Should I bother with Etna or not, when we dock at Messina? I mean some things are just not worth the pain and suffering if you know what I mean.

And what about getting to Rome from the seaport (can't even pronnounce the name) - tour or train please?

Help, I'm going balmy trying to find stuff on the net.

Hi, This site is wonderful. All u have to do is search. Under the find button, hit it and type in Messina or Etna and up will pop all kinds of things about it. The same thing is true about getting to and from Rome from the seaport. Actually there's oodles of material about that. It's all been answered. It helped us make our decision about getting to & from Rome (we're taking the train) and I'm sure it will help you too. Happy hunting (and reading).

Hi Grammabev and many thanks

Silly me, sitting here going nuts. Am off to search the site as advised.

Von

Just back from Italy you do know it is flowing and erupting right now.........we saw it from the ship

Last fall I used www.driverinrome.com to book all of our Italian port tours for my group of 22. All were excellent including our mini bus with guide who took us to Mt. Aetna and then to Taormina. There was enough time to do both, and seeing the volcano was a memorable event.

Hi GrannyVon,
I was on Rome in March, 2007. We took the Easy Tour to Rome from Civitavecchia. The bus ride is about 1 1/2 hours. By the time we drove around in the bus to see the sites we only had about 1 1/2 hours to see The Vatican and surrounding area. We were there on Good Friday, so I guess I don't have to tell you how long the line was to get into The Vatican. Naturally we didn't have enough time to go on the line and get in the Vatican
We were told by our waiters in the dining room we should have taken a train, it would have cost 9 euros round trip (the bus tour was $110.00 USD per person)
When your docked in Civitavecchia and if you have the time, I would recommend taking the free shuttle up to the town there, it's a short ride on the bus. We were there in the evening so most of the stores were closed.
We're going back to Rome January, 2008 and plan on asking our waiters what they would recommend previous to getting to the next port.
I hope this helps you. Have a Wonderful time.

Sandy p