Where to meet at Termini station?

Old Sep 18th, 2015, 10:41 AM
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Where to meet at Termini station?

I will arrive from Florence to Rome on the fast train @11:35 am in November. My sister's flight will arrive FCO @10:30 am. We are going to share an apartment rental at Campo Di Fiori.
I suggested that my sister take the Leonardo express train from FCO to Termini station and meet me somewhere inside the station. There are 3 levels at the Roma Termini station according to their website. Where can we meet? Is there some prominent (and safe) landmark we can use? I am a bit worried about the pick pockets and "helpers" at the station. Should we each go directly to Campo Di Fiori rather than meeting at the train station? What's the best route to get from where the trains arrive to the taxi stand?
Thanks!
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Old Sep 18th, 2015, 11:05 AM
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There is a nice bookstore, as I recall, on the main level. You could meet in the area with books in English.
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Old Sep 18th, 2015, 11:08 AM
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Disregard "helpers" and keep walking.
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Old Sep 18th, 2015, 11:12 AM
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I think it would be harder to find each other at Campo di Fiori. I wouldn't worry about helpers. Just don't let anyone transport your luggage for you or help you buy tickets from a kiosk and you should be fine.

Trains arrive on the main level of Termini (platform level). You can pick one of the fast food places to meet.

http://www.romatermini.com/en/map

http://www.romatermini.com/en/store/index/food

It might take her a couple of hours (depends on whether she has to wait for luggage) to reach Termini. After she gets her luggage, she will have to walk over to the FCO train station and the Leonardo departs every 30 minutes so she might have to wait that long for a train if one has just departed. The train travel time is about 30 minutes also.
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Old Sep 18th, 2015, 11:29 AM
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Will you have access to your apartment at noon? I'd think that would be the place to meet. If not, ask the owner or agent for the closest cafe to the apartment and meet there. Both of you can confirm the location on Google street view. You can have a proviso, if you miss each other somehow, meet at the door of the apartment at check-in time.

Termini can be chaotic and if either of you is unfamiliar with it, it could be a confusing option.
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Old Sep 18th, 2015, 11:57 AM
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I second MmePerdu unless you really want to share a cab to your place with your sister.

I need current confirmation on this, please you folks who have recently visited Roma:

If you google Piazza dei Cinquecento and zoom in on the map, you should see some of the shops/restos at the end of the terminal where the taxis pick up. It has been enough years since DH and I arrived there, I don't want to assume things are the same!
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Old Sep 18th, 2015, 12:28 PM
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There is a passenger waiting room alongside track 1, which is the best place to meet. It's hard to miss it. It will be on your left, near the beginning of the track. It's next to a bank, the Intesa San Paolo, I think.

There's an attendant, and in theory you can't enter unless you have a train ticket, used or unused. They used to check that, but I've never been asked to show it in the past several years. Just in case, hold onto your Leonardo da
Vinci Express ticket.

Try to sit near the door, so your sister can see you when she arrives. You should have a plan B, though, in case one of the flights is greatly delayed.
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Old Sep 18th, 2015, 01:25 PM
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The book store is Bori books and there is a coffee bakery place called Momentos near the bookstore. Other restaurants and shops also, but these are small enough you could find each other and you could be sitting with a coffee or snack to pass the time.
Since she arrives an hour before you, if all goes on time, you might not have too long of a wait, but you never know. I would probably figure on a half hour wait. Otherwise, head on to your apartment.
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Old Sep 18th, 2015, 01:34 PM
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I don't like arranging to meet at a coffee shop, because it often ends up with hogging a table while other people are looking for one.

The passenger waiting room is a much more appropriate place to wait. It's not huge, and I've met people there with no problems.
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Old Sep 19th, 2015, 04:07 PM
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Thanks for all the suggestions. I like to plan/book ahead whereas my sister is the complete opposite. The apartment is managed by Hotel Campo Di Fiori, I hope to be able to check in before the 2 pm official check in hour. Reservation is in my name so my sister can't check in if she gets there directly from FCO (she just decided 2 days ago that she would join me in Rome).
Passenger waiting room by Track 1 sounds like a great idea.
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Old Sep 19th, 2015, 06:09 PM
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Have you double checked with Hotel Campo de'Fiori that your sister can't check in without you? This should be a very easy thing to arrange with them.

Also, is Hotel Campo de'Fiori an actual hotel with a lobby? That would be the place to meet if for some reason they won't honor your request to check in your sister if she arrives first.
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Old Sep 19th, 2015, 06:19 PM
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>> . . . so my sister can't check in if she gets there directly from FCO
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Old Sep 20th, 2015, 07:59 AM
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If you're checking in through a hotel, don't they have a lobby where you could wait?

I just think trying to meet at the train station sounds like a hassle, without any real gain.
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Old Sep 20th, 2015, 08:04 AM
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>>. . . don't they have a lobby where you could wait?
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Old Sep 20th, 2015, 08:12 AM
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<don't like arranging to meet at a coffee shop, because it often ends up with hogging a table while other people are looking for one.>

I don't understand this at all... You're a customer, same as everyone else. Order some food/beverage while you wait. How is that "hogging" anything?

I still say both people just going to the hotel on their own will be the simplest with the least chance for error.
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Old Sep 21st, 2015, 01:25 AM
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I told my sister that we should meet at the hotel as I really want to leave the train station ASAP. She hasn't bought the airline tickets yet. I shall enjoy my Roman holiday whether she shows up or not. Thanks everyone for your advice.
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Old Sep 21st, 2015, 04:12 AM
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Hogging a table means buying a cup of coffee and sitting there for an hour because you arranged to meet someone whose flight (or train) is late. Fiumicino international arrivals has a small coffee shop, which is always full of people hogging tables according to that definition. Maybe it wouldn't bother you, but I don't do it because it feels very discourteous to me.
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Old Sep 21st, 2015, 10:30 AM
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I'd order some food if my wait stretched on. And several more glasses of wine. I'm not just sitting there with one cup of coffee for an hour.
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Old Sep 21st, 2015, 01:32 PM
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Lots of people do just that, though, and they also put their bags on nearby chairs and encumber all the space around the tables with their luggage.

If there's a place designed specifically for waiting, called a waiting room, why not leave that coffee shop space for those who really need to get something to eat before taking a three-hour train trip?
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Old Sep 21st, 2015, 01:35 PM
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They're meeting at the hotel lobby. You can quit scolding everyone now.
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