Raft a river before lunch. Sit in water that comes warm out of the ground. Take the helm of a boat, or follow a dog until it finds a truffle. All of it within two hours of Rome, all of it booked straight with the people who run it.
We order by season, by whether the operator confirms straight away, by how much you feel like doing, and by who you are going with. Places that nobody sells — a hill town, a ruin, an abbey you simply walk up to — score full marks on that second one, because there is nothing that can fall through. We never order by commission — and we never order by how far it is: how much of a journey a day is worth is yours to weigh, not ours, so the distance is on every card and nowhere in the score. The formula
Those four answers are the ones this page was built with, run against all 921 activities we hold. Nothing about you is stored, nothing is sent on to the operators, and the page is the same one everybody else gets.
These 8 come first. See all 917, or pick the day you are actually free and the list gets ordered for it.
Every one of these is a day trip, not an overnight. Most are easiest with a hire car — you go when you like, and you come back when the light goes.
On the waterTrendingThree hours paddling across Lake Albano, gear included, children from six up.
€42.40 per person
Books on ckacademy.it
See the day
On the waterNinety minutes on Lake Bracciano with an instructor: board, paddle, dry bag.
€15 per person
Books on Sporting Club Sabazia
See the day
On two wheelsThree hours on an e-bike, out through the aqueducts and along the Appia Antica.
€8 per person
Books on Ecobike Roma
See the day
Down the riverTrendingPaddle under Castel Sant'Angelo and past Tiber Island, down the middle of Rome.
A sports club — you join them for the day
See the day
In the airTrendingLift off at first light over the Tiber valley. The transfer from Rome is included.
See the day
Down the riverYou paddle an individual inflatable kayak down the Aniene, with guides alongside.
See the day
Under the groundA guided visit to natural caves inside the Monti Simbruini park, wearing a helmet and head torch, through tunnels and narrow passages.
See the day
On the trailClimbing on an indoor artificial wall with routes for every level and an instructor always present.
See the dayBook it online
Guided days out of Rome sell online through GetYourGuide: you pick a day, you pay them, and the confirmation is in your inbox before you leave.
Affiliate link — you pay their price, never more, and they pay us. You book with GetYourGuide, and anything about that booking goes through them.
See day trips from RomeSame four letters. 22 minutes apart.
You've done the looking — it's the most looked-at square kilometre on earth, and you've queued for most of it. Everything here is something the city itself cannot give you, starting 22 minutes from your hotel. A river. A horse. Water that comes out of the ground at 58 °C. A dog that knows where the truffles are.
921 things to do
Rivers, boats, horses, kitchens, hot springs, thermals. If you can already do it inside Rome, it isn't on this site.
209 places
Close enough to leave after breakfast and be back for dinner. The drive from the middle of Rome is worked out on the road network, not guessed — so how far out a day takes you is something you decide before you leave the hotel.
162 you phone, or just turn up
A thermal pool in an open field that costs nothing. The farm that answers its own phone. The club you join instead of booking. We found them one at a time, and where there is a number to call it is on the page, next to the day it belongs to.
FREE to use visitmore
No account, no booking fee, no markup. You book on the operator's own site and pay what they charge — the same as if you'd found them yourself.
Nobody flies home talking about the queue. They talk about the dog that found the truffle, the water that came out of the ground at 58 °C, and the twenty seconds before the paraglider left the hill. That's what you'll have left of this week — so spend one day of it doing something.
Getting there
The day stays yours: you leave when you want, stop where you want, and come back when the light goes.
Affiliate link — you pay their price, never more, and they pay us. You book with Localrent, and anything about that booking goes through them.
See prices on LocalrentNo parking to find, no wrong turns, and you leave when the day is done.
Affiliate link — you pay their price, never more, and they pay us. You book with Welcome Pickups, and anything about that booking goes through them.
See prices on Welcome PickupsWhere you would be going
Every place we list, at its real position from Rome, coloured by how long you would drive to it. The bigger the dot, the more there is to do there — and every dot opens what is on there.
Most to do
See them as a listLeave after breakfast, be in Rome by mid-afternoon with the evening still ahead of you. These are the ones that fit around whatever you have already booked.
On the trailA climbing session with instructors on the crags near the Marmore falls.
See the day
Down the riverA circular route inside the Valle dell'Aniene nature reserve in Rome: a guided walk along the reserve paths, then a raft descent of the river past old bridges and small rapids, …
See the day
Down the riverA raft descent of the urban stretch of the Tiber.
See the day
On the waterA surf school in front of Banzai Beach at Santa Marinella, running since 2002 with instructors certified by the Italian surf federation.
See the day
Off roadThree to three and a half hours on a quad from Bassiano up the Monte Semprevisa to Campo Rosello at 1,200 metres, about thirty kilometres of tarmac, unmade road and forest track.
See the day
Off roadThe same thirty-kilometre route up Monte Semprevisa as the classic tour, with the same briefing and practice area, but at Campo Rosello the pizzas ordered in advance arrive hot.
See the day
On the waterCast off at 9:30 for the Blue Grotto of the Dolls, snorkel kit on board.
€60 per person
Books on Gaeta Escursioni
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On horsebackA horse ride through the woods above Cori or among the estate vineyards, with the Fontana del Prato riding school, followed by a guided cellar visit and tasting.
See the day73 guides to the country around Rome, and 747 different days inside them — sorted by desire, by how far you want to drive, by who is with you and by the month you are here.
The short answer
The best day trips from Rome
Rome is surrounded by country that most visitors never see, and almost all of it is close enough to be back for dinner. These are the days that work.
60 days out · 24 places · the nearest is a 33 min drive from Rome
Read the guide
Start here
Seven directions out of Rome
Rome sits in the middle of seven different landscapes, and each one gives you a different day. Pick the direction first — the rest follows.
63 days out · 34 places · the nearest is a 33 min drive from Rome
Read the guide
Day trips
Half an hour out, an hour, two
Choose by how long you are willing to drive, not by the photograph.
60 days out · 14 places · the nearest is in Rome itself
Read the guide
No booking site lists these — there is nothing to click, so there is no commission in them for anyone. We called each one, wrote down what they said, and left you the number.
On the waterNo boat: a cable tows you across, and one hour on it is enough to find out.
€25 their price
A sports club — you join them for the day
See the day
On the waterNinety minutes on a wakeboard on the Tiber, without leaving Rome.
A sports club — you join them for the day
See the day
On the waterWalk in from the lakeshore into a volcanic lake: shelving bottom, no current.
A sports club — you join them for the day
See the day
Under the groundWalk into the hill on wet steps, in a guided group of no more than twelve.
€10 per person
Books on grottepastenacollepardo.it
See the dayLinks marked affiliate pay us a commission — you pay the operator's own price and we never take your money. How we rank