Civitavecchia (port) // Rome by Train 2024: Your questions answered here!

[euro cruiser]

For a direct flight to New York you'll want to be at the airport three hours prior, of 6:35 in this case.   

 

There are Leonardo Express trains at 4:50 (arrives 5:22), 5:20 (arrives 5:52) and 5:50 (arrives 6:22) to choose from.

 

Leonardo express - Trenitalia

Edited June 3 by euro cruiser

[cruisegal415]

New question, and if it was previously addressed, forgive me. I looked through this entire thread but didn't see it specifically.  We are arriving in Civitavecchia on August 24th. The ship overnights there and disembarkation is August 25th.  We were going to do an early disembarkation on the 24th, take a transfer to Rome, spend the day in Rome, and stay at an airport hotel that night to catch our 10:40 am flight back to the us on the 25th.

 

However, although we are staying in Rome for three days pre-cruise, we really wanted to do the SCAVI tour in St. Peters/the Vatican and I was only able to get tickets for an 11 am tour on the 24th, the day that we arrive in Civitavecchia and stay overnight there.  They are non-refundable so I have to work around that.  I don't think we will be able to do a full embarkation on the 24th and get a transfer to our hotel near the airport, then find our way to the Vatican in time for an 11 am tour. So, we have re-thought this and decided to just take a train into Rome on the 24th, and return to the ship then do the regular early debarkation on the 25th.

 

Having said all that, here is my question.  I think the easiest and most economical way to get from Civitavecchia to the Vatican on the 24th in time for the 11 am tour is by train.  There are direct trains from Civitavecchia to the St. Peter's stop (it seems) that would get us there by 10 am. I'm pretty sure we can be off the ship by 8:30. So, the questions are:

 

(1) Do we have to buy a ticket in advance or can we just purchase one when we get to the train station in Civitavecchia?

(2) It looks like there are direct trains from Civitavecchia to a stop near St. Peter's.  Am I seeing this correctly? How far is it from that stop to St. Peter's itself?

(3) I also see there is a BIRG ticket that we can purchase that allows us a round trip to and from Civitavecchia as well as using public transportation while in Rome.  Can we purchase those at the train station in Civitavecchia or do those need to be purchased in advance?

(4) It appears that it's about a mile walk from the port to the train station, or there's a shuttle that we can take.  Since I'm worried about time, I think it may be quicker to just walk.  How much time should I allow from the time we get off the ship to get to the train station in Civitavecchia?

(5) what is your best recommendation from getting from the ship to St. Peter's in time for an 11:00 tour by train?

[babyclaytonmom]

On 6/3/2024 at 9:11 AM, cruise2relax said:

Question - train/cruise related.  We have a flight back to US leaving at 9:35am, we were thinking of taking the Leonardo Express from Termini, is that doable or is it too early in the morning for that mode of transport and have proper time (flight on ITA to NYC)

Curious about this too. Ours isnt till 10:30 but wondered how early the Leonardo Express started.

[babyclaytonmom]

On 6/3/2024 at 9:11 AM, cruise2relax said:

Question - train/cruise related.  We have a flight back to US leaving at 9:35am, we were thinking of taking the Leonardo Express from Termini, is that doable or is it too early in the morning for that mode of transport and have proper time (flight on ITA to NYC)

Curious about this too. Ours isnt till 10:30 but wondered how early the Leonardo Express started.

[babyclaytonmom]

On 6/3/2024 at 9:11 AM, cruise2relax said:

Question - train/cruise related.  We have a flight back to US leaving at 9:35am, we were thinking of taking the Leonardo Express from Termini, is that doable or is it too early in the morning for that mode of transport and have proper time (flight on ITA to NYC)

Curious about this too. Ours isnt till 10:30 a.m. but wondered how early the Leonardo Express started.

[babyclaytonmom]

On 6/3/2024 at 9:11 AM, cruise2relax said:

Question - train/cruise related.  We have a flight back to US leaving at 9:35am, we were thinking of taking the Leonardo Express from Termini, is that doable or is it too early in the morning for that mode of transport and have proper time (flight on ITA to NYC)

Curious about this too. Ours isnt till 10:30 a.m. but wondered how early the Leonardo Express started.

[babyclaytonmom]

On 6/3/2024 at 9:11 AM, cruise2relax said:

Question - train/cruise related.  We have a flight back to US leaving at 9:35am, we were thinking of taking the Leonardo Express from Termini, is that doable or is it too early in the morning for that mode of transport and have proper time (flight on ITA to NYC)

Curious about this too. Ours isnt till 10:30 a.m. but wondered how early the Leonardo Express started.

[babyclaytonmom]

Looking at train tickets from the Port Civitavecchia. The earliest I see for our August date is 8:20 a.m. (bus to train station). Then arrives in Termini at 9:48. The bus service doesnt start till 8:20? Thought I saw on here it was 7:00/7:30 beginning? Was hoping to catch an earlier train. Or does that mean all the earlier ones are booked? Hard to believe. Wondered time recent cruisers have disembarked? This is the end of our cruise and only have 2 full days in Rome unfortunately.

[euro cruiser]

That is apparently the earliest that Trenitalia will sell you a bus ticket.  That does not necessarily mean that the bus doesn't run earlier, they are two different agencies.  You can pay the driver in cash (6 euro) for the bus ride when boarding.  Regional trains cannot sell out.

 

From the Port Mobility web site:

 

DIRECT CRUISE / RAILWAY STATION SERVICE

The special public transport line service connects the Civitavecchia Train Station with the Cruise Ships and vice versa.

The service, which is exclusively for cruise passengers, operates from 7 a.m.-7:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m. on ship departure/arrival days only. The shuttle takes approximately 15 minutes to arrive at the destination and it leaves approximately every 20/25 minutes depending on the traffic and passenger pick-up/drop-off operations.

 

Link here:  Shuttles | Port Mobility Civitavecchia

Edited June 10 by euro cruiser

[JJJ12345]

Hi, 

 

Take Norwegian cruise line, double checking whether the express train arriving from Roma Termini to Civitavecchia at 5:44pm too late if ship is leaving at 7pm?  Would there be any trouble catching connecting shuttle bus to the port/ship? How to buy tickets for the shuttle (can I pay cash when I get on? Need exact change?)

 

Also in the morning, how long is usually the wait from getting off the ship/wait for shuttle to arrive at the Civitavecchia station?  For regional train, is it better to buy in advance because there may be a line for tickets? 

 

Thanks a mil.  Leaving tomorrow, so desperately need some help!!

Edited June 14 by JJJ12345

[ninjacat123]

@JJJ12345 you can pay euros for the shuttle but the driver may not have change. When we disembarked, a shuttle was waiting at the terminal to take us to the train station. I bought tickets for the train back to Rome ahead of our trip. The regional train was the only train available. We were able to find seats. I hope your cruise and time in Italy is as wonderful as our time there!!

[euro cruiser]

There is no need, nor really any purpose, in buying regional tickets in advance.  They cannot sell out.  If you want a seat on a regional, the best best is to get on at the start of the line at Rome Termini. 

 

As above, the Port Mobility shuttle between the ship and the train station is a tourist bus so you can buy the tickets from the driver; the advice above is important, do have exact change.

 

For a 7 PM (19:00) departure your all-aboad time will be 18:30.  You must allow at least 30 minutes to get from the train station to the ship, just in case you have to hoof it, so you'd look for trains that arrive no later than 18:00 (6 pm).

 

The best advice is to take the next-to-the-last train that will get you back on time, so you have a fallback option.  If you wait and take the last one and something goes wrong... (but of course you should always know how you'd get to your next port when you DIY anyway).

 

Backing into the timing, the last train possible would be one arriving to Civitavecchia at 18:00, which is the 16:57 Frecce (arrives 17:44).  However, there is a regional backup that arrives at 18:05, close enough to 18:00 for me to consider it a back up, but then I'm pretty comfortable with risk and I know how to get myself to the next stop if my plan fails.

 

If the 16:57 were a regional train I would not take the risk, but as it is a Frecce and the on-time performance of the Frecce trains is more important to the authorities, I would risk it.

 

 

[Badatz2]

On 6/10/2024 at 1:47 AM, babyclaytonmom said:

Curious about this too. Ours isnt till 10:30 but wondered how early the Leonardo Express started.

The problem is not the Leonardo Express, it is the port clearance.  I was on line to get off from a 7 am arrival. The Customs officials arrived after 9am and then decided to have coffee for almost an hour.  The ship was cleared at 10:30

 True it doesn't happen everyday but any flight before 2pm is sure to raise your blood pressure

Edited June 17 by Badatz2

[ninjacat123]

40 minutes ago, Badatz2 said:

The problem is not the Leonardo Express, it is the port clearance.  I was on line to get off from a 7 am arrival. The Customs officials arrived after 9am and then decided to have coffee for almost an hour.  The ship was cleared at 10:30

 True it doesn't happen everyday but any flight before 2pm is sure to raise your blood pressure

We didn’t have a plane to catch and we were on the tourist bus at 7:55am, waiting for the Regional train at 8:17am. I didn’t know Customs could slow things down like that. Good to know👍

[babyclaytonmom]

8 hours ago, Badatz2 said:

The problem is not the Leonardo Express, it is the port clearance.  I was on line to get off from a 7 am arrival. The Customs officials arrived after 9am and then decided to have coffee for almost an hour.  The ship was cleared at 10:30

 True it doesn't happen everyday but any flight before 2pm is sure to raise your blood pressure

It doesnt have to do with port clearance for us? We are staying in Rome 3 days. Taking the Leonardo Express to the airport after 3 nights in Rome.

[gwene]

I came to this forum for advice and thought I would follow up with what actually worked for us.

We were in port on Sat June, 8. Our in port time was listed as 7am -10pm. We walked off the boat right at 7am. Took free shuttle. Port Mobility doesn't start until 8am. Walked 1 mile to train station following crowd and signs. It seemed like more than a mile. Arrived 7:40. Bought 5 zone birg for 12.00. Took 8:01 regionale. Arrived 9ish depending on where you get off. We were going to the Colosseum first. We bought our tickets on the official website exactly 30 days in advance and had to get up at 2 am to get in the queue to get them. We were able to snap 10:30, but 10 would have been ideal. Anyway when we got off the Regionale we road the underground  B -2 stops. Download rick steves tour if you don't get the audio in your package. It was excellent. Entry was fast with the tickets bought ahead of time. Make sure you have your passport. Side note if your ticket is 11 is for Colosseum, get off at Circus Maximus and walk by it and in the Roman Forum before the Colosseum. It gets crowded later. The line to get into it after the colosseum was VERY VERY long. 

If you don't do the official tickets several people on our train in had a city pass. No idea if it is better or not it just seemed to be popular with those touring on their own. It included a HOHO.

We had a 3:30 tour time for the Vatican Museums. We reserved those 60 days in advance. In between the Colosseum and the Vatican we were able to see the Trevi fountain, Spanish Steps, Pantheon. After the Vatican. We went to the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's pretty much moving with the crowd. It was crowded.

All in all we walked 13ish miles and listened to 4 Rick Steves guides.

Took regional 6:32 from S Pietro to Civitavecchia. 

We planned to take the Port mobility, but a taxi van was at the station and it was offering the same price. We rode with a few others. It was fast and easy.

[publicpersona]

We just now booked a cruise out of Civitavecchia leaving August 17th and was about to book a pre-cruise hotel near Roma Termini. But in checking the availability of direct train on that morning, the earliest Trenitalia is showing me in late in the day. Am I correct in assuming that means the train option isn't going to work out for me?

 

[lstone19]

12 minutes ago, publicpersona said:

We just now booked a cruise out of Civitavecchia leaving August 17th and was about to book a pre-cruise hotel near Roma Termini. But in checking the availability of direct train on that morning, the earliest Trenitalia is showing me in late in the day. Am I correct in assuming that means the train option isn't going to work out for me?

 

 

Looking at your train search criteria (upper left), you appear to have asked for trains after 17:00. It appears their website defaults to the current time even when looking at a future date.

[publicpersona]

2 minutes ago, lstone19 said:

 

Looking at your train search criteria (upper left), you appear to have asked for trains after 17:00. It appears their website defaults to the current time even when looking at a future date.

 

You are exactly right! Thanks so much!

[euro cruiser]

I would strongly consider paying a little extra to take the seat-assigned Frecce train from Termini to Civitavecchia.  It's much more comfortable, especially when traveling with luggage, and still a bargain vs. shared shuttles or private transfer.

 

There is no need, and no point, in purchasing a regional train ticket in advance.  The price never changes and they can not sell out.  Keep in mind that the regional tracks for the Lazio line (the regional to Civitavecchia) departs three blocks from the main track head at Termini.

Edited June 22 by euro cruiser

[publicpersona]

1 hour ago, euro cruiser said:

I would strongly consider paying a little extra to take the seat-assigned Frecce train from Termini to Civitavecchia.  It's much more comfortable, especially when traveling with luggage, and still a bargain vs. shared shuttles or private transfer.

 

There is no need, and no point, in purchasing a regional train ticket in advance.  The price never changes and they can not sell out.  Keep in mind that the regional tracks for the Lazio line (the regional to Civitavecchia) departs three blocks from the main track head at Termini.

 

So the direct train Termini to Civitavecchia is not the best option? Wow, I'm learning a lot today. Just to confirm, you'd recommend the one in yellow below, and that I should purchase ticket in advance if I'm doing this one?

Edited June 22 by publicpersona

[euro cruiser]

Yes, that's one of the trains I meant, a Frecce (in this case, a Frecciabianca).

 

Almost every train from Rome Termini to Civitavecchia is direct (meaning no change en route), the only one that is not is the Civitavecchia Express as it starts at Rome Ostiense, so you'd need to take a regional or a metro to get to Ostiense.

 

Only the Frecce trains are non-stop, the IC trains stop once en route at Rome Ostiense.

[sushraya]

We will be disembarking in Civitavecchia.  We are staying at a hotel near the airport since we have an early morning flight the next day.  What's the best way to get to the airport from the port?  Take the mobility shuttle (6 euros each) and then a train?   Is this ok with all the bags?

 

We are a group of eight - so trying to figure out if we should arrange for a transfer instead.  If it was just my husband and I, we would have definitely taken the train.

 

Thanks.

[euro cruiser]

Unless all eight people are equally comfortable with the train and handling their luggage on and off two crowded trains, I would look for the shared transfer.

[rsuehle]

Aside from the length of time, do I care about which train? Etruschi line vs 12522 vs FrecciaBianca?