Civitavecchia - Rome Transfer - HAL

[tim agg]

It has been 10 years since we last visited Rome. Then, HAL's transfer into town and back to the ship used Piazza del Popolo as the drop-off point - do they still? There are a couple of places that we want to visit this fall, including the Borghese Museum, for which advance tickets is advised, and knowing the drop-off point would help.

[CathyCruises]

Can't answer about HAL, but advance 'reservations' are not just advised, but are required for the Borghese. There is a thread here that tells you exactly how to obtain a reservation.

 

Cathy

[tim agg]

Thanks, Cathy. I got corrected by my partner as well that advance tx are necessary, not just a good idea. Now let's hope someone has some recent HAL experience with these transfers.

[CathyCruises]

Remember that you can take the train yourself for 9 euros r/t which includes all day use of the buses and metro. You could ride the train to Termini, then take the metro about 2-3 stops. There is a long underground passageway with multiple escalators that will bring you out right by the Borghese Gardens; the museum is about a 5-7 minute walk through the park from there. Just an alternative to the ship transfer.

 

Cathy

[euro cruiser]

Or take the 910 bus from Termini (actually, from across the street from the station).

 

http://infopoint.atac.roma.it/navigator.asp?ContextName=39c8306a-0c85-4376-a937473d8b45822a-4be95b03&bwreturn=1

[California Dreamer]

Remember that you can take the train yourself for 9 euros r/t which includes all day use of the buses and metro. You could ride the train to Termini, then take the metro about 2-3 stops. There is a long underground passageway with multiple escalators that will bring you out right by the Borghese Gardens; the museum is about a 5-7 minute walk through the park from there. Just an alternative to the ship transfer.

 

Cathy

 

Do you know if the trains are full during the early morning runs from Civitavecchia to Rome? Do we always get a seat? If you have the BIRG ticket can you get on any train to Rome or just for a certain time slot?

Thank you for your help!

[CathyCruises]

I have taken the train multiple times and have always gotten a seat; I think the cruise lines scare people into paying their exorbitant bus or train fares by saying "you won't be guaranteed to get back before the ship sails" and so many cruise passengers forgo the train. Well, if you plan correctly, you will be fine.

 

The BIRG ticket is good on any regional train; the IC trains I believe cost more, and I don't have that info handy but there are plenty of train afficionados here who can give you the scoop. We usually try to get the train that leaves just after 8AM, and catch the train around 4 back to Civi.

 

The only caution is to remember to validate your ticket by inserting it in the small yellow box on the platform, just outside the ticket office. It's not marked, just sits there and you have to remember to use it. That covers you for the whole day.

 

Cathy

[California Dreamer]

I have taken the train multiple times and have always gotten a seat; I think the cruise lines scare people into paying their exorbitant bus or train fares by saying "you won't be guaranteed to get back before the ship sails" and so many cruise passengers forgo the train. Well, if you plan correctly, you will be fine.

 

The BIRG ticket is good on any regional train; the IC trains I believe cost more, and I don't have that info handy but there are plenty of train afficionados here who can give you the scoop. We usually try to get the train that leaves just after 8AM, and catch the train around 4 back to Civi.

 

The only caution is to remember to validate your ticket by inserting it in the small yellow box on the platform, just outside the ticket office. It's not marked, just sits there and you have to remember to use it. That covers you for the whole day.

 

Cathy

 

 

 

 

 

Cathy,

 

Thanks so much for your info. You have made it seem so easy! Do you recommend getting off at St. Peters first returning from the Terminie station or should we do the reverse? Thanks again!

[CathyCruises]

Well, it depends on what you want to see! Many people save St. Peter's for the afternoon when it is less crowded. If you want to start with the Colosseum/Forum, I believe the best way (not what I did!) is to get off at Ostiense and take the Metro (somebody step in here and correct me).

 

In general, if you can avoid Termini it is advisable to do so--very crowded and the Civitavecchia trains generally depart from tracks that are 400 yards from the main part of the building. I like returning from San Pietro, but it is possible that the train could be crowded by that time, although people who use it for commuting will be getting off as you go down the line. I have never had a problem getting a seat. The station is approx. 6 blocks from the basilica, to the left as you are facing it, and just slightly uphill.

 

It IS easy; when I did it the first time I didn't have Cruise Critic to talk me through it and somehow muddled along just fine! I did forget to validate and left DH sitting on the train while I raced back through the station to do it--thank goodness the train didn't pull away or we would have been in trouble!

 

Cathy

[euro cruiser]

Timing for the Vatican depends on what you want to see there. If you are only interested in the basilica, it doesn't matter what time you go, it's rarely crowded. The museums, on the other hand, are almost always crowded. The lines to get in are generally shorter in the afternoon; however, you can prebook tickets on the Vatican Museums web site that allow you to bypass the lines at any time of the day.

 

I wholeheartedly agree with Cathy about avoiding Termini. There's really no need for a port day visitor to use Termini (the main train station) and it's a little out of the way for most of the places the typical tourist wants to go to.

 

If you want to start your day at the Vatican, get off at Roma San Pietro and walk, or take the #64 bus three stops to the CAVALLEGGERI/FORNACI stop and walk from there.

 

If you want to start your day at the Colosseum, get off at Roma Ostiense and walk through the tunnel to the Metro, take it two stops north (toward Rebibbia) to Colosseo. Or, you can get off after one stop at Circo Massimo (Circus Maximus) and walk up Via Gregorio, stopping along the way to buy your Colosseum ticket at the Palatine ticket office.

 

If you want to start your day at the Pantheon, get off at Roma Trastevere, walk across the station piazza and to the tram stop in the middle of Circonvallazione Gianicolense. Take the #8 tram all the way to the end at Largo Argentina, then walk three (short) blocks north.

[schoolinmy3]

The only caution is to remember to validate your ticket by inserting it in the small yellow box on the platform, just outside the ticket office. It's not marked, just sits there and you have to remember to use it. That covers you for the whole day.

 

Cathy

 

Is it only the BIRG ticket that needs validated before getting on the train? Or is it the regular train tickets as well? We will not be using the BIRG because we are staying in Rome and wouldn't be doing the return trip the same day.

thanks

diane

[cruisemom42]

Is it only the BIRG ticket that needs validated before getting on the train? Or is it the regular train tickets as well? We will not be using the BIRG because we are staying in Rome and wouldn't be doing the return trip the same day.

thanks

diane

 

All train tickets need to be validated.

[CathyCruises]

Actually, as we found out last time we were there, you don't need to validate if you have a ticket on a specific train with an assigned seat. But since most of the tickets a day visitor would use are of the 'general admission' sort, as a rule you should plan to validate. I have never seen a Civ-Roma ticket that didn't need validation--doesn't mean they don't exist, however!

[ronnie64]

I have taken the train multiple times and have always gotten a seat; I think the cruise lines scare people into paying their exorbitant bus or train fares by saying "you won't be guaranteed to get back before the ship sails" and so many cruise passengers forgo the train. Well, if you plan correctly, you will be fine.

 

The BIRG ticket is good on any regional train; the IC trains I believe cost more, and I don't have that info handy but there are plenty of train afficionados here who can give you the scoop. We usually try to get the train that leaves just after 8AM, and catch the train around 4 back to Civi.

 

The only caution is to remember to validate your ticket by inserting it in the small yellow box on the platform, just outside the ticket office. It's not marked, just sits there and you have to remember to use it. That covers you for the whole day.

 

Cathy

 

Let me just verify....when you validate your ticket ONCE on any given day, you do not need to validate again.

[CathyCruises]

That's correct--the validation starts the clock running and the ticket is good for that entire day. Otherwise you could just use the same ticket over and over! The conductors seldom ask for tickets, but when they do, you better have one and it better be validated for that day!

 

We saw an awful shouting match between the conductor and a lady who apparently was playing the odds that she would not be asked to show a ticket. She, her elderly mother, and Down's Syndrome child were put off at the next station and he wrote her a big fat ticket to boot. Quite a scene. . .

[ronnie64]

Oh my! Well don't want any trouble in a foreign country no do we. Must find the yellow box then. Sometimes I hear they are hard to find.

[CathyCruises]

They're not actually hard to find, they are just not well marked. If you have it in mind as soon as you step onto the platform, you will be able to spot the yellow box easily. But if your train departs from one of the outer platforms, there may not be one there so you should do it right outside the station doors. I am making it sound way harder than it is!

[euro cruiser]

Just be on the lookout for them. In some stations they are in the underground passage between tracks, near the stairs leading up to the platform.

 

As a fallback (and only as a fallback, this may not get you completely out of trouble, but it's better than nothing), if you absolutely cannot find one, or can't make it work, write your name, the date and the time on the ticket in ink.