Hospitality Aroma compass Dear Guest, The following is not only a list of useful info, but a real personal guide we made for you which contains all the info we think you may need to know before traveling and suggestions to plan your stay. Some of them will be extremely useful during your stay, in terms of how to move around and where to find this or that. In one word, this will be you compass (or compass ). These suggestions are the result of our experience, answering thousands of questions, and our 30+ years of Roman life. We hope you will enjoy reading through it cause our main goal is that you take the most out of your time in Rome. We want your stay in Rome to be as perfect as you dreamt it when you were thinking “let’s go to Rome this year!”. Please count on us for any question you might have, before and during your stay. We look forward to welcome you in Roma, staff How to get to Private Shuttle Service As Rome’s taxi drivers are not the best tourist welcomers , we prefer to offer you our help to book a secure and punctual private shuttle service from the airport or from Civitavecchia Port. Our rates: From/to the airport From/to Civitavecchia Port 1/3 people € 55,00 € 150,00 4 people € 65,00 € 165,00 5 people € 70,00 € 165,00 6 people € 80,00 € 180,00 7 people € 90,00 € 210,00 Please let us know (up to 24hrs. in advance) in case you would like to have a car/van to pick you up. Taxi Roman taxi drivers aren’t any better or worse than those in any other city. Some will try to fleece you, others won’t. To minimize the risk, make sure your taxi is licensed (it’ll be white with the letters SPQR on the front door), and always go with the metered fare, never an arranged. You can – Via San Martino ai Monti, 38 – 00184 Roma – [email protected] – +39 331 5919 598 Hospitality Aroma wait at a taxi rank or call for one. The closest taxi rank is just beside the facade of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore: looking at the facade, it’s on the left side (1min walking). To book a taxi by phone, you can call the following taxi companies: 1. Pronto Taxi: +39 06 88 22 2. Radio Taxi: +39 06 35 70 Bus & Metro Ticket A wide range of different kinds of tickets and season tickets are available in the Metrebus Roma system: S BIT (€ 1,50) Valid for 100 minutes from the moment it has been stamped (1 metro run only); S BIT (€ 7,00) Valid for the entire day for an unlimited number of journeys until midnight; S BTR (€ 18,00) Valid for 3 days from the date it has been first stamped, meaning until midnight of the third day including stamping, for an unlimited number of journeys; S CIS (€ 24,00) Valid for 7 days from the date it has been first stamped, meaning until midnight of the seventh day including the day it was stamped, for an unlimited number of journeys. Remember that , in order for it to be valid, you must always validate your bus ticket at the beginning of your journey (this is also true for train tickets in Italy) and when transferring onto the metro. Also, remember one ticket includes (within 100 minutes from the validation hr.): ⇒ 1 metro run; ⇒ infinite busses runs. You will find all the info also to plan your journey on: www.atac.roma.it Roma Pass This is a useful tool, even though you do not need to book it in advance. We definitely suggest purchasing a Roma Pass if you plan to stay at least 2 days. It entitles the cardholder to enter for free into 2 museums and/or archeological sites of your choice (including Coliseum and Galleria Borghese – not valid for the Vatican), use the public transports for three days in a row, as well as many other benefits (discounts in museums, tourist sites, shops, events and theatres). This can be purchased at the Tourist Info Point in the airport, at Termini Station and in other Info Booths around the city. Cost: 28,00€ (as per Aug. 2016) www.romapass.it tours – info before traveling Hiring a private guide or choosing the right tour company is definitely the best way to learn rather than simply “watch” the infinite monuments and sightseeing of the Eternal City. Booking a private Tour As every touristic city, in Rome there are thousands of tour companies that offer all kind of tours and our guests are often confused and ask us for suggestions. Thanks to our guests’ feedbacks through the years, we have developed a great knowledge of the pros and cons of many of most of them. – Via San Martino ai Monti, 38 – 00184 Roma – [email protected] – +39 331 5919 598 Hospitality Aroma Therefore, we have selected the following three tour companies, as they have always offered great service at reasonable rates for our guests. Check their websites and let us know your preferred tours, we will be happy to book it for you or to introduce you to them: 1. Rome Walks is an English language company devoted to help the busy travelers make the most out of their visit to the Eternal City. Their expert knowledge and advices can help visitors escape the confusion with their carefully designed groups and private tours. With a maximum of 10 clients per walk, Rome Walks enables you to experience the real Rome. www.romewalks.com 2. NotForTouristRome is a group of young Romans who started this project in 2011. They organize tailored tours: from the most common (Coliseum, the Vatican Museums, etc.), to other more uncommon… Upon request they organize all kind of theme tours, like “Nero” or “Julio Cesar” tours, where they will take you to the places where they have fought, the monuments they have built, where they lived, etc. Or, if you like music and you want to know the history of music in Rome, they will take you to the most popular places in Rome. So, you pick the theme and they will organize everything for you. These guys will take you to the secret and less known places and areas, where you will find the genuine Roman contemporary culture. Recently, they also started the project “ Touring Rome as a local ”, a program of guided tours in English: three group tours (Street Food | Street Art | Hidden Churches) designed to give you the chance to discover the less touristic spots and corners of the city. An official local guide is going to introduce you to the deepest secrets of Rome! Insert the promo code NFTR018 when enquiring on their website to have a special rate. www.notfortouristrome.com 3. HR Tours is the results of 20+ years of experience in the rental of cars and motorbikes. They organize tours in vintage cars (Cinquecento ) and on vintage motorbikes (Vespa ). With a large fleet of vehicles and a highly professional team, HR Tours is able to organize fascinating, exciting, exclusive tours of Rome on board of vintage Vespas and Cinquecentos from the ‘60s and ‘70s, in the company of their expert riders. Be sure you will have a memorable day, it’s all about enjoying the freedom of being on two wheels or the fashion of being in a unique vintage small car. www.happyrent.com Tour on your own If you rather prefer to walk the city and admire its infinite beauties on your own, in order to enhance your experience, we strongly suggest you to book the following sightseeing in advance in order to avoid the line : S Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel Cost: 16,00€+4,00€ for online booking (remember to print your voucher!) biglietteriamusei.vatican.va S Coliseum and Roman Forum Cost: 12,00€+2,00€ for online booking www.coopculture.it – Via San Martino ai Monti, 38 – 00184 Roma – [email protected] – +39 331 5919 598 Hospitality Aroma S Galleria Borghese Cost: 11,00€+2,00€ for online booking This is one of the best museums in the world (not only according to us) and it’s located inside Villa Borghese (Rome’s Central Park), so it’s worth to have a walk inside the Villa on the way to or on the way back from there. Please note that the reservation is compulsory and our suggestion is to book it in advance. www.galleriaborghese.it tips – when in Rome, do like the Romans do… Crossing the Road Traffic etiquette in Rome is about survival of the fittest… However, no matter how aggressive we may seem, Italian (Roman) drivers aren’t willing to run over pedestrians. We know that crossing the road is a hazardous occupation for tourists in Rome, and it pays to stay alert… but our suggestion is… BE BRAVE! When at a zebra crossing with no traffic light, as a pedestrian you have the right of way, but Roman drivers are quick to spot an irresolute tourist and are just as likely to accelerate as to stop. Now it’s time to show how BRAVE you are… If you follow our tips, no one will run over you (maybe…): 1st step – set your foot on the road 2nd – make sure that the driver approaching has seen you and show him/her that you are willing to cross the road (at this point he/her will – should – slow down) 3rd – start crossing… but keep an eye on the traffic as there might be a scooter behind the car/bus that is overtaking and not visible.