Nordapo

Hello,

on Monday I'll be in Rome for about 12 hours. I intend to go to the Vatican at first. Which is the best way from Fiumicino to the Vatican?
After that, I want to start to go to the Circus Massimo, from where I want to go northwards by walk to see Ancient Rome.
At the end of the day, I want to go by Leonardo Express from Roma Termini to the airport Fiumicino.
(Icecream at Giolitti's and Pizza at Emma's)
Can anyone give some advice?

Greets
Sabine

.

gentle

Traveler_Nick

I wouldn't take the express.

You have two choices. Either take the Sita bus to Via Crescenzio

https://www.sitbusshuttle.com/en/

Or take the FL1 train to Roma San Pietro connect at Roma Trastevere

Pepper_von_snoot

I would take the Leonardo Express to Termini (32 minutes), then transfer to the Metro, Line A, Direction Battistini, and get off at Ottaviano Stop. Walk up Via Ottaviano to St Peter's Square.



Thin,aristocrat 🐪

kybourbon

How many people? If there are several, you might just want to get a taxi (fixed price of 48€).

Are you going to St. Peter's or the Vatican Museums? If not taking a taxi and you are going to St. Peter's, I would take the local FR1 train from the airport to S. Pietro station (requires a change at Trastevere station). 8€ if you buy the ticket all together. Trains to Trastevere depart every 15 minutes and travel time is about 25 minutes. The station is small so it's not hard to change trains to S. Pietro. Trains from Trastevere to S. Pietro depart every 5-10 minutes and travel time is about 5 minutes. If you buy the tickets separately, it's 8€ Fiumicino/Trastevere and 1€ Trastevere/S. Pietro. You can walk to St. Peter's from S. Pietro.

If you are going to the museum, you could take the Leonardo to Termini (14€). It runs every 30 minutes and travel time is about 30 minutes. You would change to the metro in Termini (underground). Get off at Ottaviano or the next stop Cipro. Watch for pickpockets on the metro.

>>>After that, I want to start to go to the Circus Massimo, from where I want to go northwards by walk to see Ancient Rome.<<<

You could take the metro from Ottaviano to Circus Massimo (requires a change at Termini). I'm not sure what you mean by Ancient Rome (a lot of Rome is ancient).

I don't see the need to go to Termini to go back to the airport. If by ancient Rome, you mean you will be at the Coloseum/Forum, I would just catch tram #8 at Piazza Venezia to Roma Trastevere station and take that train back to the airport (closer, less €, less travel time).

If you plan to do local train/metro/trams, I would buy a day pass (7€) to simplify things. It would cover the trams/buses/metro, local train between Trastevere and S Pietro. It won't cover the train to/from Fiumicino - Trastevere.

Train/metro map (pass covers metro, but only train lines to stations in red).

https://www.atac.roma.it/files/doc.asp?r=4

Tram map.

https://www.atac.roma.it/files/doc.asp?r=5

Traveler_Nick

I'll say it again. The express makes no sense.

The bus goes to the Vatican. It's less than half the price. The total ride will be not much more than the express just to Termini. With the bus you won't have to make any connection.

Take the simple choice. Which happens to be the cheapest and quickest.

bvlenci

The SIT bus doesn't take you to the Vatican. It takes you to Via Crescenzio near Via Orazio, 1.8 km from the Vatican Museums, and the same distance from St. Peter's Square. It wouldn't be my preferred means of getting to the Vatican, even if it's cheaper. It has a great risk of getting bogged down in traffic.

To answer the question, we need to know whether the person is going to St. Peter's Basilica or to the Vatican Museums. Kybourbon gives two transportation options dependent upon the exact destination. I agree with her suggestions. However, since the time in Rome is short, I would take a taxi if the budget allows it. A private car service costs about the same as a taxi, and will meet you at the terminal. If you take a taxi, make sure it is an official Rome taxi, and that the driver is charging the fixed rate of €48. A private driver should not require payment in advance, but will ask for a credit card number to protect them if you don't show up, except for a late or cancelled flight. They ask for your flight number so they can check the flight status.

Kybourbon's advice about getting to the Circo Massimo is also good, although there are several buses which might be a better option, depending on where your exact starting point is.

Instead of taking the tram to Trastevere, I would take the metro from the Colosseo stop to Ostiense station, where you can get the FL1 train back to the airport.

I assume you won't have any luggage with you, that it will either be checked through to your final destination, or that you will have checked it at the airport left luggage facility.

Be sure to allow sufficient time to get back to the airport. If you will already have a boarding pass for your next flight, you must be sure to arrive at the airport about 1/2 hours before the flight. If you need to check in, add another half hour, and if your next destination is the USA or Israel, add another half hour. You should also add half an hour to the estimated travel time to the airport, to allow for unexpected delays.

Traveler_Nick

The bus stop is much closer than Termini . The bus is not more likely to get stuck in traffic than a cab.

Seamus

Your to do list is ambitious/challenging but not impossible if you have great resolve and got some sleep on the way to Rome.

1. Uber is a horrible option in Rome, avoid it.
2. Taxi - only a licensed taxi - in from FCO to wherever in Vatican City you are going - not the cheapest, but the easiest and likely quickest. If you intend to visit the Vatican museum know that you will need to have tickets.. Entry to St Peter's basilica is free but there may be a line for security.
3. For transport in Rome, download the "it taxi" app and use it - works just like uber, can store credit card for payment and book a cab for now or a future time. Local drivers prefer it to the often publicized Free Now (mytaxi) app.
4. Presume by "go northwards by walk to see Ancient Rome" you refer to the Colosseo/Palatine/ Roman Forum area. Understand it is a bit of a hike and lots of uphill over uneven cobblestone and will take some time and energy. If you want to enter Coloseo will also require tickets.
5. Best option to get to your gelato and pizza places will be taxi, then taxi back to Termini for train to Fumicino.

Good luck!

bvlenci

I didn't see anyone else suggesting to get a cab from Termini. Several people suggested getting a taxi from the airport, which would be faster than the bus. (The taxi driver is free to change his route to avoid traffic, while the bus driver has no such liberty. Also, the taxi drivers are all former Monza F1 champions.)

Those who suggested taking the Leonardo Express to Termini recommended taking the metro from there to the Ottaviano stop, which is a short distance from the Vatican Museums, maybe half a km. That's what I would do, myself. On the other hand, if I were going to St. Peter's Square, I would probably take the regional train to San Pietro station, which was explained above. Furthermore, outside the station, there is usually a number 64 bus standing, because that's where it begins its run. If so, I would take that bus; the train ticket will cover the fare. That bus will take you nearly to the entrance to the square. (Follow the other people.) If the bus isn't standing there, I would just walk. It's a little more than 1/2 km.

If a walk of 1.8 km (about 1.1 miles) doesn't faze Nordapo, and if money is tight, the SIT bus is a valid option. The regional train costs only €2 more than the SIT bus, and takes you a lot closer to St. Peter's Square. If you're going to the Vatican Museums, the S. Pietro train station is about the same distance as the SIT bus stop, although then taking the 64 bus to St. Peter's Square would cut the walk considerably.

Nordapo

Thank you, everybody!
In the meantime, I'm back from Rome.
It was a nice experience, although naturally, the time was too short.
We were two persons: my husband, who was never in Rome before and me, who was there 30 years ago. We only wanted to get a glance at the main sights of Rome.
In the end, we decided to take Leonardo to go to Roma Termini and back for saving time. In Rome, we used a Hop On - Hop - Off - Tour, so that we got close to everything we liked to see. We walked a lot, but with an additional taxi ride we could reach, what we wanted.

Sabine