I am planning the itinerary for an 8-9 day trip with my 80+ yo mom. We will be staying in Rome, and would like suggestions on day trips. Have considered Pompeii, Assissi, Florence, Ostica Antica (sp?). Any experiences or suggestions would be much appreciated.

We loved Ostia Antica - we were practically the only people there the day we went, and it was just eerily magical.<BR>I haven't been down as far as Pompeii, but the ride down the coast from Rome yields some lovely surprises - like Anzio and Sperlonga and Gaeta (also some interesting finds inland like Finfa and some small hill towns that seem never to have hosted a tourist before).

I went to Pompeii for the day and it was amazing! It was the highlight of my trip. I went in early June and the weather was beautiful and Pompeii was SOO interesting. I also went to Ostia Antica and Florence, but they weren't quite as appealing to me. Florence does have the famous Uffizi gallery - it was worth the trip, especially if you like art. It just depends what your interests are.

Question -- how much walking can your mom do at a time? We enjoyed Ostia Antica but it is a large place and there was a lot of walking to be done.

I'd not do Florence as a day trip -- too much time on the train. Pompeii is astounding...yes yes yes! You might want to try Orvieto instead of Assissi...very lovely little town

Orvieto is a winner.<BR><BR>About an hour train ride from Rome Termini. Nice little hill town that is famous for wine (Orvieto Classico white), hand painted pottery and a drop dead gorgeous duomo.<BR><BR>Eat at the Trattoria Etrusacan and get a gelato beside the duomo and you have a winner!<BR><BR>US

Thank you, thank you to all who have replied. Florence is now off the list. I think for my mom's taste we will see all the art we want in Rome. Pompeii is looking more interesting, but isn't the train time long? As for walking, my mom asked when we first started planning, &quot;There won't be as much walking as in Ireland, will there?&quot; &quot;No, mom.&quot; ;} We went to Ireland years ago, before the onset of some hip arthritis. I'm not sure what her walking capacity is now, as the arthritis is a new development. <BR>I will definitely look in to Orvieto.<BR>Would anyone recommend renting a car to see the samll coastal towns mentioned (Anzio, etc)?<BR>If it were between Pompeii and Ostia Antica???<BR>Much thanks again.

Another very nice day trip from Rome would be to visit Hadrians Villa and Villa D'este. Both very worthwhile visiting.

While in Rome I would definitely advise you to buy the 2 day pass for the on/off bus.We stayed on it for the whole run just to get the overview,the next day we went on/off.The third day we did the Archeobus.It takes you out of Rome to the catacombs and theaueduct-took the whole day,could have gone for another.Once again,it's on/off.Both these buses are really not as well known/advertised as the ones in Paris and Madrid.They are truly a find and a bargain.They are small ,maybe 16-20 seater buses with driver and guide whose English isat best entertaining but the effort is there!They dosupply you with a well detailed map of the route.The easiest place to get on is just outside the train station but they do stop at all the main sights.

We are going to Florence for a day trip from Rome. The ES train( trenitalia.it) only takes an hour and a half- much quicker than going to Pompeii, and Florence is easy to walk around in.<BR><BR>I also recommend Orvieto as a great place to go- a beautiful cathedral and great ceramic shopping.You get off the train, go up on the funicular, take a short bus ride, and then you are right at the cathedral and the shops.<BR><BR>Search Rome day trips on this forum. I found lots of ideas.<BR><BR>Author: GAC ([email protected])<BR> Date: 01/16/2002, 04:10 pm<BR><BR> Message: 1. Ostia Antica<BR> 2. Tivoli Villa d'Este and Villa Adriana<BR> 3. Subiaco<BR> 4. Palestrina<BR> 5. Castelli Romani<BR> 6. Cerveteri<BR> 7. Tarquinia<BR> 8. Viterbo<BR> 9. Lago di Bracciano<BR> 10. Assisi<BR> 11. Orvieto<BR> 12. Spoleto http://www.basys.it/naichea/picturesoflazio<BR>www.elegantetruria.com)<BR><BR>

Thanks all for the great ideas. Chris, if you are reading, about the archeobus... I have not found it in my guidebooks. Is it an organized tour, or simply a bus that takes you to these specific historic sites. Either way, the catacombs are definitely on our list, but I'm considering best way to do this. S

Sandy: Try www.twenj.com and click-on &quot;Excursions&quot;. Do a &quot;Text Search&quot; for archeobus, there is a short trip-report with an excellent trip-report website. Regards, Walter

Sandy - Here are a couple of websites re. the Archeobus tour:<BR><BR>www.miracleplayers.org/visitingrome/archeobus_rome.htm<BR>www.romavision.it<BR><BR>Not sure how up to date the timetables are though.<BR><BR>It's a hop on/hop off bus rather than an organised tour.<BR><BR>(You could do the same trip independantly with a Rome day-pass).<BR><BR>Hope this helps ...<BR><BR>Steve

Sandy<BR><BR>Pompeii is the only one of the trips that you have mentioned that I have done from Rome (mind you I have only been to Rome once). To be perfectly honest, the day was fantastic but somewhat exhausting. That was probably due to the fact that I loved Pompeii and wanted to see every bit of it - a natural reaction for many. We left Rome early in the morning, ok so it was around 7.30, not early for some and returned at around 9pm, which was a full day. The sites are fantastic and I found quite awe inspiring, however there is much walking involved around the sites of Pompeii so that is probably a consideration. It would propably be easier to see the main sites of Florence in more comfort (for your mum). That is in the sense there would be lots more places for a break during the day. I can't comment on Florence as a day trip as I stayed for a couple of nights.<BR><BR>Personally I would choose Pompeii but if your mum would have difficulties Florence would probably be a better day.<BR><BR>Non committal I know but that is what i think. Hope is was some help<BR><BR>JET

Pompeii is huge and involves miles of walking. Visiting there can be an exhausting experience, even for young people. Do not take your 80-year-old mother there unless she is in terrific physical condition.<BR><BR>It is much quicker getting to Florence than getting to Pompeii from Rome. If you take a high-speed train, the ride is 90 minutes. There are also much slower trains that make the same trip, so be sure to buy tickets for the correct train.

I really recommend the smaller hilltowns near Rome, the Castelli Romani. Somewhere like Frascati is pretty and interesting, but not too big or tiring.<BR><BR>This site: http//www.italyheaven.co.uk/ has some info about good day trips from Rome including Frascati.