Ostia Antica or Tivoli/Villa Adriana for day trip with teens?

The more we read about Rome and the surrrounding area, the more we realize we need more time there. We are extending out pre-cruise stay to at least 5 nights (maybe 6). We are thinking we may want to do a day trip to either one of these places. They are both about 40 minutes away from what I read.

Which one would be more fun and interesting for kids ages 11 - 18? Does either one have a place to swim? Is either of the two easier to get to from Rome?

Any feedback would be great!

Ostia has a slight edge regarding ease of access from Rome (local train and short walk).

Neither is a place one goes to swim ... that's really not an attraction in or near Rome. The truly desperate (obviously I'm editorializing here) can and do swim at Lido di Ostia, which is also easily reached from Rome by train.

If you want to spend a day outside of the city and swim, I'd consider renting a car and driving to Lago Albano (about 15 miles southeast of Rome).

The more we read about Rome and the surrrounding area, the more we realize we need more time there. We are extending out pre-cruise stay to at least 5 nights (maybe 6). We are thinking we may want to do a day trip to either one of these places. They are both about 40 minutes away from what I read.

Which one would be more fun and interesting for kids ages 11 - 18? Does either one have a place to swim? Is either of the two easier to get to from Rome?

Any feedback would be great!

Here's a big enthusiastic vote for Ostia since it's definitely more kid appealing. Tivoli is fascinating but I don't think the surviving buildings would be as interesting as Ostia's buildings. Note: I toured both places with an engineering professor.

At Tivoli, our emphasis was on the evolution of the dome contruction. We saw the reason for proto-dome collapse and how each successive building improved on the engineering of the dome. Now, this is probably more arcane than the focus of most adult visitors, but the wonderful professor made this subject fascinating. The most kid-applealing place in Tivoli is probably the tunnel. AFTER we had walked through this tunnel, we learned it is a now a bat colony's home.

In contrast, at Ostia, the emphasis was on seeing Roman versions of stores we have today. You'll see exactly what I mean if you read a copy of my post (below). I originally wrote this for another family visiting Rome. Besides, Ostia represents a win-win opportunity. It's along water since it is the original port of Rome. The modern town of Ostia includes a rather utilitarian beach but there are much nicer beaches quite near by.

If you search the thread titled "Beaches within Walking Distance of Port" you'll see the names of the nicer places others recommended. I hope this URL is the right one for the Beaches thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1438280

Incidentally, I got to both places by public transportation, but since I was being guided by a professor, I can't supply specific train routes or bus routes. I remember that the trip to Ostia was simpler -- metro all the way. Tivoli involved metro and a bus ride.

Here's what I wrote for Ostia:

"I think kids would really enjoy seeing the communal toilets at Ostia Antica. There's a mosaic that was the floor of the market. The family will have fun looking at those images and figuring out the type of merchant who had his stall on that spot thousands of years ago. (Some are easier than others.) Add to that the fast food shop and the tavern, and the theater in wonderful preservation, and I think you've got enough of a magnet for a great couple of hours.

If you do a Google image search for "Ostia Antica" you'll pull up 19 pages of hits. On pages 3,6 and 7 you'll see photos of the communal toilets. On page 2 you'll see a mosaic of a shipping merchant. On page 12, you'll see two photos of the taverns (the mosaic menu is hard to make out). There's another photo on page 14 in which the mosaics are somewhat clearer. I'm not spotting any photos of the take-out food shop, but when you see the shop with the oven in it, you're seeing the fast-food place.

Look up photos of both places and then ask the teens which they would prefer. They may be "ruined out" unless they are really into ruins and want to go to Ostia. It really is a nice site and many think it a good substitute for Pompeii if you are not going to get there.

Tivoli is beautiful but I understand it is a little harder to get there on your own than Ostia.

Rome is a place for history, not really geared for swimming. Depending on which cruise you're taking, you'll be better off for a beach stop at one of those stops. Chania, Crete would be a good beach choice if you're porting at Souda.

And I definitely think you're making the right decision to add on nights. We stayed 5 pre-cruise, and it was not nearly enough. We're playing around with a land tour to Rome next year.

We took our teen grandsons to Rome 4 years ago and they loved Ostia. They felt free to roam and explore - it isn't a hands-off kind of place. They climbed up onto the second stories of many of the buildings, saw the ancient latrines, the "fast-food" emporium, etc.

However, possibly their favorite site was the hilltown of Orvieto, about an hour's train ride north of Rome. You ride a funicular to get up to the little town, and the views are spectacular. They climbed to the top of the bell tower, explored all the shops down the narrow cobblestoned lanes, and if you time it right, you can go down into a "well" right in the center of town. We didn't get to, since it was closed for "siesta time" in the afternoon.

I would never have dreamed that they would like this place so much, but they still talk about it. Just food for thought!

Thanks for all of these ideas. They are very helpful!

Any other suggestions are welcome.

Osta Antica is definitely the way to go, the ruins are better than Pompei and Osta Antica is easily reached from central Rome by Metro and connecting train .

Open the attached link : http://www.ostia-antica.org/visiting.htm

Under the bold heading OSTICA at the top of the page click on Tour Guide and download in PDF format . It tells you how to get there and how to explore the place .

There is a nearby beach at Ostia Lido further along the same train line.

Osta Antica is definitely the way to go, the ruins are better than Pompei and Osta Antica is easily reached from central Rome by Metro and connecting train .

 

Open the attached link : http://www.ostia-antica.org/visiting.htm

 

Under the bold heading OSTICA at the top of the page click on Tour Guide and download in PDF format . It tells you how to get there and how to explore the place .

 

There is a nearby beach at Ostia Lido further along the same train line.

Great link, thanks!

I finally got around to uploading photos from my May cruise to webshots. Included is this album of around 100 photos of Ostia Antica.

One thing you're bound to notice is missing from the photos....people! This was a real change from the hustle and bustle of Rome.

Here's the link:

My Ostia Antica photos on Webshots