# Rome- Happy Village and Camping



## Grizzly

We've gone through all the options and settled on Happy Village and Camping as the site from which we'll aim to spend a few days seeing Rome after Easter.

It will be ACSI rates when we go - a big saving.

It seems easy to get to from the north and not too long or difficult a journey to Rome itself.

We don't want to be tied down to a booking and hope, the week after Easter, we'll be able to get a place when we arrive.

If anyone knows of any reason why we should not go to this site or, if we're missing a real gem of a site, I'd be grateful for their advice.

G


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## pneumatician

*Happy Village*

I am pretty sure this is the site we stayed at about 3 yrs ago.
A free bus takes you to the station and thence by train to Rome takes about 30 mins.
We found it a good site, clean, with helpfull staff. Move from there to Lake Trasimino to watch the Otters and see Assisi etc.

Enjoy yourselves.

Steve


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## impala666

Good site ....should book online with acsi dvd....could be a lot of germans and dutch there then...& yes tasimano is great...but again book first

If u want to go to the cistine chapel.....get in the que by 9 am or before.

Brian


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## Grizzly

Thanks both...that's very reassuring. We don't usually target a site but there are so many around Rome and we do want to get it right.

Thanks also for the good advice about the chapel -definitely on our list- and the lake.

G


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## eddied

*Roma campsites*

 Buona sera, grizzly.
Well, I'm afraid I'm a bit of a stick in the mud when it comes to sites in Rome.
I'm sure you've made a good choice for your own purposes, but you really should look at :

www.ecvacanze.it
the campsite at Via Aurelia 831,
phone +39 06 6623018.

this site really has everything, immaculate toilet/showers/dishwashing facilities, a separate laundry facility, a snack bar, a restaurant, an on site mini market, hard standings well distributed for motorhomes with 10 amp EHU. An excellent info booth that sells bus tickets, and an Internet shop if you need it.
Across the via Aurelia a footbridge to a very big and well stocked hypermarket. Just outside the gate bus stop to metro stations/Vatican City/Rome centre. Site also has its own shuttle bus service to the vatican at set times.
I never book, even at Easter, and have never had a problem.
If I'm just wafting thru Rome for one night, then often use an area attrezzata:
www.parkingleterrazze.it

There are of course other sites, but don't know them personally:
www.villageflaminio.com
www.campingtiber.com

If you go up to Trasimeno, then also go via lake Bolsena. You can go up the Aurelia from Rome, then across to Bolsena, from there a short drive to Orvieto (a good area attrezzata in Orvieto) and then just up the autostrdada to reach Trasimeno from the Chianciano turn off.
In both places lots of aree and campsites, and both lovely after the bustle of Roma.

Whatever you choose, you will fall in love with Roma.
saluti,
eddied


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## Grizzly

*Re: Roma campsites*



eddied said:


> Buona sera, grizzly.
> Well, I'm afraid I'm a bit of a stick in the mud when it comes to sites in Rome.


Aaahhhgggg! Oh Eddied, that looks such a lovely site ! ( Camping Roma) and is a bus ride from the Vatican , not 30 mins away. It's about twice as expensive as Happy Village ( using ACSI card) BUT, we won't have to pay so much for transport I suspect so it might work out the same.

I'm back to Quadrato Uno aren't I ?! Indecisive ? Moi ?

The information about the lake and points north is spot on. Many thanks.

We've never been to Rome so are both looking forward to it very much.

Thanks again

G


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## Carper

Grizzly said:


> We've gone through all the options and settled on Happy Village and Camping as the site from which we'll aim to spend a few days seeing Rome after Easter.
> 
> It will be ACSI rates when we go - a big saving.
> 
> It seems easy to get to from the north and not too long or difficult a journey to Rome itself.
> 
> We don't want to be tied down to a booking and hope, the week after Easter, we'll be able to get a place when we arrive.
> 
> If anyone knows of any reason why we should not go to this site or, if we're missing a real gem of a site, I'd be grateful for their advice.
> 
> G


Hi

We stayed at Happy Village and Camping in late june last year. The showers, toilets and laundry facilities are very clean. The pitches are on a hill, though they are level...sort of terraced. There is a nice bar/restaurant which also incorporates a take-away and mini-market. The pool is good with an olive tree shaded area with some of the most comfortable sun beds i have ever layed, slept and snored on 8O 8O

The site was very peaceful and had a very relaxed feel about it. The staff were very friendly and helpful

The shuttle bus runs every 30 mins, and takes you to a local station, where for about 7 euro, you can get to the centre of Rome

The site has Wifi and internet pcs in an air-condition room beside the reception....which was handy as the temperature was nudging 40c

I can't comment on the approach from the north, as we came across from Pineto on the Adriatic

We never booked, just turned up...as we did on the other 50 odd sites we stayed on during the spring/summer, except Camping Butterfly at Garda

Doug


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## Grizzly

Carper said:


> [
> The shuttle bus runs every 30 mins, and takes you to a local station, where for about 7 euro, you can get to the centre of Rome


Thanks Doug...it's reassuring to know you got in without booking and at peak season too. We don't usually book but, with big city honeypot places, I always worry a little.

It does look, with 14 euros for fares, as if Camping Roma is going to work out costing the same.

G


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## Carper

*Re: Roma campsites*



Grizzly said:


> eddied said:
> 
> 
> 
> Buona sera, grizzly.
> Well, I'm afraid I'm a bit of a stick in the mud when it comes to sites in Rome.
> 
> 
> 
> Aaahhhgggg! Oh Eddied, that looks such a lovely site ! ( Camping Roma) and is a bus ride from the Vatican , not 30 mins away. It's about twice as expensive as Happy Village ( using ACSI card) BUT, we won't have to pay so much for transport I suspect so it might work out the same.
> 
> I'm back to Quadrato Uno aren't I ?! Indecisive ? Moi ?
> 
> The information about the lake and points north is spot on. Many thanks.
> 
> We've never been to Rome so are both looking forward to it very much.
> 
> Thanks again
> 
> G
Click to expand...

Hi...again

We loved Rome and have vowed to return

Please be aware that pedestrians are expendable in Rome, as i am sure you will find out, though in a strange way it adds to the charm of the city. it is very entertaining to side at a pavement cafe, watching the traffic pass. Don't get caught halfway across the road when the lights turn green.....it could be painful 8O 8O The local drivers don't wear seat belts as they believe it shows a complete lack of confidence in your driving.

Someone did tell us that Romes answer to road safety, is to build bigger and better hospitals 8O 8O

Though we were there in late June, they had a special offer and only paid 12euro a night

Doug


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## impala666

As Rome is a large city . Tourist sites are spread out so can reccomend the tourist bus trip. Do not combine it with the river trip which wastes time, without good views....unlike the Paris Seine trip.

Brian


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## eddied

*Rome camping*

 Buon giorno Grizzly, sorry to upset your plans. Bear in mind when caculating the costs that with the 'BIG' public transport ticket at Euro 4 per person per day you can travel on all the buses that pass Camping Roma, and all the Metro lines, for 24 hours come and go as you please.
I didn't mention that Camping Roma also has a swimming pool - though that may not be open in April (just after Easter your trip?)
saluti,
eddied


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## babyrhino

Agree with everything that has been said about this site - we were there in September last year and it was quite busy but we didn't book.

the shuttle service to the station is very good - and free! We stayed for three days and went into the city each day - at the time it was 10 Euro for a three day travel anywhere ticket for the trains, metro and buses.

You do get a bit of a shock when you first arrive at the local station - it's a bit difficult to see it for the graffiti! Ditto the train.

One morning when we were travelling into the city, a group of young people got on the train who appeared to be in evening dress under their coats. They were also tugging quite large wooden boxes on wheels and we were wondering what on earth they could be doing.

Later, in one of the squares we saw them again - this time they were performing a variety of tunes on a huge range of partially water filled wine bottles, frantically jumping from one to another in order to hit the different notes. All of this was being conducted with verve by a young lady who also acted as master of ceremonies!

Regards

Brian


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## StephandJohn

We stayed at Happy Village last year and can't fault it. When we went to the Vatican we were approached be someone on the street to join a tour and went to he head of the queue because we were on an official tour. Cost 40 euros which included entrance fees and a 3 hour guide by a tourguide who was an art historian. Did the same at the Coliseum.
I'm always suspicious of being approached on the street but these two worked out well.


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## 04HBG

A handy place to stop if you want to visit Rome is Tivoli. 
We stopped at the free aire or is it siosta, it had room for about 100 motorhomes and there was a regular bus service and i believe train service to Rome.
Tivoli itself is a nice little town to visit.

RD


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## Grizzly

Thanks Steph and RD. All this information is going into my file and your ears will be burning some time in April when we thank you again for making our visit to Rome go smoothly !

G


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## scept1c

Hi G, we stayed at Happy Village Camping for 5 nights in late April last year. We didn't book and had no problems getting in. We used ACSI at 14€ per night.

The terraced site was good and the showers and toilets were excellent. As said in earlier posts, there is a bar/restaurant and mini market and the staff were pretty friendly.

The mini bus service was very good. It takes and collects people from the local station and this was where things were not quite so good. The station was covered in grafitti and not very clean. There were a lot of suspicious looking characters in the area and I would have been very uncomfortable waiting for the mini bus after dark.

The first day we went into Rome was eductional. We arrived at about 10am at the Vatican museum to find a massive queue and chose not to avail of the services of the queue jumper guides. We waited in the queue for about 45 minutes. When we exited the museum at about 3pm we found that there were no queues and we were later told that it is better to go later to avoid the queue.

A word of warning, avoid the street traders like the plague. While waiting in the queue for the Vatican museum we thought that it might be a long time before we could get anything to eat and didn't want to leave the museum too soon, so my wife went to a nearby trader and bought 2 miserable cheese and ham rolls and a small bottle of orange. She got stung for 19€. The museum has a restaurant and pizzeria with much more reasonable prices.

Lots of fantastic things to see in Rome, the list is endless but do not miss St Peter's Basilica.


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## exmusso

*Happy Village Camping Rome*

Hi G,

We arrived at the above fully expecting it to be open in December on our way to Sicily.

A small notice it the reception stated it was closed until March. I managed to track down some builders who were in the process of ripping out the old toilets, sinks etc. and were replacing with new tiling.

I was told it was closed until March and directed to Camping Flaminio which just happened to be in the '3 day' high season and was stung for 41 euros for the night of 5th Dec. I have since found out the three days high season price was "The Immaculate Conception" was being celebrated by the Italians.

Would be worthwhile checking if the builders are finished before you go.

Cheers,
Alan


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## Grizzly

Thanks sceptic...I'm getting more and more excited about this !

Good point Alan. We aim to arrive soon after 15th April ( ie when the ACSI rates kick in) but will phone and check first. 

G


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## scept1c

Bear in mind that the ACSI discount will end a day or two before the May public holiday. That's why we left last year because the price went up to 32€. There was a mass exodus 2 days before the holiday weekend. 8)


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## Grizzly

scept1c said:


> Bear in mind that the ACSI discount will end a day or two before the May public holiday. That's why we left last year because the price went up to 32€. There was a mass exodus 2 days before the holiday weekend. 8)


We'll be well away by then. We aim to go south- or north .

G


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## Jede

Hi all 
We are at Camping Flaminio now on our way back from staying in Sicily for two months Sicily. Great site,fantastic facilities, restraunt and bar on site, supermarket across the road. easy to get to Rome but you have to cross two very busy roads ( via good safe pedestrian traffic lights)to get to the station.

We stayed here on the way down and liked it so much we've stopped on the way back.


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## hmh

*Sicily*

What is Sicily like at this time of year?

Helen


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## Jede

Sicily was great, some really hot days. we had some strong winds and rain, really blowing at times but the temp. did not go below 10-12 deg. day or night, usually warmer during the day. we stayed on the north all teh time we were there. The south side took a bit of a pounding this year. First time we've been, really enjoyed it. We got out on the motorbike a lot, some of the hill towns are amazing. The people who live up there must be part goat !


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## Grizzly

Do you have to book for the Messina ferry or can you just arrive and go ?

We (might) be going around mid- April.

G


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## hmh

*Sicily*

We thought of going from France to Sardinia, then on to Sicily . . .

However, the guide books on Sicily make a great thing of - 
don't leave anything visible in your car, put the strap of your handbag over your head etc. et .

How safe is it? There are parts of Italy (near Bari for example) where locals told us it wasn't safe to park up on the seafront, we should leave the camper on a campsite etc.

What did you do?

Sardinia is supposed to be much safer, but we have not been to either island yet.

Helen


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## Jede

The ferry was arrive and go, very slick operation. We stayed on one campsite the whole time. very handy for shops local town very close. Palermo has a bad rep. for bag snatches but as we don't lke cities much we never went in. We had no problems inthe time we were there. Don't know about parking on seafronts and safety but I should imagine it's as safe as anywhere else. Most people we met had spent time in Spain and said Sicily has less of a crime problem. Never having camped in Spain I can't comment.


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## Grizzly

Jede said:


> The ferry was arrive and go, very slick operation.


Thanks very much - very helpful information.

G


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## StephandJohn

Which campsite was it Jede?


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## Jede

Rais Gerbi, nice site not top luxury but clean loads of hard standing. special deals for ove a months stay. a lot of the people we met stayed there all winter.


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## Addie

I see there is a lot of debate about where to stay when in Rome. We stayed at Camping Roma which is a nice site with a good supermarket across the road (with a foot bridge) and regular buses 4 Euro. The tickets can be bought on the site and are also valid on all buses and metros for the day. The ride into the centre takes about 20 minutes but drops you just round the corner from the Vatican and directly at a Metro station for exploration further afield.

Rome is a pretty mad place in terms of traffic - you'll see yourself when you go - try and plan your entry and exit away from rush hours if you can. When you cross the road you just 'go' and the traffic somehow goes around you - very surreal.

When we toured Italy, I must say we were pretty disappointed at anything South of Rome, Pompeii was a bit of a let down as was many of the South Western towns. We went round the bottom and back up the East side which is full of 'tourist resort' type places on the coast.

Make sure you plan a trip to San Marino though - there is a free Aire right outside the cable lift to the top- Carpark 10 I think from memory.

Ours was a whistle stop tour though, so there may be some hidden gems that we missed. Everyone seems so matter of fact on this forum, 'my way or the highway' - these are just my views - mix them with the others and make your own conclusions 

Check out our blog at http://adamsophie.blogspot.com


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## Jede

As you get further south the country definatley changes, it's much less "modern " than the north. I agree about Pompeii town. the ruins were great. There were only about fifty people in the whole place whem we were there in November 2008. The roads around the town are awful for a european city. further south feels like old world spain and the very unspoilt countryside is beautiful. We really enjoyed shopping locally even getting used to everything in Finale and Chefalu shuttng from 12:30 to 16:00.


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