10 Insider Tips For Your First Trip To Rome!

Visiting Rome for the first time? We are here to help! Our journey from Delhi to Rome, was full of adventure. You can find out What To Do in Rome in our following write up. Here’s all our learning packed in a nutshell for you! 

The Vagabond Tips

Some tips for travellers traveling to Rome for the first time:

1) Always carry the map of the metro & the map of the city. They are usually available free of cost at the airport. Make sure to pick it up, it will help you immensely when you leave the free WiFi zone at the airport. You should definitely make a note of this when planning What To Do in Rome.

2) Let’s just come out & say it, there won’t be anyone out there helping you with the routes. You’re all on your own. If you don’t speak the regional language specially, you will be left fumbling & make air gestures, but to no avail. So, understand the city by the map, take it in & only then move towards your destination.

3) Use Rome2Rio website– Let me tell you, this website was a lifesaver for us. So, how this works is, if you want the fastest & cheapest route to your destination, just enter your starting & ending point. This website will tell you the bus routes, metro routes & even the walking route that can help you reach your destination! Trust us, you will thank this website everyday when you feel lost. This will help you in finding out What To Do in Rome too!

4) Walk, walk & walk- We think the best way to explore a city is by walking, specially Rome. You will end up seeing so much more than just the touristy stuff. Of course the Colosseum, Pantheon are all stunning! But we discovered, so is the rest of the city! So pack your best walking shoes/ sandals & make good use of them. We used to walk more than 10 kilometres everyday & the sights made it all worth it! We saw so many things that weren’t in the lists of What To Do in Rome.

5) Beware of pick pockets– We have all heard it, Italian can be crafty. We took this lightly & were almost robbed at the Colosseum! Be very very careful of your backpacks & money in such crowded places. Always keep your backpack in front when in such places.

6) Wear Conservative clothing in The Vatican- Make sure to not show too much of skin here, as this is a worship place as well for the Christians.

7) Grab a bite & get Italian desserts packed- Whenever you pass by a good bakery, stock up on your food so that you can eat on the way. Since many places are crowded, you might just feel like grabbing a bite or two from your packed desserts.

8) Avoid taking taxis in Italy, they overcharge quite a lot for even small distances. If you’re on a budget, it’s better to use the public transportation system. It’s much easier, cheaper & convenient!

9) Eat lots of Gelato: Not that we need to tell you this, but Gelato is probably the yummiest and the cheapest snack in Italy. However, beware of the Cone/ Scoop system. We ended up paying 20 Euros for an ice-cream we didn’t want! Ice-creams are usually 1.5-3 Euros.

10) Buy Water from a Grocery shop: We found out that water is expensive here. We ended up paying spending half our money on water. If you buy water from smaller shops, it will be expensive, around 3 Euros for a 300 mL bottle. However, as we figured out later, you can buy 1 Litre bottles from the grocery stores at just 2 Euros! Much to our delight.

If you have any more queries about Rome, feel free to comment below or write in to us. Hope the tips were useful to you! <3