TIPS

Getting from the Airport to your Accommodation
Book a direct transfer when you book your travel in Australia. This is cheaper than organising it once you land, as well as safer. Taxi's can be extremely expensive and whilst the train takes you straight to the city centre, you just can't beat door to door service, especially with luggage! The main rail station - Termini, is a fair walk to the city centre to say the Barberini area (near the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps). And we all know how tiring it is to haul luggage down streets, let alone cobble streets with peak hour traffic all day long.


Accommodation
Book this when you book your travel. Accommodation in Rome is at a premium and with that comes a price. You cannot get it cheaper than your travel agent right here in Australia.
Stay right in the city centre. This may be a little more expensive, but you can walk to every attraction. This will save you much on transport costs and time. I would recommend staying near either the Spanish Steps or the Trevi Fountain (again, in the Barberini area). It is close to most of the attractions, supermarkets and all the necessary evils. I would also recommend for those staying more than one week, to hire an apartment instead of a hotel. There is no price difference and the longer you stay, the less you pay, but the convenience of an apartment just can't be beat.


Dining
You can't go past having a slice of pizza from any of the shops in Rome. However, if you are buying pizza by the slice and not whole (only select bars/restaurants make whole pizza's) ensure that you ask for your slice to be "caldo" - hot. Otherwise you will get a cold or luke-warm bite of pizza. Given that pizza is eaten at any time in Italy, eating cold pizza is quite normal.

Unless you specifically want to experience Rome Restaurants, visit a trattoria, where you will find home-made dishes and authentic Italian cuisine (at a much more palatable price)! As is with most things, take a detour off the tourist run and that's where you will find the best trattoria's ... even one street away.

When having coffee's, you will find it much cheaper to stand at the bar to drink it. For example, if you drank a Caffe' Corto (short black) at the bar, it would cost you approximately 1.5Euros ($AU2.80). However, if you sat at any of the tables provided, you would be looking at around 2.5Euros ($AU4.80). The same applies for any meals as well. Check the Menu prices before entering and this way you know up front what you will be paying.


Train Use
Italy, believe it or not, has one of the best Train Systems in Europe. They are quite advanced and unless there is a strike or there are mechanical problems, if the train departure time is 8.30am, rest assured that the train will leave at 8.30am on the dot!
If you are going to do lengthy trips (and many of them) from Rome and throughout Europe, I would suggest that you buy a Eurail pass from Australia. However, if you are only doing short trips (1 - 5 hours), it is cheaper to buy your tickets on the day for that trip only.


Bargaining
If you are at one of the market stalls in Rome (or anywhere in Italy), bargain to your hearts content. But Do Not! bargain at retail stores as is this is highly frowned upon.