my son wants to go to rome?

Question

my son will be graduating this june. his school is ofering an educational trip that is two weeks long and will be going to rome and greese. the hole thing is olny 2,745$, my concern is his safty.has anyone taken one of these kind of trips? He has never been more than 100mi without his father or brother or I.

Answer 1

mama let my heart go!!!
let your son grow

Answer 2

Definitely send him. I just studied abroad in Rome last summer and I had no regrets. I can only speak for Rome, but the city was safer than I expected, HOWEVER you must practice good judgement. Rome is known for being intense on pick pocketing, luckily I never experienced it. It was also my first time out of the country and away from my parents for so long. If he is excited and really REALLY wants to go he should have a fine time. He will not miss you as much (even though you may want him to) as long as he takes advantage of all the city has to offer. In the time I spent there I did not see everything I had wanted to and that was a month and a half. Rome does have an ample amount of polizia and carabineri (military police i believe) so help is usually not too far in case of emergency. If you are worried about him going out at night, dont be, the city is more lively then (especially in the summer!), which can be good or bad. Restaraunts usually close around 12 pm, Bars at 2 am and Nightclubs at 4 am, so it is a long lasting nightlife.

If your biggest concern is safety for Rome, here are my reccomendations:
-buy a money belt or small luggage locks for when walking around and touring. If he should need anything, keep a hand on it at all times.
-Always have him lock his door and windows at night, regardless of the establishment
-NEVER leave any bags alone, or keep conspiciuous or expensive items in pockets.
-Watch out for the small vendors (he will probably want to avoid them anyways because they are annoying!) and the street bums. They come up and try and sell megaphones, stress balls and roses, or just yell at you. Tell him to not make eye contact and keep walking.
-ALWAYS keep an eye out at the major sites. The Trevi Fountain (Fontana de Trevi) and the Coliseum were two huge pickpocketing spots they told us.
-at night, do not travel out alone.
-get him a rental international cell phone in case of emergencies (i used piccell wireless, they were a little expensive but worth it, or most cellphones now are internationally capable, so check with your provider on doing this)
-have phone numbers on hand of all important contact numbers
-carry a copy of your passport at all times in case of emergency (you need a passport to enter the American embassy, like I said, in case of emergency)
-Also, if traveling or out at the bars late at night, always take major streets back if you can (not the pedestrian ones, you can usually tell the difference by looking). One can get easily mugged on a small dark pedestrian street.


As far as money goes, dont use travelers cheques. If you alert your bank beforehand, you can use a Visa or Mastercard debit card at ATMs all around the city. (I would not reccomend American express because not many places I ran into accepted it). Also, when traveling there, bring at least 200 euros to start off, plus about $50 US cash for the travel back.

If he decides to go, the best travel series for Rome / Italy is "Let's Go!" Italy. They sell them in Barnes and Noble, it should be fairly easy to find. In there, it explains plenty of things to do.

Answer 3

Security is rather good on these types of trips. However, the political situation changes hourly throughout the world, you might want to monitor the situation in these countries he visits prior to him leaving as often times you'll be able to tell if the situation in these countries is deteriorating

You might also visit the U.S. State Department website for travel information in these countries.

I've sent my kids on numerous trips of this type, and had no problem. However, I can only stress that you monitor these countries for news reports prior to him leaving.

Answer 4

I went on that same trip when I was in the 9th, that was the greatest experience of my life. I went to Italy and Greece. It was great. You dont have to worry about a thing. He will be just fine.()

Answer 5

my firends kid went to austrailia for 2 weeks they take care of them