The Colosseum.
The Roman Forum.
The Vatican!
Add them up and they equal an amazing day in the buzzing city of Rome.
The thought of everything we wanted to see in one day kinda made me panic. This was my second trip to Rome, but it’d been years since my first visit. There is just so much — new and old — to see and so little time to do it!
When we planned our one day in Rome, we discovered we could approach it in one of three ways.
- Spend more than one day in Rome. (Wasn’t an option for us this time)
- Choose one, maybe two, attractions and DIY our day
- Start saving ASAP and pony up the cash to hire a tour company to see as much of our bucket list as possible!
Going in, we knew that Rome would be our most expensive port. We knew it would be more expensive than renting the private yacht in Mykonos, our day running through Athens, or our day exploring Venice. Based on past experience we also knew it could easily be years before we returned to the city!
After a lot of consideration, we decided on option three. Of course you can save money by DIYing your own itinerary. But, this time our trip to Rome was so limited, a DIY trip wasn’t an option.
Cost Cutters: If you plan to DIY in Rome, check out my recommendations of the Top 10 Things to do in Rome — FOR FREE!
A lot of research went into choosing a tour company in Rome. After reading a lot of reviews, we eventually decided on “Rome In Limo.” This is the tour we decided to take. Then we received the price! Yikes!!
Travel Tip: Usually, the more people on the tour, the less it costs per person.
We realized the only way we were going to be able to afford this tour, plus everything else we wanted to do on this trip, was to make some friends.
After recruiting some fellow passengers online, we ended up with eleven people for our day-long tour. Our price for the guided tour ended up costing €1100, plus €280 for a guide at the Vatican. Add in the price of tickets, and the size of our group, and it dropped our price from around €500 per person to a much more manageable price of €155 a person. That price included private guides at the Vatican and the Colosseum, private transportation to and from the port of Civitavecchia, and admission to all sites we wanted to visit.
I’d love to describe the amazing sail in, or the way the sky and sea looked before we docked. But I can’t. Because I slept through it! hahahahaha. We were so tired from our other excursions!
We rushed to meet the rest of our group and then walked outside to meet our drivers — and one of three guides we’d hired — for the day.
They whisked us off toward the capital city. We headed straight for the Colosseum. There was something amazing waiting for us at every turn! As soon as we pulled up to the Colosseum, they introduced us to our guide for the next hour.
Everyone in our group purchased tickets before we left home so we were able to skip the line and walk right inside — and straight into history.
The Colosseum opened in 80 A.D. … nearly 2,000 years ago! That was just the first sentence of the first fact our guide threw out at us during our visit. He pointed out all kinds of things as we walked around the massive amphitheater.
One of the first things you’ll notice when you walk in are all of the holes in the stone. The guide told us that in the 18th century, Romans basically raided the structure and stripped it. They used the things that were removed for other projects. That’s why you see the damage. It’s not because the Colosseum is falling apart.
We climbed the ancient steps to the second level. From that level, we could look straight down into the maze of chambers and halls where animals and sometimes (according to our guide) prisoners were held before the day-long events held at the Colosseum .
He said that Gladiators were housed across the street in a massive training complex.
One of the most fascinating facts from our time at the Colosseum is the complex water and sewer system built to handle the thousands of people who flocked there to watch different fights. They even had drinking fountains!
When it came to seating, nobility and their wives sat in the lower level. Men were the only ones allowed on the second level, while women were banned to the top level. We learned that the lower two levels had bathrooms with running water. But the third level didn’t. So, while the majority of people could use some type of toilet, the women were forced to go in rooms with sand … basically a giant litter box. Wonderful. Maybe my hatred of public restrooms dates back to the Colosseum!
From the second level of the Colosseum you can look out an ancient window and over to where Circus Maximus once stood. Think of it as the first NASCAR track. Circus Maximus is where the chariot races were held way back in the day. It’s hundreds of years older than the Colosseum, which kinda blows my mind. Circus Maximus was built in the 6th century … BC!! Part of the landmark is even older. Today it’s a public park.
After snapping a lot of pictures and letting as much history as possible sink in, we said goodbye to our guide and found our drivers.
Then it was on to the Spanish Steps. The staircase was closed for renovations so we couldn’t climb them … but we kinda saw them.
Our drivers pointed out even more sites as they took us to the Vatican. Unfortunately we weren’t able to visit St. Peter’s square during this trip. It was closed for the canonization of Mother Teresa. But we were able to tour part of the Vatican, see the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican museum.
This trip through the Vatican was very different from my last one, more than a decade ago. My last trip to Rome was in the winter. This time it was summer. I think we were there will all of the people! IN. THE. WORLD. We were herded through the Vatican and into the Chapel. I suppose it was the only way to see it … and it was worth it, but yikes! It was crowded. Our guide did his best to explain what we were seeing. It was so crowded that we couldn’t move quickly. It gave him a lot of time to talk!
Travel Tip: Pictures are allowed as you walk through the halls of the Vatican, but flash is not … and there is absolutely no photography in the Sistine Chapel. My advice is to just pick up some cheap postcards for your photo album.
After the Vatican we were all ready for a break. We went to a nearby restaurant … that was fantastic! Fresh, amazing, Italian food.
We got our second wind after eating and resting a little. We gazed out the windows of our vans while making our ways to the Trevi Fountain.
Again, we encountered hundreds of other tourists stopped at the famous fountain. We explored the shopping area around the fountain. The we made our way close enough to toss our coins into the water. Legend says that if you do that, you ensure your return to Rome. I mean, hey, it worked the first time I did it!
This was our cue to say ciao to the city of Rome. Once again our drivers whisked us away. This time to the port. We paid and tipped our drivers and guide. Then we fell into our cabins, exhausted, and dreamed of the history we were able to experience.