ROME ALONE: YES YOU CAN
THANDI WELMAN-HAWKES WRITES: I’ve been trying to work out why it was so important to me to send this e-mail. I think it’s because I love travelling on my own, and Rome has been one of my absolute favourite solo destinations. The recent article on Rome (“All queues lead to Rome”, February 17) made the city sound like a crushing tourist trap, which it most certainly can be, but with a little solo-travel savvy you can turn any city into an affordable, exciting, and memorable adventure.
Can Rome be done quickly and cheaply, while still getting your money’s worth? Absolutely.
As a postgraduate student my travel budget was, and still is, significantly lower than what your journalist paid for her stay in Rome.
I did not feel like I got any useful tips for travelling to the city cheaply on one’s own. In fact, I felt like she left out all the best bits and only highlighted what sounds like an awful trip to the Vatican museum.
So just in case anyone wants to go to Rome, and actually enjoy it, here are my best tips for seeing the ancient city on a tight schedule and an even tighter budget:
1. Go out of season if you can (February to May or September to November). Accommodation is cheaper, and queues are shorter.
2. Do your research before you go and buy tickets for your favourite sites online before you leave home. You can often buy a ticket bundle that lets you into multiple sites, or a pass to join the much faster online ticket queue at the site itself.
3. Pick up a good tourist map (my favourite map was a freebie from the Vatican City). You can pick one up from a tabacchi We can help with your destination dilemmas, visa puzzles and itinerary ideas. E-mail us on travelmag@sundaytimes.co.za (tobacconists) on any street corner. Unless you have a really good data roaming plan, going old school to navigate around the city is your best bet. Use the wifi at your accommodation to get your tram or bus numbers and timetables for the next day’s outing. Public transport is cheap and easy to use.
4. Go for the self-catering option. My tiny apartment in the old historical Jewish quarter was within walking distance of all the major sites and museums, but best of all it was clean and cheap. Grab your coffee and pastry in the morning at a local café (remember that they charge extra if you take a table) and stroll.
5. Early mornings are the best time to see anything. I found that the crowds stayed away until between 9.30am and 10.30am depending on the place.
Now my traveller’s conscience is clear and I’ll stop complaining to all who will listen that some people have no appreciation for an affordable adventure with nothing but a map, a camera, a good book, and a comfortable pair of shoes.
Happy adventuring.