Ocean Village Cruises Answers

We did the walking tour of Rome (with lunch) in 2007. Rome was having a heatwave when we were there, with temperatures in the high 30s - so not particularly pleasant. However, the pace was leisurely - we had people of all ages, shapes, sizes and fitness levels - and I can honestly say that if you have something comfortable on your feet to start with, then you will be fine. The tour we did included time to rest - even if only for a few minutes - at all the main places, and you will also have a break for lunch, where you can also rest the feet. It certainly isn't a hiking expedition and if you get a good guide, then it is a great way of exploring at least some of Rome's highlights!

If you think it may be too tiring try one of the horse and carriage rides - we took one for 100 euros - it lasted for about 1 hour 15 minutes and we saw the majority of the things that we wanted to see. Truly unforgettable - especially when the horse took a shine to my flowery dress and bit a big hole out of the back of it. I had to walk around showing my bright red pants all day - I was very popular with the Italians!!

Hi Davies's Ive done Rome twice,both organised excursions,i prefer to see and hear the history before me ,in other words yes its much cheaper to D.I.Y. but you have no sense of history .its just not the same trying to read info from a booklet or study a map every few minutes.the guides are experts on all thing Roman and lets face it you have travelled a long way just to look at things,,if you can afford it take a ship excursion,you have no worries about returning to the ship on time either, The replies you have received are so varying,but one thing agreed on is you get very tired on the Rome trip. kind regards Quizzer

Went to the med last year in july and we had a tour to florence and Pisa on one day and had decided to do our own thing in Rome the next.. Pisa and Florence are Super places to visit but again can be tiring on the feet. We took a Taxi into Rome the next day for 30euros and the driver dropped us off near to the centre and we headed for the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. We stopped for a coffee at a super spot and enjoyed watching the tour groups go by at a reasonable pace. We then headed off to the other main sites and ended up at the station were we had another coffee before returning via the train back to the ship. we decided not to do the Vatican as the Sistine Chape was closed being a Sunday. It now gives us something else to do when we go back to Rome. At the end of 2 hard days on your feet it was a great treat to go to the Spa and have a super foot massage, as it made you feel as if you were walking on air. So Have a Super Cruise and enjoy your time in Rome and the rest of the lovely places on your cruise

Just to add to all the advice given, I think most of us fall into the trap thinking Rome is like a theme park where you walk from one feature to the next. The fact is they are spread across this very large city, hence the planning advice, but the €9 train fare also includes the underground train & city buses. Bargain!...Wilba

As already said, all tours are VERY hard on the feet, especially in the Summer. How about taking the Train, then getting a hop-on-hop-off bus around which at least allows you to see the Major sites without actually killing you! Or just stay in and around the Vatican. We have spent WEEKS in Rome, on Cruises and Hotel stays, and still haven't even scratched the surface. Whatever you do you'll never see evrything you want to. Jacquie

Personally I prefer to visit Rome in the cooler months. In peak Summer it can be tiring and very, very hot.

We always walk Rome and we are the other side of 65 !.Yes it can be tiring. But you can see lots of the popular sites in a day if you plan your journey. Most sites are well signposted.Nice to pop in for an Expresso where and you like.Some footpaths are cobblestone so it is a bit hard on the dogs [feet].Having said all this it is possible to spend much of the Day in The Vatican and its Museum.

Any tour of Rome can be extremely tiring whether you do the Ships tour or under your own steam. Rome is a big city and the sites are dotted around, so there is plenty of walking to be done. We did the majority of the tourist attractions - sites - and we were absolutely shattered on the way back to the ship on the train, which incidentally is 9 Euros return. A lot cheaper than thew organised tours.