Greetings all!
My wife and I will be arriving in Rome about 3 days before our RS tour starts, and would like some suggestions
for good day trips before or RS tour? We don't want to see to much in Rome before our Tour, but really want to take in some sites around the area .
Any suggestins for day tours?
Thanks
Nate
Ostia Antica. Easy train ride and lots to see.
For day trips you have plenty of options from Rome. You can visit and bike on the Appian Way and the catacombs. Also trips to Hadrian's Villa and Tivoli Gardens outside of Rome. I loved my half day trip to Ostia Antica as mentioned by a person above. You can explore wonderful Orvieto (an easy 1 hr train ride from Termini). You can also tour Viterbo (not sure if a train goes there, but the buses from Rome do)
Quirite - Are you a lawyer? :-) Although Ostia Antica is indeed technically within the city limits of Rome, it is nonetheless a day trip for tourists staying in or near the historic center of Rome. It takes less than an hour to get there via train from Piramide station and is well worth a big chunk of the day. It's the same size as Pompeii, but with fewer crowds.
Orvieto is also an easy day trip and well worth it.
See RonInRome.com for how to do these day trips and more (including Hadrian's Villa and the Villa d'Este in Tivoli).
There are trains to Viterbo, check trenitalia.com for schedules and prices. For schedules only, check bahn.de.
You should only bike or walk on the Appian Way on a Sunday when the traffic is limited. Not a true day trip but it can occupy most of a day. If it is any other day of the week, then you need to make sure your estate plan is in good order.
Nate, I suggest Orvieto. It's approximately 90 minutes each way by train and makes for a wonderful day trip. There are a lot of interesting things to see/do in Orvieto. The façade of the Duomo is breathtaking, especially when sunlit. You can of course also see the interior of the Duomo. We really enjoyed the hour-long underground tour; it was fascinating! You can also climb to the top of the Torre del Moro and take in the views or go down into St. Patrick's Well. Our favorite thing was just to walk around and explore the back streets. Have a great trip!
I agree that Orvieto is a great day trip (for the reasons already stated). It's easy and convenient to get to. Step off from a train straight from Rome, cross one street, get on a funicular and "poof" you are magically in a beautiful Italian hill town with lots to see and do.
My husband and I did a few day bus trips while in Rome also. The problem is that some of them were disorganized, as far as being transferred to the final bus for the particular tour. I don't think the tour people consider that timing is important to their customers. Ha, ha. We would be picked up at one location and taken to another. You can probably go on-line and find day trips out of Rome. Then you can see where they go and compare the stops to where your tour is going to take you. That is what we do. Have a great time.
