We are disembarking from a cruise ship and bypassing Rome for a day to spend 2 days in Florence (we have spent 4 days in Rome on a prior trip, but have never been north of Rome and would like more than 1 day in Florence). Has anyone taken the train from Civitavecchia port to Florence via Rome? Thank you in advance for considering answering my request.
Thank you,
Stephanie
It shouldn't be any problem - about a three-hour trip. You can walk to Civitavecchia's train station from the port.
Sure, it is easy to do. Take the train to Termini in Rome and change to the train to Florence. There are three to four trains an hour from Civita... ranging from 45 mins to 1 hr 15. Basically a commuter run for the locals. You change trains in Termini to a fast train. You can see the schedules at trenitalia.com. Since the departure time from the ship is somewhat uncertain I would book the train from Termini to Florence at noon or 1pm or wait till you get to Rome to purchase. Then buy a Regionale ticket anywhere in Italy that you see a train station or ticket seller. The train station in Civita... will be mobbed by your fellow ship mates. With Regionale ticket in hand, check the departure board in the station for the next R train to Rome, get the platform number, validate (time stamp) your ticket in the little yellow,blue/green box on the track side of the station. Go to the platform and get on the next R train to Rome. Make sure it is an R train 'cause the ticket is not good on any other train. Open seating - cannot find a seat then stand till one is available. If early in Rome there are cafes, etc. in the station so enjoy an espresso while waiting for you Florence train.
check out site Italotreno.com
Be sure to study Google Maps for the walk. It's a long way to the station, especially with luggage, and hot in the sun. You must train "the wrong way" to Rome before heading to Florence by train. You'll start with a free port bus, from the pierside to the port's bus center.
Edit: I'm sorry Frank, but I have done this walk. Civitavecchia is famous among Travel Agents and travelers (us ... I've been there for cruises three times ) for how far it is from Rome and how annoying it is to use. There are plenty of summer days in Rome where it is NOT cool in the morning. The reason I mentioned Google Maps is that even carrying Rick Steves' travel book, the foot route is hard to figure out (for example, avoiding stairs right beyond the port (not just at the train station) and selecting the port entrance that is closest to the bus platforms upon arrival.) Useful signage in town was non-existent when we did this walk in 2016.
Come on, its early in the morning, it will be cool, it is a flat, easy walk along the beach - maybe a quarter of a mile. Just follow the flow. Lots of your shipmates will be headed in the same direction. You can see the station from the port entrance. The only problem if walking, and most do, is that the station is elevated so there is a set of stairs going up to the station. However, you can walk a little beyond the stairs and follow the road ramp up to the station. There is a shuttle bus that makes the loop for a euro and some change, but the bus is small and the line is long. Quicker to walk unless you are the first off the ship.
