Civitavecchia Without Rome - Need Suggestions

[ja940]

We have been to Rome 5 times over the past 5 years and would like to see something different. We'll be in Civitavecchia 8/8/08 aboard the Insignia. Any suggestions?

[Fblack]

We did a B2B with a turn around in Civitavecchia. We decided to just stay in town. They have a free shuttle from the pier to the foot of town. It stops by the Fort. The town has a few shops, museums and a nice outdoor market.

[Baseball fan]

We have 2 days in Rome on our cruise this fall. We are spending one day in Rome by chose to spend the other day in Tarquinia. It is north of the port and they are known for Etruscan tombs. Our same tour company will take us there. Just an idea....

[English Tim]

If you like swimming, there is a water park near Civitavecchia. A lot of the off duty crew go there.

[Hlitner]

Funny thing. On our last 4 visits to Civ we have never gone to Rome (its not our favorite city). If you rent a car you have lots of options such as driving over to Orvieto (a nice hill town), going all the way around Rome (you can use the ring road) and visiting Tivoli, or taking a trip down to Ostia Antica.

 

Hank

[bcnbmg]

Hank,

you really seem to know a lot about all the ports so I have a question for you:

I am taking a med cruise in July and one of the ports is Naples. I'd like to visit Capri and maybe Sorrento. How long would I need to visit Capri? Are 3 or 4 hours enough? would you suggest that I stay only in Capri or visit Sorrento too? I dont want to be rushing around and dont want to get back to the cruiseship too late.

Would you suggest lunch in Capri or sorrento?

Can I purchase the hydrofoil tickets from naples-capri, capri-sorrento and sorrento-naples ahead of time in Naples?

thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[Leejnd4]

bcnbmg - there are a bazillion threads in this forum on the port of Naples and all the excursions you can take from there. There are probably several right on the first page, but if not, just go to page two and I'm sure you'll see a few. You will find all the details you could ever want for excursions from that port, including info about Capri.

 

ja940 - I've been to Rome a few too many times myself, so I understand where you're coming from. Here's a slightly off-the-beaten-path suggestion: rent a car and go visit Civita di Bagnoregio! It's one of Rick Steves' "Best Destinations in Italy". Here's what he has to say about it: Rick Steves on Civita It's kind of hard to explain in words, but essentially it's a tiny, ancient hilltown high up on an eroded rock, towering over a dry moat, connected to the rest of the world by one ancient bridge. It's really a fascinating place, and worth a visit. If you rent a car, you can get there in 90 minutes, spend a couple of hours walking around it, and still have time to do some touring of the Tuscia region (which is an undiscovered gem of Italian countryside, often ignored by tourists). You can also visit Viterbo, which is one of the best preserved medieval towns of central Italy, and is on the way to Civita.

 

Driving in that region is not difficult - we had no problems at all. The roads are pretty easy to follow, as long as you remember that you don't look for road signs naming the roads - you look for signs naming the next town or city on your path forward, and just keep following those. :)

[Hlitner]

Hank,

you really seem to know a lot about all the ports so I have a question for you:

I am taking a med cruise in July and one of the ports is Naples. I'd like to visit Capri and maybe Sorrento. How long would I need to visit Capri? Are 3 or 4 hours enough? would you suggest that I stay only in Capri or visit Sorrento too? I dont want to be rushing around and dont want to get back to the cruiseship too late.

Would you suggest lunch in Capri or sorrento?

Can I purchase the hydrofoil tickets from naples-capri, capri-sorrento and sorrento-naples ahead of time in Naples?

thanks for sharing your knowledge.

 

Ok (putting on my "know it all" cap). I need to first add a caveat about visiting Sorrento (not our favorite city, but its OK). Most of the shops and larger stores in Sorrento close for their afternoon siesta by 1:30. So, if you go to Capri and than head over the Sorrento you are going to find slim pickens for shopping. On the other hand, shopping is not good because of the very weak dollar. As to your time in Capri, it really depends on what you do on Capri. My DW and I prefer to spend full days on Capri (were just there on May 5). If you just take the funicular up to Capri town, walk around, have a quick drink, and than head back down on the funicular, you could do the place in 1 1/2 hours (and miss just about everything). On the other hand, if you decided to take the bus from Capri town up to Capri, than take the chair lift up to the the top of Monte Solaro (I recommend this journey), and than spend some time browsing the high-end boutiques in Capri Town (like Rodeo Drive) you would need at least 3 hours. I have not even mentioned the Blue Grotto (we think its overpriced and a bit too touristy) but that excursion would add another 1 1/2 - 2 hours. As to lunch, we would choose Capri although there are certainly plenty of nice places to eat in Sorrento (some with decent views).

 

One possibility is to just go to Capri and see how you like the place. Its not usually necessary to buy your jetboat/ferry tickets in advance (although many like to do this) so you could keep some flexibility in your plans. The trains from Sorrento to Naples run every half hour and do not accept reservations so this is also no problem. However, if you do take the train to Naples (from Sorrento) keep in mind that the Naples station is still more than a mile from the ship (10 min taxi ride or half hour walk).

 

Hank