Rome - We have 36 hours after a R.S. tour - What to do?

Hmm...Looks like I can "reply" to my own post. Good, because I have another question: Would a night in Orvieto be worthwhile? Would Friday early am - Saturday evening in Orvieto be overkill?

How about a day trip to Orvieto? It's a great town & a nice change of pace from Rome.

Ray, I was posting a reply as you were asking your 2nd question...guess I was reading your mind about Orvieto! I definitely think that Orvieto would make a nice 1-2 day stop. We spent a day there en route from Rome to Siena & wished we had stayed there longer. It's a really nice town with a variety of things to see/do. I would suggest the Underground Tour (about an hour long); it was very interesting. You can also visit St. Patrick's Well or climb to the top of the Torre del Moro & take in the nice views. We loved just exploring all the back streets & taking pictures. Be sure to see the Duomo when the sun strikes the facade; it's probably my favorite duomo facade. It takes approx 90 minutes to reach Orvieto from Rome via train.

Excellent suggestion Sheron! Thanks. I'm hoping to get additional suggestions from others.

Ray, I was also going to suggest heading to Orvieto right after breakfast on the last day of the tour. Sheron listed all the highlights, but if you have the time you could also take the Bus to Civitia di Bagnoregio for a quick look. When you visit the Duomo, BE SURE to check out the Frescoes on the ceiling in the room at the back. There are both Intercity and Regionale trains on that route. Travel time is 1H:06M via IC (€14.50) and 1H:17M via Regionale (€7.10 - DON'T forget to validate!). Which RS tour are you taking, and do you know yet who your Guide will be? Happy travels!

Thanks Vernon. We're doing the Heart of Italy tour. Our guide will be Don Chmura. We'll arrive two days early in Venice, then join the tour in Florence. The tour continues to Cinque Terre, a stop in Lucca, then Volterra, & Rome. When the tour finishes in Rome we have two days remaining before our flight departs for Denver. It's those two days, a Friday & Saturday, that I'm trying to plan. My wife Shannon and I dig museums and history and geeky stuff, so I'm wondering if the archaeology museum in Naples followed by a visit to Pompeii would be a good way to fill those days, but I haven't heard whether those two would be too time consuming. As I've mentioned, we need to be back in Rome (or better still, a hotel near the airport) Saturday night, because Shannon is less of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type and will explode with stress if we cut it too close catching our return flight. I've read several posts from folks asking the forum about doing the archaeology museum in Naples & a visit to Pompeii as a DAY TRIP from Rome, so maybe our 1 1/2 days would be a piece of cake. I don't know yet. I need more feedback from those that have done it.
Ray

Orvieto would be a pleasant place to spend Friday night before returning to Rome on Saturday night. It's easy to get to, there's plenty to do and there are some good places to eat (I especially like Trattoria del Moro Aronne). I'd recommend buying your return ticket at the same time you buy your ticket to Orvieto, as the number of daily trains was reduced last year and reserved seats on IC trains are sometimes sold out on day of departure. Tickets can be purchased without a seat assignment, but you might have to stand for part of the trip. Pompeii and other nearby sights is also a realistic option. I always stay in Sorrento when I'm down that way, but I recall seeing posts a while back on staying in Naples - try a search. If going to Pompeii, consider buying MINI fares to/from Naples to reduce the cost of the high-speed trains. They lock you into a specific train, but that should be OK for your schedule.

Ray, With only two days (and having to be back in Rome the night before your return flight), visiting Naples and Pompeii is certainly possible, but it would be a bit rushed. I normally prefer to "slow down" a bit after a tour, so that's not something I'd probably do. One possibility would be to take a train to Naples on Friday after breakfast, on the day your tour ends. Check into the Hotel, drop your luggage and then head for the Archeological Museum. On Saturday morning, ask your Hotel if they would store your luggage for a few hours, and then take the Circumvesuviana to Pompeii (I'd highly recommend using a local Guide to tour the site). Return to Naples in the afternoon, pick up your luggage, take the train back to Rome and check into your Hotel. Be sure to check the Guidebook regarding the usual "cautions" for travel in Naples and area. "Donato" is an outstanding Guide (as are all of Rick's Guides), so I'm sure you'll have a wonderful tour! I saw him in January at the annual Tour Reunion in Edmonds. You could also ask him for post-tour suggestions. If you have the time, consider attending the next reunion in January 2013. Cheers!

Ray, I thought of another option. Perhaps you could visit Ostia Antica as a day trip from Rome (instead of Pompeii) on Friday & then visit Orvieto as a day trip on Saturday. For Ostia Antica, Rick has a free mp3 walking tour. I would stay in Rome both nights & then take a taxi to the airport on Sunday, thus eliminating the need to change hotels Saturday night. You might also consider using Romecabs for your transfer to the airport on Sunday. They're highly rated and extremely dependable. They cost slightly more than a regular taxi but are worth it. They would be the "stress free" way to go in my opinion.

I will cast another vote for Orvieto - we love that town. If you stay down in the town below, please be aware that if you use the funicular, the sign posting the closing time (8:30pm when we were there in October) is cast in concrete. We missed it by about 30 seconds and we had quite a litttle aventure before I was able to wave down a bus that would take us to the train station where we had parked our car. Orvieto is charming in the evening with little side steets to wander and it is very quiet once the tourists have departed.

Here's another vote for Orvieto. We had a great time there a year ago. Here are some photos I took, in case you're interested: Orvieto in May 2011. And Ostia Antica is also another good option, depending on whether you're feeling like a hilltop town or Roman ruins. We went there in 2008: Ostia Antica in May 2008. One bonus to Ostia Antica (depending on the weather) is that you could go on into the town of Ostia Lido after seeing the ruins if you want to see the beach. Just hop back on the same train and keep going. We spent a night in Ostia Lido last year: Ostia Lido May 2011. There were hardly any other English-speaking tourists. Happy travels.

Excellent advice. Thanks. I have two additional questions. 1 - How long is the travel time via HYDROFOIL to/from Naples/Sorrento? (Hours of operation?)
2 - How long is the travel time to/from Pompeii/Sorrento via the Circumvesuviana (sp?)? Essentially I'm wondering if we'd be better off sleeping in Sorrento rather than Naples. In order to know that, I need the travel time. Ray

I'd go for either Ostia or Orvieto. Naples is not the way to end an RS tour - its hectic and if you don't know the city can be overwhelming. Fantastic museum but once you have seen that you will want to see Pompeii and Herculaneum (I think H. is a more interesting site). Orvieto has a number of Etruscan ruins and two archaeological museums close to the Duomo with Etruscan artifacts. The Duomo has frescos by Renaissance masters so lots to match your interests. One thing you might consider doing is arranging to visit Tenuta le Velette for a wine tasting One of the owners,Cecilia, is an RS guide- information in RS's Italy guidebook, I think they also do accommodation but you would need to rent a car. Advantage with Ostia is that is only a few kms from FCO airport and you can arrange to stay at one of the hotels in Ostia Lido rather than in Rome and take a taxi to the airport.