My husband and I and three children (10, 13, 14) will be finishing up a 12 day visit of Italy in Rome in early August. (We will have already spent our first four days in Rome).
Any suggestions of any day trips from Rome? Not too taxing as we will be finishing up our trip.

Orvieto, Tivoli, Ostia Antica. Where will you have visited besides Rome?

Florence, Siena, C.T., Milan and Verona

Naples, Herculaneum, Pompeii, maybe Capri. Visiting Capri would be very ambitious, but it is amazing.

If you'll not have the opportunity to come down here for the magnificent remains at Pompei and/or Herculaneum, another of the ruined Roman cities - Ostia Antica - is an easy trip and, with tickets for the train costing only €1 each way (for the rest of this year), very inexpensive to get to....

http://www.pbase.com/isolaverde/ostia_bracc

It's actually within Rome's city limits, which I'd say makes it about as untaxing as possible? Closed on Mondays however...

This would be useful...
http://www.ostia-antica.org/touristguide.pdf

The castle in the more recent part of the village is also worth a look.... I think, although we've not yet ever got the timing right!

Afterwards you might even continue out to Ostia Lido, Rome's beach resort - but do expect it to be madly busy there in August...

http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...tia+beach&aq=f

The other place shown in those photos is the very pleasant lake-shore town of Bracciano, where the nearby seaplane museum might appeal to some members of the family? Give or take a short section where a replacement bus service was (or perhaps still is) in action, it should be a nice train trip from Rome - taking some 65/70 minutes.

Peter

"Rome Ideas" >>>
http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/rome-ideas.cfm

If you will have already spent four days in Rome, plus then visited Florence, Siena, C.T., Milan and Verona, all in a total of 12 days, I suspect relaxing in Rome and not leaving the city may be a welcome break at the end of your trip, especially in the heat of August. Perhaps you could find a public pool . . . or take a walk through the park on the Gianicolo Park or Villa Borghese.