10 Rome Travel Tips from a Friendly Neighborhood Klooker

Rome is a staple destination in almost every person’s travel bucketlist. Chances are, it might be on your list, too! How could it not be when it screams history wherever you go? It is, after all, the home of one of the most important ancient civilizations of the world.

From the Forum to the Colosseum and even the world-famous Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican, there’s no shortage of legendary landmarks and attractions to visit! Not to mention the authentic Italian food you can munch on at almost every corner of the city. While I’m sure the abundance of things you can do and visit in Rome excites you, there are also a good number of things that you should take note of, especially if you’re visiting this magnificent city for the first time.

Here, I’ve prepared a short Rome travel guide of sorts featuring reminders about things you should consider and avoid! All based on my personal experiences! Read on to know about the best Rome travel tips to ensure a joyful stay at one of the most famous cities in the world.

I’m not gonna lie, friend. The drinks in Rome might cost more than the beverages in your homeland. A can of Coca-cola in one restaurant I dined at cost EUR3.5, which is the equivalent of 5-6 cans from where I’m from! So I highly recommended that you have a water bottle or two at all times while exploring the city. You’ll find drinking fountains here and there and you can use them to refill your bottles so you can stay hydrated while you go sightseeing!

As you wander the cobblestone streets of the Eternal City, you’ll notice that there are men wearing Roman centurion costumes. Sometimes they’re alone, but if you look around, you’ll probably spot another or two nearby. These guys will approach you to take pictures with them. Their friendly demeanor might catch you off-guard and this might make you want to take pictures with them, but when you do, they will charge you anywhere from EUR80-100, which, let’s be real, is an insane amount for a picture.

A lot of them hang out at the Colosseum grounds. There, my father asked to take a picture with one of them (even when we told him not to but he said “we don’t always get the opportunity to go abroad”) and the centurion wanted my dad to pay him EUR80 after. When my dad refused, the centurion raised his voice. To avoid making a scene, my dad just paid him the money. The lesson here is, you should only take pictures with people in costume at cosplay events.

Speaking of cobblestone streets, it’s best that you wear the most comfortable pair of shoes you have. The kind that has enough space for your feet to breathe, and has good padding. One thing to keep in mind is comfort over style when sightseeing in Rome, or pretty much any other country that has cobblestone streets. That kind of street means that the floor will be slightly uneven at times, which will make anyone feel tired easily. It’ll also be, no pun intended, hard on your feet.

Take it from me. I wore cheap shoes for my eurotrip back in 2015. This covered Paris, Rome, and Venice. These shoes had terrible inner padding to the point that there’s really no gap between them and the soles of the shoes, so I felt the cobblestones as I walked. By the time I ended up in Venice, the last stop for my trip, the pair were busted up so bad, they looked like I played European football with them.

Paying digitally is becoming the norm these days, but it’s best to always have cash in case of emergencies or if you’re buying from a shop/dining at a restaurant that doesn’t accept credit (or cryptocurrency, if you’re a crypto bro).

The cashier at one of the restaurants I dined at near the Fontana de Trevi, which was under restoration at that time, told my family in a rather unfriendly tone and upfront that they don’t accept credit cards in the restaurant. My uncle said “We only pay in cash because we’re too irresponsible to own credit cards,” then the cashier suddenly became jolly and told us to make ourselves at home. We were even served minestrone on the house.

It’s also good to have spare cash in case of emergencies. During my trip to Rome, I kept some cash in my socks (about EUR500, if I remember correctly). I did this just as an extra measure in case my wallet and/or bag gets stolen.

One of the craziest things I’ve observed while exploring Rome on my first day there is that the local pickpockets and bag snatchers carry out their petty crimes with finesse. I saw one guy walking up the stairs inside a metro station snatch a phone from a person’s shirt pocket while that person was walking down. And the person didn’t notice! I pointed it out but the pickpocket immediately ran. It was fascinating.

That made me decide to wear my bag in front of me. Not only will this protect whatever you have inside your shirt pocket, but you can also easily guard the contents of your bag because it’ll make it easy for you to notice if anyone is trying to open it.

On the day I visited the Vatican, I conducted a little experiment. I brought a bag but with nothing in it except for an empty water bottle, and I wore the bag on my back. While walking along a street, I spotted a goth shop. As a connoisseur of the macabre, I happily walked toward the shop only to be greeted by a gang of girls asking for a donation for their disabled friend.

While their leader talked to me about helping their "friend," her pretty companions opened my bag and they only found an empty water bottle with “LMAO” written on it. My hands were in my pockets the whole time to guard my wallet and passport. When they knew I wasn’t gonna budge, they walked away angrily while I smiled and winked at them. With my passport and all my money intact, I entered the goth shop and bought a gothic metal album. The album was terrible.

Some of the best attractions in Rome are holy sites, like the Pantheon and the Capuchin Crypt, and most especially Saint Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. You definitely don’t want to miss out on these just because of your outfit, so make sure to plan what you’ll wear on the days you’ll visit these.

It’s not just your outfit, actually! You also have to be on your best behavior at these sites. They are sacred after all. I remember my dad taking a picture of me standing in front of the entrance of a shrine near our accommodation. I simply put my thumb up and smiled, then all of a sudden, a cop accosted me and told me that I was being blasphemous. I apologized profusely and he left me alone. I also noticed other tourists doing the same thing and the cop didn’t accost them. :(

When walking around Rome, don’t walk like a tourist. You should walk as if you know the place, or look determined that you’ll find your way around with a map in hand. I’ve always preferred navigating by myself and reading maps to avoid getting taken advantage of by opportunists.

If you walk around looking like you’re lost, some people might approach you and offer help. Such kind gestures may lower your guard, which will result in you taking them up on their offer. This usually ends with them asking you to pay them for their “service.” They will pester you till you cough up the dough, so yes. If you really need to ask for directions, don’t ask strangers on the street. Ask people like restaurant employees (my family did this, so don’t be shy), people manning kiosks, etc.

Where I’m from (The Philippines), we usually eat dinner at 18:00 or 19:00. So I was surprised when a restaurant refused to serve anything from their dinner menu around that time. They said they only do so around 20:00 onward. To pass the time, one of the servers recommended trying their Bellini, so we did!

If your dinner time is around the same time as mine, best to keep in mind that Italian dinner time is later than ours. Apparently, it’s pretty normal for locals to eat dinner at 21:00, so if you’re going to have dinner at a local restaurant, it’s best to drop by around that time if you don’t want to spend on aperitivos.

Yes, there are restaurants that target tourists! You’ll know it’s a tourist trapstaurant if they don’t have menus in Italian, and if their tables have red and white checkered tablecloths. If you want the best-tasting Italian food, you’re better off exploring alleyways and sidestreets for restaurants.

We ate at one of these restaurants. It’s somewhere near the Forum. I ordered a calzone, and it was the driest calzone I have ever eaten. I might as well have taken a bite out of a dry beach towel.

We told our AirBNB host about this and he said that it’s normal to be served subpar food from these establishments because they don’t source the best ingredients, probably due to the high rent. He recommended wandering around the area near the Spanish Steps or the Capuchin Crypt for better food. We did just that the next day and found a restaurant that served the best calzone I’ve ever had in my life. It oozed mozzarella!

After a long day of sightseeing, you might feel like taking a taxi to go back to your accommodation. We actually recommend that you do that, especially if you feel exhausted from all the walking. But only do so at an actual taxi stop!

My family loves exploring by walking, so we ended up very tired after each day of sightseeing during our trip to Rome. We once hailed a taxi somewhere near Saint Peter’s Basilica and the driver asked us to pay more than what was on the meter. Things got really heated so we decided to pay before things escalated. Our AirBNB host told us to always ride a taxi at a taxi stop. That way, we can avoid paying beyond what’s on the meter. I wish we knew about that from the start because he’s right! Taxis that pick up passengers from taxi stops follow the meter all the time.

You know what they say. When in Rome, do as the Romans do! But you should do what I did, too, so that you can ensure that your excursions within the Eternal City go smoothly and remain joyful.

I also recommend that you book an OMNIA Vatican and Rome Card to make the most out of your stay in the city! This is a must, especially if you’re visiting Rome for the first time because it will give you unlimited metro rides for 72 hours, fast-track entrances to several of the city’s most famous sites like The Colosseum and the Vatican Museums, discounted entrances to many attractions, and rides aboard the city’s Hop-On Hop-Off Bus!

Safe travels!