Port to Civitaveccia on your own - some questions

We are on a Summit med cruise this July which includes this port as a stop. We are traveling with our two teen daughters and although we want to do a Vatican tour, I don't know if we want to spend three to four hours in one location.

Therefore, after reading so many posts here I have decided that taking the train from the port to Rome may be our best option as far as flexibility and economical, but am not 100% clear on the details.

I understand that from the port, I can take a shuttle to the train station. I should be on the 8:02 a.m. train. I should take this train to the last stop (Main Termini). The ride should take one hour. I should validate the ticket at a validation machine before I enter the platform. Then I guess we scan our ticket again at the platform machine??

Questions:

Can I buy a round trip ticket when I make this purchase?

Do I have to go back to the main terminal in Rome to return to Civitaveccia? (sorry about sp) or can I pick this train up at other locations?

I read that there are no lines for the Vatican tour in the afternoon, do you still recommend that we fax ahead for a reservation for an afternoon slot?

Once inside can we walk around on our own to see at our pace or do we have to stay with the tour we entered with?

We want to also see the Coliseum (not sure yet about doing a tour) see St.Peter's Basilica and visit Trevi Fountain and the most important request from my teens, eat some good gelato. So would like to know the proximity of these locations to the main terminal or each other and where can we get the best gelato near thee locations.

Thank you so much for all your suggestions.

Lia B,

There are so many incredible sights to see in Rome. If it's your first time, I highly recommend doing a tour. There is no way you and your family will get to see as much if you do it on your own. I would check out some of the other threads as far as tour companies. I think you will do much better with a private company as opposed to the Celebrity Tour.

Enjoy!!!!

I will be staying 3 days pre-cruise in Rome, and plan to use the hop on/hop off bus. If you plan to be independent in most of the ports (as I do), this company says if you save your ticket after the first ride, they will give you 10% off successive tours.

http://www.roma.city-sightseeing.it/eng/index.htm

I will be staying near the Vatican, so will pick up the ho ho bus at the Vatican and travel around Rome to the others sights. If you look at the map, you will see it originates at the Stazione Termini and goes close to all the main sights.

Being on a limited time schedule this may not be the best for you, but worth looking at the map if nothing else. Gives you a good idea of where everything is located. I like to use the Stazione Termini as my main point of reference, and go from there.

Have a great trip!

We are also planning a trip and would like to do most the ports on our own. I have a few questions regarding the above post with link to

http://www.roma.city-sightseeing.it/eng/index.htm

Is this the hop on hop off bus?

Do you actually get off the bus or does it just drive by?

If it stops, can you explore on your own and catch the next bus, or do you have only a short time at each stop?

Thank you!

It is not always possible to make the 08.02 train, as often the port shuttle will wait until they have a certain number of pax before they depart, which can be very frustrating having got up early. Once at the station, buy a BIRG ticket for about 10 Euros, which is good for return travel from any Rome station (on that line!) and buses / metro / trams.

It is ok to board the train at other stations on the return journey, providing the train stops there! Not all suburban trains stop at all the stations.

It's only necessary to validate your ticket prior to boarding your first train of the day. It's date stamped.

Several posters recommend alighting at St Pietro and returning from Termini, where it is possible to upgrade the return journey on an express, but my experience suggests it's not worth doing.

A reminder about the port. The shuttle does NOT go to the train station. The shuttle drops you off at the fort a the foot of town. It's about another 8-10 minutes walk to the train station. The shuttle buses are just regular tour buses. They may have only one or two running. So you may have to wait to catch one. It's way too far to walk on your own from the ship.

Thank you agabbymama. That map is great and the info you provided is so helpful. You too, English Tim and Fblack.

:) We did this in Dec and it was relatively easy..free shuttle from dock to the fort in town..walk to the train station..train to Roma St Pietro ..dont forget to buy a roundtrip ticket..Its a 5min walk from the train station to St Peters Basiillica, just follow the crowd (mostly people going to work) The hop on hop off bus has a stop the entrance to the basillica.We walked around st peters, skipped the vatican museum tour and did the hop on hop off bus...considering we had only 1 day in ROme I feel we saw quite a bit..Museums take up quite a lot of time if time is limited:)

Our ship had regular shuttle buses to the port entrance. If you turn right on the main coast road that you exit the port from it is about an 8min walk and is on the opposite side. The BIRG ticket is 9 euros. Validate it in the machine just by the ticket office. Then I always double check that i'm on the right train by asking someone! We went to San Pietro. It took about an hour.They have a tv screen which tells you what the next stop is and if you're on time. Outside the station we got on a no64 bus, validated our ticket in a yellow machine then got off on 2nd stop(need to check this). This takes you to the vatican museums. The Sistine chapel was awesome and so were the museums-i would not have missed them for the world.

We only had time to see the Colisseum after this.You need another bus- we walked down the main street in front of St.Peters square and at bottom by bridge just on the left we caught the no40bus. Ask the bus driver to help you, if necessary, as to when to get off for the Colisseum. There is a train station opposite the Colisseum-using your BIRG ticket still, go onto line that takes you to the main terminii.( I think it was only 2 stops away). Look for the platform no for the Civitaveccia train-again if in doubt-ask! Its a big station and can involve a lot of walking! A map of Rome is crucial, i'd say.We saved lots of money doing it on our own with newly made friends from the ship and had time for a decent lunch opposite the museum entrance.

If you want to see more things then i would recommend an organised excursion. We enjoyed the freedom to do what we wanted-but we will have to go back to see the rest i'm afraid. hehe!

Hope this wasn't too confusing! Kath

Maybe a suggestion

From our cruise last year

Civitavecchia - while everyone was off to Rome we again walked around the town - then decided to check out the roman baths on the edge of town, so picked up a taxi the guy spoke no english, but we worked out there wasn't much to see he suggested a wee village 20mins away so we thought why not !!

What a lovely day we had - not a tourist in sight and this wee man racing up and down streets in this hilltop village called Tarquinia taking us to all the sights. We saw a church built by the crusaders - a young guy was showing people around and was ready to lock up, he then spoke to us and gave us the history of the church which was fascinating - on our way out the fireman had pulled up in a jeep the lady who lived next to the church had locked herself out and the firemen had the ladder out to get in through the window lol

The little lady knew the taxi man and she spoke english - so she explained where he was taking us next and we asked her to thank him for us ( this is the lady with her back to us )

We also checked out the local musem which was very good !!! part of the cost we also got to see the Necropolis on the edge of town - tombs, 60 of which include wall paintings - you go down stairs and push a button and the tombs light up they were stunning - they are all scattered over a small hillside.

A day we'll never forget !!

jj....

Although we had been to Rome before, on our pre cruise stay in November, we decided to take a HOHO bus the afternoon of our arrival. We were tired from the flight and didn't want to walk all day, so decided to take one of the buses. As we were deciding between the Red 110 bus and the Green bus, we found that the Red bus ticket would only be valid until 8PM that evening, while the Green bus ticket was valid for 24 hours.

Because we were skeptical about this information (I was under the assumption that tickets for either bus were both valid for 24 hours), we asked several people and received the same information. Now, perhaps it was because of the time of year - it was early November - but please check the validity times before you buy your ticket. I'd hate to see anyone not get what they were expecting. I expect there will be folks that will not have had this experience, and will be very happy to tell you that I'm wrong, but this was our experience.

Mary

Thank you. This information has been very helpful. When I booked the trip I was planning to arrange a formal excursion. However,given the recent downfall of our USD, it seems it has become very expensive for four people and if it can be done on your own, I like the added flexibility. I will save the $$ for the those ports where the formal excursions might be more necessary.

If you want to see most of Rome a private tour is best and for four people not too pricy.

Maybe a suggestion

 

From our cruise last year

 

 

Civitavecchia - while everyone was off to Rome we again walked around the town - then decided to check out the roman baths on the edge of town, so picked up a taxi the guy spoke no english, but we worked out there wasn't much to see he suggested a wee village 20mins away so we thought why not !!

 

What a lovely day we had - not a tourist in sight and this wee man racing up and down streets in this hilltop village called Tarquinia taking us to all the sights. We saw a church built by the crusaders - a young guy was showing people around and was ready to lock up, he then spoke to us and gave us the history of the church which was fascinating - on our way out the fireman had pulled up in a jeep the lady who lived next to the church had locked herself out and the firemen had the ladder out to get in through the window lol

 

The little lady knew the taxi man and she spoke english - so she explained where he was taking us next and we asked her to thank him for us ( this is the lady with her back to us )

 

We also checked out the local musem which was very good !!! part of the cost we also got to see the Necropolis on the edge of town - tombs, 60 of which include wall paintings - you go down stairs and push a button and the tombs light up they were stunning - they are all scattered over a small hillside.

 

A day we'll never forget !!

 

 

 

 

jj....

hello coxswain,the tour you suggest is just were i am looking for.:D A tour to Rome with my old mother is not possible so this looks perfect to me.May i ask you how much the Taxi asked for this trip and how long it was.And if it was not to diffecult to enter the tombes?

hope to hear from you,Burny

I think the taxi was between 60/80 euros including tip ( just me and the wife ) the tombs were easy enough - honest it was a lovely day out !!

jj....

I think the taxi was between 60/80 euros including tip ( just me and the wife ) the tombs were easy enough - honest it was a lovely day out !!

 

 

 

 

 

jj....

thanks very much! I think i know what to do in civitavecchia!:)

burny

As I read through the answers I don't recall if I saw anyone answer that most important question - where is the best gelato??

I was in Rome 6 years ago and gelato is everywhere and was so cheap - $1.50 for three scoops. I'm sure it costs more now, but don't worry - it is easy to find!

Try this for more directions on getting to the train

http://www.shiphappenzz.com/portal.php?page=DIYRome

Advise---take the first shuttle into the town. Walk the two blocks to the train station, if you arrived after 07:00am you can purchase birg ticket good for coming and going to port, also subway, and city buses in Rome. With a short time---get off at the Vatican stop---short walk to St. Peter's and square. Then take the subway--just outside the gate to barbbenni-stop walk to the trevi fountain (direction of subway anagnina) rejoin the subway to stazone termini---off two stops I believe change to )line b direction from station( laurentina )to colosseo (colosseum) It is acroos the street from the subway. Take subway back to stazopme termini (termini station) catch any train back to Civitavecchi. Most of all get a good map. I was a single and easily was able to do this. Enjoy............................

We are on a Summit med cruise this July which includes this port as a stop. We are traveling with our two teen daughters and although we want to do a Vatican tour, I don't know if we want to spend three to four hours in one location.

 

Therefore, after reading so many posts here I have decided that taking the train from the port to Rome may be our best option as far as flexibility and economical, but am not 100% clear on the details.

 

I understand that from the port, I can take a shuttle to the train station. I should be on the 8:02 a.m. train. I should take this train to the last stop (Main Termini). The ride should take one hour. I should validate the ticket at a validation machine before I enter the platform. Then I guess we scan our ticket again at the platform machine??

 

Questions:

Can I buy a round trip ticket when I make this purchase?

Do I have to go back to the main terminal in Rome to return to Civitaveccia? (sorry about sp) or can I pick this train up at other locations?

 

I read that there are no lines for the Vatican tour in the afternoon, do you still recommend that we fax ahead for a reservation for an afternoon slot?

Once inside can we walk around on our own to see at our pace or do we have to stay with the tour we entered with?

 

We want to also see the Coliseum (not sure yet about doing a tour) see St.Peter's Basilica and visit Trevi Fountain and the most important request from my teens, eat some good gelato. So would like to know the proximity of these locations to the main terminal or each other and where can we get the best gelato near thee locations.

 

Thank you so much for all your suggestions.

Here's our experience. We got out the ship when they allowed, around 7 or so. There was an empty shuttle that will take you to the gates. We knew it would be difficult getting the 8:02 train. But luckily, there was a driver and he took us at around 7:45. From the gates it's about 10 mins walking (to the left of the gates). But since we still have a few mins left, we ran our way to the train station. The tickets they they gave is a BIRG ticket, good for the entire day, rail and bus and trains. We stopped at the stop for St. Peter's. and proceeded to see the cathedral. Still early, crowd hasn't gathereed (this is in November, in the summer, it'll be different, busier). Then headed for the St. Peter's museum. I would not want to miss this. IT'S AMAZING. A long line to wait. BUT, we had made reservations for a tour with the Vatican, check their website, and it cost about twice what it would cost to do it on your own. MINUS the lines. We proceed to the front of the line with the golden ticket!.. Once inside, it was a commotion. Lots of ppl everywhere. We then just purchased the regular tickets and took the regular tour. (Only because no one knew where the tour would meet). The musuem is really something. VERY crowded but very worth the time. After hitting both of this sites, we asked around for bus ride to Fontana Del Moro. Luckily we found a local who was heading that way on the bus. From the fontana, you can hit the major site, trevi, the big round dome with a hole on the top, shops, spanish steps, etc etc. After that, we took the train to the colesium, and visited the ruins next to the colesium. Just saw the col. from outside as we were running out of time at this point. It is a very ambitious plan, but with careful planning and a bit of luck, it's doable. Be sure to leave plenty of time to get back to the ship. Make sure you have the ship's contact info for Rome. If you ride the subway, be VERY CAREFUL of pick pockets. Practise the usual safety precautions or you will lose something along the ride! From there head to the Termini and catch your train back. The termini serves as the regional trains as well as local subway station. From the subway station, it's about a good 5 - 10 minutes walking to the regional train, so please plan accordingly. You may also factor in an extra 5 - 10 mins, as it may be a bit confusing figuring out where to go. This was one stop that ppl we asked didn't know where to tell us to go! Finally we saw signs. Also, another helpful hint would be to know the train numbers. We saw lots of signs, but only with train numbers and not destinations. I think at the end we matched the train number and headed to that platform. Other ppl, saw signs of destinations, maybe we panicked and blinded. Good luck.

Google Rome for a good map. I still have a pdf copy of the rome map if you want it. It's from one of the Rome gov.'s site.

Hi there-DH and I are doing a Western Mediterranean cruise (our FIRST CRUISE EVER) in November '08. This will be my 4th time to Rome in under 3 yrs.

We spent lots of time in Rome and got ALL around...we NEVER took a bus. Buses can be slow and unpredictable. Subways are the way to go. They are fast, cheap, safe and dependable (well, as much as one can expect in Rome) ;)

Check out this link:

http://www.romebuddy.com/givesadvice/subwayroutes.html

The above map is from this SUPER site:

http://www.romebuddy.com/givesadvice/trains.html#

Please feel free to email me with any questions at tlfiore@comcast.net

Just found this too~~almost forgot all about this! There are tons of great references on Rome! Good Luck!

http://goitaly.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=goitaly&cdn=travel&tm=42&gps=296_315_1002_515&f=21&su=p284.9.336.ip_p531.40.336.ip_&tt=2&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.europeportreviews.com/Rome2.htm

Wow Alan, the pictures are really helpful.

I was recently in Zurich and even though everyone said the trains were easy to navigate, we got lost. Because #1, there were no attendants at all for questions and #2 everything was in German. I eventually learned to understand the logic but we lost a couple of hours by getting lost. I am afraid that in one day, it would be hard to learn the Rome trains. However, with your pictures and some of the detailed experiences from the other posters, I think it can be done.

From the pictures, it looks like you can buy your tickets from a person. Do they generally speak English? I found many people in Europe do but sometimes the bus drivers did not.

If we don't want to deal with the subway, is it affordable and easy to get around by taxi? Will taxi take 4 people?

We're on Carnival Freedom May 2008 and supposedly dock at 6 am. Does anybody know what time they allow passengers to leave the ship? Is a 9 am tour at the Coloseum (sp?) realistic taking the train, etc.? Also, at which station do we get off the train to see the Coloseum?

Thanks,

Dale

Depending upon when they let you off the ship (by 7am), the 9am tour is realistic. I'd take the train to Termini. If you haven't been there before, directions to Col. are much easier.