MollyJones

Hi

I am looking at booking a shuttle/transfer from Leonardo Da Vinci airport to Rome accommodation. My flight arrives at 6am. Shuttle prices at this hour are more expansive than at 7am.

Will it take me an hour to get through customs etc?

I don't really want to be sitting around waiting for 7am to roll around i'd prefer to pay the extra than sit around for 30-45mins.

Thanks

wanderlust5

I rather imagine, from past trips I've taken, you'll be in baggage claim a bit waiting for the bags to arrive first. I think your hour will be well taken up by getting bags, waiting in line etc. You might get through with all before 7:00 but I doubt it will be too much before 7, if at all. In the past several trips to Rome, I've waited 1/2 hour or more at Rome for the bags to spit out on the carousel.

francesco_m

I agree. It usually takes 40 minutes to an hour for people to come out with their luggage after their plane is landed.

JoanneH

40-45 min is about right however allow an hour to be safe. We got stuck behind a group of middle eastern folks and were in customs line 11/2 hrs when in the end the agent asked who was from USA hands went up he opened a door and they never even looked at or stamped our passports. They were checking everything thoses people had with them + all their cases.

ParadiseLost

Joanne, Been there .
Last year I figured I'd stop in the Men's Room and freshen-up. Because I'd be waiting on my luggage anyway after Passport Control.

Well when I got to Passport Control the people at the front of the line were from my plane and between them and I was a planeload of people from a Visa required country.

It took me 1hr and of course the section of line I was in was in line with the booth they decided to close.

My luggage didn't arrive and of course the Lost Luggage line I was in closed when it was my turn .

Molly, Customs is just a walk-thru before you exit into the public Arrivals Hall.
It's Passport Control that might take some time. That hour was the longest I have ever waited usually it was maybe ±20min on my other trips.
Regards, Walter

Dayle

Molly,

I landed at about 8:30 am, stopped off at the restroom, picked up my suitcase in about 10 minutes and was through customs in 1 minute flat.

There was a medium line of people at the one booth that appeared open and everyone else just followed like sheep getting into that same line.

I saw an agent at the other side of the booth, with no one in line at all, walked up and asked "Aperto?", He replied, Si, Si!, stamped my passport and off I went.

Don't be afraid to ask questions....

Buon viaggio!

Budman

Customs is not the problem -- Immigration (passport control) is the hold up.

We landed in the morning along with a lot of other flights. The place was mobbed with people pushing and shoving. No lines, no order, and I said to myself -- Welcome to Italy.

If you are a member of the EU, no problem, no lines. All the rest of the cattle (hundreds of people) trying to get thru 3-4 lines, and the Italians were in no hurry.

Picking up your luggage and walking thru customs was a "piece of cake."

SusanP

Just in case you're not flying direct from the US, last month I flew Lufthansa from JFK with a connection in Munich. In that case, you go through Immigration Control in Munich (or wherever your EU connection is), and from there, it's like from flying from one state in the US to another. In Rome, they never even looked at my passport, I just walked through the "Nothing to Declare" spot and was through in no time. I had booked a shuttle and actually got to the appointment with the owner of the apartment I was renting 10 minutes early.

Waldo

I love Italy, and I visit yearly. However, from the time I leave the plane until I leave the airport in Rome, to me, is likened like a seat in a dentist's chair, similar to the scene in Marathon Man, where Dustin Hoffman is being tortured by having his nerves drilled into by the dentist (Laurence Olivier), with no anesthtetic. The episode in the airport is torture. For some reason, the bags take forever to unload, the carousels are terrible, and customs is slow and horrendous. I gotta admit, that once I leave that doggoned airport, the world becomes rosy, and everything Italian becomes a joy.