Annie

My husband and I will be flying out of Rome at 1:15 pm on a Tuesday (it's during Holy Week). Our last few days will be in Florence, and were planning to take the train out of Florence on the morning of the day of our flight. According to the schedules, we can catch an 8:55 Eurostar, and be in Rome by 10:30 (there are also earlier trains available). A cab ride from the Termini to the airport *should* get us there in plenty of time. Hate to cut short our time in beautiful Florence, but certainly don't want to miss our flight. Any advise would be much appreciated.

Ed

Don't know what your airline is recommending for check-in time for your flight ex-Rome. Perhaps two hours? <BR> <BR>Your timing seems just about on the money, but leaves too little slack for unforseen problems for my stomach. (And in Italy it is wise to take along a sense of humor and antacids.) <BR> <BR>Two hour checkins always seems greatly excessive to me ... except at Fiumicino. I've seen lines run way out the door for the ticket counters for a particular airline flight. Similarly I've often seen the longest lines in Europe for getting through passport control once you're actually checked in. <BR> <BR>Italian Rail is doing a better job than ever of running on time (Mussolini really didn't succeed it seems) but snags can happen. <BR> <BR>Lines/delays don't happen often necessarily, but boy does my stomach bubble when I've cut things a bit close and one of these problems pops up. <BR> <BR>I'd at the least catch an hour earlier train. That wouldn't leave a lot of cushion but some is better than almost none.

zz-top

WAY TOO CLOSE !!! <BR> <BR>Take the earlier train. <BR>1. Not allowing any "wiggle" time if all doesn't go according to plan. Usually the EuroStar does run on time, but . . . it's Italy . . . Nuf said. <BR>2. It's Holy Week and there will be alot of visitors travelling then.

StCirq

Yikes! Given the country, I'd be very concerned about making that connection. On paper it looks good - in reality, something will go wrong. <BR> <BR>

Tina

Annie - <BR> <BR>If it were me (I've been to Italy several times) I'd take the earlier EuroStar which leaves Firenze @ 7:22 am and arrives into Roma @ 8:57 am. At that point if you're on time in Rome and don't want to immediately continue on to airport, you can go get a capuccino & cornetto in Rome (part your suitcases @ "Deposito Bagligo" [left luggage]).

Annie

Many thanks for all your help. Tina, we'll be taking your advice and adding an extra hour and a half 'cushion' onto our trip. So many wise travelers on this board! BTW, Ed, your site has been so helpful in planning the Rome portion. Thanks for all you do.