Beach Day Trip From Rome - Circeo, Nettuno, Anzio
 

My fiance and I will be staying in Rome for our honeymoon in March, and we would really like to visit the ocean for a day. Yes, we know it will be cold, we just love the water and would love to see the coast while we are there. I've seen recommendations for Circeo, Nettuno, and Anzio. Are any of these locations do-able for a day? What is the easiest way to get to these locations from Rome? Thanks!

I would take the train to Naples. One of the most beautiful bays in the world, and a lot of other neat things to do there as well.

BTW--not the ocean, but the Mediterranean Sea.

I would go to Sperlonga or Gaeta. I drove, but believe you can take the train.

In March, it may not only be cold, but also windy or rainy, or both. I wouldn't make this the centerpiece of your itinerary.

Rome actually has its own seacoast, at Ostia Lido. You can get there by metro and urban train for €1.50. Otherwise, Nettuno and Anzio are easy to reach by train, as are some beach towns north of Rome, such as Santa Marinella. All of these have train stations within walking distance of the beach.

Sperlonga and San Felice Circeo are a bit more time-consuming to reach, as you'd have to take a train and then a bus.

There's something a bit melancholy about a beach town in the season when everything is boarded up, and there's not much to do in any of these towns.

From that point of view, perhaps Anzio would be the most interesting. It has a beachside promenade, and you can see the ruins of the Roman Emperor Nero's summer villa. (He was born in Anzio.) Anzio is where the Allies landed in World War II, and there's a little museum there dedicated to the landing.

I also like the idea of going to Naples. There's a lot to do there at all times of the year. You could visit the museum of Capodimonte, on a hill overlooking the bay, with great views. The museum itself is very interesting; it was a royal residence of the Kingdom of Naples before the unification of Italy. There are some great masterpieces of art that belonged to the royal family, and an interesting collection of contemporary art. If you're not much interested in art, the royal apartments are worth visiting. There is also a collection of very elaborate traditional nativity displays (presepe). There's a new shuttle bus from central Naples to the Archaelogical Museum and the Museum of Capodimonte.