oui_paris

Hello,

We will be returning from a cruise on sunday sept 11. Apparently car rental offices in the vicinity are closed on sundays so we are thinking of taking the train to Rome termini or the Fum.airport to pick up our car rental.

Questions:

1. Should I Pre-book the train ...? my dilemma is we don`t know at what time we will have our luggage in hand

2.Is the ticket booth in civitavecchia relatively easy to get to (walking distance from the port) & generally are there long line-ups?

3.Is it more costly to purchase the tickets in advance from home (canada) or in Italy...?

4. Does luggage remain with the passengers or is it stored elsewhere on the train? (we will have 3 reg. suitcases + a carry-on)

5. Any recommendations/ suggestions?

THX!

kybourbon

Are you going to stay in Rome? If so, I wouldn't get a car until you are leaving Rome. You don't really need to prebook the train but you can check out schedules at www.trenitalia.com. Most of the trains on this route are R or regional trains and I don't remember seeing any luggage storage on this type of train. There are a few ES or IC trains on this route also and they would have a storage rack at the end of each cart and overhead storage.

Athena

The train depot is about a mile from the port which can be very busy with trucks departing the ferries and very unfriendly to pedestrians (we've tried it.) You will need to take a taxi. Fare was about 15 euros I believe. As the previous poster said, there is no need to book ahead as trains run very frequently, about every 20-30 min. The fare is very inexpensive at around 3 euros.

Luggage storage varies with the train. Some will have luggage racks at the back of the car. All will have overhead racks. Think of these trains as commuter trains and you will get the picture. Although the luggage may be cumbersome, the train should not be crowded on Sunday.

If you've not driven in Rome or Italy before, you may want to pick your car up at the airport where you will not encounter downtown Rome traffic. You can take the train from Civitavecchia to Termini and then take the Leonardo Express to the airport. You can also change trains at Trastevere and take another local train to the airport, but this may be a problem with your luggage.

worldinabag

Hi

Another option is a private car from Civitavecchhia to the airport. See http://www.romashuttle.com/content/privatetrips.asp

Just a thought.

DOCK

Hi we just got back from a Med. cruise. I booked private transport from Civit. to Rome. I cannot imagine getting off a cruise and walking to teh train station, what a downer. There were no taxis at the port when we got off at 8.30am, granted they may have already picked up ealier fares. My impression is that there are only 20 taxis allowed into the port anyway. I would if I were you factor in the 115 euros for your transfer into the cost of your trip. It was well worth it to us.Re; car rental are you continuing on a land tour? We did our land tour prior to our cruise picked up car en-route out of Florence, toured and dropped off in Civit on day of cruise departure which was a wednesday , but car rental had limited hours even then. The Avis car place was easily signed,but Europcar is on the same road but quite a ways down in a car showroom. Which crusie are you on. I am sure you will have fun.

oui_paris

Thx for your advice. I'm beginning to think the best way to go is with a private car hire. However, what time should I advise on the pick-up ? Again, I really don't know when I'll have my luggage - what do you recommend here?

The plan is to do our own land tour after the cruise. I thought this was a good idea initially however,I didn't know we would be unable to pick up a car at the port.

Anyhow, this is the itinerary:

Sept 3rd:

Arrival in rome (AM) take the hotel shuttle into rome center (PM)- do a little sightseeing while trying to fight off the jet-lag.

Sept 4th:
Hire a private car ... get to the port. We are cruising MSC Lirica /7 days. I'm looking forward to this as I think it will be a different experience from our past cruises (Celebrity & NCL).

Sept 11 - sept 15
Private car hire from port to the airport. Pick up our car rental & drive to the adriatic coast.
We are planning on spending some time in Puglia region including 2 nights at the magnificent grotta palazzese Hotel.

Sept 16 (early AM) Drive back to Rome. Spend the afternoon & overnight there.

Sept 17 Return flight home


This is not our first trip to Italy. We explored Rome, venice, Amalfi coast/Naples Tuscany region, many years ago - One thing I can say Prices have sky rocketed !!!! That & the fact that we are kind of growing accustomed to good food , nice hotels ... ahhh... the good life - If you're going to work hard, you got to be able to splurge now & again.

Sorry this is turning out to be such a long post.

Thx for your help,
All comments will be appreciated

ggnga

I also found NO taxis to go from port to train station. A very tiring walk. You definitely couldn't do it with luggage.
I was just going into Rome for the day to meet a private tour guide. I would definitely book a car.

oui_paris

Thx. How should I gage the pick-up time.
Technically we begin disembarking at 7 am. Should I book the driver for 9:00 am 10am ? ... what if we only leave the ship say at 11:00am... We have no way of knowing & would the driver stick around and wait for us - how does this work?

DOCK

Hi, I advised the company about ships docking time so that they could decide on what time they thought was approriate .In our case even tho we had no transfers or hotels booked thro cruise line, I advised them of my flight times ,neglecting to say it was only for the next day. So, we were lucky enough to disembark at 8.30, so the driver only waited an hour, but he said afterwards he is aware that people may only get off by 10.30. Also regarding car hire from the port, have you considered getting a quote from Autoeurope with pick-up from the port itself. I seem to recall a post in which someone requested this and was picked up and taken to the car hire office to fill in the ppaerwork and was charged an extra $25 for this service.they had to e-mail Autoeurope with this request tho or better still call them, there is a US number listed on their site, not sure if you are from N. America and if this is practical for you to do.

oui_paris

Hi Dock,

This is a great idea. Yes, I am looking at AutoEurope for rentals. I didn`t give it much thought given that it`s a sunday & all ... I just assumed they would not deliver the car to the port on that particular day. I will ask them however ... 25$ sounds real cheap - it would be the perfect solution. Are they reliable? I`ve never dealt with AutoEurope though I can see people on these boards seem pleased with them. I live in Canada so I've been on AutoEurope.ca site.

oui_paris

Hi
I called Autoeurope yesterday. Seems there will be a charge of about 30-45$ for car delivery to civitavecchia on Sunday. Unfortunatly, I cannot book on-line if I need this service, therefore I will loose the discounted rate on the overall rental which is about 50$ cad. Anyhow I will most likely go this route. Thx to all of you for your advice!