tedgale

A tiny footnote about the number 8 tram. Aftter you buy your ticket at the newsstand in Trastevere station, you walk straight out of the station to the main road. The tram stops to your LEFT, as you face the main road. To your RIGHT, there are multiple numbered stops, none of which you want -- they are all for buses.

(When we took the number 8 tram, we searched fruitlessly and with increasing desperation on the right side -- as we were told to do, in Italian, by a well-meaning but uninformed local -- until we realized our mistake. Did we not notice the lack of tram-tracks on the right, you ask? Uh, no...)

By the way I loved the Trastevere train -- fast, clean, nearly empty; it makes a few stops of, say, 60 seconds each.

I found it a far more attractive trip than the so-called Express, which meanders halfway around the periphery of Rome, including a pass (without stopping) through the Trastevere trainyard, following which you still have 10-15 minutes of sluggish shunting before reaching Termini.

tower

opa:

No one has mentioned another option, one which I love and have recommended several times on here....the Tiber "chug-chug" boats! For a Euro or two, you can take the vintage boat from it's last stop at Isola Tiburina and go all the way to Ponte Cavour..just walk up to the Spanish Steps on Via Condotti and you're not far from The Borghese...or go one stop further to Ponte Margherita and Piazza del Popolo...or you can get off earlier at Ponte San Angelo for the Vatican...a lovely way to cut down on too much walking. \

The schedule is fairly frequent and it can be seen on a large billboard at any of its stops. Bon Voyage!

Stu T.

Vttraveler

Glad to know we were not the only ones to have trouble finding the tram outside the train station.

gohedwig--Sorry, I am afraid I don't know the name of the stop for sure. I left the detailed bus map we used in Rome at the apartment there. The very sketchy map in the back of my guidebook shows a stop at P.Sonnino with no other name indicated. From looking at a street map, I think Belli must be the right stop because there is a Piazza Belli marked right beyond P. Sonnino. We took the tram farther, across the Tiber, ourselves before stopping on that route.

gohedwig

Perfect
We're leaving for Rome in about 3 weeks

BTW - I just went on to GoogleMaps pedometer and it mapped out the distance from Piazza Santa Maria to St Peter's as about 1 mile - does that sound like the correct walking distance?

gohedwig

kybourbon

gohedwig - The reason I called the train FM1 is that is what the official website for the airport calls it -"the metropolitan train FM1". Here is a link to the airport schedule.
http://www.adr.it/content.asp?Subc=1...&idMen=731

Vttraveler

Gohedwig-- Yes, the direct walk from Piazza Santa Maria to the Vatican is about a mile according to my map. You have to stay close to the Tiber unless you want to do the route I described earlier over the Gianicolo which is uphill and much less direct--but recommended at least once if you have time during your stay.
How long will you be in Rome?

gohedwig

Kybourbon
Here's the trenitalia link I was looking at that lists TR1
http://www.trenitalia.com/en/treni_s...a_fermate.html

Vttraveler
6 full days in Rome. I'm wondering how easy or not it is to take the train and tram with 1 suitcase of luggage vs. having a car drive us from the airport?

Gohedwig

annhig

hi, opal dog,

here's my 2 pen'th, for what it's worth, based on our experiences in Rome last year.

please don't underestimate the amount of walking you will do just going round museums, churches, etc.

we made a BIG mistake walking to the vatican on the day we did the museums and St. peter's. we were foot-sore before we started, and it is MILES around the museums. however, the boat would be a good way to get there- get on at trastevere and get off at castel san angelo.

taxis are relatively cheap - we found ourselves using those too to get back to our apartment.

you of course may be fitter and better shod than us - but it's worthwhile finding out about public transport just in case.

Vttraveler
6 full days in Rome. I'm wondering how easy or not it is to take the train and tram with 1 suitcase of luggage vs. having a car drive us from the airport?

Gohedwig ref your query
"6 full days in Rome. I'm wondering how easy or not it is to take the train and tram with 1 suitcase of luggage vs. having a car drive us from the airport?"

I'd go for the cab every time - once you are familiar with the city and its transport, you could always get public transport back. it should be about E50.

regards, ann

plafield

Our B&B in Trastevere is arranging a taxi to pick us up at the airport and will take us there for 35 euro. Seems very worth not having to try to figure anything out anything at all when we first arrive!

Vttraveler, thanks for the info on the bus that goes from the Vatican up Gianicolo hill. We have a Tuesday morning tour of the Vatican and St Peter's and after lunch we wanted to head up to see the view from the Giancolo and see the Tiempo. I was worried about the long walk up the steep hill after the morning at the Vatican but taking the bus up sounds perfect. Where do we catch the #870 from the Vatican area and how do we know we're heading in the right direction?

opaldog

Lots of good info for transport. I know that my feet will probably take a beating and I will want to get back to the apartment the easiest way. The boat sounds like an interesting choice. I am preparing for sore feet. I always manage to get some sort of blister or tired feet on these trips. Thanks for all replies.

dutyfree

Anyone have any information of the boats on the Tiber-even the "chug chug" boat sounds fun? Thanks!

Vttraveler

Gohedwig--I did not find it hard to navigate the train/tram combination from the airport to the city. However, I am sure the taxi would be even easier. Other people recommend limosine shuttle options which may be cheaper (I think around 35 euros). If you do a search on Rome airport transportation you would find more info
I know a lot of people take taxis instead of buses/trams in the city and say they are reasonable. I like to use public transportation on (ecological) principle and because it is even cheaper. Also, Italian drivers scare me.

Plafield: You should get a good bus map at the tourist office. I left mine in the apartment we were renting so can't supply as much detail as I would like. We caught the #870 bus by going out from the Vatican to the Lungotevere, the road along the Tiber. You would look on the side of the road away from the river, heading south. The bus stops for different routes are marked and the one for the #870 was somewhere between the ponte Vittorio Emanuel and the Ponte Pr.Amadeo Savoia Aosta, I think almost to the latter because I remember turning right/uphill almost immediately.
You could also take a taxi up to the Piazzale Garibaldi-- a fairly short ride and probably not too expensive. I definitely found the walk down the hill easier than trying the uphill direction. The Tempietto is closed for a few hours mid day (12:30-2)but if you do the trip after lunch you should be fine. I really enjoyed seeing it and the church, and there were only a few other tourists there.

BarbaraS

Great info - bookmarking - thanks

gohedwig

Vttraveler
Either way sounds like it would work I appreciate all of your advice

Gohedwig

kybourbon

Here is a map of the stops by the boat on the Tiber. Cost is 1E.
http://www.rexervation.com/imbarchi_bt.asp?pagina=3

For time schedules, scroll to the bottom to the line navigation for 1E. There are two time schedules to click on.
http://www.rexervation.com/tutte_cro...t.asp?pagina=1

tedgale

kybourbon: Passenger boats on the Tiber: Who knew??!!

I have spent hours walking along the Tiber in many trips to Rome, incl each March of the last three years.

Never clued in that we could travel by water. Definitely to try next time -- thanks.

BTW: Did anyone see the coverage of Testaccio in last weekend's Globe and Mail ("Canada's national newspaper&quot?

Made it sound most intriguing, at least for its restaurant scene. I had always thought it impossibly far and dreary but now I want to visit....

annhig

hi, tedgale,

i can thank my DH for knowing about this - he's crazy about water and wants to do boat trips wherever we go.

you can actually get a boat all the way dwon to Ostia antica, but from memory it takes a long time. you could do the boat there, and train back.

regards, ann

Vttraveler

tedgale
Thanks for the tip about the Globe and Mail article on Testaccio
(http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl.../specialTravel)

I thought it gave too little mention of the piramide de Caio Cestio (an "ancient mausoleum in the form of a 30-metre-high white pyramid&quot which we thought was a truly interesting if bizarre sight but am definitely saving it for reference for future trips to Rome.

Lyndell

bookmarking

opaldog

This is what we ended up doing on our recent trip to Rome. We stayed on via natale del grande in Trastevere, a great location. We walked everywhere, but did start to get tired. The cobblestones are killers. We used the tram to get to Largo Argentina when we were really beat and we took buses from there. We also used the H train to get to Termini and we used a bus ( I forget which one now, maybe 23) from lungotevere cenci (?)to go up to the vatican. We also walked to the vatican and all over Rome from Trastevere. We did use romeshuttlelimousine.com from FCO on arrival to Italy and Terravision bus from Termini to Ciampino when we flew to Paris. I can't wait to get back to Rome and do some other places in Italy, probably by train.