Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - An alternative to Rome when in Civitavecchia

This April we were again in Civitavecchia and didn't want to do another tour to Rome. After some research we had the most wonderful time in nearby Tarquinia. We are independent, so finding the tobacco shop to purchase the bus ticket and then the bus was no big deal, and they are just 1-2 blocks from where the port's shuttle bus from the ship drops you in town. In 30 minutes you are dropped in Tarquinia, just next to the tourist information office.
There is a splendid museum of Etruscan artefacts, with hardly a tourist around. Downstairs are the stone carved burial coffins and upstairs are jaw-dropping Etruscan and Grecian urns in endless cases.
The town itself is a cobble-stoned old walled city, with incredible views over the country side. Lunch is pizza or pasta at a handful of little tiny places. Also there's gelato as an after-lunch snack.
Walking out of the town in the opposite direction from your arrival are incredible Etruscan burial sites. There are usually 15 or so open, few visitors. Each looks like a mound of dirt with a door. Each has a wooden staircase taking you to the burial chamber, which you view from a window. There's a light switch at the bottom of the staircase, which you press to light up the chamber. These are 7th to 4th century BC frescoes.
There is a bus that goes by the burial places, and for a euro we rode back to the tourist office. Of course, the alternative is to hire a taxi in Civitavecchia for the day, but that will be costly. A taxi from Tarquinia to Civitavecchia was horridly expensive, as you are paying for the round trip.
Warning: there are 2 companies running buses from Tarquinia to Civitavecchia. Take the first one that comes along, or you'll spend an hour waiting for the other one, when buying a second ticket is a minimal expense. The tourist office could have been more helpful with the bus information.