Trip to Italy First Manciano

My first thought for a day-trip from Rome was Orvieto. Not only is it lovely and absolutely worth a full day or longer, but you get to the hill-top town by taking a funicular across the street from the train station. Sounds like just the type of thing your husband would enjoy. However, Manciano is also a hill town (though only about 1/3 the size of Orvieto), so it's possible you would prefer a different sort of destination for your Rome day-trip(s).

A good guide-book to Rome will probably mention convenient side-trips, so you can read and consider which ones appeal to you the most. Here are just a few possibilities, in addition to Orvieto. All can be reached by public transportation (and Ostia Antica is a very simple trip), but there are probably bus tours that go, as well, if you're willing to pay more and like the convenience.

Ostia Antica -- very close to Rome, an ancient site that's totally worthwhile. This doesn't require a full day. Rick has a walking tour you can download.
Tivoli -- Villa d'Este gardens and ruins of Hadrian's Villa. I believe this would be best by bus.
Tarquinia -- Etruscan sites. This would mean a train to Civitavecchia, then a bus. Would probably take a bit more than 2 hours.
Viterbo -- old walled city, relatively large and not very touristy. About 90 minutes by train from Rome. Viterbo's not on anyone's list of Italy's top 10 sights, but it makes a nice change from tourist-thronged Rome if the crowds begin to get to you. I enjoyed the gardens of the Villa Lante, which is not far outside Viterbo, probably best by taxi though reachable by bus from Viterbo if you're adventurous. Although it's not a huge city, Viterbo has two train stations, so that's something you need to pay attention to.

thank you so much, husband loving train trips. Do you have any advice for Rome as far as lodging . Also we are museum folks and winos, and my husband is an astronomer. So the Heavens are something he is interested in seeing. I guess maybe that would be more rural as in Manciano

sorry did not realize it went througH three times 🤗

If you like art museums, you'll want to book the Galleria Borghese (Rome) in advance. For most museums you at least have the option of lining up to buy a ticket (though it may be a very long, time-consuming line), but the Borghese requires advance reservations. You can take care of it online: Borghese reservations

Click the blue text in the previous sentence, and you should end up on the right webpage (I hope).

Edited to add: I should have mentioned advance-purchase of a ticket for the Vatican Museums as well. It's not mandatory, but you will not want to wait in that line. I suggest a bit of research on the V.M. before you get to Rome. They are very large. Figure out what parts interest you so you know where to head upon entry.

For all museums that sound interesting (check your guidebook), figure out what days they are closed or have limited hours so you will not be disappointed. Monday's often a difficult day for museum-going in Italy.

I can't help with a personal recommendation for a Rome hotel. I slept in a room the size of a walk-in closet. You will want better. Check the Italy forum here for previous threads about Roman hotels. I'm sure they contain some good suggestions.

Check the Beehive website for budget accommodations. Agree with acraven, get a guidebook to help prioritize. The Rick Steves guide for Rome is good, has lots of self-guided walking tours you can do on your own, after a guided day tour. Francesca Caruso is highly recommended in the RS guidebook.

You can take the train to Frascati, or Tivoli, for daytrips near Roma.

You can get trip planning help from the Rick Steves organization, there's a contact link somewhere on this site.

We spent some time in the southern part of Tuscany where Manciano is located. It's a lovely and interesting area. Lots of Etruscan sites, including an outdoor archaeological park. The hot springs are fun. The towns of Pitigliano, Saturnia, Sorano, and Sovana are all worth visiting. There is a sculpture park, the Tarot Garden, just outside of Capalbio, which is great fun, if you like the work of Nikki de Saint-Phalle (modern and whimsical). The area is one for which a car is really, really beneficial.

We went on Holiday near Manciano last year. There was a bus from Manciano going to Viterbo leaving Manciano around 1 p.m. Not much indication though, you have to go to the Tabaccaio and ask for schedule. Tickets are given in the bus.
We did a lot by train and bus and big walks. We bought our lunches on the market squares.
Another nice place to go near the sea is Talamone.

Hi dogstar546. I am quite confident that I purchased the same trip through the benefit, as you did. I was also informed about the minimal transportation in Manciano. The Manciano driver quote for the weeks trip was $2700 plus gratuity!!!! No thanks. I found the bus stations website and on another thread, a gentlemen, provided a train schedule. I mapped it out and it goes to several of the towns close by, that we are interested in: Sorano, Pitigliano, Saturnia, Montemerano, etc. We are in Atlanta as well and will be going there next month.

Hi acraven,

You're insight is fantastic on these Manciano threads! Thank you!! We too are going to Manciano. Can't afford the driver. Can you help me get from Rome to Manciano? Right now taking train from FCO to Orbetello. Just need to figure out, the next step...how to get from Orbetello train station to Manciano. Is there a rental car station at Orbetello? I believe that a bus does in fact run to Manciano, but hoping someone will confirm. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Kyle

Regarding lodging in Rome, we have had great success with Cross-Pollinate.com which is also on the Beehive website recommended above. The owners are great to work with. Lots of reasonably priced places, apartments, B and Bs. We have used them several times in Rome. We stayed in Trastevere last time which was a great neighborhood close to public transportation. We walked a number of times to the Vatican and it was a 30 minute walk from our little apartment.

There are many other folks here who are much more knowledgeable about Italy than I am; I just happen to have spent about 2 months there last year. Not in Orbetello or Manciano, alas!

Tiemme, the company doing the Orbetello-Manciano run, has a webpage where you can access bus schedules for that area.

Lines 10 and 11 link the two towns you asked about, as well as others, but the #10 only runs on workdays. I always have to ask whether that includes Saturdays; I can't remember the answer I received.

There's not much bus service available; I believe it may be difficult to see very many of the surrounding towns on day-trips if you have to depend on the bus. If I were staying in Manciano and could drive a manual-transmission car, I'd rent one. Even an automatic would be far cheaper than hiring a car and driver.

An online search suggests that there are Hertz locations in Orbetello and Porto Santo Stefano, but I'd urge a phone call to the Hertz 800 number to verify that.

There is a bus going from Grosseto to Manciano.

We are making progress. We have rented an apartment in Rome for a week and made plane reservations.