Day trips from Rome?
 

My husband and I will spend the Labor Day weekend in Rome this year, but I'm curious re: day trips from the city... are there any points of interest nearby on the coast? Or should we savor our four days in Rome exclusively? Best regards and thanks!!
Ciao ~ Christine

If you have never been to Rome before, then IMO you should stay in Rome as there is a lot to see and do and 4 days is barely enough time to hit the highlights. If you have been to Rome before, then some suggestions are:

1. Half day trip to the catacombs. I believe you can do bike tours and/or walking tours of the surrounding countryside which is very pretty. Take a look at Enjoy Rome at www.enjoyrome.com.

2. Half day trip to Ostia Antica for Pompeii-like ruins. You can get there in about an hour by public transport, or hire a car and driver or take a taxi. Rick Steve's has a good self-guided tour to Ostia, go to http://www.ricksteves.com/news/0202/ostia.htm. The little town of Fumicino is nearby on the water and has some good and very casual seafood restaurants.

3. Take a trip to Tarquina for Etruscan ruins. Again, you could hire a car and driver or take a taxi. It is about an hour from Rome by car. Get a guidebook to that area before you go, or do a search on the internet, you may find information and maps of the area.

4. If you wanted to rent a car or a driver for the day, from Ostia Antica or Tarquina, you could take a drive along the coast, stopping for lunch or dinner at the Il Pellicano Hotel on the northern Tuscan coast or La Posta Vecchia hotel south of Fiumicino airport. The Il Pellicano has a wonderful spot right on the cliffs overlooking the sea. Take a look at http://www.pellicanohotel.com. La Posta Vecchia is on a black sand beach, and is 17th century mansion which is also a former residence of JP Getty, and a sister hotel of Il Pellicano. (Both of these hotels are in Patricia Schultz's book, 1,000 Places to See Before you Die.) They also have the remains on two Roman villas on site which you can arrange to see by appointment. Take a look at http://www.lapostavecchia.com.

The following car service companies have been recommended by others on this site for drivers in the Rome and Naples area. I have used Positano Car Service several times and have always been pleased. You may want to contact all of them for a quote for a 5-7 hour day with a car and driver.

positanocarservice.com
www.cuomonet.it
www.sorrentolimo.com
www.benvenutolimos.com

Weather permitting, and not quite as far as the coast, look into a half day at Tivoli, the Villa d'Este, Hadrian's residence. The gardens and fountains are especially lovely in season.

I second Ostia Antica. We were in Rome in Dec. and didn't get to Hadrians Villa but i have heard that it is nice. If you do go to Ostia, after you do the ruins take the train to the next stop further and go have lunch on the water.

If you want a taste of Umbria - take the train to Orvieto. It's only an our. It is a charming medeaval city with beautiful ceremics to buy! We enjoyed Orvieto a lot after leaving Rome.