Well, we've now reserved our Walks of Italy Pristine Sistine Tour, our Scavi tour and tickets for the Borghese Gallery, and we've decided to self-guide our wanderings in "Ancient Rome" (the Colissseum, the Roman Forum, the Palatine, etc). We'd like to plan a couple of other events, perhaps separately, perhaps comnbined: a Tiber River tour (we've always enjoyed the river tours in ciities we've visitedof course, it's always been on hot summer days where it's soothing to let someone else do the propelling while we experience an often welcome breeze from the river), and a trip down (from Rome to Ostia Antica. Has anyone here had good (or other) experiences with the various river cruises offered and can suggest cruise providers? Has anyone combined a cruise and the journey to and from Ostia Antica?
Posted by
Catadupa Alamere, CA
515 posts
I've been to OA but never via boat. One thing that I would ask the tour operator is how much time they give you in the ruins before the boat returns upriver. OA is pretty big. I spent about 90 minutes wandering around, taking pictures, but others probably would need less time.
Posted by
OP
Seattle
149 posts
One "river tour" web site noted a two-hour journey each way with just a two-hour stopover at Ostia Antica itself, which seems pretty tight for seeing much of OA. I was just trying to avoid a probably crowded and possibly hot train or bus ride.
Posted by
Catadupa Alamere, CA
515 posts
My recollection is less than perfect, but as I recall Isola Tibererina there are dams on both sides, so I wonder how far south this cruise begins, and how long it would take to get to that departure point. I think that being on the lower Tiber would be interesting from an historical point, just to see (very approximately) what the ancient Romans saw. But a 4+ hour total travel time versus a 90+ minute ......
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
Once you've been to Rome, you'll see why the few Tiber river tours don't get mentioned much here. The Tiber is set waaaaaay below street level, and because Rome is a city with really short buildings there's just not much to see. It's not like Paris. As for the boat to Scavi, I remember reading somewhere awhile back that you really have to read the fine print to discover that you catch the boat well south of the center of Rome. Comments I've read say that it's a very boring and long ride. Happy travels.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Tiber River cruising: There are some great river cruises in Europe. But the Tiber is not one of them. They need more water (and scenery). There are many other wonderful things to do/see in Rome.