Rome beckons millions of visitors each year with promises of ancient history, magnificent art, and world-renowned cuisine. Yet beneath the eternal city’s timeless beauty lies a harsh reality that countless travelers discover too late. Over 15 million tourists visited Rome in 2022, a 176% increase from 2021, with the number of tourists being five times the number of locals living within the city, and Rome saw around 13 million tourists by August 2023 alone. This overwhelming influx creates specific challenges that catch even seasoned travelers off guard, leaving them with regrets that could have easily been avoided.
The most painful part about these regrets isn’t just the money lost or time wasted. It’s the realization that simple preparation could have transformed their Roman experience from frustrating to phenomenal. So let’s get started and discover what mistakes haunt travelers most.
Not Booking Skip-the-Line Tickets in Advance
Travelers often assume that by traveling in shoulder season, there would be fewer tourists and they wouldn’t need to buy tickets ahead of time, but by the time they wise up about 2 weeks before leaving, all advanced tickets are sold out, resulting in waiting an hour in line for the Colosseum and another 30 minutes for the Forum. Rome is so popular and overtouristed that there really is never a time when you’ll find fewer tourists, and travelers shouldn’t expect to have the Colosseum all to themselves just because they’re traveling in shoulder season or low season. The Colosseum alone receives approximately 6 million annual visitors with wait times up to 1-3 hours at peak times, while the Vatican Museums see 6.7 million visitors annually with wait times averaging 2-3 hours, with lines often forming before opening hours.
Tickets should be booked at least two weeks in advance to guarantee availability, especially during the busy summer months, and travelers run the risk of being shut out if they don’t book online at least two weeks in advance. Travel experts note they’ve never heard anyone regret taking a tour, but have heard plenty of people frustrated by trying to figure it out on their own, especially at the Colosseum and the Vatican.
Falling Into Tourist Trap Restaurants
Any restaurant that can afford to be near the Trevi Fountain or the Spanish Steps is paying astronomical rents, so with ill have to charge an absolute fortune to cover their costs, with the vast majority being in the category of “gouge as many unsuspecting tourists as we can for every penny we can get”. One traveler’s worst experience in Rome was near Piazza Navona, being served a frozen supermarket spaghetti meal reheated in a microwave oven, and being charged nearly €30 just for that one plate. Restaurants in Piazza Navona are expensive, and the food is of low quality.
A genuine Roman meal in a neighborhood spot might cost €15-20, compared to €30-40 for mediocre fare in tourist-heavy areas, with travelers potentially paying €20 for a mediocre pasta dish near the Colosseum or Trevi Fountain. Eating at restaurants where locals eat, visitors can usually get a really delicious 2- or 3-course dinner including wine for around €20-25 per person, or around €10 for lunch, which, given the quality of cooking and ingredients, is an absolute bargain.
Choosing Poor Accommodation Locations
One traveler booked an Airbnb in the neighborhood of Monteverde which was charming and said it was just 10 minutes by public transport from all top sights, but it was also a 10 minute walk to the tram stop, so the commute time was double what they expected, and while 20 minutes isn’t bad at all, it was annoying thinking it was only going to be 10 minutes. This type of misleading distance information catches many travelers off guard, making them realize they should have researched transportation logistics more thoroughly.
Smart travelers learn to factor in walking time to transportation hubs, not just the actual travel time. The disappointment of discovering your “centrally located” accommodation requires lengthy walks to reach public transport becomes particularly frustrating when you’re exhausted from sightseeing. Short-term rentals in the Italian capital increased by 37.3 percent in 2024, making it the second-highest city in Europe after Amsterdam, with rent now averaging €2,000 a month, while the average monthly salary is €2,367, and finding a single flat for less than €700 in Rome’s suburbs has turned into a near-impossible challenge.
Wearing Inappropriate Footwear
Those cute but unsupportive sandals or trendy-but-tormenting heels will turn your Roman holiday into a painful march of regret before you’ve even had your first espresso, making comfortable shoes an absolute lifesaver. The first time one visitor went to Rome, the silver gladiator sandals they’d brought didn’t even last the full two weeks of their trip, and while you don’t need to wear sneakers all day, you should probably leave those high heels at home.
Rome will delight you with its ancient cobblestone streets, but it will also break your ankles if you’re not careful, so experts recommend wearing comfortable walking shoes without a heel to save you from injury. Chances are, you’ll be walking a lot in Rome since the city just lends itself to walking all over the place, with most famous Rome landmarks being close enough that you’ll stumble upon one after the other as you’re wandering, and there’s so much to take in by way of sight and sound that you may find yourself walking without even realizing how far you’ve gone.
Sticking Only to Major Tourist Sites
A crucial mistake when traveling to Rome is to stick only to the major tourist sights, because while the Colosseum, Vatican, and Trevi Fountain are must-sees, focusing solely on them means you’ll miss so much, and some of the most magical moments happen when you simply get lost and have fun. Wandering down a random alley, popping into a small church, or grabbing coffee at a tiny, bustling bar can lead to finding fantastic, less-touristy places, and it’s in these unplanned moments, far from the crowds, that Rome truly reveals its heart.
Many travelers arrive wanting to see it all with limited time and packed itineraries, but this approach means seeing a lot while still not seeing everything, and in fact, missing a lot of what’s going on around them by being so laser-focused on a strict itinerary. The solution is to build free time into your itinerary itself, as Rome is a wonderful city to get lost in for a bit.
Not Understanding Italian Dining Culture
An authentic restaurant will close between lunch and dinner so the kitchen can be cleaned thoroughly, as laws are super strict, and Romans tend to have dinner anytime after 8 PM, so if you want to have dinner between PMPM or 6:30 PM, authentic restaurants won’t be ready with their line, and the menu will barely have been decided by the chef. This cultural misunderstanding leaves many travelers frustrated when they can’t find quality restaurants open during their preferred dining hours.
In Italy, a bar is first and foremost a cafe that serves snacks, food, alcohol, primarily coffee, and the most typical and affordable way to have your coffee is right at the bar itself, with coffees being small and taken down quickly as a quick caffeine hit at the bar. Many Americans especially struggle with this concept, expecting coffee shop culture similar to what they know at home.
Overpacking Their Itinerary
Rome isn’t a city you can “check off” in a blink, with one expert having visited four times, each for at least a week, and still finding new corners to explore. Travelers often arrive with unrealistic expectations about how much they can see, leading to exhaustion and disappointment when they realize they’re rushing through experiences rather than savoring them.
Many of Rome’s sights are vast and overwhelming, and it’s often hard to know exactly where to go, what’s most worthwhile, or how to navigate it all. The regret comes from trying to cram too much into too little time, missing the opportunity to truly appreciate individual sites and experiences. Smart travelers learn that less can be more when it comes to Rome’s incredible offerings.
Ignoring Local Safety Precautions
As in most of Europe, the main safety issue to avoid in Rome is pickpocketing, with experts recommending packing an anti-theft travel bag with a wired crossbody strap that cannot be easily cut, and keeping it positioned on the front side of your hip with a hand over it through crowds or on public transportation. Many travelers become easy targets because they don’t take basic precautions seriously until it’s too late.
Rome is full of con artists, so visitors need to avoid being the victim of a scam by staying alert and always being wary of overly enthusiastic strangers, from the persistent waiter with the cute smile and good English to the precious old lady selling flowers at the Spanish Steps. The regret isn’t just about losing money or valuables, but about having their Roman experience tainted by preventable incidents.
These regrets share a common thread: they’re all preventable with proper preparation and realistic expectations. Rome rewards visitors who take time to understand its rhythms, respect its culture, and plan strategically. The eternal city has weathered over two millennia of change and will continue enchanting travelers who approach it with wisdom rather than haste. What aspects of Roman travel planning do you think are most important to get right?
