Day trips from Rome

The best is probably Ostia Antica, which is easy to get to via public transportation. It is the ancient port of Rome, with amazing ruins of three-story apartment houses, shopping areas, mosaic floors galore, etc. We plan to take our teenage grandson there this year. Orvieto is another great place; the cathedral is spectacular, the town is lovely, and you can explore hand-made caves under the town. Tivoli (with Villa d'Este) and Hadrian's Villa are wonderful too, but harder to reach without a car, which you don't want in Rome.

Ron in Rome has excellent information on daytrips from home at his website here. Scroll to the bottom of the page. You won't find more helpful information anywhere on the web. I second the suggestions of Ostia Antica and Orvieto. Here are photos of from our trips there, in case you're interested. Ostia Antica in May 2008 Orvieto in May 2011 Since you have teenagers, and if you decide to go to Ostia Antica, you might hop back on the train after OA and continue on into Ostia Lido (the blue-collar resort town on the sea). Ostia Lido in May 2011. If the weather is decent, it will be crawling with other teenagers. Hadrian's Villa is also interesting, but a bit more of a challenge. I would choose either it or Ostia, since they're somewhat similar. Here are photos from our trip there, again, in case you're interested. Hadrian's Villa in May 2008

I suggest Orvieto. It's a wonderful town. The facade of the Duomo is exquisite when lit by the sun. I suggest the underground tour which lasts about an hour. You can also climb to the top of Torre del Moro (tower) for nice views or you can hike down to the bottom of St. Patrick's Well. I think your teenagers might enjoy any/all of these things. It takes about 90 min by train to reach Orvieto from Rome & I think it makes for a nice day trip. It's much slower paced than Rome and very relaxing.

Here's my photo of the famous Orvieto duomo at sunset. A friend had told us to be sure to first see the duomo in the light of the setting sun. Boy, was she right. FWIW, the trains take as little as 1 hr and 6 minutes from Roma Termini to Orvieto. Then you ride the funicular right across from the train station up into the upper town. But you may end up enjoying Rome so much you don't want to leave. Be sure to check out the Trastevere neighborhood, esp. Piazza S. Maria in Trastevere in the evening. Very safe and very exciting. Here are some of my photos of our time in Trastevere in May 2008.

The Villa d'Este in Tivoli (up in the hills above Hadrian's Villa) is out of this world; I can't recommend it enough.

We took a day trip to Naples and did Herculaneum and Mt Vesuvius - we are not early risers, missed the train stop in Naples and had to wait 45min to get back to the right one...spent a few hrs at Herc (just walking distance fr the train stn), had pizza for lunch, took a van ride up Mt Vesu (which we hadn't planned on doing, but they are right outside the train stn) - that was maybe 2 hrs (drive there, think they give you an hour, then breathtaking drive back - the views are amazing) and were back in Rome by if I rem, 7pm maybe (this was 08, so memory fuzzy). We took the faster train there, and maybe the slower train back, I think.

Your teens might enjoy the catacombs along the Via Appia Antica. You can reach the main ones by bus.

Also enjoyed Appia Antica!

I spent my last day in Rome last October in Ostia Antica. It was fantastic!! I had gone to Pompeii earlier in my trip, but I must say that I was much more impressed by Ostia Antica. Have a great trip no matter where you choose to go! It's all good...it's Italy!!

Thanks for the input. We'll explore this list & make some choices!