Fumicino to Civitavecchia 24 (ooops, 21) Hours To Spend

I would book some accommodation in Rome, have a light dinner, sleep well, do some visits in the morning but not too hurried, have lunch, pick up luggage and then head to Civitavecchia say, at 2 or 3pm.

By all means take a train into Rome and see the city and spend the night. There are frequent trains from Rome to Civitavecchia.

What time do you have to be on board? (Important to know) There is really very little to see and do in Civit.... Stay in Rome near Termini and catch the train in the AM. About 45 mins to an hour 15, to Civit from Rome depending on the train. Roughly three trains an hour. Very, very easy to do.

Have you been to Rome before? If not, (and even if you have), I would definitely stay in Rome, then take a late morning /early afternoon train to Civi. And we have done this before. Does your cruise return to Civi? If so, have you scheduled to stay in Rome post-cruise?

Cheers,
Vivian

Thanks everyone!

Yes, I didn't mention we arrive in Rome 17:30, probably fatigued. The cruise leaves the next day by 16:00. Not really a lot of time to get into Rome and train it back to Civi to get on board before departure. We'd be happy with a relaxing dinner including "ambiance" in either Rome or Civi. "Least stress" and hotel choice would be deciding factors.

Certainly enough time to get a dinner with a cacio e pepe or amatriciana from a nice place with locals, then seen something in the morning the next day, like maybe sit on Piazza Navona, watch the fountain and the folks, enjoy a cappuccino, hustle a couple blocks to check out the in situ Caravaggio in San Luigi dei Francesci, and maybe the Pantheon. Something to see, something cultural at the piazza, an hour and change via walk-bus-train or walk-bus-bus from Civitavecchia.

Yeah, that's what I'd do, but I have irrational love for Caravaggio. There are a lot of squares with stuff to look at, churches with art and architecture, all over the centre storico di Roma, so lots of ways to do a compact half day of sightsee/culture, without messing your cruise departure.

You have lots of time to enjoy a little Rome. There is nothing with ambience in Civit... You arrive at 5.30 and probably can be in Rome around 7.30. We have used Hotel Contilla and Sonya (first choice) near Termini. Easy two/three block walk across from the Opera House. Several nice restaurants in the area and get a light meal prior to turning in. Sonya's breakfast is excellent. There are a couple of tourists attractions that you could walk to in the am. Head to Termini around noon and catch a train to Civit -- The slowest train will have you there by 1.30. It is about a fifteen min walk to the cruise port from the station. In fact, you probably can see your cruise ship from the station. You should be in your check in line by 2 pm and that gives you some cushion for the 4 pm departure. It would be fairly relaxing.

PS -- Forgot to add - when you buy your ticket at the airport ticket office for the Leonard Express buy your ticket for Civit at the same time. That will save you buying a ticket in next morning and you will know the time of your train. Just remember the LE ticket has to be validated - time stamped - in the little yellow/green/blue box.

As noted, some trains to Civitavecchia take 1:30. It's a long walk on foot with luggage from the station, despite Rick's book notes about how easy it is. Be prepared to take a taxi if your train is delayed, for example. Many taxis don't have the right to enter the port, so be prepared to go to the port bus terminal, where a port-operated bus will take you to your boat, after WAITING for the bus to fill up or reach its scheduled departure time. Yes, the bus has under-the-seats luggage doors, where you muscle your bags in and out. Luxury cruise, indeed!

The train that leaves Termini at 12 past the hour is a Regionale Veloce, fast regional train and takes 61 minutes to Civitavecchia. They go every hour, except on Sunday, when it is every 2 hours at 12 past the even hours. Like the Leonardo Express, don't forget to validate your ticket before boarding.

I disagree with Tim that it is a long walk unless a quarter to half mile is a long walk. It is on wide sidewalk, flat, along the beach. If towing a lot of luggage then it might be a problem. Weekdays there is a fast train taking 45 mins at 11.67, 12.57, 13.57 and two slower trains at 12.12 and 12.42 taking about an hour, ten minutes. The fast train is 16 euro with assigned seats and the two slower trains are 5 euro with open seating. Over the years we have boarded four ships at Civita... and disembarked from two. We think it is easy to do but maybe it is for us.

Where does your cruise end? If it is back at Civitavecchia I would have more advice, some critical, for you

What a helpful travel community! Thanks everyone, but feel free to add any more ideas not mentioned.

@Frank, I'm wondering if you realize that the cruise port entrance changed about 2 years ago? It is significantly farther than it used to be (when it was by Fort Michelangelo). Now it's by Via Turco.

There is an inexpensive shuttle now, running between the train station and the port entrance (approx 2 euros), and then the Port Mobility shuttle moves people (free) within the port grounds... from the entrance to the ships.

Cheers,
Vivian

Hire romecabs and let them do the driving and stay in Rome. We used them on our cruise five years ago and they are excellent. Look then up on TripAdvisor. They will drop you right at your ship. Bon voyage

Thanks to all the helpful comments and messages we're booked in Rome for the night. Hotel recommended by one of you looks great and is within walking distance of the major sites and Termini to skeedaddle out to Civitavecchia the next day.

Looking at the number of cafes and restaurants close by the hotel, I don't know whether to say Ciao!, or "Chow!"

Thanks everyone!

Remember to validate your train ticket only on the day you travel;. you can't validate both tickets at the same time. Sounds lame to point this out, but I did that on my first train trip in Italy in 1980...

Thanks for the reminder Zoe.

But you only validate Regionale tickets. One run on that line is a fast train with required seat reservations. Those tickets are not validate since they are only good for one specific train at a specific time.