How to Travel in Rome on a Budget: Travel Guide, Tips and Must See Places
Note: Jenny Chu is a California native, but currently lives in Barcelona with her boyfriend and dog. She writes about budget travel and you can read more about her adventures at www.iheartjennychu.com.
By Jenny Chu
Rome is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world and a beautiful city everyone should visit at least once. However, if you plan on being there during peak travel season–mid June-August, beware of scorching temperatures, overcrowded tours, expensive accommodations and mobs of tourists. But don’t let that deter you from your summer holiday plans. Here’s some tips on how to make the most of Rome on a budget and beat the heat.
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WHAT TO PACK
Rome is incredibly hot in the summer, so I brought a travel umbrella to help shield the intense sun rays, a hand fan, and my stainless steel water bottle that keeps drinks cold for up to 24 hours. I even brought my ice cube tray designed specifically for water bottles. Also don’t forget sunscreen and mosquito repellant.
FLIGHTS
Round trip flight from BCN –> FCO (Rome – Fiumicino) on RyanAir – $97.73 USD
I know RyanAir has a bad reputation and is known as the Spirit Airlines of America but how can you pass up on a deal like this? Other airlines were charging three times the amount. I paid the extra $7.00 USD for priority boarding and I made it to Rome without paying extra for my suitcase.
However, I did get snagged for a carryon suitcase fee of 50€ on my return (my suitcase was larger than what was permitted) Talk about bad luck! Not only that, the flight was five hours delayed and it was an additional two hours for the bags to come out onto the conveyor belt at baggage claim.
Tip: RyanAir charges 55€ if you don’t have your boarding pass printed or on your phone. Make sure your suitcase meets the requirements for carryon. They will charge you for everything.
WHERE TO STAY in ROME
If you are traveling with a large group of people, I recommend Camila Home San Lorenzo on AirB&B. This particular listing has four bedrooms, a living room with kitchen and two bathrooms. Up to 10 guests are welcome and the cost is $94.00 USD/night!!! What a steal!!
ROME TRANSPORTATION: BUS and TAXI Tips
You cannot buy a ticket on the bus. Keep that in mind because I saw some tourists get fined 100€. Even if the bus is super busy and you see locals not validating Rome bus tickets, you MUST validate your ticket through the machine. You can buy bus tickets at tobacco stores, bars, newsstands or at major metro stations. Tickets are 1.50€ each. They also sell the 24 hour pass for 7€/day, 48 hour pass for 12€ and a 72 hour pass for 18€. I don’t recommend getting the day passes – I did a mix between taxi and bus.
Colosseum Rome, Italy Photo by: Heather Newgen
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Because I like to travel on a budget I try to avoid taxis and instead use other means of public transportation like the bus or subway. Since we weren’t staying right in the center of Rome, I definitely needed to use public transportation, but I was very disappointed. The buses were never on time and I recall waiting at a couple bus stops for over 30 minutes. On top of that, we had five people in our group so it was hard to flag down a taxi that could accommodate all of us.
Colosseum Rome, Italy Photo by: Heather Newgen
That being said, you should download the “MyTaxi” app. It saved me many times because if we had relied on public transportation, we would have been late for our tour activities. Be careful which taxis you use. I made the mistake of getting into an unofficial private taxi and the rates were really high! The Rome city taxicabs are all white with the number clearly written on the side of the car and those are the ones you should take. Here’s an example of a price difference. From my AirB&B to the Colosseum in a regular cab cost me 12€. In the other “taxi” it cost me almost 20€.
Starting fare Mon – Fri, 6am – 10pm €3
Starting fare Sat – Sun and holidays, 6am – 10pm. – €4.50
Starting fare anytime from 10pm – 6am €6.50
By law, all taxi cabs in Rome are supposed to have a credit card machine but I happened to run into a few that said theirs was “out of order” so be sure to always have cash on you.
Roman Ruins near the Colosseum in Rome, Italy Photo by: Heather Newgen
FROM FCO AIRPORT TO ROME CITY CENTER (TERMINI STATION)
Flat Rate Taxi Fare:
48€ from FCO to the city center
30€ from Ciampino to the city center
Leonardo Express Train to Termini Station – 14€
For budget travelers, exit Terminal 3 and follow the signs for the bus. Then on the right hand side you will see stands selling tickets. I bought mine for 6.90€. No advanced tickets are needed and they accept credit cards. Once you get to the Termini station, there’s a tobacco store where you can buy bus tickets. It’s 1.50€ each and they also accept credit cards! I did an average of two to three bus/metro rides per day.
For your return back to the airport, just head to the Termini station and you can buy your bus tickets directly at the bus. I believe it’s cash only – I didn’t see anyone paying with a credit card.
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WHAT TO DO in ROME:
Ladies, leave your wedges and heels at home because you’ll be walking on mostly cobblestone streets and uneven sidewalks. I know I didn’t get to all the sites I wanted to see however we did hit up the most popular locations:
Jenny Chu at the Trevi Fountain Photo courtesy of Jenny Chu
Trevi Fountain – Went there at 6:30 am to beat the crowd. Face away from the fountain and toss a coin in with your right hand over your left shoulder to ensure you’ll be back to visit Rome, toss two coins in to ensure a romance with a Roman and throw three coins in to ensure marriage.
Vatican City – Opens at 9:00 am. By 10:00 am there is a long queue in the hot sun so I suggest getting there early. Ladies must cover the knees and shoulders. You can buy a shawl/scarf outside for 1.50€. I read that the men were supposed to dress in pants and no flip flops. It was summer and I saw many men in shorts and flip flops so I’m guessing they’re a bit relaxed on the men’s dress code. Photos are allowed but no flash photography.
Jenny Chu at Vatican Photo courtesy of Jenny Chu
Sistine Chapel – I didn’t get to go here because the line was too long. Doors open at 9:00 am and it’s free entry. We talked to a lady that was standing in line since 8:00 am and she still wasn’t in at 10:00 am. By 10:00 am the wait in the sweltering heat was 2.5 hours. There are ticket peddlers that will bombard you and try to sell you a ticket to skip the line. Cost is 35€ so if you think it’s worth it, go for it! No photographs allowed in the chapel.
Spanish Steps
Spanish Steps Photo by: Heather Newgen
Pantheon – Free Entry
Colosseum – Entry Fee is 12€ and is good for 2 days. There’s also a bunch of ticket peddlers that will be selling tickets to “skip the line.”
Jenny Chu at the Colosseum Photo courtesy of Jenny Chu
Bocca Della Verità – Mouth of Truth – 2€. Legend says if you’re a liar and you place your hand inside the mouth, you’ll lose some fingers.
The Aventine Keyhole – Free Entry – We waited in line for five minutes to peep through the keyhole. It was a beautiful view of the St. Peter’s Dome.
On our final day, we embarked on this wonderful two hour golf cart tour of Rome by MyBestTour.com. We had our own group of 14 people and the large golf carts can take esven passengers.
WHERE TO EAT in ROME:
I pretty much ate pizza, pasta and tiramisu every day for lunch and dinner. I know there’s a million restaurants in Rome but these restaurants I can vouch for!
Average cost for a pasta dish is around 7€-10€ and the special truffle dishes were around 10€-12€.
Ciacco&Bacco San Lorenzo – Large charcuterie plate for five people – 30€. Reservations recommended since seating is very limited.
Ciacco & Bacco Photo courtesy of Jenny Chu
Pizzeria La Casetta – Local spot near our AirB&B in Rome and my favorite tiramisu
Pizzeria La Casetta Photo courtesy of Jenny Chu
Ponte E Parione – Truffle pasta with bacon and the fried zucchini flower dish was to die for. The servers here also were very friendly and funny. Rome is the best!
Spaghetteria L’Archetto – So many pizza and pasta dishes to choose from!
Spaghetteria Photo courtesy of Jenny Chu
II Tempio Di Minerva – Pasta carbonara and ravioli with truffle & spinach
La Gelateria Frigidarium – Gelato!!! 1 scoop costs 2€