Rome via Train from Civitavecchia

[russ331]

I'm on Ventura 29th April. 14 nights. On Saturday 7th May we're in Civitavecchia, & planning to take a train to Rome.

 

First time in Rome, so we just want to get a flavour of the City. Awaiting delivery of 'DK Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide: Rome' ... £4.99 from Amazon.

 

Just wondering whether Italian Railways are subject to weekend 'engineering works', with consequent delays, diversions, cancellations? I would welcome the experience of anyone that's done Civitavecchia - Rome by train at the weekend.

[ROSEBASKETS]

I'm on Ventura 29th April. 14 nights. On Saturday 7th May we're in Civitavecchia, & planning to take a train to Rome.

 

First time in Rome, so we just want to get a flavour of the City. Awaiting delivery of 'DK Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide: Rome' ... £4.99 from Amazon.

 

Just wondering whether Italian Railways are subject to weekend 'engineering works', with consequent delays, diversions, cancellations? I would welcome the experience of anyone that's done Civitavecchia - Rome by train at the weekend.

 

Trenitalia website has up to date info of all the train times and any subsequent works, has a translate into english button too.

 

Don't listen to the scaremongers, loads go by train everyday and they will always get you back in time (provided your not stupid enough to leave it till the last train :eek:) They don't want 100's of people in Civitavecchia who have missed the ships because the trains were late. I was told by a lovely station master in Civitavecchia a couple of years ago that they reschedule or commendeer the regional trains rather than let the train to Civittavecchia be late!

 

Have a great trip.

[tom_uk]

I've done this a couple of times, most recently last May when on Ventura. Have a look here for an account of that day.

 

Check cruisett to see how many other ships are in port on the same day - lots of ships means the trains might be very busy! It looks like you shouldn't be too bad, though Carnival Magic is big - bigger than Ventura.

 

There's a huge amount of info on Cruise Critic about getting from Civ to Rome, or vice versa, especially in the Europe -> Italy ports forum. Have a look there.

 

As regards engineering work, I don't know. What the Italians are famous for is strikes, however, as I discovered when I arrived in Rome for a 48 hour break last weekend - there were no buses, trams or metro trains on the Friday because of a strike. Have a look at this site, but do a search for other sites as well.

[lk&spw]

hi, i went to rome in 2009 , the trains were great , (but the buses useless) , all i advise you is keep an eye on your handbags/pockets as there is lots of pick pocketing in rome mainly on the underground but any where their are crowds , im not trying too scare you but it did happen to my partner and the gentleman at the hotel said it happens all the time

but it is a lovely place to visit , enjoy .

[kevinyork]

Russ, we are on the same cruise and will be travelling by train to Rome for the second time. The train station is easy to find and only takes a few mins to walk to. The trains are quiet regular and take just under an hour to St Peters. We got a train back at around 15.00 and were back on board at 16.20.

 

We did check the train website for engineering works and there seemed lots of trains around the time we expected to be at the station. We got a return ticket last time but I've read it's best to get a ticket that includes the metro so we will be checking that out this time.

 

Lookout for us, we will be the ones pushing Mum in her wheelchair.

 

One final tip, if you get the train back from the main station in Rome (termini) then allow time to get from the entrance to the platform as it is quite a walk.

[thranite]

 

One final tip, if you get the train back from the main station in Rome (termini) then allow time to get from the entrance to the platform as it is quite a walk.

 

Quite possibly the best piece of advice on this oft-repeated thread. It feels as if you are walking back to Civitavecchia.

 

:)

[Invincible]

Was there in October and took an organised ship excursion instead of the train, cost us $100 each (it was an American ship) but wished afterwards I'd took the train then used one of the myriads of open top buses which roam the streets. Everyone we spoke to back on the ship who'd took the train said there were no problems other than crowding and being rather hot.

 

This is a very useful website http://www.ftroute.com/ItalianTrains.htm and the person who set it up is very helpful and will respond to your emails, he even offered to phone me from the U.S. to explain everything.

[Dorset Cruiser]

Russ, we are on the same cruise and will be travelling by train to Rome for the second time. The train station is easy to find and only takes a few mins to walk to. The trains are quiet regular and take just under an hour to St Peters. We got a train back at around 15.00 and were back on board at 16.20.

 

We did check the train website for engineering works and there seemed lots of trains around the time we expected to be at the station. We got a return ticket last time but I've read it's best to get a ticket that includes the metro so we will be checking that out this time.

 

Lookout for us, we will be the ones pushing Mum in her wheelchair.

 

One final tip, if you get the train back from the main station in Rome (termini) then allow time to get from the entrance to the platform as it is quite a walk.

 

 

We found it took much more than a few minutes to walk to the Civi train station.

 

Be warned, if there are several ships in port, the early trains to Rome will be absolutely rammed with people - so get there as early as you can - the ticket office queue is also something to behold:eek:

 

Beware of pickpockets on the trains and platforms - we fell foul of one last year in one of the Rome stations:(

 

Don't forget to validate your train tickets in the yellow machines on the platform.

[russ331]

Thanks very much to you all for the links & tips. Very useful information.

[supergran]

We've done this trip 3 times with no trouble. It's approx 9 euros for a return ticket and we were told that included the Metro but I can't confirm that as we only went on the open top bus. It is about 10 minutes walk ( to the right) from the dock gates to the train station. If you go to terminii station you walk out of the main entrance and you are more or less in the bus depot. Lots of HOHO buses leave from there. If you go to St Peters and the Vatican you will find plenty of taxis that will take you to the terminii via the colessium as a sort of mini tour. Don't wait for the last train as it will probably be busy. Try and be on the 3-30 at the latest. Most ships stay in port untill 6 or 7 as the ship's excursion is usually a 12 hour day.

[winniesbestm8]

We up until last minute we going to go by train, my husband, myself and two young children (we are on the same cruise as you) as we have been on a ships excursion around Rome.

 

We have booked Rome on your own, as I think it will be too much hassle with two of them in a pushchair, otherwise we would have gone by train

 

Emma

[Flash2]

We went to Rome by train from Civittavecchia last Saturday. I must admit that we did not consider any engineering works. The station is about 5-10 minutes walk from the dock gates. We bought our tickets at a stall next to the dock gates to avoid the queues at the station. The price was 9 euros for a return ticket plus all day metro. This stall also gave us a timetable for the day and a metro map when we requested it.

We validated our tickets at the station, luckily we read on this site that the validators were little yellow machines, because there were no markings on the machines to say what they were.

Trains run every half hour at 9minutes and 39 minutes past the hour (or at least they did on that day.)

I agree with what others have said - it is a very long walk from Rome station entrance to the tracks, so allow time. They are large timetables on the walls, near to the tracks, which tell you which track the train will run from. Unfortunately, it was incorrect, but we just walked up and down past the tracks, to see which one to Civittavecchia.

It was a lot easier than we thought it would be and a LOT cheaper than ship prices.:cool:

[BRACEWELL]

We have done Rome by train twice now with our children and found it straightforward. We have never used Termini and both times used San Pietro/ St Peters for the return journey. This station only has a few platforms and is very easy to use. The Rome metro only has a couple of lines but is OK to use and included in your BIRG ticket.

Have a look at the destination pages on this site for loads of useful info about Rome by train.

 

It is easy to find the station in Civittavecchia, there will usually be a few heading that way from your port shuttle bus. As others have said don't leave it untill the last train to leave Rome. we have usually left Rome by 3.30pm ish and there have always been many others from our ship and others on this train.

Enjoy Rome it is a great city and easy to do on your own if you do your research.

[BrianI]

Your train ticket also include use of Rome local buses so if you get off at St Peters (S. Pietro) jump on the bus outside the station (No64 I think but there is only one) and get off at the second stop, walk under the underpass and into St Peters square. Will save you about a 10 min walk and the buses run about every 5mins.

You can also pick up the hop on/off tourist buses at St Peters square.

Brian