{"id":644,"date":"2017-08-02T11:08:28","date_gmt":"2017-08-02T11:08:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.italyvacationspecialists.com\/blog\/?p=644"},"modified":"2026-01-08T16:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T16:48:10","slug":"mass-tourism-by-cruiseships-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.italyvacationspecialists.com\/blog\/mass-tourism-by-cruiseships-italy","title":{"rendered":"Important Information for Cruise-Ship Passengers Coming into Major Ports in Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Civitavecchia<\/a><\/strong><\/span> port is located 1 hour and 15 minutes\u00a0outside of Rome<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0city center on the Mediterranean coast. \u00a0This port is one busy place and is one of Italy’s busiest cruise ports as well as one of the country’s most important import \/ export commercial centers.<\/p>\n

Each year in addition to millions of cargo shipments that arrive into this port, hundreds of thousands \u00a0of tourists also arrive into Civitavecchia<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0off of cruise ships and often want to visit Rome<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>city center, \u00a0trying to cram in a visit to \u00a0Vatican City<\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0the Collosseum and numerous other major monuments located in the historical center of\u00a0Rome<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>like the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Pantheon and countless dozens of others\u00a0which we can’t list in one paragraph let alone be visited in one day.<\/p>\n

What most visitors who come in by cruise don’t know however is that their time in Rome<\/a><\/strong>is often limited to less than 5.5\u00a0hours and with hundreds of other cruise ship passengers trying to visit the same sites at the same time, places like Vatican City<\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>and the Collosseum are so crowded that the entire experience is overwhelming and quite honestly\u00a0a displeasure for all parties involved and this scenario doesn’t just exist out of Civitavecchia<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>port out of\u00a0Rome<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, but also in dozens of other destinations all over Italy particularly in\u00a0Venice<\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u00a0,<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0but also out of the ports in Naples<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, Catania<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, Palermo<\/strong><\/a><\/span> and many other major ports around Italy when mass numbers of tourists off of cruise-ships all try to flock to Italy’s “bucket-list” destinations which include: The Amalfi Coast<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, Cinque Terre,<\/strong><\/span><\/a> \u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/span>Florenc<\/span>e,<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Pompeii<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, \u00a0Taormina<\/strong>,<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Vatican City<\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u00a0, Rome<\/a>‘s\u00a0<\/strong>Historical Center, Venice<\/strong><\/span><\/a> and Capri.<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Mass tourism in these destinations has become a major problem for the locals and the tourists themselves, which is most particularly felt in Venice<\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u00a0, the Cinque Terre<\/strong><\/a>,<\/span> the Amalfi Coast<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, Capri<\/strong><\/span><\/a>\u00a0and Rome<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0and there’s no denying that the cruise-ship industry and cruise passengers are\u00a0major contributors to these problems which is having a major social and environment impact in each of these remarkable destinations.<\/p>\n

So what’s the solution here for cruise passengers and those who are paying good money to stay in these destinations and having their experience destroyed in these areas because of mass tourism from cruise-ships?<\/p>\n

What can you do to get away from the crowds in Rome<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>or these other destinations?<\/p>\n

Know Distances & Do Your Research Before You Go\u00a0to Italy!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Prior to booking a cruise or a tour, look at the ports of call your cruise ship will be visiting and the time of year you will be visiting. \u00a0June, July and September are some of the most popular times of year to travel to Italy and times when the line ups will be at their peak. Some areas like Venice and Rome are calmer in August and more busy October, so be aware before you go and know the distances from the places of interest you wish to visit. \u00a0Take for example the port of Civitavecchia in Rome for example. \u00a0Looking at Google Maps you can see that Civitavecchia is 86 Km and over 1 hour and 12 minutes from Rome Center, but when you consider Rome’s intense traffic and there are hundreds of other cruise passengers flooding into the city from the cruise ship, it’s more like a 2 hour drive each direction!<\/p>\n

You can see a recent video we made about this subject and if you are a travel professional we HIGHLY recommend you watch this video:<\/p>\n