figure out which larger airports around us deliver what we are looking for. It is a helpful tool, as you can track specific flights or dates and get notified via email when the flight prices drop or increase. I cannot emphasize how important flexibility is when selecting travel dates. The more options you give yourself, the better price you can find.
For international travel, Wednesdays are typically the cheapest days to travel. I’d highly recommend staying away from holiday weekends and departing from cities where weather could be an issue. After we’ve selected the ideal travel dates, we book the exact flight we found on Google Flights via our Capital One Venture X travel card to receive the points and benefits, including price drop protection and Visa Infinite benefits. I recommend starting this process 9-12 months before the desired travel dates for international trips. We booked our flights in late December for our travels that upcoming September.
We selected mid-September because the temperatures are still warm, without being over 90 degrees, which can be brutal in a city where you walk a lot. Be mindful that air conditioning isn’t as standard in Rome, so it will be hot if you travel during summer. I believe the ideal times to visit Rome are in the fall or spring when the crowds are less busy and the weather is cooler.
ACCOMONDATION
Once the specific dates have been planned, it’s much easier to start on other aspects of the trip, like accommodations, transportation, and activities. This four-night stay is a consolidated version for people who don’t have the luxury of taking months off to explore Europe. The further in advance you book your travel dates, the more accommodation options you have to select from. The availability helps increase the odds of finding a great deal.
My husband and I use several tools/resources before we decide on the best accommodation. Marriott’s flexibility rate calendar, Capital One hotel search, Booking.com, and Airbnb are some of our go to sites. Once we’ve exhausted all possibilities, we decided Airbnb provided the best overall value, factoring in price and location. We knew we’d spend most of our time out exploring, therefore amenities, room view, and space weren’t as important. Airbnb is also a unique way to live like a local and has a cozier feel.
I stumbled upon an Airbnb Plus, one minute from the famous Trevi Fountain, for a very reasonable price with excellent reviews. We value other people’s opinions, so we spend a substantial amount of time reading through reviews. For Airbnb, we will not book a place with an overall review score under 4.8. You can find the place we stayed for our four nights in Rome here: Trevi FountainAirbnb Plus. As you can tell, this place books up months in advance, so I suggest booking once your dates are secured. Our host was helpful from start to finish. He arranged a private car to pick us up from the airport, which met at the exit from the international arrival gates with our name on a sign for 60 Euro (their local currency). This arrangement was a seamless experience as we didn’t have to worry about how to get to our Airbnb once we landed.
Day one highlight: Cooking Class
Upon arrival, our host met us at the apartment to give us the keys and provide a tour. It is a requirement in Italy to show your passport to any accommodation (Airbnb or hotel), so please don’t give the host any trouble. We flew a red-eye plane overnight and arrived in Rome the following day with the 6-hour time difference. The best way to adjust to the time difference is to get as much sleep on the flight as possible to have a full day upon arrival to explore. If you’re not flying first or business class, it’s worth the extra money to select your seats. I ended up selecting a row that only had two seats in it, which provided us more comfort and space. We highly recommend purchasing a neck pillow, sleep mask, ear plugs, and melatonin. Once we settled into our Airbnb, we went off exploring.
On our first evening in Rome, we booked a cooking class experience. We have learned that some of the most memorable experiences during our travels have been when we’ve immersed ourselves with true locals and their culture. I highly recommend doing one of these during your stay. It is essential to book these in advance since the slots are limited. Our class only held six people. We decided on this particular class due to the location, a 15-minute walk, and the type of food made. We made ravioli and fettuccini from scratch, and let me tell you, it was amazing! You can find the class we took here: Cooking class.
Day two highlights: Vatican Museum, Trevi Fountain, and Spanish Steps
Since Rome has so much to do, I recommend splitting your days to view specific sites. If you tried to do it all in one day, you wouldn’t be able to enjoy each historical site. During peak season, there can be extremely long lines to enter, and the areas aren’t all near one another. On our second day in Rome, we had a self-guided tour of the Vatican museums. Remember, there are 12 separate museums included, so if you’re into history, you could spend hours here. It is located a bit outside the city of Rome, so therefore we took a taxi. I recommend going to the nearest taxi stand to secure one. We were unaware of this, and we almost missed our scheduled time. We booked these tickets in advance by using the Rome Tourist Digital Pass via a website called Tiqets. With this pass, we selected desired time slots that were “skip the line", so we never had to wait.
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After the Vatican, we explored the Trevi Fountain and grabbed rooftop drinks at the Garden Roof Trevi Lounge & Bar. It has a fantastic view of the Trevi without being in the crowds. Once we enjoyed our wine, we went to see the Spanish steps about a 10-minute walk away. Many high-end shops are around, like Gucci, Prada, and Louis Vuitton. We were ready for lunch afterward and stumbled upon Il Fornaio della Sardegna. They had the cutest flower wall outside, and we grabbed a prosciutto and mozzarella sandwich with a blueberry spritz. I would highly recommend this lunch spot! Since we’d been out all day, we decided to go back and freshen up before walking to see the Colosseum. We had a tour scheduled for our last day but we wanted to explore the area. My husband, Jordan, searched nearby food options after we took our pictures and landed on Ristorante La Nuova Piazzetta. When I tell you we had the best experience here, I’m not joking. They had a bit of a wait, and it was off the beaten tourist path, so we knew it would be great food, and it did not disappoint.
Day three highlights: St. Peters Basilica and Pantheon
The following day, we went to see the Pantheon and walked toward the Vatican City to make our guided tour of St. Peter’s Basilica later that day. We explored various piazzas, such as the Navona Square, and churches along the way. When we arrived at St. Peter’s, we waited for our tour, which was approximately an hour. They recommend getting there 30-40 minutes before your scheduled time slot since the wait to go through security can be long. Since it's a Catholic church, ensure ladies cover their shoulders and knees and men wear long pants. I bought a lot of linen items for this trip, and it’s the easiest way to stay cool on a hot day, especially when standing in the beating sun with minimal shade. Since we got tired from all the standing and walking, we caught a taxi back to our apartment, which was around 15 Euros.
We grabbed dinner at Signorvino, and they had the best carbonara, followed by a delicious bite of tiramisu. I will dream about it forever; you do not want to skip this one! To end our evening, we grabbed a delicious cocktail at a romantic rooftop bar named Jim’s Bar. It’s located on the roof of a boutique hotel and overlooks Rome. They serve numerous unique cocktails that a mixologist creates. I ordered the Pornstar martini, and my husband got the Un’Ora Sola. Though they were expensive, it provided a once-in-a-lifetime view and ambiance.
Day four highlights: Colosseum, Roman Forum and PalatineHill
The final day in Rome came so quickly. We attempted to wake up early to take less crowded pictures at the Trevi fountain, which was unsuccessful. I recommend going between 5 and 7 a.m. if you want photos with no one around. We arrived at 8, and it was already buzzing with tourists. Many local cafes were nearby, so we grabbed our morning cappuccino and croissant. I decided to return to the Spanish Steps to shop, so we browsed some stores and grabbed lunch there. We knew our self-guided tour of the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill was later that day, so we began to head in that direction. It was a bit overcast, which gave us a break from the hot sun, which was nice for the several hours we walked around the historical sites. Once we concluded our tour, we decided to eat at the same restaurant we did a couple of nights ago - Ristorante La Nuova Piazzetta. This experience was just as great as the first time, and our server even gave us a complimentary limoncello at the end of our dinner. We were sad this was our final evening in Rome but excited for the next adventure ahead, the Amalfi Coast.
