Rome in a Day

A rome in a day shore excursion from civitavecchia is the most requested itinerary we run, and the one we plan most carefully. The ship docks, the gangway comes down, and somewhere between the port gate and the Colosseum your day begins in earnest. With a private car, the journey to the centre takes roughly seventy minutes on the A12 motorway — enough time for the coffee from the port bar to wear off and the anticipation to replace it.

The rome day trip cruise civitavecchia itinerary we recommend to first-time visitors places the Colosseum early, before the tour buses fill the courtyard; coffee at Sant'Eustachio il Caffè before the tables fill; the Pantheon in the late morning when the oculus is directly overhead; Piazza Navona at midday; and Trastevere for a late lunch in a trattoria where the menu is written on a board and changes with the season. Your driver is waiting outside wherever you tell him, monitoring your schedule and the traffic simultaneously. By five in the afternoon you are back at the berth with the rare feeling of having done it properly.

The Rome that first-timers deserve

• Colosseum at its quietest

  Your driver times the approach for the morning window before the queues form. We advise on pre-booked timed entries so you walk straight in — no two-hour wait in the July sun.

• The golden triangle on foot

  Pantheon to Trevi Fountain to Piazza Navona is under two kilometres of walking. We map the sequence to the light and the crowds, so each piazza is at its best when you arrive.

• Trastevere for lunch

  The neighbourhood across the river has been the favourite afternoon escape of Romans for centuries. Your driver knows the trattoria where the cacio e pepe is made properly and the house wine is poured from a carafe, not a bottle with a price tag.