My family and I had a great day in Rome yesterday.

Drove to parking, rode the bus to the Colosseum, walked to the Trevi Fountain, Spanish steps and Piazza de Popolo then

back to the bus stop.

Purchased the tickets online here, http://www.ticketclic.it/Gb/HTML/musei/colosseo.cfm, it costs a couple euro more

but saves you at least an hour waiting in line. Small kids not nagging and getting burned out or having a melt down was worth it.

Checked the toll amount the night before at this website, http://www.autostrade.it/en/autostrade/percorso.do,

Left at 0600 using our Tom Tom plugged in the address to the parking garage. We had reservations easily done online at

this website http://www.garageberardo.it/, it was 9euro. Fully protected, they'll even wash it for a few euro more.

I did not get the wash, SUV's 14euro, I pay my kids $5. We walked across the street from the parking garage and noted

the name of the stop for bus number 781, Via Magliana. Easy since that was the end of the line. The tabacci next to the

stop had the tickets for the bus. 1 euro for 70minutes. My 8 year old did not need one but the teenagers did.

15 minute ride and we are at Piazza Venizia. Get off and go towards the Colosseum. We walked past the masses waiting

to buy tickets and right to the ticket agent. 1 1/2 hours later we were eating our sack lunches in the shade of the

Colosseum. The tickets get you in the Roman Forum too, so we spent a couple hours in there exploring. Then walked

back to the Piazza Venizia and the main road Via de Corso. Had some gelato at "baby gelato" or something like that

about 1 1/2 blocks down on the right. 2euro for picolo gelato. I had cafe'. Turned right off of Via de Corso on towards the Trevi Fountain. Pics and video there, then the road behind the Trevi towards the Spanish steps. Back to the via de Corso and the bus 781 at Piazza Vinizia and to the parking garage. Kids wanted Burger King, a short two blocks from the parking garage. All told for 6 people, one paid meal, parking, gas, tolls, gelato, tickets $200 euro. We brought fruit, sack lunches and water for lunch and snacks. Burger King for dinner.

Bus maps

Bus map http://www.atac.roma.it/docunet/file.asp?mid=3&rid=3

Parking Reservations

http://www.garageberardo.it/

Prepaid tickets for Roma

http://www.ticketclic.it/Gb/HTML/musei/colosseo.cfm

Toll charge planning in Italy.

http://www.autostrade.it/en/autostrade/percorso.do

Thanks for your informative blog. Good Job Jaime!

Jaime: you are awesome! Man, I wish you could have been my personal tourist guide. You are too cool. Why can't I be like you? When my parents said, "Chad, you should be more like Jaime, I knew I should have listened!" :) Thanks, dude. See you at work. lol

P.S. do you have the GPS coordinates to the parking garage in Rome?

The Tom Tom took me right to it.

try this, it is the middle of the parking lot

41.848299N,12.457748E

Jamie, Thanks for all the detail information and website addresses.