Cruising in July, and concerned about heat of doing a heavy walking tour through Rome all day. Considering other options from Civitavecchia where ship will be for the day. So far Lake Bracciano or Etruscan town of Tarquina look like viable options but having never been there wonder if this is a good strategy and/or if the heat and heavy crowds aren't as much of a factor in Rome as I think they could be. Other options/ideas welcome too! Thank you!
Note: traveling with two kids 11/13
Heat in JULY FOR ROme is a factor for sure, but if u will be taking a bus tour with ac, then I would opt for Rome city tour. It is a magnificent city and a tour bus is perfect.
All the places you mention are likely to be experiencing the same weather as Rome on the day you are there. It may well be very hot. Rome gets a lot of tourists, but it is a large city. Most of the people you see out on the sidewalk will be Romans, not tourists. For me, the major issue with crowds is their impact on ticket lines at the major sights. If you're on a bus tour you may not be standing in such lines. If you arrange your own transportation to Rome, you have the choice of skipping places like the Colosseum where the lines are always long or trying to get your tickets in advance.
In addition, Rome has a lot of lovely churches. Old churches are usually pretty comfortable on hot days because of the their thick stone walls. At least a few of the museums are probably air conditioned, though many are not. I don't know whether that information is readily available online.
It will be easy to find gelato stands and places to buy bottles of cold water in any area with a lot of people out on the street, which includes anywhere you'd be likely to be in Rome on a day-trip. The question is: If you take a tour to Rome, will you have the flexibility to stop whenever you want for a cold drink or gelato? My guess is that you will not, and a one-day package tour to Rome would not be my choice.
thank you for the thoughtful replies. I have plenty of time to research and consider. I was watching a video featuring the colosseum and I thought oh my that would be miserable to tour in July... thus getting me on this train of thought as most tours I was looking at say expect 3+ miles walking. Perhaps focusing indoor or shady locals is what I will do.
If you go to Roma, I doubt that your kids will want to skip the Colosseum. Of course, you know them best.
I would go to the lake.
Hi Mary,
About 6 years ago my husband and I were on a cruise with the same dilema, though I think it was September, it was still very warm. We chose to take the cruise line expedition bus to and from Rome to make sure we would return to the ship on time. So we covered quite a bit of territory walking the Rome tourist sights. It was hot and tiring, not always fun and we did not have two kids in tow. The suggestion to book a city bus tour is good; another suggestion is to check out Villa Borghese ( where The Borghese Gallery is located) which is actually a huge park similar to Central Park in NYC. There are may venues including a zoo. Still will be hot but more kid friendly.
I hope you have a fun trip.
And at Villa Borghese you can rent pedal vehicles of several types to get around the park.
You didn't mention if the cost of ship excursions is a factor, or if you're willing to rent a car. (Of course that creates a risk of missing the ship.) We liked Viterbo, but it's lame compared to Rome. I think you owe it to the kids to go to Rome. You could order a limo (if the car fits 4 + 1) and see Villa D'Este on a hot day, plus lunch. Probably less than four bus excursions from the ship.
Edit: Note that not all vehicles are permitted to drive right onto the pier at Civitavecchia. That could be a factor in selecting a more expensive car service. We had an annoying wait for the proprietary port shuttle bus to leave the shuttle bus depot, actually missing the check-in time (but not the departure!) We used the car rental agency (Avis-Budget) that was only steps from the shuttle bus stop, but that was for disembarcation, towards Tuscany. The shuttle bus depot has a strong military guard presence, don't be startled.
More to look into - thank you! Budget at this point not a concern for this trip since most other days we will go inexpensive/on our own. If it makes a difference we will have spent 5 days in Paris, 3 in Barcelona, and visited Aix, Nice, Milan, and Florence by the time we get to Rome. (After Rome is Naples/ Pompeii & Mallorca before flying home via Barcelona)
