Also, would love to hear from people who've been and their experiences 🙂

I did this trip back in May and I know you'll have a lot of fun (but take very comfy shoes because you'll be doing a lot of walking on cobbles). As requested, here are a few tips:

1. The Hotel is a good drive from the centre of the city, but with a couple of you in a cab it's not expensive if you go off on your own. Always carry the card from the Hotel (available at reception) to give the taxi driver directions and always find out the price before the journey starts. Some of my group paid 20Euro but others paid three times that.

2. The Hotel doesn't have a restaurant but there is a super, family run pizza/pasta place about 200 yards away (out the door, turn right and then right again) It's on the corner, has an alfresco terrace with patio heaters and I think it was called Frankie's)

3. The tour uses the metro sometimes because the traffic is horrendous and taking a coach could make you late for timed entrances such as the Vatican museum. There are only two lines, so you would struggle to get lost, but it can be packed worse than the London Underground in the rush hour, so be VERY careful with your bags and belongings because pickpockets are rife.

4. I absolutely recommend the 'Rome by night' tour, especially if they take you to the restaurant that we went to (in a vaulted basement in a tiny side street close to the collosseum). Superb food and entertainment followed by a coach tour round the city.

5. The itinerary is more 'Renaissance Rome' rather than 'Ancient Rome', so you may want to use your free time to visit the Forum, inside the Collosseum, the Palatine Hill etc. You can book a combined ticket for the first two on line I believe and if you go to the Forum first, you can use the fast track entrance to the Collesseum and avoid the huge queues.

6. The Cemetery tour doesn't sound all that exciting but, for me, it was one of the highlights of the trip (especially if you get Nicholas as your guide). It's not really good value for money but it's fascinating and a real piece of England in the corner of a foreign field.

7. If you want to buy souvenirs at the Vatican, the shop is at the start, rather than the end of the tour. There are a few smaller counters around the museum as the tour progresses but not with a huge selection.

8. Your walking tour of the City will take in the Pantheon but it is pretty crowded in the morning as all the tours seem to go there at once. We went back later in the afternoon and it was much quieter.

9. Finally, you can't go to Rome with out sampling the gelato! For me, the absolute best comes from Gelateria della Palma. It's in a side street leading directly off the square in front of the Pantheon and serves around 150 varieties. Believe me, you will want to try them all!

Have a super time and let me know if you have any other questions

Mandy

i had booked for the cemetary and vatican, but not the Rome by night.... which i will do so now!

Yes i had heard about the pickpocket situation... and was wondering how best to deal with it.

Im basically thinking of putting things of value in hotel safe, and only taking out what money i need on the day.

You're welcome, I'm glad the tips were helpful.

In terms of the hotel safes, I can't comment because I don't tend to use them as a rule. I prefer to wear a money belt under my clothes for my extra cash and passport etc. I don't travel with anything else of value like jewellery etc.

I would recommend an 'across the body bag', that you can hold tight to you on the metro and in crowds (especially around the Trevi fountain). Chose one with a thick strap because thieves have been known to carry Stanley knives to slice through the strap and whip your bag away before you've realised that it's gone (this happens in London too, not just Rome).

While it's important to be aware of the risks, don't let it worry you and spoil your trip. Rome is generally very friendly and probably no worse than any other major tourist city. You need to be on your guard and be sensible, but you don't need to be completely paranoid. Besides, you will always have your JY Manager to turn to if you are at all concerned.

Have fun - I'll be on a JY trip to China while you are in Rome!

Mandy

I went to Rome last year (not with JY) and the tip about the combined Coliseum / Forum ticket is spot on.

I didn't buy my ticket online beforehand, but I just went up to the ticket office at the Forum - no queue and visited that, then on to the Coliseum, avoiding the very lengthy queues for that sight.

I spent quite a while wandering round on my own during the daytime, felt perfectly safe, as long as you take the usual precautions you would do in any big city.

Enjoy!

RM.