Are there guides you can hire at the Ostia Antica site?

When we were there we did not see any guides. It is more like a huge city park. I would guess that you would need to arrange a guide before hand.

No one was there offering to be a guide. In fact, the whole site was rather empty of people.

There are tours offered that start in Rome, but when I was there in March 2018 they weren't offered till April.

I did not see any guides at the entrance, but I had downloaded the Rick Steves audio guide and used that. I didn't find it as good as an actual person, but it was a reasonable alternative.

When I wandered through the bookshop area I noticed some mention of guides being available, but I think you have to book those in advance.

http://www.ostiaanticatickets.it/en/prenotazioni.php

Mentions it some - not really a situation where you can show up and hire one, but one where you can arrange a private guide ahead of time for the site.

Ostia Antica is definitely worth a visit! All the stuff we read about how crowded many sites are, and yet when I visited a few years ago there were times I had what felt like entire blocks of the ancient city to myself. One of my favorite sites in all of Italy!

Viator has tours.

Viator is not a tour company. They are a third party, tour arranger. You should directly to a tour company.

MaryBeth,

Did a search and found this https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductDetail-g187791-d15638332-All_included_Guided_Tour_of_Ancient_Ostia_from_Rome_with_Hotel_Pickup_Drop_Off-Rome_Lazio.html?m=19905

It is on the pricier side. A recent June review. Pickup and dropoff from your Rome hotel. Paola was a local guide who met the party there.

Also, The Roman Guy - it appears they have a tour also https://theromanguy.com/tours/italy/rome/ostia-antica-tour-from-rome
Maybe call and inquire 1-888-290-5595 from USA. Not sure if they still offer the tour or it is limited to certain days and months.

Another thought - If you call the RS office, perhaps they can recommend a guide for Ostia Antica. It may be worth a call.

Mary Beth, if deciding just to wing it on your own, this looks like a very good printed guide for self touring. If doing so myself - as we likely would as we enjoy exploring at our own pace - I'd definitely use it both for the trip itself and for pre-research before arriving.

https://www.ostia-antica.org/touristguide.pdf

I didn't see or hear about any guides when I was there last fall. I went through with the help of pages photocopied from the RS Italy guidebook -- not the current edition, which unaccountably leaves out Ostia, but one a few years older that describes a walking tour. Maybe your library has one of those, just photocopy the pages (Rick doesn't care or he'd still be publishing them).

There were very few people there on a weekday afternoon. It was very interesting and you could walk right up to ancient mosaics, sit in the theater, prowl around the ruins of houses and stores and temples. A good little museum too, with a nice cafeteria next door. The whole place is very large, but the highlights, well signed, are reasonably close to the main street.

EDIT -- I just looked over the document Kathy posted above -- it looks terrific, wish I'd had that on my visit.

Do you need info on how to reach Ostia by train from Rome, or have you got that figured out?

When I visited two years ago, the guide Rick uses a lot in Rome, Francesca Caruso, was guiding a couple around Ostia Antica. We were kind of on the same path most of the day and saw them leaving about the same time I did. Asked how they liked having Francesca tour them and they said they wanted to adopt her.

Thanks for your information. I downloaded the pdf and it is perfect!
Does anyone know are there taxis at the Ostia site if we didn't want to return via the train?

I don't recall any taxi queue at Ostia. One thing to beware of at sites like this outside the historic center is that they sometimes get the illegal taxis hovering around. They will quote you some really cheap price to get you to your destination, but then end up charging you WAAAY more once they have you in the car. Just take the train back. It runs very frequently.

From a website:
It is very easy to visit Ostia Antica independently from Rome. A suburban commuter train service runs several times an hour to the coast and stops at Ostia Antica station. It starts at Ostiense which is twinned with the Piramide Metro station in the south-west of the city. The platforms are adjacent to the Metro station platforms and you just walk across directly to the train. The train ride is covered by the daily transport passes that covers Rome's Metro and bus public transport system. At Ostia Antica it's then just a 5-minute signposted walk to the fascinating Roman port ruins of Ostia Antica.

Mary Beth:
If you have a smart phone and if you download Rick Steves Audio Europe and if you look for the sections that cover Rome, Florence and Venice, you will see for Rome, he has a 30-minute app for "Rome - Ostia Antica." Don't go to his General Italy section, but look for the app devoted to Rome-Florence -Venice. There is also a map. You could listen to this when you are at the site or maybe before you leave for Italy.

I downloaded all of his apps for these three cities and filed them in my Playlist. Unfortunately, I did not get to Ostia Antica, but I did get to Rome's Pantheon. His app for this site was quite good and made my visit there much more interesting. Of course, I had my Apple earbuds with me. I also used his Audio Europe app when I was in Paris a few years ago.

Prior to our visit of Ostia Antica we prepare by visiting Paestum and Pompeii. I also utilized the Ostia Antica web site for information and pictures. It is a good site and with a bit of preparation it will be a great site. Be sure to have coffee just over the bridge walkway and lunch at the restaurant just off the site. The wait staff wear roman costumes. The food is good, too!

One focus is the toilets. Well, Empuries (Catalunya) has toilets too!

I love Ostia and have been three times. The first two I happened upon guides who offered themselves for a fee. The first was wonderful, the second was so-so. The last time I was there it was close to closing (and we were sent out by the guard blowing his whistle) so I couldn't offer an opinion on that visit. But, I've both trained there from Rome and driven and parked and have never spotted guides hanging around like you see at the entrances in Pompeii. I also witnesses the police assisting a family whose care was broken into at the free parking lot at Ostia so beware of that possibility.