Driving to Tivoli from port?

[cruisin cousin]

How is the drive between Civitavecchia and Tivoli? Is there a ton of traffic? The Fodor's book I have from 2013 says not to do it "unless you have nerves of steel". It is talking about from Rome, not from Civitavecchia, but the roads appear to overlap.

[euro cruiser]

You'd never get near the city driving to Tivoli from the port. You'd use the ring road around the city and be on an autostrada for most of the trip. I don't find driving in Italy any more difficult than driving in any new place - a good map and a GPS, plus a helpful navigator, and you'll be fine.

 

It is a long drive, however. You need to allow at least two hours each way.

[Karennella]

Ha, we drove from the airport to Tivoli and despite the GPS, managed to end up in the city instead of on the ringroad. Maybe as we had had a long flight from Hong Kong. But it was ok. I agree, the driving is not any more difficult than most places and despite the complication of course that we are usually driving on the left side of the road.

[Hlitner]

Ha, we drove from the airport to Tivoli and despite the GPS, managed to end up in the city instead of on the ringroad. Maybe as we had had a long flight from Hong Kong. But it was ok. I agree, the driving is not any more difficult than most places and despite the complication of course that we are usually driving on the left side of the road.

 

We hear ya! Have driven far more then 20,000 miles throughout Europe (about half of it was in Italy) and heavily relied on our Garmin Nuvi (we now use our iPhone). The GPS has too often tried to take us the shorter route (even if its 1 meter shorter) even if that meant going through major cities, using access roads through vineyards, etc. DW and i have had lots of laughs with the routing. Bottom line is one should glance at a map and have a basic route in mind,,,and then using GPS is a great option.

 

As Euro says, getting to Tivoli from FCO or the Port is simply a matter of driving around the ring road (take the counterclockwise direction that takes you around the south of Rome). The traffic on the main ring road (A90/E80) can be heavy, but usually moves along at about 130 KPH. It is a reasonable option for a long port day...as long as one gets an early start.

 

Hank

[cruisin cousin]

How about driving to the Viterbo area instead? What kind of driving is that and are the sites worth it? We like history, but the Etruscan are a bit early for us.

 

(We have been to Ostia Antica already and thought it was fantastic.)

[Hlitner]

How about driving to the Viterbo area instead? What kind of driving is that and are the sites worth it? We like history, but the Etruscan are a bit early for us.

 

(We have been to Ostia Antica already and thought it was fantastic.)

 

We just responded to another Viterbo thread so will not be repetitive. But agree that Ostia Antica is fantastic and have recommended that place (here on CC) for many years. We have never understood why many cruise ships do not have an excursion to Ostia.....as there are some cruisers who will not walk off a ship unless they have a ship excursion.

 

Hank

[Hlitner]

How about driving to the Viterbo area instead? What kind of driving is that and are the sites worth it? We like history, but the Etruscan are a bit early for us.

 

(We have been to Ostia Antica already and thought it was fantastic.)

 

We just responded to another Viterbo thread so will not be repetitive. But agree that Ostia Antica is fantastic and have recommended that place (here on CC) for many years. We have never understood why many cruise ships do not have an excursion to Ostia.....as there are some cruisers who will not walk off a ship unless they have a ship excursion. If you have a car and are looking for places to drive, Orvieto is also a great option...but somewhat further then Viterbo.

 

Hank