It’s been a roller coaster ride this year with the BudgetTraveller-
So far this year I have visited 34 cities and reviewed 30 hostels, 6 hotels and 1 apartment.
It has been the best year of life. No doubt.
However I realise now that it’s time to take it slow. Preserve my travelling spirit and my weary body.
Let the backpack gather some dust….
So am taking a small break from my Luxury Hostels odyssey and visiting a city I have yet to properly discover and enjoy….it’s eternal beauty.
Roma!
2 weeks in Rome: 20th October till 3rd November, 2012
Castel Sant’ Angelo by night- One of Rome’s many nocturnal treats I am looking forward to in my #2weeksinRome
2 weeks. I know!
2 whole weeks in Rome.
I am a lucky bastard, thank you very much.
Follow the hashtag #2weeksinRome for all the live updates.
Since I am in the country that basically started the slow travel movement, I thought it would be great to take it slow this time and stay in an apartment in Rome.
I am very excited to be partnering with UK’s largest holiday rental site- HomeAway UK who have done some cool projects with bloggers before.
Why HomeAway UK?
HomeAway UK have offered me the chance to stay in 2 amazing apartments during my stay there.
I chose to work with HomeAway based on the amazing partnerships they have had with bloggers in the past like Lara Dunston and Terence Carter for their groundbreaking GranTourismo project
HomeAway UK have offered me 100% editorial freedom to express my views instead of the usual advertorial fluff that many of these type of blogger-travel brand relationships produce.
Why choose to stay in an apartment in Rome?
This the 2 person suite that I will stay my first week in Rome. Perfect for a budget friendly romantic getaway. You get a whole apartment to yourself and it works out to £46 per person per night.
With the BudgetTraveller my aim has always been to try and help show you how you , the traveller , how you can discover as many ways to travel in style but without breaking the bank.
With a little bit of imagination, thought , some creativity it’s amazing what you can enjoy on a relatively modest budget.
From experience and speaking to friends, like any big tourist city, Rome has some real dives and especially in the budget category, there is a real lack of quality and choice for tourists.
Especially if you’re travelling with family or friends, then apartments become excellent value for money.
Take the example of the Trevi Fountain Suite ( staying second week of my stay) great location in Termini, just a few steps away from the Trevi Fountain, Quirinale, Barberini and the Coloseum.
Based on 1 night stay, sharing amongst 4 people, it comes to £23 per person, per night.
That is pretty good value I think for staying in an apartment that is kitted out to a luxury standard with all the modcons.
Idea for this project was to pick apartments with a good location that offered a very comfortable space plus would work out to be budget friendly compared to what you might pay for a hotel and in some cases even a hostel in Rome.
Some personal reasons too….
As a digital nomad where I am pretty much working on the go, having access to good, fast wireless internet is a necessity so this is the added comfort of renting an apartment.
Instead of working from a noisy cafe with slow wifi speeds, I can find the peace and quiet to get my work done early in the morning or late at night in between my daily exploration of Rome.
Also as much as I’ll be scoffing gelatos and checking out some budget friendly restaurants, I love cooking wherever I go on holiday.
The chance to shop at some of Rome’s world famous markets and cook some Italian dishes myself is for me a dream.
Plus will also help me save some money.
How can you help me?
I still know so little about Rome.
I would love to hear from you-if you have any tips or ideas to share of things to do in Rome from your own experience.
You can leave a comment here, go to my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/BudgetTraveller or leave a tip on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BudgetTraveller
All awesome tweets and tips will be shared and loved- so please do say hello and share your thoughts.
Grazie Mille!!
Hi Kash,
I am sorry we didn’t get the chance to meet at TBEX Girona. So glad to hear that you will take it slow in Rome. There is so much to see in this city that two weeks will fly by. My tip is to try pinsa which is like foccacia and for €5 you will get a decent lunch. I have written about it recently here along with a free app that could be useful during your stay. http://www.browsingrome.com/rome-travel-guide/more-places-to-eat-in-rome-italy/15200
Another place for lunch that is under €5 is Pastificio near the Spanish Steps (Via della Croce 8). You’ll get a pasta dish (two to choose from), water and wine for €4. It’s a great deal!
Have a great time and if you need tips, I am also on Twitter @browsingrome
Cheers for these awesome tips!
TBEX was crazy…383 people. Always going to miss out on a few.
Pastificio sounds like my kind of place 🙂
If you are around Rome, be great to meet you for a coffee or gelato!
Tell me if you are free. There 20th oct to 3rd November…
Definitely free to meet up for gelato. Drop me an email and let me know which day is best for you.
Hey
Cool. I am dropping you an email now.
See you soon 🙂
Rome is wonderful! My top tip is definitely spending time in the Travastere neighbourhood. It’s especially good at night. Have an awesome time!
Top tip noted! It’s on my list now….How’s life in Ecuador? 🙂
Hi Kash,
How are you? Good choice! You’ll love Rome staying two weeks there. Even if I never lived there I’ve been to Rome several times, I just came back, here are some clues:
Try eating pizza at pizzeria Nuovo Mondo, Testaccio neighborhood, a very good pizzeria. It is not expensive and you will be surrounded by locals.
If you want to drink a good espresso coffee eating a “pasticcino” go to Caffè Esperia, lungotevere dei mellini. Ask for it and drink it standing at the bar. You ‘ll have a great choice and save a lot of money. One espresso coffee with “una pasta” drank “al banco” is more or less two euros.
Then, the place I love most, sit and drink something in Campo de’ fiori. The only square in Rome without a Churh. A lovely market during the day, a nice place to drink a beer before or after dinner.
Divertiti a Roma! A presto,
Ema
Hey Emanuela
I am great! Especially now that I am in Bella Roma 🙂
So good to hear from you.
I am looking forward to do a foodie trip of Testaccio-heard lots of good stories so far about places to eat there.
Drink in Campo de’ Fiori-shall be done. On the list.
How’s life with you…keep in touch and keeping following #2weeksinRome 🙂
For sure I’ll follow #2weeks in Rome!
There is another beautiful place where locals go to drink an “aperitivo”. It is a square called Madonna dei Monti, locals call it “la piazzetta a Monti”. It’s full of nice places where you can eat and drink something.
A presto!
ema
Hey Kash,
I just got back not too long ago from Roma, spent a month there.
enjoy and have a blast, The Capuchin bones tour was a bit scary but fun. If you can book yourself for a trip in english at the Palazzo Valentino (http://www.palazzovalentini.it/scavi.php?lang=eng) Its incredible light show, recreation of homes, roads they discovered years ago while digging.
Also at the end of the show there is a movie for about 15 minutes that explains the Trajan column you see beside Piazza Venezia. The column commemorates his victories in Dacia (now Romania).
Im also on twitter @motore007
Enjoy you lucky bas#@&d
Anthony
Toronto
Hey Anthony
This sounds brilliant. Someone else recommended me the Bone Chapel Tour so it’s on my list now…..
Think I am visiting the Catacombs next week.
Will look you up on Twitter now.
Thanks for the the idea, keep in touch and keep following #2weeksinRome
The weather is still relatively warm by Oct standards, so check out the city’s natural gelato shops: my summer round-up should point you in the right direction (http://www.parlafood.com/best-gelato-rome-guide/) and my app Rome for Foodies (www.romeforfoodies.com) has them all plotted on a map! Enjoy!
Hey Katie
Grazie Mille! Definitely is very pleasant and warm at the moment.
Downloading the app right now….
Rome is a special city and has so much to offer but I am not really going to comment on that but rather on your accommodation which looks brilliant for the price. I will be looking in to this next time I am in Rome.
HomeAway have some great apartments -definitely worth looking into if you are travelling with friends, works out to be a very good budget option.