Rome · Family of Four · 3 Days With Two Kids · Updated October 2026
Our kids didn’t meet the Colosseum on a tour or in a ticket line. They met it from the top deck of a red sightseeing bus on our first afternoon of sightseeing in Rome, and I got to watch both of their jaws drop. Not a bad way to see it for the first time.
Rome got three days of a bigger family trip through Italy, and it was all four of us: me, my wife Vika, our son Josh and our daughter Emily. If you’re planning Rome with kids and three days is what you have, this is how ours actually went. What we booked, what worked, the one ticket I wish we had bought, and how I would lay out the same three days if we went back. The tour prices are near the bottom.
Our 3 Days in Rome With Kids at a Glance
Here is our Rome itinerary with kids, day by day, the way we actually did it.
- Day one: the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica with a guide in the morning, and a loop on a hop on hop off bus in the afternoon.
- Day two: the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill with a guide, then on foot to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps.
- Day three: a looser day. Big Bus around the city, a couple of hours with family in Villa Borghese, and a long walk to the Pantheon, which had closed by the time we got there.
Every day had one main booked thing and nothing else on a clock. That was on purpose. We would rather not spend a vacation racing from one time slot to the next.
Why Three Days and Not a Quick Stop
If you’ve followed along for a while, you might remember that on a later cruise out of Civitavecchia, the cruise port for Rome, we decided not to go into Rome at all. We stayed in town for the evening instead, and I wrote that night up in our Civitavecchia cruise port article. The way I put it then still holds: Rome needs days, not hours. Give Rome its days, and give Civitavecchia its evening.
A viewer on that video called Rome an outdoor museum, and I don’t think there is a better way to describe it. They had planned a careful four hour visit off their own cruise, Piazza Navona included, and on a port day that is a smart way to do it. But with a few hours you are mostly looking at Rome from the outside. Three days is what lets you actually walk in.
Day One: Give the Vatican the Whole Morning
Like most of our tours, we booked the Vatican on Viator. We went with a guided tour from Checkandgo Tours that covered the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica, in the 10:30 slot. If you want the exact one we took, here it is on Viator.
I’ll tell you how I remember it, because the confirmation doesn’t list every stop. We walked the museums for a couple of hours, went through the Sistine Chapel and the basilica, and also went down into the crypts underneath, where many of the popes are buried. By the time we came out it was right around lunchtime, and it had been a long morning.
Here is the honest family read. Josh and Emily were really into looking at everything. Listening to the guide explain it all was a different story. Vika and I, on the other hand, really enjoyed our guide. So if your kids would rather see than hear, that’s pretty normal, and I wouldn’t let it talk you out of going.
One fun bonus for us: we keep a map at home and put a pin in every country we have been to, and this trip gave us two new pins at once. Italy, and Vatican City, which is its own country.
Pro tip: don’t stack anything right behind the Vatican. If you want a second activity that day, book it for much later in the afternoon, so everyone has time to eat lunch and recharge first.
Day One Afternoon: How Our Kids Met the Colosseum
That afternoon we did what we do in most new cities and got on a hop on hop off bus, the open top kind that loops around the major sights and lets you get off wherever something grabs you. For us it is a scouting trip. You ride the loop, get a feel for the city, and figure out which places deserve more of your time on foot.
It’s also just a nicer way to take in a city. Up top you see everything, you hear the street, and you smell whatever the restaurants you pass are cooking. It saved us a lot of walking on a day when we had already done plenty. And that ride is where the kids saw the Colosseum for the first time.
We used the bus to actually get around a couple of times too. Everything else we used to move between cities and around them, trains, the metro and taxis, is in our guide to getting around Italy with a family.
Day Two: Ancient Rome, and the Kids’ Favorite Day
Day two was the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, again with a guide and again booked on Viator, this time with RomAbout Tours. If you haven’t been, the Forum is what’s left of the center of ancient Rome, and Palatine Hill is the hill that rises right above it. One ticket covered all three. Here is that Colosseum and Roman Forum tour on Viator.
Getting in was easy for us. Our line was very short, and we could see some long ones in other spots. I can’t promise it goes that way every time, but it sure is nice when it does.
I would call the pace about right for our family, but be ready to walk. These tours move, and between the steep stairs, the slopes and the hills, it adds up quickly, especially in the summer heat. Even if you walk a lot at home, you’ll feel it. The tour listing itself says you need a moderate fitness level and that it isn’t wheelchair accessible, so read the details before you book.
And for all that, ask Josh and Emily about Rome and this is the day they’ll bring up. The Colosseum beat the Vatican for both of them.
The Colosseum Arena Floor Is the One Ticket I Would Pay Extra For
Here is my one real regret from Rome. We saw the Colosseum from the upper levels, and that is impressive on its own, but we never got down onto the arena floor in the middle. Walking out of there, I wished we had.
With everything else there is to see in Rome, I honestly don’t know if we’ll ever be back inside the Colosseum, and that’s exactly why I would pay the extra next time. If it matters to you, read the fine print before you book. Arena floor access and the underground aren’t always on the same ticket, and that’s a lot easier to sort out at home than at the gate.
The Trevi Fountain Was Worth the Walk, the Spanish Steps Less So
After the tour we walked over to the Trevi Fountain. It’s one of those places every visitor goes, and there is a reason for that. It’s worth seeing. From there we kept going to the Spanish Steps, and that one just didn’t do it for the kids. They weren’t impressed, and that’s fine. Not every famous stop lands with every kid.
The Spanish Steps were also closed off when we were there, and getting around them to catch our bus meant about fifteen more minutes walking uphill in the heat. Small thing, but on a hot day you notice it.
Day Three: The Honest Truth About Rome’s Hop On Hop Off Buses
On day three we rode with Big Bus, one of the bigger hop on hop off companies in Rome. We bought those tickets after we got to Rome, not ahead of time, but if you like having it sorted before you land, Viator sells the Big Bus Rome tour.
I like these buses, I really do, so take this as a friendly warning and not a complaint. The routes were hit or miss for us. Going from one stop to the one you actually want can mean riding through a lot of other stops first. Sometimes we waited about half an hour for the next bus, and we ended up doubling back on foot.
So here is how I would use it. Ride it to see the city and get your bearings, and use it to get around when the timing works out. But if you have a timed ticket somewhere that day, don’t bet on the next bus. Leave plenty of extra time, or grab a cab.
The Afternoon in Villa Borghese We Would Not Trade
The best part of day three had nothing to do with a famous sight. We met up with family in Villa Borghese, the huge park in Rome with a lake and a zoo, and rented a four person pedal cart for two hours. That was the whole plan.
“Wait, so do I have to pedal?” somebody asked as we got in. “Yes, we’re all pedaling.” And we were.
It was a beautiful, sunny, hot afternoon, and the canopy on the cart kept the sun off us while we rode around together. No guide, no ticket, no time slot. Just hanging out with family.
We came back to our rental wiped out every single day of that trip, and there was a lot more of Rome we could have tried to squeeze in. We didn’t, and I’m glad. I would give up another sight for an afternoon like that one, every time. A family trip doesn’t have to be a race.
Free Water All Over Rome, So Bring a Bottle
One thing that really helped us in the heat: Rome is full of little street fountains, and the water is free. They’re called nasoni, which roughly means big noses, because the spout sticks out like one. Bring a reusable bottle and fill it up wherever you see one.
The Pantheon, From the Outside Only
Our day ended with a long walk from the park to the Pantheon, and by the time we got there it was closed. So we only saw it from the outside. In hindsight I would have done the Pantheon after the Colosseum on day two, and checked the hours first. That’s in the plan below.
How I Would Plan 3 Days in Rome Next Time
Knowing what I know now, here is how I would lay out the same three days.
Day one: the Vatican in the morning, same as before. Then, in place of the bus loop, I’m leaning toward a tuk tuk tour in the afternoon, one of the small open air rides with a driver. The one I have my eye on runs about four hours and starts on the other side of the river.
You still get the sounds and the smells of the street like you do from the top of a bus, but it’s more focused, and you can stop for photos without walking the whole city. I want to be clear that we haven’t done this one in Rome. We did a tuk tuk tour in Málaga and loved it, and that’s where the idea comes from. I would double check the meeting point and the timing before booking it.
Day two: the Colosseum, the Forum and Palatine Hill again, and this time with the arena floor. Then the Pantheon that same afternoon, after checking when it closes.
Day three: leave it open on purpose. No bookings. Just keep the family time, like our afternoon in Villa Borghese.
And Pompeii? It comes up a lot as a day trip from Rome, but I would save it for a trip to Naples or the south of Italy. Three days in Rome is already full without it.
Food is its own story, so I’ll keep it short. Our splurge dinner in Rome was the truffle tasting menu at Ristorante Ad Hoc, and every sit down meal from the whole Italy trip, the great ones and the ones we would skip, is in our Italy food guide for a family of four.
Our Verdict: Three Days Covers the Big Ones
So, is three days in Rome with kids enough? For the big ones, yes. We did the Vatican, the Colosseum, the Forum and Palatine Hill, and the Trevi Fountain, and we would do every one of them again. It’s still only the short version of a city with so much more to see. My advice is simple: book the access you actually want up front, leave more time between things than you think you need, and protect at least one stretch where you’re just together.
We planned Vegas the same way, if that’s useful. Here is our 3 day Las Vegas itinerary with kids.
What Our Two Rome Tours Cost a Family of Four
For the four of us, two adults and two kids, the Vatican tour came to about $510 and the Colosseum, Forum and Palatine Hill tour to about $195, both booked through Viator. The Big Bus tickets we bought in Rome aren’t included in those numbers.
This article isn’t sponsored. Nothing was comped by the tour companies, and we didn’t tell them we were going to write about them.
Is 3 days enough in Rome with kids?
For the highlights, yes. In three days we did the Vatican, the Colosseum with the Forum and Palatine Hill, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and an easy afternoon in Villa Borghese. We still only saw the Pantheon from outside, so think of three days as a really good first visit, not the whole city.
Is the Vatican worth it with kids?
I would say yes, as long as you give it the whole morning and keep the afternoon light. Our kids loved looking around even when they tuned out the guide, and Vika and I enjoyed the guide a lot.
Is the Colosseum arena floor worth paying extra for?
We skipped it and I wish we hadn’t. We saw the arena from the upper levels, which is still impressive, but next time I would pay extra to get down on the floor. Check your ticket carefully, because arena floor access and the underground aren’t always on the same ticket.
Is the hop on hop off bus in Rome worth it with kids?
Yes, as a way to see the city and decide where to spend your time. It’s how our kids first saw the Colosseum. Just don’t count on it for timing, because routes can be roundabout and we sometimes waited about half an hour for the next bus.
Is the Trevi Fountain worth it with kids?
Yes. It’s famous for a reason, and it’s an easy add after a morning in ancient Rome, which is how we did it. The Spanish Steps, right after, didn’t do much for our kids.
Should you do Pompeii as a day trip from Rome?
Not on a three day Rome trip, in my opinion. I would save it for a trip to Naples or southern Italy and give Rome your full three days.
How much does a Vatican tour cost for a family of four?
Ours was about $510 for two adults and two kids for the guided Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica tour, booked on Viator. Prices change, so check the current listing.
