Best day trips from Rome by train (2026) – our recommendations

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Rome could easily fill a week on its own, but if you want to get out of the busy city, have even more time, or want to see another side of Italy, then a day trip is a great option.

We’ve done all of these ourselves, and there’s some great options on what to see – all are worth going to, so it’s just deciding which one works best for you.

Below we’ve covered the best day trips from Rome that we’d recommend, with transport instructions for each one. All can be done by train, but we’ve included a guided tour option for if you don’t want to navigate the way on your own, or if you’d like a guided tour. Every trip on this list is doable and back in a single day.

Our top tool for booking trains in Italy

We use Omio to compare Trenitalia and Italo side by side – it shows all available departures and lets you book in English, and we’ve found it to be the easiest to use out of all the tools out there.

For a full breakdown of how Italy’s train system works, see our guide to getting around Italy by train.

This is the most popular day trip from Rome, and one of the most memorable things we’ve done in Italy.

In 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried an entire city under metres of volcanic ash. It’s incredible how much was preserved – you walk through real streets, past two-storey houses with frescoes still on the walls, bakeries with stone ovens intact, public baths, and a 5,000-seat amphitheatre. The plaster cast victims are interesting and sad, but we loved walking round the ruins the most.

The site covers about 170 acres, though not all of it is open at once. We spent the whole day, but you can do it in half a day if you want (you’d need to stick to the highlights, such as The Forum and the House of Faun, but you’d still get a good feel for Pompeii). You could also combine with a visit to Mount Vesuvius. Personally we prefer doing things a bit slower so we recommend spending a day at Pompeii and a day at Mount Vesuvius, but you can do it all in a day if you prefer.

The signage inside the site is patchy, so without a guide it’s easy to walk past significant buildings without realising what they are. Download the official guide (there’s QR codes when you arrive), which gives a bit more info.

Try and get there early, as it gets a lot busier later (we were one of the first in and it was deserted, which was great).

The journey from Rome is long – around two and a half hours each way including the transfer in Naples – which means you’re looking at a 12-hour day. Bring water, sunscreen, and a hat in summer – there’s limited shade inside the site. There’s a café on site with sandwich, light food, and soft & alcoholic drinks, but it’s nothing special.

Getting to Pompeii by public transport

The fastest route is a high-speed train from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale. Trenitalia’s Frecciarossa and Italo’s trains both run this route frequently, and the journey takes about 1 hour 10 minutes. Book in advance through Omio and you can find tickets from around €15–20 each way.

From Napoli Centrale, you need to switch to the Circumvesuviana local train (operated by EAV) heading toward Sorrento. Get off at Pompei Scavi – Villa dei Misteri – it’s about 35–40 minutes and drops you right at the main entrance. The Circumvesuviana costs around €3.60 and tickets are bought at the station.

We’ve covered all of this in detail in our guide to getting from Naples to Pompeii.

Prefer a guided tour?

If you prefer a guided tour, then we recommend this full-day Pompeii tour from Rome. It includes coach transport, skip-the-line entry, and an archaeologist guide at the site. There’s also an option to add Mount Vesuvius. It’s a long day (around 12 hours) but it means you don’t have to think about train connections or navigate the Circumvesuviana.

Ostia Antica

Ostia Antica was Rome’s main port city for centuries and 100,000 people lived there at its peak. When Rome declined, the city was gradually abandoned, the river silted up, and Ostia disappeared under sediment until archaeologists dug it out.

It’s a big site and more peaceful than the ruins you’ll see in Rome. There’s a theatre that still hosts performances in summer, and apartment blocks that are several storeys high, which gives you a sense of how ordinary Romans lived – not just the wealthy elites whose villas tend to dominate archaeological sites. There’s a thermopolium with a painted menu on the wall, communal toilets where 20 Romans sat side by side, and guild headquarters with mosaic floors depicting each trade’s specialty.

The site follows a main street (the Decumanus Maximus), so it’s hard to get lost. You could see the highlights in two hours; as always, we recommend spending more time – at least three to four hours.

Ostica Antica is often compared to Pompeii. Pompeii is more dramatic with its volcanic destruction and the plaster casts, and we’d say the individual buildings are better preserved. Ostia gives a more complete picture of how a Roman city functioned day to day. It’s also a lot less effort to reach from Rome, cheaper, and on most days you’ll share it with a handful of other visitors rather than thousands. The main limitation is that there’s less interpretation on-site than you’d expect for somewhere this significant, so consider a guide or downloading an app.

The site is closed on Mondays. There’s a small café near the entrance, but bring water and snacks if you’re planning a longer visit.

Getting to Ostia Antica by public transport

This is one of the easiest day trips from Rome on public transport. Take Metro Line B to Piramide station. Follow the signs (without exiting through the turnstiles) to the Metromare train line at Porta San Paolo station. It’s the same concourse, just across the platform.

Take the Metromare train toward Lido di Ostia and get off at Ostia Antica station. The ride takes about 25–30 minutes, and trains run every 10–20 minutes throughout the day. From the station, it’s a signposted 5–10 minute walk to the entrance.

A standard Rome metro ticket (€1.50) covers the entire journey, Metromare included. If you already have a day pass for Rome’s public transport, the train to Ostia is included at no extra cost.

The site is closed on Mondays. Entry costs €14 per person (free for under-18s with EU citizenship). The site opens at 8:30am and you’ll have the place almost to yourself for the first hour.

Guided tour options

It’s easy to get to Ostia Antica and most guided tours will take you on the same train as you’d get independently. The main benefit is the guided tour of the site, as there’s limited information on display.

This half-day guided tour of Ostia Antica on Viator includes the train journey from Rome, skip-the-line entry, and a 2.5-hour walking tour with an archaeologist. The semi-private format keeps the group small, and you’re back in central Rome by early afternoon.

Tivoli – Villa d’Este and Hadrian’s Villa

Tivoli is about 30 kilometres east of Rome and has been a retreat from the city since ancient times. It has two UNESCO-listed sites that couldn’t be more different from each other, and between them they cover about 2,000 years of powerful people building extravagant things in the hills.

Villa d’Este is a 16th-century cardinal’s residence with what might be the most impressive gardens in Italy. It’s a hillside of terraced gardens with over 500 fountains, all powered by gravity and aqueducts. Water cascades down staircases, pours from grottoes, flows along stone channels, and shoots from the mouths of carved animals. The Fountain of Neptune at the bottom is enormous.

Hadrian’s Villa is something else entirely. Built by Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD as his private retreat, it’s less a villa and more a small city – spread across 250 acres with the remains of baths, libraries, temples, palaces, and a maritime theatre (a circular island surrounded by a moat where the emperor could be alone). A lot of it is in ruins, and so a guided tour will give you a lot more context.

Seeing both in a single day is possible but full-on – both need about 2 hours each minimum. They’re about 5 kilometres apart and it’s not an easy connection with no quick connection between them. If you’re choosing one, Villa d’Este is the more visually spectacular and easier to reach; Hadrian’s Villa is the more historically significant but harder to get to independently. Both involve a lot of walking and uneven ground, and Villa d’Este’s gardens are steep and full of steps.

You could also consider spending the night in Tivoli, and splitting your visit over two days so that you can see both.

Travelling to Tivoli by public transport

Getting to Tivoli by public transport is doable but slightly less easy than the other trips on this list. You have two options.

By regional train: Trenitalia regional trains run from Roma Tiburtina to Tivoli roughly every 30–60 minutes. The journey takes about 50–60 minutes and costs around €3. Tivoli station is about a 20-minute uphill walk to Villa d’Este in the town centre, or you can take a local bus (the CAT urban bus service). Hadrian’s Villa is about 5 kilometres from the town centre. You can walk, but bear in mind that you’ll be on your feet all day. You can also take the local bus (route 4 or 4X from Largo Garibaldi in Tivoli) to the site entrance.

By Cotral bus: The Cotral regional bus runs from Ponte Mammolo metro station (Metro Line B) to Tivoli. The journey takes about 50 minutes and drops you closer to the town centre than the train station does.

Either way, the trickiest part is getting between the two villas if you’re doing both. Hadrian’s Villa is outside the main town, and the connecting local bus isn’t always frequent. Plan your timings carefully or consider starting at Hadrian’s Villa first (bus from the train station area) and finishing at Villa d’Este in the town centre before heading back. You can walk between them (it takes about 40 minutes), but the roads are busy and not particularly pedestrian friendly.

Taking a guided tour to Tivoli

Normally we prefer doing things independently (and we did when we visited), but out of all of our options here, this one is the only one we’d consider a tour.

This full-day Tivoli tour on GetYourGuide covers both villas with a guide, includes coach transport from central Rome, and handles the logistics of moving between sites. It will mean you can enjoy the sites a little bit more, as transport will take less time out of your day.

Orvieto

Orvieto sits on a flat-topped plateau of volcanic rock in Umbria, about an hour north of Rome. The Etruscans were here before the Romans, and the town has been continuously inhabited for about 3,000 years.

The cathedral is the main draw, and it’s one of the best Gothic buildings in Italy. The façade is covered in gold mosaics, coloured marble, and sculptures. Inside, the Chapel of San Brizio has a cycle of Last Judgement frescoes by Luca Signorelli that Michelangelo reportedly studied before starting the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

Beyond the cathedral, there’s an underground tour (Orvieto Underground) through caves, tunnels, and cellars carved into the rock over millennia. The Pozzo di San Patrizio (St Patrick’s Well) is worth the entrance fee too – a 62-metre-deep well with a double-helix staircase designed so that donkeys carrying water up wouldn’t collide with donkeys going down. It’s a mad piece of Renaissance engineering.

Orvieto is also known for Orvieto Classico, a local white wine that’s everywhere in the restaurants and enotecas around the centre. You can try it with wild boar (cinghiale) and Umbrian truffle dishes on most menus.

The best part though is just wandering about it’s quiet streets and stopping now and again for a coffee or glass of wine. It’s a lot quieter than Rome, both in terms of noise and the amount of tourists. The town is compact – you can see the main sights in three to four hours – so you’ll have plenty of time to wander about.

Getting to Orvieto by public transport

This is one of the simplest day trips on the list. High-speed trains run from Roma Termini to Orvieto roughly every hour. The journey takes about 1 hour on a Regionale Veloce train (around €8–9) or as little as 50 minutes on a Frecciarossa (around €15–25, depending on when you book).

Orvieto station sits at the base of the cliff, well below the old town. From the station, take the funicular up to the centre – it runs every 10 minutes, takes about 3 minutes, and costs around €1.50 (included in an integrated ticket you can buy at the station). The funicular drops you right on the edge of the historic centre, a short walk from the cathedral.

Once you’re up there, everything is walkable. The town is compact. You could comfortably see the cathedral, wander the streets, have lunch, visit the underground tunnels (Orvieto Underground runs regular guided tours), and be back at the station in time for an afternoon or early evening train.

Book trains through Omio for the best prices.

Doing both in one day by guided tour

Orvieto works great as an independent trip – the transport is straightforward and the town is easy to navigate.

But if you’d like to combine it with other Umbrian stops, this Assisi and Orvieto day tour from Rome covers the two towns, coach transport, a guide, and a lunch stop in the Umbrian countryside. It’s a long day (around 13 hours) but covers a lot of ground you couldn’t easily reach by train alone.

Florence

A day trip to Florence from Rome sounds ambitious, but the high-speed train makes it doable. The Frecciarossa gets you there in about 1 hour 30 minutes, so you can leave Rome at 8am and be in the centre of Florence by 10am.

Florence is a great destination, so if possible, visit it a stay a few days. But, you can so it in a day trip if you would otherwise miss it.

The Duomo and its dome dominate the skyline – ot’s the huge orange dome you see in most pictures of Florence. The Uffizi has one of the greatest art collections in the world, although we didn’t get to see it on our visit. The Accademia has Michelangelo’s David, which was very impressive (the size and precision of it is incredible). We queued for an hour to get in, which is far less than most, but it was worth it. Ponte Vecchio is great to walk over, although we recommend finding a rooftop bar that overlooks it too.

You won’t be able to see everything in a day, and it will feel a bit rushed (so perhaps choose one or two things to do rather than trying to fit too much in (and choose things which don’t have a long queue).

Getting to Florence by public transport

Take a Frecciarossa (Trenitalia) or Italo high-speed train from Roma Termini to Firenze Santa Maria Novella (often abbreviated as Firenze SMN). Trains run multiple times per hour throughout the day, and the journey takes around 1 hour 30 minutes.

Prices vary depending on how far ahead you book. Early-bird tickets can be as low as €20 each way; last-minute prices are closer to €50. We suggest booking at least a week in advance through Omio to get the best fares.

Firenze SMN station is right in the historic centre. You can walk to the Duomo in about 10 minutes, Ponte Vecchio in 15, and the Uffizi in 20. Once you’re there, Florence is compat and best explored on foot.

If you want to visit the Uffizi or the Accademia (home of Michelangelo’s David), book skip-the-line tickets well in advance – both sell out, especially in peak season, and you don’t want to spend your limited time queuing. This link takes you to Uffizi tickets, and this one to the Accademia. Both are closed on Mondays.

Florence guided tour options

For a day trip, a tour takes care of train tickets and includes a guided walking tour so you make the most of limited time. This Florence day trip by high-speed train includes return Frecciarossa tickets, a walking tour of the historic centre, and free time to explore on your own in the afternoon. It’s a good option if you don’t want to deal with booking trains separately.

Civita di Bagnoregio

This one is less well known than the others on this list, but it’s worth the effort if the idea appeals to you. Civita di Bagnoregio is a medieval village on an eroding hilltop, connected to the mainland by a single pedestrian footbridge. The Italians call it la città che muore – the dying city – because the tufa rock underneath is slowly crumbling away. Landslides have been eating at the edges for centuries, and the village gets a little smaller every year.

The village is tiny and you can walk end to end in about ten minutes. There’s a small church, a central piazza, stone houses with flower boxes, and views across the surrounding countryside. Not many people liver there permanently. The appeal is the place itself – it looks and feels unlike anywhere else you’ll visit on an Italy trip.

It has become more popular in recent years, partly thanks to social media and partly because it’s said to have inspired the hilltop town in Miyazaki’s Laputa: Castle in the Sky. On busy summer weekends it can get crowded, so visit on a weekday or in the shoulder season if you can.

It pairs well with Orvieto – the two are about 30 minutes apart by bus – so you can combine them in a single day trip.

Travelling to Civita di Bagnoregio by public transport

This is the hardest day trip on the list to do independently. There’s no train station at Civita di Bagnoregio. The most practical public transport route is to take a Trenitalia train from Roma Termini to Orvieto (about 1 hour), then catch a Cotral bus from Orvieto station to Bagnoregio (about 30 minutes, roughly 5–6 departures per day). From Bagnoregio, it’s a 1-kilometre walk to the footbridge.

The Cotral bus doesn’t come that often, especially on weekends and in winter so check the schedule. It’s doable but requires planning. Entry to the footbridge costs about €5.

Taking a guided tour from Rome

Given the transport complexity, this is one day trip where a tour makes a lot of practical sense.

This Bagnoregio and Orvieto tour from Rome on GetYourGuide combines Civita di Bagnoregio with Orvieto and includes lunch at a Tuscan winery along the way. Coach transport means no messing about with Cotral buses, and you get to see both places in a single day without the logistics headache.

Quick comparison of the best day trips from Rome

Our top tips for day trips from Rome

Book high-speed trains in advance. Prices on the Frecciarossa and Italo go up significantly closer to departure. Booking a week or more ahead through Omio can save you 50% or more compared to walk-up fares.

Regional trains don’t need advance booking. For Tivoli and short-distance trips, regional trains (Regionale or Regionale Veloce) have fixed prices and don’t sell out. You can buy tickets at the station on the day. Don’t forget to validate your ticket at the small machines on the platform before boarding.

Start early. Most archaeological sites open at 8:30am or 9am. Getting an early train means you arrive before the coach tours and see the site at its quietest. This makes a huge difference at Pompeii especially.

Check for strikes. Italy’s transport unions call strikes, usually announced a few days in advance. Search for “sciopero treni Italia” before your trip day to see if anything’s planned. High-speed trains are often less affected than regional services.

Consider travel insurance that covers delays. If your train is significantly delayed and it disrupts your plans, having cover can help. AirHelp covers rail delay compensation as well as flights.

What’s next?

If you’re still planning your time in Rome, our best things to do in Rome guide covers everything from the Colosseum to the best neighbourhood for food.

If you’re thinking beyond Rome, our 10-day Italy itinerary connects Rome, Florence, and Venice by train.

For a deeper look at Italy’s rail system and how to find cheap tickets, see our guide to getting around Italy by train.

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