3 Days in Rome

This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Please see our disclosure policy for more information. All opinions are my own.

Rome was the last stop on our Tour of Italy after visiting Venice and Florence. We spent 3 days in Rome and loved it. Rome is a great home base for day trips to the Amalfi Coast, Capri, and Pompeii. We took full advantage of this and got out of the city during our visit.

How to Get to Rome from Florence

We traveled from Florence by train and would spend 3 days in Rome. The train ride was a quick hour and a half. Once we arrived we were able to walk from the train station to our accommodations.

Where to Stay in Rome

With a large group like our Airbnb was the most cost effective option. We found the one below that housed all 15 of us. New to Airbnb? Save $40 on your first stay by signing up here. Nervous about staying in an Airbnb? Here are 8 Tips to Guarantee a Great Airbnb Experience.

What to Do With 3 Days in Rome

Day One in Rome: Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon

After settling into our Airbnb and having lunch we headed to the Pantheon. After admiring it we continued to walk around the area coming across the Spanish Steps, shopping and various lesser-known points of interests. Rome is very walkable which means you’ll be walking a lot so be sure to bring comfortable shoes. After getting lost in the streets of Rome we headed to the Trevi Fountain. Little did we know it was currently under construction so there wasn’t much to see and no possibility of throwing coins into the infamous fountain. Of course, this just means we’ll have to come back! You can learn about the Pantheon’s fascinating history and how it converted from a pagan temple to a Christian church during this 35 minute audio guided tour.

Day Two in Rome: Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast

On our second day we took an all day, 14hr tour of the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii. It’s a 3 hour drive from Rome to the first stop, the Amalfi Coast. Along the way there we stopped for breakfast and viewpoints to take pictures, making the time go by faster. The long car drive also allowed us time to take some naps since we had to wake up at the crack of dawn. We spent about an hour walking around Amalfi admiring the coastline, homes tucked within the mountains and the architecture.

After spending some time in Amalfi we continued our drive to the town of Positano which was 45 minutes away. Here we had free time to walk the shops, get lunch on our own and hang out at the beach. If you skip sitting down for lunch and grab a quick bite to eat you might have enough time to take a scenic boat tour and you can find operators along the beach.

After leaving Positano it took us one hour to drive to Pompeii. Here we spent two hours with a guided tour learning all out this infamous city buried by ash from an eruption of a nearby volcano. Seeing the ruins from something that occurred in 79 AD was a very unique experience and well worth the long journey. You can explore Pompeii and Amalfi Coast during this skip the line tour, you travel by comfortable, air-conditioned bus in a small group of less than 18 people or you can choose a private option.

Day Three in Rome: St. Peter’s Basilica, Sistine Chapel, The Vatican, and the Colosseum

On our last day in Rome, we took two half day tours. Our morning tour was to the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica. I highly recommend this tour of the Vatican as without a tour you could be in line for hours. Besides being able to skip the line St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and The Vatican are huge. There is no way we would have seamlessly gotten through everything without a tour guide and we definitely wouldn’t have gained all the knowledge we did. Our guide knew so much about the artwork and just little things we would have no other way of knowing.

If you are doing this tour with a child I recommend ditching the stroller and using a carrier. It was so crowded when we went even though we did an early tour and I couldn’t imagine walking through with a stroller, trying to push through everyone. Also, there were many instances where there are stairs so you will have to carry the stroller up and down them.

After getting lunch and resting a bit from our morning tour we headed to our afternoon Ancient Rome and Colosseum Tour. Our tour started with a tour of the Roman Forum which is next to the Colosseum. After spending an hour exploring the Roman Forum we walked over the to Colosseum.

The tour of the Colosseum includes a behind the scenes tour that a regular ticket will not get you. We were able to go below ground to explore the Colosseum’s tunnels, chambers and pits. The tour also allows access to walk on the floor itself which is restricted to private tours.

How to Get Around With 3 Days in Rome

Rome has great public transportation and is very walkable. There was no need for us to rent a car or get into a taxi during our visit. The only time we didn’t ride the train, bus or walked was when we did our day trip to the Amalfi Coast. Our 3 days in Rome was the perfect amount to explore the hot spots of the city.

Found this article helpful in planning your trip? Please share it!

The Traveling Child is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.