Last updated on August 2, 2025 by Shannon
On a five-day trip to Rome with my toddler and 69-year-old parents, finding the right day trip took me hours of research. We wanted something close, low-stress, walkable, and, well, cool. It needed to address why we were in Rome in the first place: for the history.
After spending a full day exploring Ostia Antica with my toddler and parents, I can confidently say: This was the perfect day trip from Rome for our family.
Why Day Trip to Ostia Antica?
Just 30 minutes from Rome, Ostia Antica is one of the best-preserved ancient Roman cities—it’s a quieter, more approachable Pompeii. I couldn’t wrap my head around the time commitment needed to visit Pompeii from Rome (I’ve visited it previously and believe is incredible). But with my parents and toddler in tow, it was simply too much round-trip travel time for a single day. The villas in Tivoli were a serious contender for our day trip, but the need for long walks and taxis between the villas meant Ostia Antica just made more sense.
Ostia Antica was once a bustling port city at the mouth of the Tiber River, and it’s now a sprawling archaeological park with welcoming ancient streets, well-preserved tiles and frescoes, and even a Roman theater.
What made it great for our family:
- 🚼 Wide open spaces for my toddler to explore safely
- 👟 Mostly flat walking paths with benches all of us used to rest
- 📸 Beautiful photo spots around every corner
- 🌳 Shade and greenery for breaks and picnics
And unlike the chaos at the Colosseum or Forum the day before, we weren’t jostling for space—it was peaceful, uncrowded, and still filled with Roman History.
Why We Skipped Pompeii and Tivoli
Pompeii is incredible, but requires hours of travel and more intense walking—too much for my toddler and parents. Tivoli looks beautiful, but the villas are spread out, and getting between them involves taxis or long uphill walks. Ostia Antica hit the sweet spot: immersive ruins, close to Rome, and walkable for all of us.
What to See at Ostia Antica (Even with Little Kids)
We spent around three hours wandering the ruins, stopping often to let my kiddo explore and giving my parents plenty of breaks in the shade. Then we spent an hour between the small museum and café, which made for a slow but interesting day.
The Necropolis
Don’t rush past the graveyard near the front gate—it was one of our family’s favorite spots.
The small tombs, low arches, and maze-like layout make it surprisingly fun to explore. My toddler darted through passageways while my mom followed him. I loved seeing the carvings up close, and my dad relaxed under a tree for a while just taking in the peaceful atmosphere. This section offers a quiet, shaded start to the visit—and it’s a great time to read (or listen to) the history before walking deeper into the ruins.
The Roman Theater
One of the most intact ruins onsite, the theater seats 3,500 and still has great acoustics. It was under renovations while we were there, otherwise my toddler would have surely run up and down the steps.
The Baths of Neptune
Famous for its black-and-white mosaic floors, the bath complex at Ostia Antica made for a fun wander.
The Museum & Its Frescoes
After wandering the ruins, we cooled off inside the small on-site museum—honestly, I wasn’t expecting much, but it was a highlight. My dad had mentioned the frescoes as one reason he wanted to go to Pompeii.
The frescoes at Osteo Antica are better: vivid reds, deep blues, and delicate figures that somehow survived 2,000 years of history and weather. I found these significantly better preserved than Pompeii.
It’s a short visit—20–30 minutes, tops—but well worth it. The museum also has statues, mosaics, and everyday objects that offered needed context to the ruins. For the adults in our group, the museum offered a picture of how this ancient site once rivaled Rome in complexity and culture.
For kids, it’s just the right size to point out a few cool things, have them pose like a few statues, and then go back to the free-roaming grass. My blood pressure spiked a bit inside with my high-energy toddler, and I ended up putting him in the stroller with some dried fruit for 10 minutes to keep his hands busy and off of the tipsy statues.
Tip: The museum is included in your entry ticket. The restrooms and shaded benches outside are perfect for a midday break.
Other Things to See
- Apartment Blocks & Shops: My parents enjoyed this section, but I sat it out while my toddler napped. You can wander into multi-story apartment buildings and storefronts that feel like time capsules from 2,000 years ago.
- The Forum: This is a classic Roman centerpiece you’d expect in any set of ruins, complete with temples, columns, and a palpable sense of history. Without the crowds of central Rome, we enjoyed this a lot.
🎧 Bonus Tip: Use the Rick Steves Audio Guide
Instead of hiring a tour guide, we followed Rick Steves’ free Ostia Antica audio tour, which walks you through the key sites with just enough historical context to keep it interesting—without slowing down the pace to frustrate my kiddo. You can also download a map that matches the audio route, which helped us stay on track and not miss anything important. Rather than use the buggy Rick Steves Audio Europe app, I just downloaded the audio MP3 here to all of our phones beforehand.
Tip: Download both the audio and the map before you go—there’s no Wi-Fi inside the ruins and cell service can be spotty.
How to Get to Ostia Antica from Rome
Getting to Ostia Antica is dead simple and ridiculously cheap—no car or tour needed.
🎟️ You can use a regular metro ticket (BIT) for the entire journey—just validate it once and you’re set. As of 2025, it costs just € 1.50 each way.
🚆 By Train (Best Option)
- From Rome, take Metro Line B to Piramide Station or take the bus to Piramide Station
- Transfer to the Roma-Lido commuter train
- Ride to Ostia Antica station (about 25 minutes) (often standing-room only)
- From the station, it’s a roughly 10 minute walk to the archaeological site via a pedestrian overpass and down some quiet streets.
🚗 By Car (Optional)
There’s parking available if you have a rental car, but honestly, public transport is easier and faster.
What to Bring
- Water: When it’s hot, you’ll be glad to have a refillable bottle—there’s a sidewalk fountain for refills between the train station and the entrance.
- Snacks: A small cafeteria-style café near the museum has limited but decent options. When we visited, they had a white asparagus lasagna (vegetarian), ham sandwiches, grilled vegetables, and one other (non-vetetarian) hot dish. Don’t count on a full lunch menu—bring snacks.
- Hat & sunscreen: There’s shade, but not everywhere. Use a quality high-factor sunscreen (this is my fav) and a wide-brimmed hat.
- Comfortable shoes: It’s a big site and though there are great grassy areas, the cobblestone and pebbled streets wouldn’t work well with flip flops.
- Stroller: Despite what others say, it’s not very stroller-friendly—a baby carrier (we used the mesh Ergobaby Omni 360 for years) would be easier on the many uneven stones and paths. I brought our lightweight travel stroller and although it was great for nap time, I could not push it through most of the archeological site with my toddler actually in it—the wheels get stuck within seconds in every cobble and stone.
If you’re planning a trip to Rome with family, Ostia Antica blends history, calm, and adventure. It offered immersive Roman history, yet it was compact enough for us enjoy in half a day.
We spent about four hours exploring at a leisurely pace—with plenty of snack breaks, photo ops, and time to let my toddler roam free. Wondering what else we did? Here are 5 Things My Toddler Loved in Rome.
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