Civitavecchia Shore Excursions by Private Car: Tarquinia, Cerveteri, the Coast and the Tarot Garden

You do not have to spend a port day in Civitavecchia on the road to Rome. Within 20 to 50 minutes of the cruise terminal there are two of the most important Etruscan sites in Italy, a castle standing on the beach and one of the strangest gardens in Europe. Black Cabs picks you up at your ship in a private Mercedes, drives you to the places you choose and brings you back to the terminal before all-aboard.

Why a private car from the port

Most passengers who stop in Civitavecchia take the train or a coach to Rome: about 80 km each way, and a good part of the day spent travelling. The places on this page are much closer, but they are spread out and badly served by public transport: the Tarquinia necropolis sits on a hill outside the town, Cerveteri’s Banditaccia is 2 km from the centre, and the Tarot Garden is in the Tuscan countryside with no bus to the gate. With a car and driver waiting for you, you see two places in a morning instead of one, and you never worry about the last train back to the ship.

Tarquinia: the painted Etruscan tombs (21 km)

Tarquinia is the closest excursion, about 20 minutes north of the port. The Monterozzi necropolis is famous for its painted tombs: underground chambers decorated more than 2,500 years ago with banquets, dancers, musicians and hunting scenes, still in their colours. Together with Cerveteri it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2004 as the Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia.

In the medieval centre, the National Archaeological Museum in Palazzo Vitelleschi holds the finds from the tombs, including the terracotta Winged Horses, the symbol of the town. The museum is closed on Mondays. Necropolis and museum are a short drive apart, and the driver takes you from one to the other.

Cerveteri: the Banditaccia necropolis (35 km)

Cerveteri, about 35 km south-east of the port, shows the other face of the Etruscans: not painted chambers but a real city of the dead, with streets lined by round tumulus tombs covered in grass and houses carved into the rock. Some tombs reproduce the rooms of an Etruscan home, with beds, chairs and columns cut in the stone. It is a site to walk through, so bring comfortable shoes.

Tarquinia and Cerveteri are about 55 km apart: seeing both in one day is the classic “Etruscan day” and fits a normal port call.

Santa Severa and Santa Marinella: castles on the sea (12 and 21 km)

For a lighter day, the coast south of Civitavecchia. Santa Marinella, 12 km from the port, is a seaside town with a long promenade and the Odescalchi Castle facing the water. Santa Severa, 9 km further on, has a castle built right on the beach over the site of Pyrgi, the ancient port of the Etruscan city of Caere. Inside the castle there are museums and you can walk along the walls above the sea. The castle is closed on Mondays and its hours change with the season.

The two stops are close together and leave time for lunch on the sea before going back to the ship.

The Tarot Garden (Giardino dei Tarocchi), Capalbio (51 km)

About 50 minutes north of the port, just across the border in Tuscany, the artist Niki de Saint Phalle spent almost twenty years building a garden of giant sculptures inspired by the 22 major arcana of the tarot. They are covered in mirrors, glass and ceramic mosaic, and several of them you can walk into. The garden opened to the public in 1998 and there is no set route: you wander between the olive trees and discover the figures one by one.

Photos taken by our team at the Tarot Garden.

On the way back the garden combines well with Tarquinia, about 40 km away: the town in the late morning, the garden when it opens, the ship in the evening.

Three itineraries for a port day

Etruscan day: Tarquinia and Cerveteri

Pickup at the ship, painted tombs and museum in Tarquinia, then south to the Banditaccia in Cerveteri, and back to the terminal. The best choice if you are curious about the Etruscans and have a full port day.

The coast: Santa Marinella and Santa Severa

Promenade in Santa Marinella, the castle on the beach at Santa Severa, lunch by the sea. Short distances and no rush: good with children or for a short call.

Tarquinia and the Tarot Garden (April to mid-October)

Tarquinia in the morning, lunch, the Tarot Garden from 14:30. Only for ships leaving in the evening.

Every itinerary can be changed: tell us what you want to see and what time you have to be on board, and we build the day with you.

Distances from Civitavecchia cruise port

Prices

The price is fixed per car, not per person, with pickup and return at your ship’s terminal. Entrance tickets are not included: museums, necropolises and the Tarot Garden are paid at the sites. Send us your ship, date, number of passengers and the places you would like to see on WhatsApp and we confirm the day before you book. Night and holiday supplements are explained on the booking page. If you only need the ride to Rome or to the airport, see our Civitavecchia port transfer with fixed prices.

Frequently asked questions