Purchase information books. Some of the most highly rated and informative guides are published by Lonely Planet. Lonely Planet's Rome Encounter guide uses archaeological expert Fausto Zevi to suggest ruins sites to visit. Information on looking outside Rome can be found in North Africa: The Roman Coast, published by Bradt, which provides travelers with ways to visit Volubilis, the best-preserved Roman site in present-day Morocco, and other little-known ruins sites.
Visit Italy's travel website. Italia is the government-run website dedicated to providing potential visitors with information necessary to plan a trip. The website has itineraries for those looking for ancient Roman ruins. From the home page, click on "Travel Ideas," and then "Art and History." This page explains that according to UNESCO, Italy is home to "the largest world heritage site with regard to artistic and cultural heritage." The site also explains what visitors can expect from Italy in terms of ruins and their locations throughout the country.
Choose the sites you most want to visit. You may choose to center your travels to Roman sites by region, such as North Africa, or by a city, such as Merida, Spain, with numerous ruins in the former capital of the Roman province of Lusitania. If concentrating on one city, look at flights into that city if traveling from far away. If choosing to do a tour of a few locations, look into a EuroRail pass, which allows riders to travel to various destinations.
Investigate tours. Although only for those ages 18 to 35, Contiki tours at Contiki.co.uk offers package guided holidays. The Southern Trail tour is 22 days and covers 14 World Heritage Sites. The Italia website suggests Busabout for those who want to travel to ancient Roman ruins throughout the country, as the bus offers an affordable hop-on, hop-off mode of transportation along set routes.
Book your flight or bus. Many travelers work on some kind of budget, which can be particularly difficult to adhere to when going to such tourist-laden sites as ancient Roman ruins. Rather than staying at a hotel near the attraction, look into staying a little farther out and either renting a car or taking public transport. Especially if you are in a European city, public transport is accessible to even the most inexperienced visitor. An added bonus to staying outside major tourist locations is the extra local culture you will find.
