Rome itinerary help
 

My wife and I will be traveling for eight weeks through France and Italy via leased auto. By the time we get to Rome, we will have already been through Tuscany as well as the region to the south of Rome - as for south as Salerno. What I am looking for is some day trips outside of Rome. We have both been to Rome previously (several times) but we still want to see the most popular tourist destinations again. But we will be in Rome for over a week, and having a car will enable us to get out of the immediate area and explore. We will be traveling the entire month of November, and most of December, so traffic, heat, tourists, etc., are not a problem. Rome will be our final destination for the return flight to US. We might just pack our ice chest with bread, wine, cheese, and fruit, and hit the road. But a few definitive destinations would be nice. Suggestions?

Tivoli for the Villa d’Este, Hadrian’s Villa and the Villa Gregoriana Park. Visit on a nice day and not a Monday.
For other ideas, browse the fascinating “Minor Sights” Web site:
Minor Sights

Thanks! I'll take a look (at both Tivoli AND the website).

Have you explored the practicalities of driving in the ZTLs in Italy? Here's a little about them:

https://www.autoeurope.co.uk/travel-...to-avoid-them/

One way round it in Rome might be to locate a town outside Rome with a good train link to the centre and use that as a base instead. Or stay nearby and do your day trips first, then return your car and spend time in Central Rome to end your trip.

Orvieto is a great day trip.

annhig:
Thanks for those thoughts. I was just considering that very thing this morning. I need to find out exactly where the restricted zones are located. We have the leased car (from Auto TT...very happy with these guys. I have used this company for at least 6 previous long-term European trips) and it is to be turned in at FCO the day we depart. So I don't want to give up the car prior to that. However, I was thinking the same thing regarding day trips. What I'm finding online re: multi-day metro/train/tram/bus passes is that they are valid only for CONSECUTIVE days. So I definitely am considering an Airbnb outside of the ZTL's that either has free parking on their premises (I know...good luck!) or free parking in the "white zones" close by. I can do the day trips either before the city exploring, or after, in order to have consecutive pass days. There is a plethora of pass options; any suggestions?

I would just return the car when you get to Rome. Plenty of day trips are easy by train--Orvieto for sure.
We just spent 10 days in
Rome and although I had lots of day trip ideas, we never left town. And we had spent a full week there in 2019 as well.

worldwidewinetours - I'm glad that my thoughts were helpful. I've not had a lot of experience with the passes that you mention though I think I had some sort of weekly bus pass last time I was in Rome but it was a long time ago. Perhaps you could post the link plus an idea of the places you think you'd want to visit and we can see if we can help further.

As you're coming from the south, you could stop in Frascati for a few nights. Frascati to Roma Termini by train is 30 minutes, about 2 euros one-way, and there are late-ish returns (about 10 p.m.). On pre-Covid Saturdays, there was a train between the papal gardens at Castel Gandolfo and the Vatican City train station. I can't tell the current status of this line.

But there is a lot to see in the area surrounding Frascati, called Castelli Romani.

https://www.wanderingitaly.com/maps/...li-romani.html

https://www.visitcastelliromani.it/en/

Although I can never have enough time in Rome, I wouldn't stay in (or even really close to) the city if I had a car. Too much traffic, the ZTL, etc. But if you prefer this to staying a train ride away, check the public trans timetables and make sure they will allow you to explore Rome in the way you're imagining

annhig - the passes I am referring to are called "MetroBus" passes available for 24, 48, or 72 hours. If you purchase the "24-hour" pass, however, it is valid ONLY UNTIL midnight of the day it is purchased. So if I didn't buy one until 1:00 PM on a given day, I wouldn't be able to use it the following day. The 48-, and 72- hour passes are valid from the time it is first used UNTIL 48 HOURS after that, so you truly get the full amount of the stated time (not like the "24-hour" pass)....but those passes can only be used for consecutive days. I used to be able to purchase multi-day passes for the Paris Metro (I don't know if those are still available) which were valid for a specified number of trips over several days - say, for instance, but a 5-day pass that allowed 10 metro trips - at any time during those 5 days. Apparently that is not an option in Rome. That simply means that I'll have to do more specific planning for visiting Colosseum, Forum, Vatican, etc. I might end up just paying for each Metro trip individually as needed. It will cost a few $$ more, but ultimately it might be worth it just to not have to stress about planning so much in advance.
And this relates to the other post by jangita; I realize that it is possible to do day trips from Rome without a car. But we are already scheduled to drop off the car at FCO on the same day as our departure. If I were to turn the car in early, not only would I forfeit the money for one week's worth of rental (they do not give refunds for turning in a car prior to the turn-in date) I would have to drive to FCO, drop off the car, then get transportation BACK into Rome for the duration of my stay, then get transportation BACK to FCO the day of our departure, and I would have to pay more $$ for train/bus for every day trip outside of Rome...and I wouldn't have the freedom or flexibility that is afforded by having a car for those day trips. As mentioned by Jean on another post, a large part of travel, to me, is taking those side roads, finding the unexpected pleasure in meeting fun people and finding special places that simply cannot be found when traveling by bus or train. It's not just about the destination....

Jean - great idea! I'll be spending several days in the Sorrento area - I know some people do not want to drive along the Amalfi coast but I just LOVE that drive. I'll head north of Salerno into the mountains to explore a bit, then up to Rome, so that fits well into the plans. Thanks!

<<annhig - the passes I am referring to are called "MetroBus" passes available for 24, 48, or 72 hours. If you purchase the "24-hour" pass, however, it is valid ONLY UNTIL midnight of the day it is purchased. So if I didn't buy one until 1:00 PM on a given day, I wouldn't be able to use it the following day. The 48-, and 72- hour passes are valid from the time it is first used UNTIL 48 HOURS after that, so you truly get the full amount of the stated time (not like the "24-hour" pass)....but those passes can only be used for consecutive days. I used to be able to purchase multi-day passes for the Paris Metro (I don't know if those are still available) which were valid for a specified number of trips over several days - say, for instance, but a 5-day pass that allowed 10 metro trips - at any time during those 5 days. Apparently that is not an option in Rome. That simply means that I'll have to do more specific planning for visiting Colosseum, Forum, Vatican, etc. I might end up just paying for each Metro trip individually as needed. It will cost a few $$ more, but ultimately it might be worth it just to not have to stress about planning so much in advance.>>

WWWT - [hope you don't mind the contraction of your screen name, BTW] - it's coming back to me now, and yes you have to balance convenience against cost. Having been in Paris very recently, I can confirm that you can still get a "carnet" of 10 tickets which you can have as paper tickets or load onto a "navigo" pass which you just wave at the gates as you enter and [rarely] exit the station. Shame the same doesn't apply in Rome! Anyway, as I recall one of the problems we found in Rome with using individual tickets was finding a Tabac to buy them, but of course you could buy what you think are going to be enough at the same time which would get over that problem. If you have a few left over that probably won't matter too much in the overall scheme of things.

Thank you all - again. Jean, I'll be stopping it Frascati to visit there and the Lago Albano area:) I found a nice Airbnb that is right next to the Tiber in the Testavere area, that is NOT in one of the ZTL's, and has free on-site parking! BINGO! I'll take another day trip out to Tivoli and the rest of the time wandering the Eternal City. Although I have been there many times, as Jean stated, I can never have too much time in Rome.

I have never in all my travels hired a personal guide. This time, however, the host of the Airbnb (who was born and raised in Rome) recommended a guide (also native) who was his history teacher in school. He insists that this teacher is a veritable cornucopia of information. At the end of this trip, I'll let you know...Ciao!

The air BNB with free parking sounds perfect and yes, please do come back and tell us how it goes. Rome is one of the places where I've wished we had a guide especially in the Forum which I've been to 3 times and still looks like a heap of stones to me. I'll be interested to hear how your guide works out.

Sorry--I misunderstood your situation.
It's on the other side of the city but have you ever been to Viterbo?

Orvieto is one of my great favorites. Hope you get there. Tivoli also! Please share what you end up doing.

The ZTLs in Rome are in fairly small areas, so it's not very difficult to find a lodging outside a ZTL. Getting from one side of the city to another by car is usually time-consuming, however. There is a ring road, the GRA, but it is a giant parking lot at commuting hours. I would plan day trips with that in mind.

Fortunately, I was able to find an Airbnb right in the middle between ZTL G1 and G2 in Tesavere. It's perfect for just walking across the bridge and getting to all the "hot spots". And yes, I plan to get out of dodge EARLY for those day trips primarily to avoid traffic. The day trips will be done first, then I'll park the car for the rest of the time in Rome, and use it on the last day to load up and head to FCO.

Thanks again for the input.

Sometimes the time and effort to plan ways to use passes within their limits is not worth the few euros saved. Much of the place to place in Rome is easier to walk than to find transit stops for the right bus line in the right direction then wait for the bus.