Johndad

If you’re looking for a total 6-7 hour trip from the cruise terminal at civitavecchia to Rome including 3-4 hours walk/ stops read on… 1. get Trenitalia app. There’s a slow train taking 80 minutes cost 5 euros per person, fast one taking 45 minutes cost 16 euros each way. 2. shuttle bus to train station from the ship and very easy to find- can’t go wrong 3. get train to Rome terminali- central station 4. we did around a 4 mile route taking in… colisseum, forum, trajans column, Marco aurelio column, pantheon, plaza navone, across the river ponte umberto I, round st angelos castle, (you could add a mile and get to the Vatican/ St. Peter’s basilica.), back across ponte Cavour to the Spanish steps, Trevi fountain and back to the station. The route through the parc del colle oppio gives an amazing view over the coliseum and the forums. Best view of it in my opinion. 5. we had a gelato by the pantheon, drink and pizza in plaza navone and had enough time at each place- a lot of them have signs giving history on English. 6. this was enough for a fifteen year old boy - quotes of the day include I’m not interested in stuff do with a king from a hundred years ago. Two thousand years ago?! That’s even less relevant. On the second victory column… whatever I said the first time again. On the pantheon being a church…. They should stick a 4g pitch in it and make some proper money We’re walking half a mile to see some steps?! Have fun!

So here’s an outline of a successful trip to five gorgeous towns 30 mins from the cruise… easy to get to by train, the highlight for my 13 year old of the whole cruise! 1. get the Trenitalia app- prebook tickets, get times and easy to use in English 2. get a taxi to the station - it’s just over a mile to walk (we walked) but an easier start to the day 3. don’t do all five towns. We only did two- monte rosso and mana rola. Walking between them is supposed to be amazing but it will be hot. Manarola was amazing with some great rocks to jump into the sea- from 3-4 feet to 20-30 feet for the brave. Monte rosso beach was mobbed- and lots of areas are private, part of hotels, so it’s very crowded. I think other places have better beaches. Both of these are really close the station though hence our choosing them 4. Trains still require masks - they weren’t common on this route but are on others 5. Total cost… six tickets 30 euros total

Im going in a couple of weeks - the two things to recommend are… la spezia- miss out on Florence and three hours in a coach, quick train journey to cinque terre, amazing five towns beaches and views Rome - it’s pretty compact and walkable. Get some pre booked tickets to colisseum and the forum, and get the train - 70ish minutes. See the Vatican but don’t go there it’s too much for a day

Thanks for posting - sounds like a great way of doing it, two teenage boys and no idea how much they’re gonna love Rome or want to get back to the boat! Good intel