Civitavecchia - Colosseum - Vatican - Civitavecchia

[Jaguar85]

Can someone give me the train/transportation info for doing Civitavecchia - Colosseum - Vatican - Civitavecchia. Ship docks @ 7:00 and leaves @ 19:00. I would like to do the Colosseum in the am and then take the 14:00 Vatican Tour (2 hours). Do I take the train to Termini and then taxi/bus to the Colosseum? How do I get to the Vatican from the Colosseum? Do I get the train back to Civitavecchia from Termini? There is an express train that leaves @ 17:00 (45 mins) to Civitavecchia. Is this ok?

[GSPLover]

Can someone give me the train/transportation info for doing Civitavecchia - Colosseum - Vatican - Civitavecchia. Ship docks @ 7:00 and leaves @ 19:00. I would like to do the Colosseum in the am and then take the 14:00 Vatican Tour (2 hours). Do I take the train to Termini and then taxi/bus to the Colosseum? How do I get to the Vatican from the Colosseum? Do I get the train back to Civitavecchia from Termini? There is an express train that leaves @ 17:00 (45 mins) to Civitavecchia. Is this ok?

 

The colosseum is about a 15 minute (easy) walk from Termini. From either the colsseum area (or back at Termini) you could take the metro to the vatican area. Either metro/bus back to Termini or take a local train from San Pietro.

[Susan-M]

You can take a train leaving Civitavecchia around 8 a.m. - get off at the Ostiense station (before the Termini) where you can get on the Metro (line B) to the Colosseum. When you come up out of the metro station, the Colosseum is right there.

 

When checking the Trenitalia website for train schedules from Civ. to Rome, it shows Termini as the destination, however, just below where it says "Termini" it shows a couple of other stops before it in red. If you see Ostiense, you'll know that that stop is included on the train you are taking. (The stops are abbreviated, so just run the cursor over it to see the full name.)

 

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

 

If you are heading to the Vatican from the Colosseum, you can again take the Metro (line B to Termini/transfer to Line A) to the Cipro-Vaticani Musei stop to get to the Vatican.

 

A concern I would have with booking the 2 p.m. tour is that you may be rushed to get to the train station afterwards. We booked the noon tour and didn't get out of St. Peter's until close to 3 (we lingered a bit in the Sistine, but not in St. Peter's) ... so although the tour says 2 hours, you're better off allowing extra time there, plus time to get back to the station. I would think about booking the mid-day tour, which should still give you enough time at the Colosseum and allow time afterwards if you want to walk a bit to see some sights (we were able to walk to the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and Trevi Fountain...then to the Berberini subway station to get to the Termini.) Not a leisurely stroll, but interesting.

 

If you decide on the 2 p.m. tour and are going from the Vatican back to Civitavecchia, you can get the train at Roma San Pietro station ... it will be a regional train, not express, but it's not a very long trip. You can walk to this station and save the hassle of going into the Termini.

 

If you decide to do the regional train both ways ("R" on the schedule on the web site), you can buy a B.I.R.G. ticket (€9) in Civitavecchia ...it will cover your return train fare plus buses and subways in Rome.

 

Here's a link with further info on taking the train: http://www.europeportreviews.com/Rome2.htm

Take note of the need to stamp your ticket before getting on the train (to avoid getting a fine on the train).

[lambs2]

We did just what you want last May. Purchase the BIRG ticket at the station and it will provide train, Metro (subway) and city bus use for an entire day. Last May it was 9€ pp. We caught the 8 am train from Civitivbecchia and took it all the way to Termini. Then we caught the Metro to the Coloseo. When we exited the subway station we were staring right at the Coloseum across the street! We actualy got there before opening time, but the regular line aoseum was already quite long. So we bought tickets at the Palantine Hill entrance (short walk up hill to right of Coloseum) and then could get in the short line (security only) to enter the Coloseum. We paid a little extra once inside for an English tour. Well worth the few Euros, IMO. After that we walked around Palantine Hill and then the Forum before walking to see Trevi Fountain (and throwing coins in hopes of returning one day!). Then we walked to see the Pantheon. Not too far from the Pantheon we caught a city bus right to the Vatican. Took our tour and also toured St. Peters. We then walked to the train station. The train we took stopped at Spagna so we got off to see the Spanish Steps and refresh our water bottles and get gelato before reboarding the train back to Civitivecchia. Made it back with more than two hours to spare before our ship was due to depart. So it can be done. Definitely not an EASY day, but relatively inexpensive and invigorating. We wanted to see as much as possible for our first visit and now we hope to return soon!

[ktpc2005]

We did the opposite schedule back in October. We got off the ship right away and took the bus to the front of the pier. We walked to the train station, bought the BIRG and quickly got on the train. We then to the train from Civi to San Pietro Station. We walked from San Pietro around St Peter's ( as the Pope was riding around in the Pope mobile for Wednesday event) and walked to back to the Vatican museum. We then got in line and did the whole tour. By the time we got out St PEter's had cleared out and we were able to walk right into the Basilica. We toured around the basilica and also went into the pope crypt.

 

After that we started walking toward Ottaviano train station and peeked in a few gift shops on the way. We then took the train to the Colosseum and toured around there and also Palatine Hill and the Forum.

 

After that we got back on the metro and got off at Termini. We then walked down to the commuter tracks and got on the train. We were back on the ship in Civi by 5pm.

 

It was a long day, but we enjoyed it.

[tinka14]

Hi

Can you get a BIRG ticket the other way round from Rome to the port? We plan on getting into Rome for a few days before out cruise and I am figuring out the best wat to get to the port but don't fancy dragging round 2 lots of suitcases, ourselves and hand luggage around lots of different train stations....want this to be stress free! We are planning in staying somewhere around the Spanish Steps part of Rome.

Thanks for any advice

 

Tinka14

[GSPLover]

I have a very long article on trains from Rome to Civitavecchia. You can view it at www.ftroute.com/fco_rom_civ.htm . It is a 'sticky' on another board.

[lambs2]

What a great article, GSPLover (Foye and Lisa)! Thanks for sharing the link! I was going to try to answer the previous posters question, but your link does it SO much better and more completely then I could!! The most important consideration you mention is for the travelers to practice toting their luggage for considerable distances and lifting it to various heights! If they can not do that then they will need to seek other forms of transportation (at much greater cost, of course) and not risk taking the trains and other public transportation. But if you can follow the guidelines in the above article..then go for it!!!

[tinka14]

Thanks for the great reply GSPlover..think we will opt for the easy transfer and pay the extra cost! Although we won't have as much luggage as you - 2 mins to get on the darn train is far too little time!

Tinka14

[danelover]

I can't thank all of you for this information. I just didn't want to pay $75 a person for a bus ride to rome when all my 10 year grandson really wants to see is the coliseum. with only a day we have to make choices and he gets to choose...your info outlines eacatly how to make this day work.

 

vickie