ROME: Is a side trip to Villa d'Este, Tivoli worth the effort and expense?

We spent a half day on the trip to Tivoli and found it very worthwhile - can't really say if you will find it the same. It was nice to get out of the city, escape the crowds and heat and spend some time in the incredible gardens at Villa d'Este.

We just visited Villa d'Este a couple of weeks ago. We loved it. It will spoil all other gardens you are planning on visiting though :-) Nothing compares.

We also half-day tripped to Ostia Antica, the Appian Way and Orvieto. Rick Steves doesn't consider Orvieto a daytrip in his Rome book, but it was really easy to get to and we loved it.

Of all the daytrips, Tivoli was the most difficult to get to. We hired someone to drive us out there so it wasn't cheap. Ostia Antica and Orvieto were the easiest and cheapest. All were different, and we loved them all.

Have a wonderful trip!

We liked it very much last week. Read "WWW.roninrome.com". He covers it all, detail how-to-get-there, photos, everything you need to know. Easy and inexpensive if you follow his directions.

Thanks to all who replied!

Nanci