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I arranged to meet my host—a radio producer for the Italian equivalent of NPR—at the Metro station by Rome's cathedral.
He walked me a few blocks to his apartment, showed me the spare room where I'd be staying, gave me his WiFi password and his spare key, and asked what I wanted for breakfast. Then he asked if I had plans for the evening.
That is how, meeting a few hours of meeting this Couchsurfing host, I found myself riding in his Fiat to pick up a friend and take her to her surprise party at a Roman home (my arrival became part of the ruse to keep the honree busy while her other friends got all the food and wine in place).
Know what? I have never had a hotel clerk invite me to a surpirse party when I checked in.
What's more, I did not pay a single euro for lodging or breakfast for the entire three days I stayed with my kind host. (Come to think of it, that first night's dinner was free, too.)
There are several ways to sleep for free in Italy; here are the details on the easiest and most popular:
English (Inglese) | Italian (Italiano) | Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun |
Good day | Buon giorno | bwohn JOUR-noh |
Good evening | Buona sera | BWOH-nah SAIR-rah |
Good night | Buona notte | BWOH-nah NOTE-tay |
Goodbye | Arrivederci | ah-ree-vah-DAIR-chee |
Excuse me (to get attention) | Scusi | SKOO-zee |
thank you | grazie | GRAT-tzee-yay |
please | per favore | pair fa-VOHR-ray |
yes | si | see |
no | no | no |
Do you speak English? | Parla Inglese? | PAR-la een-GLAY-zay |
I don't understand | Non capisco | non ka-PEESK-koh |
I'm sorry | Mi dispiace | mee dees-pee-YAT-chay |
Where is? | Dov'é | doh-VAY |
...a hotel | un albergo | oon al-BEAR-go |
...a B&B | un bed-and-breakfast | oon bet hand BREK-fust |
...a rental room | un'affittacamera | oon ah-feet-ah-CAH-mair-ra |
...an apartment for rent | un appartamento | oon ah-part-tah-MENT-toh |
...a farm stay | un agriturismo | oon ah-gree-tour-EES-moh |
...a hostel | un ostello | oon oh-STEHL-loh |
How much is...? | Quanto costa? | KWAN-toh COST-ah |
a single room | una singola | OO-nah SEEN-go-la |
double room for single use [will often be offered if singles are unavailable] | doppia uso singola | DOPE-pee-ya OO-so SEEN-go-la |
a double room with two beds | una doppia con due letti | OO-nah DOPE-pee-ya cone DOO-way LET-tee |
a double room with one big bed | una matrimoniale | OO-nah mat-tree-moan-nee-YAAL-lay |
triple room | una tripla | OO-nah TREE-plah |
with private bathroom | con bagno | cone BAHN-yoh |
without private bathroom | senza bagno [they might say con bagno in comune—"with a communal bath"] | SEN-zah BAHN-yoh |
for one night | per una notte | pair OO-nah NOH-tay |
for two nights | per due notti | pair DOO-way NOH-tee |
for three nights | per tre notti | pair tray NOH-tee |
Is breakfast included? | É incluso la prima colazione? | ay in-CLOO-soh lah PREE-mah coal-laht-zee-YOAN-nay |
Is there WiFi? | C'é WiFi? | chay WHY-fy? |
May I see the room? | Posso vedere la camera? | POH-soh veh-DAIR-eh lah CAH-mair-rah |
That's too much | É troppo | ay TROH-po |
Is there a cheaper one? | C'é una più economica? | chay OO-nah pew eh-ko-NO-mee-kah |
In January, 2011, Rome began charging a hotel bed tax. This is the city's doing, and sadly it is not a scam.
The following tax rates are per person, per night for all guests over the age of 10 and can be charged for stays of up to 10 days:
So a couple staying three nights in a four-star room would pay an extra €18.
Some hotels have begun folding this tax into their quoted rates; others tack it on when you go to check out, so be prepared.
Planning your day: Rome wasn't built in a day, and you'd be hard-pressed to see it in that brief a time as well. Still, you can cram a lot into just a day or three.
To help you get the most out of your limited time in the Eternal City, here are some perfect itineraries, whether you have one, two, three, or four days to spend in Rome. » Rome itineraries
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