Roaming out of Rome

Get out of Rome

If you are staying in Rome for more than 3 days, then I would highly recommend taking a day trip outside of the city. I don't mean going to another large city like Florence for a day -- I mean going to a more quaint town or village. You will see more locals and have a more relaxing time. Some of the popular, small places to visit include:

- Ostia Antica

- Orvieto

- Gaeta 

Where I went:

I went to all of these cities, but today I am going to focus on Gaeta. From my experience, most people do not pick Gaeta, but I had the most authentic experience there in comparison to any other place I went to in or outside of Rome. 

Getting to Gaeta

Taking a bus or a Taxi to Roma Termini is going to be your best bet. My friends and I took a bus because it was cheaper and you aren't going to get scammed by the bus driver. However, I never fully learned how the busses worked there, and I relied on my friends to pick the right busses (we only got lost a few times on buses in Rome). 

Once you get to Roma Termini, try to print out your ticket at one of the machines, but if that doesn't work don't freak out. Just casually walk to your train and get on (you will still have your ticket online and they only check for tickets half of the time). 

The train ride is a little over an hour from Roma Terminia to Formia-Gaeta, the train station in Gaeta. During this ride, I recommend learning how to ask for directions in Italian because you aren't going to find many more English speakers in Gaeta. 

Once in Gaeta, you will have to take the shuttle from the train station to the bus stop. We had to wait about 30 minutes for a bus to come, but we finally found one and got off at Palm Beach. Make sure you actually pay for the bus ticket here because they do check for tickets on buses in these local cities (someone got escorted off by a police officer for riding without a ticket). 

Palm Beach

If you get to Gaeta early enough, then I suggest getting off at the last train stop which is at Castello Angioino. Pay the $40 to get in and see the views or find a boat excursion on Trip Advisor for cheap -- you can also go swimming off the boats. 

However, if you are on a time crunch, then just stop at Palm Beach, eat some lunch, walk up the beach, and relax. You will know you are in the right place if there is an abandoned boat on shore. 

It even rained while we were on this beach, but that just made us say "Oh well" and full-on swim while we were here. Yes, you will be wet, but just bring a pair of clothes and you will be fine. 

Gaeta was so empty even compared to the beaches at Ostia Antica. The public beach in Ostia Antica was a square the size of about Planet Fitness, and the sand was dark gray. However, Palm Beach is also public, spans for quite a bit, and has pretty sand and water. 

P.S. Don't be the "cool" history experts in your group who plan to go to Pompei and not tell anyone else because you don't want train tickets to sell out. You will have more fun at a beach and meet more local people. And besides, you will go on enough tours in Rome, so why spend your day trip with another guided tour.