Day trip to Rome. No I’m not crazy

You mean other than the time it takes to drop off and collect?

Why not just spend the night in Rome? Hotels will usually let you store luggage free prior to neck in. And Rome at night is magical.
Then in the a.m., you can take the 70 minute local train ride up to Orvieto to p/u the car. From that point, you might be a 90 minute ride to the heart of Tuscany.

Sure its possible. If you buy SuperEconomy tickets far in advance, you can do it for 59.80 EUR. Closer in, Bimbi Gratis tickets would be 122 EUR if bought a day and a half before hand.

Just insure enough time to retrieve luggage on your return to Termini. There could be a line waiting to collect it. You can take a Regionale Veloce to Orvieto, unreserved for 23.40 EUR.

That’s very helpful Sam. How far in advance would you buy those ?

Rome is wonderful, but spending so much time and money in travel is silly.

I am sure you will be back to Rome. Go there when you can do it justice.

There are lots of places to see nearer to Bologna and Siena.

I was looking at a day in early May for the 8:25 Frecciarosso. You can buy tickets 4 months out, but if your travel date is after June 9, you might have to wait a little longer. That is when the train schedules are adjusted, although the Freccia trains will be the first to be posted. Regionale trains are the last to be posted, but there is no need to buy in advance. The prices are always the same and there are no reservations. But be aware, the 5:12 RV is running during commuter hours, so it could be crowded. There is also and Intercity train after 6 pm which you can get Bimbi Gratis tickets for 35 EUR total and have reserved seats.

"Pantheon metro" - ? I don't believe the Metro goes anywhere near the Campus Martius.

Correct! I meant bus.

Anoikis, although it's not the same, you might benefit from finding a library copy of Rick Steve's European Cruise Port book. He describes how to make the most (!!) of a fleeting day in Rome from Civitavecchia. The value to you would be the lesson in what to cut out and skip, and the (time) price of each choice. You can then design your own itinerary for the day.

For the record, I agree that your children will have another shot at Rome. If your trip is under two weeks, the time can be better spent than on the train. By the way, Rome has terrible traffic. At least there's a view from a bus, if you're not standing in the aisle. But getting somewhere in a hurry on a timed itinerary? Fugggeddaboutit.

I say go for it but be flexible. Bribe the kids with gelato. My kids were easily bribed with gelato.

Ah. I was hoping to get some good conversation going!! Maybe not be referred to silly but...

Here’s the deal. We have 15 days. Going from bologna to Orvieto is 3h 45 min. Bologna to Siena ( which is near the B and B we are going to be at after Orvieto) is 2 hrs. So it’s NOT more time on the train.

I love Rome. I have spent 10 days there total. I am a huge Roman history buff. My wife has been there once and really doesn’t love it. She’s not a big city person. Our kids have walked all over Barcelona and Hiked Alaska so I’m not worried about their endurance walking.

Having taken our kids to miserable places like Disney, a little more expensive train is very high value for a glimpse of Rome. We are not planning on going nuts. Not going to the Vatican. Just colloseum. Forum. pantheon.

Seems like a great idea to me.

I don't think it sounds crazy, if the high speed train only takes 2 hours, but we travel kind of crazy. In France we took about the same amount of time to go from Paris to Tours where we took a whirlwind van tour of 4 chateaux. We loved it! Would we like to go back? Yes. And could we have seen more if it had been slower? Of course. But we don't regret it at all and it was one of our favorite things. On our Italy tour last year we saw the Colosseum, Pantheon and forum in one afternoon, so it seems possible. I have no idea about getting from the train station or baggage storage, but if you guys don't mind doing whirlwind trips and can spare the cost, and the kids are willing to travel so much that day, I say go for it! It's an adventure!

Anoikis, if you'd never been to Rome, I would have put you in the loony camp. :O)

But as you've spent some time there, it's a far different story as you already have a handle on where things are, how to see them (advance tickets and whatnot), and how transport works. That eliminates a time-consuming chunk of the novice's acclimation process. So sure, go for it, but roll those kids out of bed early (good luck with that: HA!) to make the most of your day?

Since you and the wife have been, and this trip is "...just so the kids can see them.", it sounds like a great "adventure trip" to expose them to another part of Italy and an iconic one at that. It will be a long day so perhaps staying the night in Rome will give you a chance to show them some other sites and you can head to Orvieto the next morning. I'd say go for it!!

Anoikis,
If you can, try to plan a tour of the Coliseum so that your kids get to see the underground and third tier. We were there last summer with our 3 kids of similar ages and did this through coop-culture, which offers 2 hr guided tours for 11 euro each (you cannot access the underground or third tier without a tour, as you probably know). This will save time waiting in the lines that take so long (as you will be there mid-day). You can, of course, book a tour with another company but these charge upwards of 89 euro each. You'd have to educate yourself about how to order through coop culture as they have a specific ordering day and time for each tour.
Alos, we entered the forum across the street from the coliseum, but not the entrance directly across, which had a long line. I believe RS' book gave us the suggestion of moving to another entrance down that road a bit, and sure enough, no one was there and we walked right in. Time-saving tips will help on a day like that :)

and driving to Tuscany for a relaxing week

Glad you planned time to recuperate.

I suggest that you go to a big enough library to get a look at Rick Steves Cruise Ports book. He has a comprehensive guide to those insisting on "doing" Rome in one day. Alternatively, I think his Italy book may have the same section, but you have to check me on that.

I think this sounds like a good plan.
One quick tip: The lines to check luggage at Termini can be very long but there is an express option which does not cost too much more. On a tight schedule, the express option will expedite both leaving and picking up your luggage.

Sounds like a great adventure!

So this went great. Mission accomplished and we made it Orvieto in time for a great dinner. The only things we missed were San Pietro in vincoli bc of their long lunch break and San Clemente ( my fave) bc we got detoured by an eye infection w my daughter and pharmacy visit. We did ricks whole rome at night walk. From campo di Fiore to Spanish steps. During the morning. And an awesome Belvedere tour of the colosseum. We also made it to the forum

Obviously would rather have a week but it fit into our plans well

Don’t be afraid to do this if you have to.