Things to do in Civitavecchia

DH and I have visited Rome previously on a couple of occasions (not cruising) and don't particularly want to visit again as we would rather have a slower paced day in Civitavecchia itself. Would there be enough to occupy us and is it quick and easy to get into the town from the cruise port? Thanks for any comments.

We have gone on the train from the port into Rome, and from the dock the town is right there at the dock gates. The berth location did need coaches to get to the dock gate though.

From memory it seemed a quiet place with a few market stalls and cafes and bars. I think we may well take this option too this time, as like you we have done Rome previously and DH has worked there.

The other option is car hire and explore a little further afield that way. We will also consider this option.

I have been to Civitavecchia a number of times but have never spent the day "just there." However, a number of others have and have enjoyed the town. Here's a couple websites with some info:

http://www.entraincitta.it/wificivitavecchia

http://www.italythisway.com/places/civitavecchia.php

If you're a beach person, there's a beach in town. There's museums. There's churches. There's shopping and good food!

Echoing the previous poster, there is a port bus that will take you from your ship to Fort Michelangelo and you just walk across the street for access to the town. The small green Tourist Info Kiosk is usually where the bus stops. I would stop there for maps & info.

Tarquinia is not far and a very nice excursion if you want to venture out but stay close. There's plenty of good info on these boards on how to plan such a trip.

Enjoy your cruise!

5 minutes on the train (in the Rome direction) will take you to Santa Marinella which is a typical Italian seaside town with a good beach and cafes, etc. Another 10 minutes or so will take you to Santa Severa which has a 9th century castle on the beach and there is a small museum. Google for more information and pictures.

Civi. has been redeveloped and the sea front is rather attractive now and the town has a market and the usual shops. We rather like Civi.

There really isn't a great deal to to in Civitavechia. We caught a bus to Taquinia which is about 29 minutes away and well orth the visit.

Yes, you can spend the day in this town and I find that it gets better with each passing year.

There is a very nice outdoor market, some places to visit including a Catholic Church, many stores and restaurants, etc.

One of the key of a Mediterranean cruise is to pace yourself. By that I mean that if you have several full day tours it's always good to break it up with one port where you just don't run around and you can do this at this port.

Keith

Not a lot to see or do in Civitavecchia itself, I would highly recommend you to go to Lake of Bracciano if you have been in Rome already

We are doing a morning excursion to Bracciano but will be back to the ship by 1 PM and all aboard isn't until 7:30 PM. We plan to spend some time in Civitavecchia as well - and we plan to get some gelato from here:

http://www.ilovegelato.com/gelateria-civitavecchia.html

Just wanted to say thanks for all the great ideas in this thread! I'll be staying in Italy post cruise, and have several days planned for Rome. Was thinking of staying in Civitavecchia for a nite before going to the *big* city.

5 minutes on the train (in the Rome direction) will take you to Santa Marinella which is a typical Italian seaside town with a good beach and cafes, etc. Another 10 minutes or so will take you to Santa Severa which has a 9th century castle on the beach and there is a small museum. Google for more information and pictures.

 

Civi. has been redeveloped and the sea front is rather attractive now and the town has a market and the usual shops. We rather like Civi.

We also like Civitavecchia. We wander the street market, buy some wine in the store and buy some Cannollis and eat them on a bench. We walk along the beach front and just enjoy the easy paced day.

Try....just try going to Civita di Bagnoregio.....An Impressionist artist could spend years there just trying to get it all in, and it is a tiny place. Those timeswhen you approach it and see it literally floating above the clouds...unbelievable.

There's a nice pedestrian street and boardwalk. We were lucky to overnight there on Aug 15, a holiday, and witnessed the BEST fireworks show we've ever seen.

Try....just try going to Civita di Bagnoregio.....An Impressionist artist could spend years there just trying to get it all in, and it is a tiny place. Those timeswhen you approach it and see it literally floating above the clouds...unbelievable.

hi, this place looks gorgeous and soo different. how can we get there from port of civitavecchia without hiring a car? is it far from the port? many thanx

hi, this place looks gorgeous and soo different. how can we get there from port of civitavecchia without hiring a car? is it far from the port? many thanx

Does look fascinating, but I just did a google search and for a day trip, they want $734 and it says a 8-10 hour trip.

But no reason you couldn't rent a car and do the trip yourself. It's really easy to drive in Italy as long as you stay out of the cities (Rome, Naples, Florence etc).

Civita di Bagnoregio is about 50 miles from Civitavecchia, approximately 90 minutes by car. There's no realistic way to get there using public transit, so either a rental car or a car service would be required.

Just so I'm clear about "realisitic": you could take a bus from Piazza Vittorio (10 minute walk from the port entrance) to Viterbo and change there for a bus to Bangnoregio, and walk from there to Civita di Bagnoregio. The bus each way takes between 2.5 - 3 hours, depending on connections.

thanx for the replies.

didnt realise it was so far away, wudnt mind if i cud get a car or minivan tour with few others from the cruise, tho that price quoted is very xpensive

no way could i drive on opposiite side of road tho to what i'm used to, that wud be asking for trouble n probably a major road accident in the making!! too much stress there!!

pity to miss out on this town, i'l ask few tour/car companies for quote and get back to yous.

many thanx

thanx for the replies.

didnt realise it was so far away, wudnt mind if i cud get a car or minivan tour with few others from the cruise, tho that price quoted is very xpensive

no way could i drive on opposiite side of road tho to what i'm used to, that wud be asking for trouble n probably a major road accident in the making!! too much stress there!!

pity to miss out on this town, i'l ask few tour/car companies for quote and get back to yous.

many thanx

You may very well find someone on your roll call who would like to share a private driver/tour with you. I'd suggest getting a quote and asking there to see if your fellow cruisers are interested.

I have been to Civitavecchia a number of times but have never spent the day "just there." However, a number of others have and have enjoyed the town. Here's a couple websites with some info:

http://www.entraincitta.it/wificivitavecchia

http://www.italythisway.com/places/civitavecchia.php

 

If you're a beach person, there's a beach in town. There's museums. There's churches. There's shopping and good food!

 

Echoing the previous poster, there is a port bus that will take you from your ship to Fort Michelangelo and you just walk across the street for access to the town. The small green Tourist Info Kiosk is usually where the bus stops. I would stop there for maps & info.

 

Tarquinia is not far and a very nice excursion if you want to venture out but stay close. There's plenty of good info on these boards on how to plan such a trip.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

This simplifies our upcoming pre-cruise.

Thank you. Alex

Last Dec we took a tour with a total of 8 and it was something like 70 euro pp...The tour included Orvieto(my spelling is sad indeed) as well as Civita Bagnoregio. We were back in plenty of time to the ship despite the fact that it snowed,hailed and rained all within30 min of each other....a magical day

Doug

This past August, as a shore excursion from Celebrity Solstice, out of Civitavecchia, we took Shore Excursion CV25 Olive Oil Tasting & Scenic Drive - which was not lame at all, as perhaps the name of the excursion suggests! It was fabulous! We too had been to Rome, had spent several days there at our leisure, so we did not want to rush when on this cruise, we were only in port from 7am - 7pm. Our guide was super knowledgeable, giving us lots of historical overview as we toured the gorgeous Tuscan/Tarquinian countryside. The luncheon at Cerrosughero Estate, an Inn/Bed & Breakfast, was delicious and quintessentially Tuscan. We had a relaxing day, saw loads of scenery including one of Trajan's aqueducts just there, by the side of the road, very cool - highly recommend!

There's a nice pedestrian street and boardwalk. We were lucky to overnight there on Aug 15, a holiday, and witnessed the BEST fireworks show we've ever seen.

Could you tell me where you stayed?:)

Spunks-Which tour company did you use?

We have spent several port days just wandering Civi.

Last month, we did as a PP suggests and took the train one stop up to San Marinella. It was a great little beach town with such pleasant cafes and people watching. We'll definitely go back there again!

There really isn't a great deal to to in Civitavechia. We caught a bus to Taquinia which is about 29 minutes away and well orth the visit.

Tarquinius sounds interesting.

Was it easy to find the bus once in town or did you plan this prior to arriving at the port?

Jules

Happy jacc,

Check out this Thread for info on Tarquinia: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2111325&highlight=tarquinia

Enjoy your cruise!