Rome airport to Civitavecchia in a rental car?

We are arriving a day early for our cruise (the plane gods willing) and are thinking of renting a car and driving to Civitavecchia. Looks like a reasonable priced option for two. Anyone have any thoughts or comments? We both can drive a manual transmission. The tolls don't look too bad. Is the traffic was better than in Rome?:eek: :eek:

It is certainly an option, but not one mentioned often here. The various "public" options- shuttles, trains, private transfers, etc are far more commonly mentioned.

Not sure what the benefit would be. There will be some restrictions- don't believe any of the car rental places in Civi are open on Sunday, so if you happen to be arriving on a Sunday...

You are going to bypass one of the greatest cities in the world? You DON'T want to drive in Rome.

We are considering staying a night in Rome but we visited Rome for a few days on a previous cruise. With limited vacation time, we want to extend our stay on the other end of the cruise in Amsterdam. We are flying in from the west coast of the US, so we figure we mostly need someplace to sleep. The nice thing about a rental car is it gives up some mobility around Civitavecchia the morning before the cruise. The pricing was not bad and we didn't think we had to worry about canceling car service if our plane was delayed. But if there is a huge downside we are missing we were hoping someone here could tell us.

The simple main highway route is boring but easy.

But I can't imagine renting being worth the grief - collecting & returning will cost time and effort, esp since luggage is involved. Or worth the cost - OK the base rental might seem economical, but there's add-ons such as insurance, zero excess liability premium, fuel (and any rip-off fuel policy), GPS, mebbe local charges such as airport fees not included in the base price.

To rent a car to combine a transfer with sight-seeing (but not in Rome itself) over a 2 - 3 day period can make sense.

But I'd discount it for a simple transfer.

BTW, how many quotes have you had for a private transfer?

I've got no idea of the cost, but I do know that world-wide there are those who charge sensible prices and those who charge rip-off prices. And if renting and private transfer for this journey (60 miles if CIA, 40 miles if FCO) work out at similar cost, I wonder whether you've been quoted by the latter.

JB :) .

We are considering staying a night in Rome but we visited Rome for a few days on a previous cruise. With limited vacation time, we want to extend our stay on the other end of the cruise in Amsterdam. We are flying in from the west coast of the US, so we figure we mostly need someplace to sleep. The nice thing about a rental car is it gives up some mobility around Civitavecchia the morning before the cruise. The pricing was not bad and we didn't think we had to worry about canceling car service if our plane was delayed. But if there is a huge downside we are missing we were hoping someone here could tell us.

On paper it looks sensible even though it will work out much more expensive than using the train. I would have thought that the downside is that you are going to be tired/jetlagged and learning to cope with driving in a country that you are not used to. I am pretty sure that automatic cars are available in Italy.

You would be able to do a quick trip to lovely Tarquinia by train in the morning if you take that option - but assuming that you need to be on board by 3 pm, you will have to set out promptly. With a car you would have more options.

We are renting a car, driving to port town of Santa Marinella, staying the night then dropping car in port the next day.

For us, it is cost efficient based on quotes I received for a car service. It also gives us options. I got a rate of $133 which includes all taxes and the extra insurance in an automatic car. We fly in from NY.

I am a little confused as to the OP's plans. But if we are talking simply driving from FCO to Civitavecchia it is an easy drive (mostly on a fast Autostrade). But you are talking about some hassles at both ends. At FCO you will have to drag your luggage over to one of the parking garages (where they have the rental cars). And at Civitavecchia you would need to drop your car at the agency office (the location varies by company) and then you still need to get to the port with your luggage. Depending on the location of agency vis-a-vis the port shuttle bus stop...you might need a taxi from the rental car office to the port.

Would we do it? Probably no...if it was just to drive between FCO and Civitavecchia. Having a car for the embarkation morning really doesn't do much for me because after eating breakfast, checking out of the hotel, and loading the car.....we would be thinking about going to the port :). There is not much at Civitavecchia worth having a car....although you might have time for a quick drive up to Tarquinia where your time will be very limited if you want to get to the port by Noon (or early afternoon). Keep in mind that, to the best of our knowledge, no rental car company will shuttle you into the port and you are not permitted to drive into the port.

Hank

I too wonder why you want to do this.

If you have not driving plans once you get there if it was me I would take one of the many transfers that we recommend on this board.

Keith

We are arriving a day early for our cruise (the plane gods willing) and are thinking of renting a car and driving to Civitavecchia. Looks like a reasonable priced option for two. Anyone have any thoughts or comments? We both can drive a manual transmission. The tolls don't look too bad. Is the traffic was better than in Rome?:eek: :eek:

How early are you arriving at FCO and at what is boarding time for the cruise? A really long arrival day and a late afternoon boarding time could make this a good idea because there is some nice sightseeing in the area. If it is just for a quick transfer, not so much.

This is a really interesting conundrum. I would love the OP to come back and describe what they did in the end.

I will try to remember to let everyone know what we decide. As for why we are considering this option, money was not that big a factor as the cost of driving is not a lot less than a car service, at least at some of the posted rates such services - I have not sought an actual quote. We looked at the train and it is a big enough hassle with the train change and all our luggage that it was not all that attractive after a 17-20 hour trip, even with the low cost.

We get in a little before noon the day before our cruise, so we are too early for the ship's transfers. We thought with a car, we could easily get to Civitavecchia, (my husband managed to drive in northern France) run a few errands to a grocery store and the ATM. Walking is probably not a big issue for those but the car might make it a lot quicker. We would have the option of a short drive somewhere the next morning if jet lag hasn't done us in. DH could drop me and luggage at port and he could drop car at agency and walk back - not that far.

This might turn into a non-issue. We are having trouble booking a car one way into Civitavecchia. Maybe they don't have that much need for one way drives out of the city.

Bottom line - we thought convenience of having a car in Civitavecchia might outweigh the issues involved with renting and returning the car.

To the OP,

We have made the same one-way car rental several times. I hear you loud and clear that it makes a great deal of sense when you are coming in just the day prior to embarkation.

We have spent the night before embarking in: Rome, Ladispoli, Santa Marinella, Tarquinia, and Capalbio. All were great. I'm happy to give suggestions if needed.

We use AutoEurope with great success. YMMV. We select Hertz as our provider through AutoEurope, only because I know how to get to their office in Civitavecchia with ease.

Don't listen to the naysayers. This is a smart and very reasonably priced strategy.

To the OP,

 

 

We use AutoEurope with great success. YMMV. We select Hertz as our provider through AutoEurope, only because I know how to get to their office in Civitavecchia with ease.

 

Don't listen to the naysayers. This is a smart and very reasonably priced strategy.

Thank you for this feedback. I fully understand folks who just want the ease of a shuttle or other transfer, but we like our mobility. We have reserved a Hertz car and this was so nice to hear. We are staying in Civitavecchia, not far from port entrance just to keep things simple. The Hertz provider looks fairly close to the port entrance but on-line maps can be deceiving. Would you be so kind as to confirm it is relatively close to port and easy to find?

Thank you for this feedback. I fully understand folks who just want the ease of a shuttle or other transfer, but we like our mobility. We have reserved a Hertz car and this was so nice to hear. We are staying in Civitavecchia, not far from port entrance just to keep things simple. The Hertz provider looks fairly close to the port entrance but on-line maps can be deceiving. Would you be so kind as to confirm it is relatively close to port and easy to find?

Of course. The Hertz office in Civitavecchia is very close to the train station on the Viale della Repubblica, about 1000' from the Fortezza at the southern border of the port area. You can find all these locations on Google maps.

We have never stayed the night in Civitavecchia. Perhaps your hotel will offer an easy way to transfer you and your luggage to the ship, but I will share what we have done recently after returning the car to Hertz. We walk the 1000' feet with our bags (rolling bags of course) into the southern entrance of the port, directly between the Fortezza Michelangelo and the McDonalds. There you will find a bus stop with a free shuttle bus. That bus used to take you directly to your ship, but that has been changed and it now takes you to Largo della Pace, where you transfer to another bus that does indeed take you to your ship. It's a bit cumbersome, but not difficult unless your bags are terribly large/heavy. And there is no charge for either shuttle bus.

When you go to return your car at Hertz, you will likely find no parking anywhere. They are used to having you put your car in the street in front of their office, as best you can, and taking your rental contract inside.

Bon voyage!

Thank you so much for that thorough response. One of the reasons I love cruise critic is to get this kind of detailed help.

Of course. The Hertz office in Civitavecchia is very close to the train station on the Viale della Repubblica, about 1000' from the Fortezza at the southern border of the port area. You can find all these locations on Google maps.

 

We have never stayed the night in Civitavecchia. Perhaps your hotel will offer an easy way to transfer you and your luggage to the ship, but I will share what we have done recently after returning the car to Hertz. We walk the 1000' feet with our bags (rolling bags of course) into the southern entrance of the port, directly between the Fortezza Michelangelo and the McDonalds. There you will find a bus stop with a free shuttle bus. That bus used to take you directly to your ship, but that has been changed and it now takes you to Largo della Pace, where you transfer to another bus that does indeed take you to your ship. It's a bit cumbersome, but not difficult unless your bags are terribly large/heavy. And there is no charge for either shuttle bus.

 

When you go to return your car at Hertz, you will likely find no parking anywhere. They are used to having you put your car in the street in front of their office, as best you can, and taking your rental contract inside.

 

Bon voyage!

Thank you for posting such a detailed description, as my husband and I will be renting from Hertz and staying overnight in Santa Marinella before dropping our car off and heading out on our cruise !

We have done the reverse. Hired a car right by the port gates from Avis Via 16 Settembre 46

and spent the day driving the countryside up to Orvieto and then dropped the car off at FCO. We had a late flight round 7pm so it made for a good day.

We got charged a 1 way rental charge. Very easy to do. I personally would use the car hire places at the port gates - Avis and Europcar are at the port, rather than leaving the car at the other end of town.

We once stayed in Civitavecchia prior to our cruise and the hotel had a shuttle for the Airport if you wished. It was $100E per couple and was very efficient, as they also provided transport to the port at no extra cost. The Hotel we stayed at was Hotel Borgo del Mare. Great rooms and a wonderful restaurant and very quiet.