If you’re looking for information about how to visit Sabaudia near Rome, you’ve come to the right place! This guide to the charming Lazio beach town of Sabaudia explains how to get to Sabaudia from Rome, and where to stay in Sabaudia.
This post also features insider tips about what to do in Sabaudia, including where to go to the beach in Sabaudia. Read on for the full story!
How to get to Sabaudia from Rome
The most practical answer to how to get to Sabaudia from Rome is by private car. Expect a 90 minute journey without traffic, considering that it’s about 80 km away. There are no tolls on the Pontina road but this gets extremely busy during the summer with beach-goers. Travelling early in the morning or late in the evening is always a good idea.
Of course, you may be relying on public transport, but this journey is still manageable. Unfortunately, there are no direct trains to Sabaudia from Rome, so you have to take an intercity coach, or a train + bus.
How to visit Sabaudia by train
From Roma Termini station, catch the regional train to Priverno-Fossanova, a 60 minute journey. From here, you need to catch a local bus to Sabaudia. This Cotral connection only leaves twice a day and takes 36 minutes. Consult the Cotral schedule here.
How to visit Sabaudia by intercity coach
This is probably the easiest of the public transport options, as no changes are required. The direct Rome-Sabaudia coach is also run by Cotral and takes 1′ 29″, departing every four hours. Catch it from Laurentina coach station in the south of the city of Rome.
Where to stay in Sabaudia
I recently visited Sabaudia for the weekend and was absolutely delighted with my choice of accommodation. The Mami Sabaudia Hotel opened last year in the centre of Sabaudia and is a great hotel choice for families, couples and friends.
The hotel itself is a handsome, gated property which recalls a Mexican villa, surrounded by heritage palm trees and spotless, mown lawns. Behind the hotel, an ample garden stages al fresco dining in the warmer months and intimate corners for relaxing throughout the day. It’s all run by the Ciacciarelli family, so expect a warm welcome and painstaking attention to detail.
The heart of the Mami Sabaudia Hotel is its sea-blue atrium which looks up to the first floor of the property through an open stairwell. Here, on the first floor, a day bed and picture windows create an air of peace and light.
There are 23 bedrooms in all, including suites that can host families of four. Most rooms have a private balcony with table.
This spotless hotel is just a five minute walk from the centre of Sabaudia, and a 15 minute stroll to the beach. The Mami Sabaudia Hotel is open all year round, and makes a charming destination any time of year, with rooms starting at €50 in the off season. Doubles usually exceed €120 in high season.
The Mami Sabaudia Hotel offers bed and breakfast options as well as half board. At this family-run hotel, everyone helps out at mealtimes, and the restaurant food is characterised by local, seasonal flavours. Expect down-home cooking in the evenings with two courses priced at a reasonable €25, or three courses for €30.
The hotel is also contemplating opening up its restaurant to non-hotel guests this summer, so bookmark this post for further details!
How to visit Sabaudia + a brief history
Sabaudia may be famous for its golden beaches but there’s a lot more to this Lazio seaside town. Although Sabaudia is a relatively new town, founded in the 1930s, its location makes it an extremely strategic base for exploring south Lazio.
Built as part of Mussolini’s vision for the southernmost part of Lazio, the settlement of Sabaudia only became possible thanks to extensive reclamation work to drain the swamps that characterised this part of the coast.
This vital land reclamation eliminated malarial breeding grounds and also paved the way for five new Lazio towns. They were Littoria, now Latina (1932); Sabaudia (1934); Pontinia (1935); Aprilia (1937); and Pomezia (1939). Following a national competition, the design for Sabaudia was unveiled in April 1933.
Although the town square is characterised by the Fascist architecture which nods to its past, much of Sabaudia comprises elegant villas and apartments today. Natural and manmade lakes flank the seafront, making this a paradise for watersports enthusiasts.
Sabaudia is convenient for the towns of Terraccina, Sperlonga and Gaeta, just a few miles further down the coast. These are all great day trips from Sabaudia.
Things to do in Sabaudia
Once you have solved the question of how to visit Sabaudia, the only question that remains is what to do in Sabaudia. The answer is: quite a lot!
Going to the beach in Sabaudia
In high season you may prefer to focus on spending time at the beach. One of the most famous beach clubs is called Saporetti, and here you can hire a sunbed, dine in the beachfront restaurant, and bathe in the sea beneath the ruins of Torre Paola. It gets very busy during high season, so be prepared to consider other options as well.
There is also plenty of ‘free beach’ in Sabaudia, so plan to bring your own towel and umbrella if you prefer a DIY option. The beaches here are divided from the town by huge dunes which are full of local flora, and the beach here has a wonderfully wild vibe out of season. Another wonderful thing to do in Sabaudia!
Explore Circeo National Park
One unmissable sight from the beaches of Sabaudia is Monte Circeo, a natural spur of rock covered in trees, and flanked by the biggest lowland forest in Italy. This forest, threaded with pathways, lakes, marshland and hillocks has everything if you’re passionate about the great outdoors. DIY options include walking through the forest and even hiking over the mountain, but if you’re not an experienced climber, it is essential to have a guide. However, this is definitely worth exploring as one of the best things to do in Sabaudia.
Circeo Be Wild
My expert guide through the forest of Circeo National Park was local business Circeo Be Wild. Based in the town of San Felice Circeo, a 15 minute drive from Sabaudia, Circeo Be Wild is an ideal resource for exploring the Parco Nazionale di Circeo. Hire a regular bike for €10 a day, an electric mountain bike for €35 a half-day, or take a guided e-bike tour for €50 a half-day, for a minimum of four people (this was what I did).
Our 3-hour guided e-bike ride through il Parco Nazionale di Circeo – assisted by electric motors mounted on the bikes – took us through woodland, past lakes, and up and down forest paths for an exhilarating tour of the National Park. It’s a great way to see everything quickly if you don’t have a lot of time in the area. The bikes are easy to handle and this is suitable for less experienced cyclists.
I really enjoyed the excursion and would definitely chose Circeo Be Wild again for another day out. Other services offered include kayaking or canoeing on the lake, guided trekking over the mountain or through the forest, dog trekking, windsurfing, SUP, sailing, diving, running, tennis, padel and even charter boats. So give them a ring or shoot them an email if you are planning to head to Cireco National Park or want to enjoy this stretch of the coast still further.
How to visit Sabaudia – daytrips from Sabaudia
There is a string of lovely coastal towns in this part of Lazio, all running down the coast south of Sabaudia. San Felice Circeo is the first one you reach, with a bustling high street and easy access to the Circeo National Park. Travelling by car, the next town is Terracina, famous for its fish; after that, you reach the towns of Sperlonga and eventually Gaeta.
Sperlonga is an unmissable spot, with white houses clustered on top of a rock and two wide and sandy beaches. If you’re looking for something different, Gaeta is still further south, and sprawls along kilometres of sandy beach, either side of its compact old town, complete with castle and cathedral.
If this post about Lazio’s beach towns has inspired you, don’t miss my complete guide to beaches in Lazio and my article about spending a night in the castle of Santa Severa, overlooking the sea. Followed, of course, by my guide to Italian swimwear style!
