Bus from Rome to Civitavecchia

[cruisemom42]

9 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Having to bet on the trains running properly AND the station elevators operating, added to the hassle (and cost) of getting from your hotel to Termini and getting from the CV station to your ship, might make considering a car service direct from your hotel to the ship an attractive option — particularly if you can line up one or more other passengers staying at (or near) your hotel to share.  Talk it up on your cruise roll call.

 

 Of course if you're solo you pay the same price for one as for two, and I've never had much luck finding others to share a ride.  

 

Add to this the fact that, since COVID, some of the companies that used to run a shared shuttle with several parties (at a lesser cost) have stopped offering it, no doubt due to concerns about infection. 

 

[iancal]

For those intent on taking public transportation my comment would be that it you have more than carry on the bus is far better.

 

Why?  When you reach the bus you simply place your bag (s) in the bottom luggage area of the bus.  Going by train...you have to lift them up and down to the train and (depending on the train station) lug them up and down stairs to reach another track platform.

 

We took the bus at Termini for no other reason that it was there when we arrived at the station.  It was about to leave, so we jumped on.  Train or bus did not matter to us since each of only had a fairly light carry on bag.  Had we had each had a heavy bag, or two bags, our choice would have been the bus hands down.

[Kelownadon]

On 7/18/2022 at 2:02 PM, iancal said:

For those intent on taking public transportation my comment would be that it you have more than carry on the bus is far better.

 

Why?  When you reach the bus you simply place your bag (s) in the bottom luggage area of the bus.  Going by train...you have to lift them up and down to the train and (depending on the train station) lug them up and down stairs to reach another track platform.

 

We took the bus at Termini for no other reason that it was there when we arrived at the station.  It was about to leave, so we jumped on.  Train or bus did not matter to us since each of only had a fairly light carry on bag.  Had we had each had a heavy bag, or two bags, our choice would have been the bus hands down.

What time of day did you catch the bus and leave the Termini in Rome? Did it take you directly to the cruise port in Civitavecchia? Also where around the Termini did you catch the bus? Is it an every day thing to the best of your knowledge? I am interested because our cruise ship leaves at 5pm and no person yet has been able to identify the kind of bus you are describing other than a once per day bus that gets to the Civitavecchia cruise port around 5pm which is too late for us as I would preferably want one that leaves the Termini in the morning to give us lots of time to check in and get aboard. 

[iancal]

We took it  in the afternoon.  If you were standing in front of Termini the buses were on the right hand side of the station.  Opposite end to the tracks (21 or 22?) where you get the Civ train, so I suppose on the side closest to track 1.  At the side where the RomeTourism office was located and where you could by a Rome pass.  No idea how often the buses left.  They were lined up when we arrived.  It was three or four years ago.

 

The bus did stop once.  At the wall near the Vatican.  Close to where it stopped when we took in to Rome the year before.

 

We have done the train to Civ a few times.  More than once from a suburban station instead of Termini.

 

Who knows,,,it could be that those buses are no longer running.

 

Have you tried asking  on the Rome tripadvisor forum???  You may well get exactly the information that you need.  Or...the Ric Steves and Lonely Planet both have forums where you might be able to ask.

Edited July 28, 2022 by iancal

[Kelownadon]

Sounds like you took the one bus a day that arrives at the port too late for us. We will likely take our chances with the train unless we can find a shared van on the civitavecchiaport.org website. If we take the train we will hopefully get to use the new elevators that are now supposed to be going to the outer tracks. Our hotel the night before leaving for Civitavecchia is only a couple of blocks away from the Termini so no issue getting there. 

[cruisemom42]

31 minutes ago, Kelownadon said:

If we take the train we will hopefully get to use the new elevators that are now supposed to be going to the outer tracks.

 

I may be confused by your wording, but just wanted to confirm that the new elevator is in Civitavecchia and it eliminates the need for walking down a flight of stairs and under the tracks, then back up again.

 

The way you worded it sounded like you were responding to iancal's comments about the departure track for the regionale train to Civitavecchia from Termini -- which is about a two-block walk from the head of the station -- no elevator needed but it is a bit of a trek with bags.  

 

Where is your hotel located precisely? -- I think there is a door into Termini that MIGHT be a bit of a shortcut if your hotel is not north of the station...

 

 

[euro cruiser]

1 hour ago, Kelownadon said:

We will likely take our chances with the train unless we can find a shared van on the civitavecchiaport.org website. If we take the train we will hopefully get to use the new elevators that are now supposed to be going to the outer tracks. Our hotel the night before leaving for Civitavecchia is only a couple of blocks away from the Termini so no issue getting there. 

 

I strongly suggest that you spend the few extra euros for one of the Frecce trains vs. the regional trains so you have more room for yourself and your luggage, an assigned seat, and you avoid the three block walk from the main part of the station in Rome to the regional tracks.

 

There is one at 11:57, arriving at 12:44, another at 13:57 arriving at 14:44.

[Kelownadon]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I may be confused by your wording, but just wanted to confirm that the new elevator is in Civitavecchia and it eliminates the need for walking down a flight of stairs and under the tracks, then back up again.

 

The way you worded it sounded like you were responding to iancal's comments about the departure track for the regionale train to Civitavecchia from Termini -- which is about a two-block walk from the head of the station -- no elevator needed but it is a bit of a trek with bags.  

 

Where is your hotel located precisely? -- I think there is a door into Termini that MIGHT be a bit of a shortcut if your hotel is not north of the station...

 

 

Yes I was referring to the stairs at the Civitavecchia train station that are a total pain. This problem has supposedly been eliminated with the addition of new elevators (sure hope it’s true) so that tourists with heavy luggage no longer have to use the stairs. 

[cruisemom42]

25 minutes ago, Kelownadon said:

Yes I was referring to the stairs at the Civitavecchia train station that are a total pain. This problem has supposedly been eliminated with the addition of new elevators (sure hope it’s true) so that tourists with heavy luggage no longer have to use the stairs. 

 

It's true that there are elevators, someone posted a pic. But whether or not they are working....

[Kelownadon]

Do you know if those elevators work for the outer tracks that the fast trains use?

[Kelownadon]

[Kelownadon]

This is another note about new elevators. 
 

 

[Kelownadon]

Oops

 

[iancal]

Our experience over the years in a number of trenitalia stations.....elevators are one thing, functioning elevators can be something else altogether.    

 

 

Edited July 28, 2022 by iancal

[cruisemom42]

1 minute ago, iancal said:

Our experience over the years in a number of trenitalia stations.....elevators are one thing, functioning elevators can be something else altogether.    

 

 

 

On the plus side, these are new -- so that makes me think they're more likely to be in working order. 

[iancal]

21 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

On the plus side, these are new -- so that makes me think they're more likely to be in working order. 

agree....for now!

[Kelownadon]

The question is are they new elevators replacing the old ones that seldom worked and just served tracks one and two or are they new elevators that also serve the other tracks that the high speed trains use most often. That is the question that needs ti be answered. 

[cruisemom42]

37 minutes ago, Kelownadon said:

The question is are they new elevators replacing the old ones that seldom worked and just served tracks one and two or are they new elevators that also serve the other tracks that the high speed trains use most often. That is the question that needs ti be answered. 

 

@portofrome is, I think, the local who posted photos -- perhaps they can answer the question. You might also try searching for that earlier thread regarding the elevators and ask the question there. I haven't been to Civi since pre-COVID days so hard to answer....

[portofrome]

5 hours ago, Kelownadon said:

The question is are they new elevators replacing the old ones that seldom worked and just served tracks one and two or are they new elevators that also serve the other tracks that the high speed trains use most often. That is the question that needs ti be answered. 

Yes there are! Elevators serve all tracks.

[Kelownadon]

Thank you. Sounds like we are taking the train.

[Host Bonjour]

Ciao tutti and thanks everyone for all the amazing contributions to the topic. I can't think of when we've seen a question about bussing to port, so it was cool to see all the info flow in, come sempre. 

 

And Cruisemom brought up the old days of CC, gosh do we remember, I was over on our sister boards, but sometimes it was all hands on deck (no pun intended) so hosts/team leaders would hop over from Independent Traveler team (or we back in AOL, it was just board or chat hosts) to assist the CC team with "clean up on Aisle 7" sort of situations. Fake passport and visa promotions, counterfeit luxury goods, and the occasional hot topic.

 

The Italy community is probably one of my favorites (I know, we're not supposed to have favorites...😗 but combining the destination with our built-in community, it's kind of irresistible. Questi cosi sono bellissimi! You come with questions, concerns, thoughts on itineraries, alternative ideas for sightseeing, food and beverage or gelato recommendations and prego, it's there.

 

You are free to share your experiences, positive or negative (without disparaging anyone, so long as you stick to facts, not emotions) but, again, unless specifically asked by someone, (why this service or restaurant or hotel is/is not ok) this isn't a debate forum. If you disagree, you can offer an alternative suggestion, or again, abstain.

 

In the end, everyone comes here for information and then they must make their own decisions. We do what we can to share info and experiences, wish them well, hope to hear feedback when they're back, and that's it. The end.

 

What's good for me might not be good for anyone else. If you ask me, I can give you about five ways to get from Manhattan to any airport. Doesn't mean it makes sense for everyone to use any/all of them. It doesn't always make sense to me. I'm making choices sometimes on the fly, sometimes for costs, sometimes for convenience, sometimes for weather, or in this area (hello traffic!) the time of day... etc etc. So I can't debate or judge anyone on what is the most sensible option, when given the options, if they chose something different than I would have. We probably have different travel circumstances, like being familiar with the area, so people are understandably worried something might go wrong and no amount of me assuring them will convince them. I appreciate being concerned when traveling, and I appreciate being away from home: that's legit. No one needs anything piled onto that. 

 

So again, thanks to everyone, board legends, regulars, newbies, always giving so kindly, generously, and I know, with the best intentions. It's awesome to see. (And honestly, there is a bus to LGA from the city that's pretty reliable if you're willing to go up to Harlem, which is also actually easy, but may also involve elevators, and that conversation doesn't go well anywhere, it seems 😳 the other bit is, I do all I possibly can at all times to avoid LGA, but I get that this isn't always easy....you can always hit me up for info.) 

 

Buona sera e mille grazie! If you want to take the bus, take the bus. We'll help you 🥰