Advice for meeting up in Rome
 

I have a dilemma. Two of my friends are scheduled to arrive into FCO at 3:45PM and I am scheduled to arrive at 8:00PM. We are planning to meet up and then head to Florence by train. Do you think it would be best to meet at the airport and then go to the train station (Roma Termini) or would it be better to meet at the train station? I don't want them to be bored out of their minds while waiting for me. Also, can you suggest a good meeting place for us at either location?

Thanks so much!!

I would meet them at the train station since they will have 4 hours ahead of you and can do something in Rome while they wait for you. You can take the train from the airport to the train station very easily. It would not be that hard to pick a meeting spot at the train station.

I agree with Grasshopper.

However, keep in mind that your options for going directly to Florence may be limited by your late arrival. It might be better to stay in Rome that night.

Per current schedules, the train choices at that hour:

21:16 EN dep Roma Tiburtina arr 23:20 Firenze CM

21:45 ES dep Roma Termini arr 23:32 Firenze SMN

22:50 ICN dep Roma Tiburtina arr 1:42 Firenze CM

and then nothing til 4:28AM

I doubt you could make the 23:20. The trip from FCO to Termini takes half an hour with trains leaving every half hour.

I have a friend who lives near the Campo di Marte station. On my visit to her last month she preferred not to take trains to that station at night because there's never any taxis waiting.

Yes, go into the train station in Rome. It's very easy to meet up at the spot where the train from the airport comes into Termini.

Check the schedules for the Leonardo Express from FCO to Termini. Make sure you can get there for that 21:45.

I would suggest a night in Rome as a much better option without tight connections.

Where are you flying from? Possible to change your arrival time? I know that is probably a silly question, but if you factor in the costs of missing the last train to Florence it might be worth the cost of a ticket change.

Ditto on staying the night in Rome. Unless you're flying from within Europe, you are likely to be quite tired anyway. If your plane arrives on time it will likely be an hour from landing to getting to a train then another half hour from there and that's if things run smoothly.
There are many hotels near the Termnini that are safe and affordable.