Day in Civitavecchia

We have 2 small children with us and feel the journey to Rome would be too long. What is there to do around the port instead - shopping, pavement cafes etc?

Nothing but port

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There is a water park on the outskirts of Civitavecchia. Or I have seen the beach at nearby Santa Marinella recommended.

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We have 2 small children with us and feel the journey to Rome would be too long. What is there to do around the port instead - shopping, pavement cafes etc?

We have done some bathing in Civitavecchia but it is very rocky and shoes would be required. Not very child-friendly for a tourist. It certainly is nice to have an icecream on the promenade in front of the sea.

I understand that idea of not wanting to drag small children into Rome - especially if you are going in the middle of summer when it is so hot. We have been into Rome a number of times and DH was grumbling about getting up early so in November we went to Tarquinia. It is in the opposite direction to Rome and it is lovely. There are some very interesting Etruscan tombs in a nice area that your children would probably enjoy running around. (It does not feel like a cemetary !!).

We went by train. The station is a little out of town but there is a bus service connecting to the town centre. We walked. We continued walking to the tombs. (We walk a lot). You can check train times beforehand on Trenitalia website. You will not need to buy a ticket up front.

You will not need to rush out from the ship early but you need to get the (free) shuttle out of the port - and then the (paying) shuttle to the train station. You also need to get your tickets and locate the platform. I would be leaving the ship at least 45 minutes before the train departs. I might even ask around for a quote to take the four of you in a taxi - it is a 30 minute drive apparently, it might be within your budget.

This would just take a couple of hours of your morning. I am sure you can find something to eat there (we were there on a bank holiday so it was a little quiet) - then on the way back don't get off at Civitavecchia - why not go to Santa Marinella where there is apparently a lovely beach (I googled it) and you can have a swim with the children.

I just feel that if you stay in Civitavecchia you will just feel that you are "hanging around", if you go to Tarquinia/Santa Marinella you will know that you have discovered something special of Italy.