A few days ago I told you that when I get off a cruise ship in Rome, I don't go inside anything. And that's true. But I'd be lying if I said I've never done it.

I've been to Rome about twelve times, four of them on cruise stops in Civitavecchia. On one of those stops, in November 2022, I went inside St. Peter's Basilica and the Pantheon on the same day. And on my own trips to Rome, I've been inside the Colosseum twice and spent an entire day at the Vatican Museums.

In this post I'll tell you what's worth going inside if you only have one port day, how much time it will cost you, how to change your route depending on what you pick, and what I'd always save for another trip. The idea is simple: one place inside, at most. But chosen well.

You can, but one of them, not both. And knowing what you're giving up.

My advice for a port day in Rome is this: go inside one place, at most. Because if you go inside one place, you'll miss others. The time you spend in a line, at a security check and walking through a monument is time you take away from the rest of the route. There's no way around it.

So the question isn't whether you can go inside. The question is what you want to take home from Rome. Decide very carefully what you want.

If someone tells me, "My kids are dying to see the Colosseum," my answer is clear. Don't think twice. Go to the Colosseum, cut a few stops from the route, and that's it. A kid who has dreamed about the Colosseum and gets to see it from the inside will remember that day for life. That's worth more than four extra stops on the route.

What I don't recommend is trying to cram it all in: the Colosseum, St. Peter's and the full route on top of that. That's when people end up rushing, stressed out and looking at their watch instead of looking at Rome.

It was my second cruise stop in Rome. November 2022.

I already knew Rome. I'd been several times on my own, and I'd already seen most of what's worth seeing inside on those trips. That's why, on port days, I usually do the route from the outside: I don't need to go in, and I'd rather the day leave me with a good feel for the whole city.

But that November day was different: there was hardly anyone around.

When we got to St. Peter's Square, the security line was tiny, and quite a few checkpoints were open. It took us just 15 or 20 minutes to get through. With a line like that, not going in would have been a mistake.

We spent half an hour inside, maybe 40 minutes. We couldn't stay longer, because we didn't have much more time. But it was more than enough to walk all the way around the basilica, in the entrance area. We saw Michelangelo's Pietà and the baldachin.

I'd been there before. And it still blew me away. The grandeur of the basilica, the beauty of the Pietà… all of it. For me, the Vatican is overwhelming. It doesn't matter how many times you go in.

That same day, we also went inside the Pantheon. It was November, there was barely anyone there, and back then it was free. The line moved fast: you walked up, walked in, and there you were, looking up at the oculus.

Two monuments from the inside on a single port day. Why that day and not others? Because conditions allowed it: few people, short lines, and a route that already included St. Peter's. It wasn't a plan. It was knowing how to make the most of a quiet day.

And for me, that's the key to this whole post. Going inside or not isn't a fixed rule. It depends on the day you get.

It depends on three things: the day of the week, the time you arrive and whether there's a special event that day. With few people around, you have time to go into the basilica, take a quick walk inside and leave.

What takes the most time isn't the visit. It's the security check. To get into the basilica you have to go through security, and that depends entirely on how many people are there. That November it took 15 or 20 minutes. On another day, with bigger crowds, it can take a lot longer.

I've done it on a cruise stop, but it's not always possible. Time-wise, I mean.

There's another catch: on the route I always follow, St. Peter's is the last stop. After Termini, the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and Castel Sant'Angelo, you reach the Vatican with the clock ticking. Sometimes you've spent more time at earlier stops, and when you get to the square, all you have time for is a stroll through it, a look and moving on.

So if St. Peter's is your priority, don't leave it for last.

If what you really want is the Vatican, flip the order.

Instead of getting off the train at Roma Termini, get off at Roma San Pietro station, a 5 to 8-minute walk from the Vatican. See it first, while you're fresh and before more people arrive. Then work your way through the rest of the route toward the center.

The other option is to get off at Termini as usual, but skip a few stops along the way so you reach the Vatican with time to spare.

Both work. What doesn't work is doing the full route in the usual order and hoping you'll have time for the line, the security check and the visit at the end.

And remember, a route can also be cut short. In December 2024, I got off in Rome with a group of about 20 people. For me, that cruise ended there: I had an event in Málaga, Spain, the next day and couldn't continue to Barcelona. I gave them the guided tour, the same route you'll find in my guide, and at one point, before the end, I said goodbye and headed to Termini to catch the train to the airport. They carried on without me.

It's fine not to finish the route. What matters is knowing what you don't want to miss. In May 2026, on the other hand, I got off with a group of nearly 30 people and we did the whole tour, start to finish.

If it's your dream, or the dream of someone you're traveling with, yes. And if you do it, be ready to cut stops from the route.

I've been inside the Colosseum twice, both times outside of cruises. The first was with my parents, back in 1996. The second was in 2019. And both times it was incredible.

I'll confess I'm a total history nerd. I like to really know monuments before I visit, to know their story. And the Colosseum has a story that will blow your mind.

I've watched a lot of engineering documentaries about it. One of them explained that for a long time, modern stadiums, for football, baseball or the Olympics, were compared to the Colosseum in evacuation tests. Because the Colosseum was incredibly efficient at emptying out. It's estimated to have held tens of thousands of people; the highest estimates go up to 80,000. And according to that documentary, it could empty faster than many modern stadiums.

Think about it. Tens of thousands of people at a time when Rome was much smaller than it is today, with people from all over the empire. Picture that moment. And then everything else: the times it was supposedly flooded with water, or the tunnels and trapdoors they built beneath the arena.

And standing up there, at the top of a structure that's almost 2,000 years old… It's truly breathtaking.

So my advice if you go in: read up first. Watch a documentary, learn a bit of its history. Without context, the inside of the Colosseum is a huge ruin. With context, it's one of the most incredible things you'll ever see.

The Vatican Museums aren't for a port day. They're for another trip.

They take almost a whole day, easily 5 or 6 hours. They're enormous, immense. In fact, you can't finish them in a day. What you can do in a day is see the highlights, including, without question, the Sistine Chapel.

The most impressive part, for me, is the collection of paintings and sculptures. And there's something I didn't expect: since the museums are inside the Vatican, several rooms have views over the rest of the country. And you realize how big it is, even though it's a tiny state.

And the Sistine Chapel… That moment of walking in and seeing it is overwhelming.

That's exactly why I don't squeeze it into a port day. It would be like seeing the Sistine Chapel with a stopwatch in your hand. If you come back to Rome with time, it's absolutely worth dedicating a day to it. On a port day, let it go without regrets.

Now you do. When I went in, on that November 2022 stop, it was free. Today there's an entrance fee.

Beyond what it costs, which isn't much and helps maintain the monument, what changes is the line. It used to move quickly: you walked up and went in. Now you have to get a ticket, and that slows the line down.

On the route I always follow, I see the Pantheon from the outside, with a gelato in hand. But if you find a short line one day, like I did that November, it's worth popping in. It's one of those places where a few minutes inside are enough to leave you speechless.

The full route, with all 12 stops, the timings, the Roma San Pietro station trick and the Google Maps links, is in my Rome guide. It's free, and you can keep it on your phone for your port day.

Download the Rome Guide here

I still think what I told you a few days ago: on a port day, I don't go inside anything. But that November in 2022, with St. Peter's Square almost empty, I went in. And I don't regret it. The rule isn't "never go in." The rule is to choose. One place, the one that really matters to you, and everything else from the outside. And if the day hands you a short line, take it.

If you could only pick one, which would you go inside: the Vatican or the Colosseum?

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