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

[d9704011]

7 hours ago, Girr said:

Yes, the walk is doable, but between the Vatican and Colosseum you're already doing a lot of walking.  Instead of walking these two additional miles from the Vatican check out the bus or metro. 

Indeed:  metro from Ottaviano station (A line) to Termini, change to B line and get off at Colosseo.  Easy and quick.

[ninjacat123]

I have booked all my train travel in Italy except for when we land at FCO (not knowing when we get through Customs, etc) and I want to make sure I have my tickets in the correct form.  Should I print them up or pull up the email Trenitalia sent me?  The site says something about having the ticket available on electronics.  When traveling by train in Amsterdam and France, we just showed printed up tickets.  Also, the tickets state I purchased the tickets without being registered.  Please advise!  Thanks!!!

Edited October 5, 2023 by ninjacat123

[cruisemom42]

On 10/5/2023 at 12:52 PM, d9704011 said:

Indeed:  metro from Ottaviano station (A line) to Termini, change to B line and get off at Colosseo.  Easy and quick.

A lot quicker to take a taxi from Vatican to Colosseum and vice versa - and only around 10-15 euros per taxi.

[cruisemom42]

On 10/5/2023 at 3:52 PM, ninjacat123 said:

I have booked all my train travel in Italy except for when we land at FCO (not knowing when we get through Customs, etc) and I want to make sure I have my tickets in the correct form.  Should I print them up or pull up the email Trenitalia sent me?  The site says something about having the ticket available on electronics.  When traveling by train in Amsterdam and France, we just showed printed up tickets.  Also, the tickets state I purchased the tickets without being registered.  Please advise!  Thanks!!!

Re: showing your ticket, you can use either your phone or a printed copy as long as the barcode or Q-R code is available (I can’t remember which one they use…)

 

Not being registered just means you didn’t create an account, so you couldn’t log in and pull up your tickets that way - only via your email or printed copy.

[logan25]

On 9/4/2023 at 6:52 PM, euro cruiser said:

You simply purchase a ticket to Civitavecchia.  The change is not at Termini, generally the change will be at Roma Trastevere. 

I don’t know if the train station to interchange is determined by season.  But when I look now, Ostiense comes up rather than Trastevere.

Edited November 8, 2023 by logan25

[euro cruiser]

There is work going on at the Trastevere station:  DA FS NEWS - RFI presenta il progetto di restyling della stazione di Roma Trastevere

 

For those going to Trastevere, there is bus service provided during construction.

[logan25]

4 minutes ago, euro cruiser said:

There is work going on at the Trastevere station:  DA FS NEWS - RFI presenta il progetto di restyling della stazione di Roma Trastevere

 

For those going to Trastevere, there is bus service provided during construction.

Thank you.  That helps me so much.

 

Guess I will be learning the layout of another train station this year.  Trastevere  was so convenient with just a short walk through the tunnel over to the very next platform to board the connection to Civitavecchia.

[euro cruiser]

Ostiense is a little bigger, but basically the same layout.  You'll be fine.

[meliss35]

I have some questions. We will be going to our MSC cruise at the Civitavecchia port from Roma Termini.

 

1 - If the train is a regionale train from Roma Termini to Civitavecchia do I need to reserve beforehand?

 

2 - Once we get the the Civitavecchia train station, will there be a bus outside the train station for 2 or 3 Euros to Largo della Pace? Is it easy to find the bus? Will the bus have a number or a sign in window?

 

3 - At Largo della Pace, will there be a free shuttle to our MSC World Europa ship?

[euro cruiser]

You do not need to reserve a regionale train in advance, there are no seat assignments and the train cannot sell out.  Do note that the Lazio regional tracks, from which these trains to Civitavecchia depart, are three blocks away from the main track head at Termini.

 

Once at the Civitavecchia train station you have a few options.  The easiest is to take the 6 Euro direct bus from the train station to your ship.  You can pay the driver directly for this bus.  These buses are designed to facilitate luggage, more information available here:  Shuttles | Port Mobility Civitavecchia

 

Or you could walk from the train station into the southern pedestrian entrance to the port, where you can pick up the free port shuttle bus (see above link for more on this option).

 

Finally, you could take the public bus from the train station to the Largo della Pace entrance to the port, where you can transfer to the free port shuttle.  This option is the most complicated, as you have to first buy a ticket for the bus (from the newsstand inside the train station), then wait for the bus, then get on with your luggage (these buses are not designed to facilitate luggage) get off at the right stop on Via XIV Settembre, then walk about 150 meters/500 feet to the Largo della Pace shuttle bus stop, wait for a shuttle bus and load your luggage on that, then disembark with your luggage at the correct cruise terminal.  The ticket for the public bus is, I believe, 1,50 euro, so you save 4,50 euro per person with this route, but you need to weigh that savings against the cumbersomeness of the route.

Edited November 28, 2023 by euro cruiser

[HappyInVan]

23 hours ago, euro cruiser said:

Once at the Civitavecchia train station you have a few options.  The easiest is to take the 6 Euro direct bus from the train station to your ship.  You can pay the driver directly for this bus.  These buses are designed to facilitate luggage, more information available here:  Shuttles | Port Mobility Civitavecchia

 

Or you could walk from the train station into the southern pedestrian entrance to the port, where you can pick up the free port shuttle bus (see above link for more on this option).

 

 

I agree. The southern entrance is within easy walking distance of the train station.

 

My ship was docked at Pier 25. I was glad that I had booked the 6 Euro shuttle. Only a dozen pax on board. Under 10 minutes into the port and straight to the HAL terminal (big white tent).

 

One caveat. I rode on the 11:57 express from Rome Termini. There was no bus waiting for us at the scheduled time. Looks like the bus loaded up the pax from the regional train that arrived 10 minutes before us. Then, returned at the scheduled 30 minute interval.

 

So, 50 of us waited there. Gradually, our numbers shrank as taxis poached the bus pax. Don't believe the taxi drivers promise to take you to the ship.

 

At the terminal, I saw annoyed pax getting down from the port's shuttles. Looks like they had to transfer from the taxis to the shuttles. No idea how long that queue stretched. 

[meliss35]

On 11/28/2023 at 1:09 AM, euro cruiser said:

You do not need to reserve a regionale train in advance, there are no seat assignments and the train cannot sell out.  Do note that the Lazio regional tracks, from which these trains to Civitavecchia depart, are three blocks away from the main track head at Termini.

 

Once at the Civitavecchia train station you have a few options.  The easiest is to take the 6 Euro direct bus from the train station to your ship.  You can pay the driver directly for this bus.  These buses are designed to facilitate luggage, more information available here:  Shuttles | Port Mobility Civitavecchia

 

Or you could walk from the train station into the southern pedestrian entrance to the port, where you can pick up the free port shuttle bus (see above link for more on this option).

 

Finally, you could take the public bus from the train station to the Largo della Pace entrance to the port, where you can transfer to the free port shuttle.  This option is the most complicated, as you have to first buy a ticket for the bus (from the newsstand inside the train station), then wait for the bus, then get on with your luggage (these buses are not designed to facilitate luggage) get off at the right stop on Via XIV Settembre, then walk about 150 meters/500 feet to the Largo della Pace shuttle bus stop, wait for a shuttle bus and load your luggage on that, then disembark with your luggage at the correct cruise terminal.  The ticket for the public bus is, I believe, 1,50 euro, so you save 4,50 euro per person with this route, but you need to weigh that savings against the cumbersomeness of the route.

Thanks for the info!! So then Port Mobility shuttle takes you directly to the ship? So no need for the free shuttle? How much about is a taxi from the train station to the free shuttle? We are 3 people so the Port Mobility shuttle will cost 18 Euros total. Also, how far is the walk from the Civitavecchia Train Station to the free shuttles to the ship?

[Neilyboy64]

1 hour ago, meliss35 said:

Thanks for the info!! So then Port Mobility shuttle takes you directly to the ship? So no need for the free shuttle? How much about is a taxi from the train station to the free shuttle? We are 3 people so the Port Mobility shuttle will cost 18 Euros total. Also, how far is the walk from the Civitavecchia Train Station to the free shuttles to the ship?

It's around 1 mile from station to free shuttle. You might struggle to get a taxi for the short distance as they are looking for the big fares to Rome etc, but if you did manage to get a taxi you would probably be as well taking it right to the ship as i don't think it would cost much more and you wouldn't have to mess around with your luggage. We took the Port Mobility bus from ship to the station in August and it was worth the €6 each.

[euro cruiser]

I'm sure you've heard the phrase "penny wise and pound foolish", which I'd encourage you to consider for this decision.  How much could you possibly save over the 18 euros (less than $20 US) and is the aggravation worth it to you?  A taxi directly to your ship will be more than 18 euros.  If you can get one to take you to the free port shuttle stop at Largo della Pace (one mile, as noted above) you will be charged damn close to the 18 euros anyway (remember that each piece of luggage put into a taxi carries a charge, in addition to the fare itself).  If all of the luggage for three of you does not fit in the trunk they will tell you that you need a second taxi.  They really do not want these short fares.

[gwene]

On 10/4/2023 at 7:26 PM, agent00F said:

 

Some of the complication for us is trying to reach both vatican and coloseum on one day. Walking from one to the other seems doable, but tricky with timed skip the line tickets.

 

Train strike also doesn't help, with one tour operator saying there might not be trains at all. Looking to get some refundable private bus tickets just in case.

Can you tell me if you were able to do both? Our boat is in port from 7am to 10pm so I know we can do both, but I'm trying to figure out the best schedule and transit.

[euro cruiser]

You can certainly do both with such a nice, long port day.  Travel between the two can be accomplished by either metro, bus, or taxi.  Taxi would be the fastest in almost all situations.  However, depending on what else you may want to do during the day, there may be other places you'll want to visit in between.  

Edited January 1 by euro cruiser

[ninjacat123]

1 hour ago, gwene said:

Can you tell me if you were able to do both? Our boat is in port from 7am to 10pm so I know we can do both, but I'm trying to figure out the best schedule and transit.

We did a guided tour meeting at around 8:30am and it finished around 12:30pm.  We could have then seen the Colosseum with tickets bought ahead of time for let's say 2:00pm and spent an hour walking through the sites. I would take a taxi from the Vatican to the Colosseum (google maps says it's a 60 minute walk and Rome is pretty hilly) then take the train back to port.  After a yummy lunch!  It's a lot to do in a day but if a day is what you have, there you go.

[gwene]

4 hours ago, ninjacat123 said:

We did a guided tour meeting at around 8:30am and it finished around 12:30pm.  We could have then seen the Colosseum with tickets bought ahead of time for let's say 2:00pm and spent an hour walking through the sites. I would take a taxi from the Vatican to the Colosseum (google maps says it's a 60 minute walk and Rome is pretty hilly) then take the train back to port.  After a yummy lunch!  It's a lot to do in a day but if a day is what you have, there you go.

That is what I am leaning towards. What time were you able to get off the ship for an 8:30 guided tour? I know some boats get into port at 6, but ours isn't until 7. I don't think we can make an 8:30 tour unless it has transit from the ship.

[euro cruiser]

You will not make it into Rome for an 8:30 tour using public transportation following a 7 AM arrival, even a car service is questionable.

[agent00F]

On 1/1/2024 at 10:04 AM, gwene said:

Can you tell me if you were able to do both? Our boat is in port from 7am to 10pm so I know we can do both, but I'm trying to figure out the best schedule and transit.

 

I would start near the vatican and try to get a guided 3hr tour which will allow you into St.Peters at the end through the back door skipping the line (but do ask if the specific tour you're booking does this). Look up the train schedules for time and allow yourself extra leeway as others have mentioned. If you have some buffer between the time starts you can always browse around the surroundings or even Castle St. Angelo next door.

 

After vatican you can hit up Piazza Navona and Pantheon area, it's very nice. And depending on lunch etc you can pick a path past the Victor Emmaneul Monument down to the Colosseum (it will be downhill). For example you can hit up the Trevi fountain, but it's quite packed. There are other nice churches and such along the way if you haven't had your fill LOL.

 

For a day, I would not recommend timed tickets to Colosseum because the effort it takes to get inside is not worth the time it takes nevermind timing the entry; you will walk past the Forum on the way and see a decent chunk of everything from the street.

[ninjacat123]

2 hours ago, agent00F said:

 

I would start near the vatican and try to get a guided 3hr tour which will allow you into St.Peters at the end through the back door skipping the line (but do ask if the specific tour you're booking does this). Look up the train schedules for time and allow yourself extra leeway as others have mentioned. If you have some buffer between the time starts you can always browse around the surroundings or even Castle St. Angelo next door.

 

After vatican you can hit up Piazza Navona and Pantheon area, it's very nice. And depending on lunch etc you can pick a path past the Victor Emmaneul Monument down to the Colosseum (it will be downhill). For example you can hit up the Trevi fountain, but it's quite packed. There are other nice churches and such along the way if you haven't had your fill LOL.

 

For a day, I would not recommend timed tickets to Colosseum because the effort it takes to get inside is not worth the time it takes nevermind timing the entry; you will walk past the Forum on the way and see a decent chunk of everything from the street.

Just my opinion but I think a timed ticket saves time waiting in line (quite lengthy for us mid October) and seeing the interior and the cased artifacts are worth it. YMMV.

[agent00F]

13 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Just my opinion but I think a timed ticket saves time waiting in line (quite lengthy for us mid October) and seeing the interior and the cased artifacts are worth it. YMMV.

 

Yes it does save a lot of time vs normal line. Even with the timed ticket around noon it took us a while to get inside (outside area was very crowded & hectic) and in hindsight I personally would've taken that 2hr to catch some of the stuff around northern part of city I missed since I was also on a timer (and went in the other direction, walking uphill all day lol). Of course YMMV for everyone whether they prefer ancient artifact vs city-scape.

Edited January 4 by agent00F

[ninjacat123]

16 minutes ago, agent00F said:

 

Yes it does save a lot of time vs normal line. Even with the timed ticket around noon it took us a while to get inside (outside area was very crowded & hectic) and in hindsight I personally would've taken that 2hr to catch some of the stuff around northern part of city I missed since I was also on a timer (and went in the other direction, walking uphill all day lol). Of course YMMV for everyone whether they prefer ancient artifact vs city-scape.

Ouch!! It took two hours to get inside the forum with a timed ticket for you? With our timed tickets it took about ten minutes. Maybe because it was mid October for us? I was amazed at the crowds everywhere mid October in Venice, Florence and Rome. Crazy!!

[agent00F]

12 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Ouch!! It took two hours to get inside the forum with a timed ticket for you? With our timed tickets it took about ten minutes. Maybe because it was mid October for us? I was amazed at the crowds everywhere mid October in Venice, Florence and Rome. Crazy!!

 

Oh, I meant the inside coliseum experience was almost 2hr total. It took about half an hour to find and then snake through the lines despite few mis-steps, at least an hour inside, and then more time to get out; and this was at hurry-up pace. Then getting into the Forum was another almost half hour (security line mostly) when it was visible from the street.

 

If OP only has limited time (realistically about 8 hours), I think taking 1/4 of that for a site mostly visible from the outside could be applied to "see more different stuff" in such a big city. Going into colosseum is worth the time IMO if you had 2 days, but 1 day tours it's all about difficult tradeoffs, and you're right YMMV.

Edited January 4 by agent00F

[Alatraveler1]

Great information on getting from port to Rome for touring, and maybe I missed it in the thread, but I have a question on getting from Rome TO Port for embarkation.  If we depart from Roma Termini via train and select Civitavecchia Porto (and with the extra 6 Euro fee), does a bus take us directly from the train station to the ship or to the free port shuttle stop?  In other words, one bus from station to ship as opposed to bus to port entrance and then additional free port bus to ship?