One Day In Rome, Italy With A Family On A Cruise

Rome is the Eternal City. And you could just feel the magic when visiting, even for a day! From seeing the ancient Roman sites, to eating great food, the entire city just has a great vibe.

For visitors coming on a cruise ship, it can be a trek to get there. The city is inland - about an hour away from where ships dock. So be prepared to drive a bit.

The city is also large! There are a lot of things to see and do, and they're not always as close as you might expect. We booked a private excursion for our family to see as much as we could!

Overall Rome, Italy Impressions

We enjoyed Rome a lot. We knew this was going to be a long day to get from the cruise ship to the city, see all the sites we wanted to, have some lunch, and get back. But we were impressed all around.

The city was crowded, but we did get "front of the line" tickets for most places we saw. The only disappointment was that the Vatican was closed due to a religious holiday. If you're traveling in August, keep this on your radar. You can see the Vatican dates and hours here.

Trip Background

We visited Rome in mid-August while on a cruise on the Norwegian Escape. Cruises all have dock in Civitavecchia, which is over an hour away from central Rome (where you want to go).

Our cruise docked from 6:45am to 7pm, which you need all the time due to the travel needed. 

We were traveling with the family - two adults and two kids. 

We opted for a private tour of Rome, in our own private van. This was a big splurge for us, but we wanted to see so much and wanted to do it as quickly and comfortably as possible. This was the exact tour we took and we highly recommend it.

Things To Do In Rome With Family

Here are some of the things that we recommend to do as a family with younger children in Rome, Italy.

We're assuming you're not going to stick around at the port, because there is literally nothing to do.

Pantheon

The Pantheon was our first stop for the day, and our driver took us almost right to the side of the building. We arrived about 10 minutes before it opened, and we has "Skip The Line" tickets. As you can see in our photos, there's a line - I highly recommend you get Skip the Line tickets for just a small additional cost.

The "Skip the Line" queue is the middle line here - it does save you quite a bit of time!

Trevi Fountain

Our next stop was the Trevi Fountain. Our kids (and us) loved The Lizzie McGuire Movie, so of course we were looking forward to this stop. Make sure you bring some coins that you can toss over your shoulder!

The crowds here are steady, but you can make your way to the front pretty easily - as everyone is doing the same thing and it flows.

Spanish Steps

Our next stop was the Spanish Steps, another iconic spot in Rome. We walked from the bottom to the top and enjoyed the views out.

Colosseum

The Colosseum was our next stop, and it was a big hit for our kids. Our guide was great about getting us through the crowds and skipping the line. This is another place where having a timed Skip The Line ticket pays off big time.

Check out these short tours here >>

Honestly, I wish we were able to get a better ticket to go into the basement (which is a limited pass and requires a bit of planning to snag ahead of time).

I also wish we had time to go to Palatine Hill. I'm a history buff, so that would have been fun.

From the second floor of the Colosseum you also get a great view of the Arch of Constantine. Don't miss it - it's off to the side of the gift shop.

Castel Sant'Angelo

Since we couldn't visit the Vatican on our trip, our guide suggested the Castel Sant'Angelo. And honestly, we're glad he did. We really enjoyed this tour and stop!

This is a real castle, and the Pope used to live at the top. It was designed to protect the Vatican in times of crisis. You enter in the bottom, and work your way up multiple floors, across an indoor drawbridge, and get out to some amazing views of the city. It was also a great view of the Vatican (which you can see below).

Inside, there were also gorgeous fresco and ceilings, just like you'd find in the Vatican.

Vatican

The Vatican was closed when we toured Rome, and that was disappointing. We would have loved to see it. Instead, we got this view from the top of Castel Sant'Angelo.

Dining

We enjoyed the food in Rome. Our guides had us stop for snacks a couple times, and took us to a restaurant for lunch. The food was great, but it definitely seemed a little touristy. 

For snacks we simply stopped at a coffee shop by the Spanish Steps and had a snack and coffee on the side of the street. 

And after lunch we stopped at Janiculum Hill for a view of the city and had a little bite to eat.

Shopping

Honestly, there is anything you want in Rome, but also shopping was hard because of the packed itinerary and travel time needed to get anywhere. If shopping is something that you want to do, it's going to be hard with the schedule needed for most guided tours.

Final Thoughts

Rome was a highlight of our trip because of all the amazing things to do. This is definitely a city that I could see spending several days or a week in. Simply exploring and seeing everything, enjoying the food, and watching the people.