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Preferred Time for Colosseum Tour and Side Trip to Orvieto/Civita/Bagnoregio

Posted by (Houston, Texas, USA) on

I am getting ready to book some group tours in Rome during the third week of May, and one is a 3.5 hour tour of the Colosseum/Forum/Palatine Hill at either 8:30 or 1:30. I know that weather is unpredictable, but is it likely to be hot enough in the afternoon to make the 1:30 time less desirable? (We live in a hot climate, so I would be thinking of at least mid 80's -90's as hot.) Or would it be significantly more crowded in the afternoon? The morning tour is currently only available on Saturday, and we have penciled in a day trip to Orvieto from Rome on Saturday since there is a market there in the morning. We could switch Orvieto to Thursday, Friday, or Sunday if we would be better off doing the morning tour of the Colosseum. Are any of these days in Orvieto likely to be more or less crowded?

Also, Rick Steves suggests taking the bus from Orvieto to Civita and Bagnoregio (although I think I read there is no bus service on Sunday). Are these worth creating a long and perhaps too busy day or would we be better advised to spend more time in Orvieto?

I look forward to those who can share their experiences. Thanks!

Posted by
11892 posts

Many good questions! Since you are used to Texas heat, you should be fine in late May either Am or PM in the Colosseo and Foro Romano/Palatino. Carry water, wear hats.

Orvieto will be busiest on Saturday and Sunday (versus Thurs or Fri). It seems to attract a weekend day-tripper crowd from Rome. We found the bus from Orvieto to Cività impossible. It was either at 07:45 or not until 12:45 so we ended up doing Cività as a separate daytrip from Rome via car. While Cività is charming, I'd make it a full day in Orvieto and enjoy that locale. Take the Orvieto underground tour: it's quite interesting.

Posted by
1561 posts

You did not say how many days you will be in Rome. A day trip to Orvieto will allow you to see some of Orvieto. We recently spent 4 nights there. From Orvieto we took the bus to Civita, which took the better part of a day We found it to be interesting and pretty, but mainly a touristic site. Orvieto has several interesting historical sights which would be hard to fit in in 1 day. When RS says to take a day trip to Civita from Orvieto, he also says he is staying in Orvieto. You could review the sights in Orvieto to plan your day there to get the most out of it. If you have time you could visit Civita on a different day.

Posted by
232 posts

Thanks for the responses. I had wondered if there might be a lot of day trippers in Orvieto on the weekend. I have a tendency to try to cram in too much while traveling, so spending the whole day in Orvieto sounds more reasonable. Thanks for the reality check!

Posted by
388 posts

Orvieto is definitely worth a day trip but you can see everything you want to see, include a nice meal, in about 4 hours. Florence would be another day trip since it only takes about 1-1.5 hours from Rome. As for Civita, you'll have to put it on another day since buses don't run on Sunday. You can find tickets and schedules on the following link: www.cotralspa.it.

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