Rome - 1 day for 'something' outside the city

Orvieto is a 75 minute train ride away and it is a nice place to visit.

Ostia Antica is a great place to spend a day. It's about a half hour outside of Rome and is shaded. There is also a restaurant on the site. donna

Another vote for Orvieto. There are a lot of interesting things to do there; I suggest the hour long underground tour & perhaps a climb up to the top of the Torre del Moro. You could also see the well & walk down to the bottom. The town is very quaint and relaxing to walk around. It's an easy train ride straight from Rome & makes for a nice day trip.

Mary..in Rome but something different is the Vactican Scavi tour.....underground of St. Peters, you may want to check the web page

I agree with Orvieto or Ostia Antica. Both are great day trips. Orvieto will take longer to get to, but it's a beautiful hill top town. Train ride is easy, almost hourly from Rome. The duomo is worth the visit. Take a walk down Patrick's well, and enjoy the views of Tuscany/Umbria from the walled city. Ostia Antica is like Pompei, but less crowded. Just a metro ride from Rome (with one transfer) Great place to enjoy some quiet. If possible, bring your own picnic lunch and sit along the street under a tree. Wonderful theatre to see, Diana's place, the homes, and the tiled floors are incredible.

Yep, those two are the best choices for a daytrip out Rome - Ostia Antica or Orvieto.

Let me offer a slight contrary suggestion. While the above suggestions are excellent if you are in Rome, you are not in Rome. Civitavecchia is outside of Rome so why not stay outside of Rome. The big issue is time. Don't know how much time you have in port. From the time you leave your ship it will be min of an hour and half and mostly like two hours - both ways. You will waste three to four hours just getting in and out of Rome. Civit... doesn't have a lot to offer but there some interesting Etruscan ruins just N of the city around Torquinio all easily reachable by bus from Civit.. Steves's Italy book covers that area. And there will not be many tourists.

We thoroughly enjoyed the gardens and fountains of Tivoli outside of Rome. Definitely worth the trip! Buon viaggio!
:)

Frank has an excellent point. Why go into Rome just to turn around and leave? Maybe consider Cerveteri for the Etruscan necropolis? It looks pretty cool and it's very near Civitavecchia. Or stay in Ostia and visit the ruins.

If you're off a cruise ship you'll be in Civitavecchia, which is at least one-hour by train each way to and from Rome, plus getting to and from the station and train-waiting, ticket-purchasing time. Tivoli's Hadrian's Villa and Villa D'Este would be my suggestion and be a magnificent day trip (well explained by RS) but I don't think you'll get enough hours on a ship's stop to do it -- nor Orvieto, either. Ostia Antica, may be, but you'd have to hurry through. Stick to seeing something in Rome you haven't seen yet.

thank you all so very much. i will print out and get together with the group and discuss. we have 14 hours in the port so the spots mentioned are doable.

Hi Mary, One suggestion that I think that has not been mentioned is a wine tour trip. I was in Rome in late 2009 and enjoyed a WONDERFUL day trip to a few wineries outside of Rome. 2 sommeliers named Diego and Alessio spent the day with us giving us a tour of 2 wineries, including wine and cheese tastings, a visit to a wine museum and a tour of Castel Gandolfo, a charming town where the Pope's summer residence is located. It also included a really lovely, authentic Italian lunch. They pick you up from your hotel and escort you the whole day and then drive you back to your drop off point. No stress of catching trains, time constraints etc. Their website is http://www.nebtour.it/English/Tours/Castelli_Romani/Struttura_eng.htm I can't remember the price but I remember it being pretty reasonable being that the whole day was jammed pack with food, wine and entertainment. Also, Diego and Alessio are very accomodating, so if you have to be at your boat at a certain time, they will make it happen. The wine tour was really the highlight of our trip to Rome. PM if you have any further questions. Buona fortuna!

Orvieto, Orvieto, Orvieto