Day trips from Rome

Posted by Stacey (Boston, MA, USA) on 06/29/07 06:19 PM

My friends and I are taking a trip and the tour we were initial on fell through. We found another trip we like, which is basically a week in Rome. We wanted to see a bit of Tuscany too though, so we were thinking of taking a day to visit one of the towns - is this doable? I looked at a map, but it's hard to tell if we'd be spending half the day just getting there. Any suggestions on which town to visit?

Also, a related question...whether or not we take a day to visit Tuscany, what other day trips would people suggest from Rome?

Posted by SamSn

Scottsdale, AZ, USA

06/29/07 11:56 PM

1127 posts

Siena is about a 6 hours roundtrip from Rome. I think that's too much time in transit and not enough time sightseeing. Instead of Tuscany visit the Umbrian town of Orvieto. It's wonderful hilltop town and it's only an hour from Rome by train!

Other daytrips: Ostia Antica, Tivoli, Viterbo.

Posted by Rick

Chicago, IL, USA

06/30/07 05:43 AM

473 posts

To check on train travel times, check the Italian rail web site, www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html. That should help tell you which cities are doable from Rome.

Posted by Margaret

Clarkston, USA

06/30/07 05:06 PM

192 posts

Husband and I took a day trip down to Pompeii from Rome and enjoyed it a great deal. The train is comfy, fun to talk with other passengers, huge windows to look out of. We took a train to Naples, then another short hop to Pompeii. Naples train station is filthy, loaded with pickpockets (they even announce warnings, in 4-5 languages, about every 5 min.), so be extra-aware. We spent about 6 hours in Pompeii and could easily have spent more. Lots of walking, few places to sit down, cobblestones, mind-boggling history. If you can do it, go to the museum in Naples on the way back, as most of the Pompeii artifacts are there. We couldn't do this and are still sorry.

Posted by Donna

Red Deer

07/01/07 12:53 AM

4 posts

If you go to Pompeii then use Rick's advice and hire Gaetano Manfredi as a guide. He was very good and even pulled in another family so we split the cost. It was well worth it to have someone explain everything to us.