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Ponza Island Day Trip from Rome
4.8
223 Ratings
Roma
Embark on a captivating day trip from Rome to Ponza Island. Swim in the crystal-clear sea, explore sea caves, and indulge in a delicious captain’s seafood pasta lunch. Upgrade to a private tour for a more personalized experience. Book now!
Embark on a captivating day trip from Rome to Ponza Island. Swim in the crystal-clear sea, explore sea caves, and indulge in a delicious captain’s seafood pasta lunch. Upgrade to a private tour for a more personalized experience. Book now!
Duration:
14 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Grotte di Pilato - Admire Pilate’s Sea Grottoes once use to farm eels in Ancient Roman times.
- Grotte di Pilato - Admire Pilate’s Sea Grottoes once use to farm eels in Ancient Roman times.
What's Included
- 5-hour boat cruise around Ponza
- English-speaking tour leader
- Snorkel equipment rental (if option selected)
- Lunch
- In-vehicle air conditioning
- 5-hour boat cruise around Ponza
- English-speaking tour leader
- Snorkel equipment rental (if option selected)
- Lunch
- In-vehicle air conditioning
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Round trip fast ferry ticket
- Gratuities
- Round trip fast ferry ticket
Additional Information
Enjoy a relaxing full-day trip from Rome to Ponza Island, complete with opportunities to swim and explore. Dive into the crystal-clear waters, uncover sea caves, bask in the sun, savor a freshly prepared seafood pasta lunch, sip on wine, and enjoy leisure time on the island. Discover Ponza’s rich history and its connection to the Greek poet Homer.
The…
Enjoy a relaxing full-day trip from Rome to Ponza Island, complete with opportunities to swim and explore. Dive into the crystal-clear waters, uncover sea caves, bask in the sun, savor a freshly prepared seafood pasta lunch, sip on wine, and enjoy leisure time on the island. Discover Ponza’s rich history and its connection to the Greek poet Homer.
The ferry to Ponza (€60, not included, payable at check-in) departs from Anzio and takes 1.5 hours. Upon arrival, enjoy a brief breakfast break before boarding an excursion boat for a 5-hour cruise around the island. Explore hidden coves, stunning rock formations, and sea grottoes while your guide provides English translations of the Italian commentary. Make 4–5 stops for swimming and snorkeling, and relish a picnic-style pasta lunch prepared by the captain.
On select dates, you can upgrade to a small group (maximum 15 people) for a more elaborate lunch, including friselle with tomatoes, fish-based pasta, dessert, fruit, water, regional wine, and coffee.
Return to Rome by 9:00 PM.
- Due to a strict schedule, late arrivals cannot be accommodated and may not be entitled to a full refund
- It is recommended that you bring sun protection, a bathing suit, a towel and a light jacket
Location
Caffè Cestia
Piazza di Porta San Paolo
Meet front of Caffè Cestia in Piazza di Porta San Paolo 1. Please note that above the bar the sign says “BAR PIRAMIDE” and not Caffè Cestia. Look for our representative wearing the color bright green and carrying a flag. The cafè is open early. The closest metro is the Line B - Piramide station.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(223 Ratings)
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Jillian_d
Sep 22, 2025
A must do! - Very cool experience with absolutely amazing sights. The tour guide was very nice and informative. There was plenty of swimming time and the water was wonderful! I definitely would recommend, as it’s a great way to get out of the city!
Review provided by Viator
Passport793543
Sep 9, 2025
Do this tour! - It was a truly wonderful day! Ricardo was a knowledgeable and kind host-he did a great job telling us about the sights and was really fun!
Ponza was absolutely beautiful (yes! The water really is that color) and worth the longer trip, especially with the provided transportation making everything so easy.
If I had one note, it would be that I wish it was a bit more clear that the boat would be shared with folks beyond the tour group. I would have packed differently and it was surprising when we arrived. It made the experience more authentic, which turned out to be great.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Amber_j
Aug 20, 2025
Fantastico - It was so amazing! It’s a long tiring day so sleep well the night before. There was more than enough pasta, wine, and water for everyone. I brought my own snorkeling gear but they do give you a chance when you get on the bus to add it if you didn’t prepay. I went solo but met great people there. I was nervous about leaving my stuff on the boat but it was 100% safe. The water was wonderful. It was very hot tho so bring your sunscreen, shades, and hat. Water shoes are not necessary as most places we swam (besides the cave) were so deep you couldn’t touch the rocks beneath the water. Mara is an excellent tour guide and super friendly! You should definitely book this trip. You won’t regret it!!
The only down sides were:
-No toilet paper in the bathroom on the boat
-You pay the ferry fee in cash before getting the bus. I had not read this before booking so the grand total for the day is 260€ without snorkeling gear or 290€ with it. This is per person. I think it was helpful to have everything pre planned so I didn’t mind the extra expense although I did consider going independently.
Review provided by Viator
Heidi_d
Sep 12, 2025
Bucket List Trip Delivers with Room for Improvement - First, the good stuff: Being able to stay in Rome and still see the Mediterranean was amazing! The tour guide was very friendly and helpful. The bus ride there was fine and comfortable. The ferry was crowded but thankfully, I didn’t get seasick (took Travelgum). Ponza Island is absolutely stunning! The water goes from turquoise to deep blue. To be able to snorkel in the sea was a bucket list item for my husband. It was very special experience. Now for the constructive feedback: the boat is too crowded. There were at least 35 of us on first level and maybe 6-10 could fit upstairs. The benches were hard and you are elbow to elbow. Once people claim their seats there’s no switching. Some people placed their bags on the bench and then sat down somewhere else, taking up that space. Here was our biggest complaint: smoking and vaping is allowed on the small boat! It should be prohibited or at least restricted to an area of the boat and when guests are swimming. The gentleman seated by us vaped the ENTIRE trip. It was terrible. The pasta lunch is ok. I recommend less olive oil and more Parmesan, salt and pepper. The bus ride back we were stuck in traffic which extended the trip another hour. We are glad we went but there is room for improvement. Thanks!
Review provided by Viator
Jon_g
Sep 8, 2025
Avoid booking through Viator - The island of Ponza is beautiful and sailing/swimming around the island amazing.There is a lot of travelling to get there and back from Rome but we were aware of this and it was ok.I originally booked the trip through get your guide which was cheaper than viator.I received a text cancelling my trip from the operator eco art and was given 2 alternative dates Friday/Saturday neither possible for us to attend.We then booked through Viator for the Thursday which I could make but slightly more expensive, I then received a text from the same person at eco art welcoming me and confirming my trip.So why didn’t they offer me the Thursday originally it looks like they just wanted to hike up the price.I contacted Viator through their price match policy and was fobbed off.Beware of booking this trip as it maybe cancelled and have the price increased.Also avoid booking through Viator if you can as it is more expensive.
Review provided by Viator
Wendy_n
Sep 5, 2025
Ferry Failure - The guide was wonderful. The boat trip was beautiful. Something happened to our return ferry where the tickets were not booked far enough in advance. We had to take a different ferry. This created an extra 2 hours of travel. It made a long day even longer. Due to this, I would not recommend it for young children or older people. We were in a large family group. The older and younger folks found the long ferry and shuttle ride to be a bit much.
Review provided by Viator
Lexi_n
Aug 28, 2025
Ponza Day Trip - It was really fun i enjoyed the spots where we stopped and could swim, didn’t offer a lot of water except when we ate. And there was an overbooking so we had another hour long bus ride. we were traveling more than we were on the boat. But other than that it was really fun
Review provided by Viator
Morino_r
Aug 19, 2025
It's good, but take the things that I said into account - Great tour, you get to go around the island and swim three times in general as well as admire the beauty of the landscape what you do need to be aware of, what is not mentioned as far as I know in the general travel information regarding this tour is that pick up is at 7:00 a.m. in the morning and you approximately drive an hour to two hours to the island of Ponza, and then you take the ferry (you will be asked to pay for separately) to the location where you'll be taking the boat. There are also in general a dozen people that will be with you, so around 12. It's worth the trouble obviously but be advised that you need to bring a towel and general beach attire, as well as brace yourself for the hot sun bearing down on you relentlessly for hours on end.
Review provided by Viator
111sezza111
Sep 1, 2025
Communication is key. 17 hrs later… - Not happy that it took over 4 hrs longer to get back to Rome after 00:00! Our guide didn’t communicate with us. No food, toilet, water for hours and hours. Stuck on a bus dropping off 3 people. (Think it was the guides friends) to another city before Rome. That was NOT on the agenda and what we paid for! Extremely disappointed! Started at 07:00 am ended 00:30. 17hrs later….. Very pissed off and unhappy customers! All of us are totally unimpressed with our guide and the way it was handled. At the end of the trip, he literally got off the bus, no apology, nothing said and walked off in shame. Leaving us standing there like idiots. A great shame to what could have been a wonderful experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Irina_s
Aug 21, 2025
Disappointed. - Very high price for what it really is. A little disappointing.
I expected more. A lot of people on the boat, you couldn't get back and forth.
Bathing stops were made among a multitude of boats. They weren't especially pretty places.
Bad food.
The only good thing to assess positively is the personnel on board, the captain of the ship a 10. Also the guide and assistance staff.
Review provided by Viator
