According to the trenitalia website, the Eurostar time from Florence to Rome Termini is 2 1/2 hours. In another post,someone who is familiar with this trip (Grinisa) said the actual time was 1 hour 35 minutes. (Was this a typo?) So I am wondering which is correct.

I have to decide how to spend my last day in Italy. I need to be at FCO at 5 AM the next morning. My original itinerary was Rome-Florence-Siena-Rome. I had planned to spend the last day in Siena and travel to Rome by train or bus the day before my flight and spend the night at the Hilton airport. But I have since discovered that bus/train connections between Siena and FCO could take 4-5 hours. I don't want to spend my last day in Italy with 4-5 hours on train/bus.

So I thought I would change my plans to spend last day in Florence (and visit Siena first) if travel from Florence to FCO is faster.

(I know that whether I leave from Florence or Siena, once I get to Rome I must connect to another train for FCO.)

So, what would be the actual time for the Eurostar trip from Florence to Rome?

Would it really be a tedious trip to make from Siena to FCO?

Another alternative to shorten bus/train rides the day before flight would be to spend the night in downtown Rome and take limo to FCO at 4 AM. (This way i would avoid the train ride from Rome to FCO the day before.)

I have all my hotel reservations, tours, etc., and I would hate to change them. But it could be done to plan a smoother trip.

I have a stack of guidebooks but there is no substitute for the valuable advice of experienced travelers who've already made the trip.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thank you.

Hi,

The train schedules for Florence to Rome are at www.trenitalia.com.

I'm sorry, you knew that. It is
1 1/2 hr, if the train runs on schedule.

The many postings on this subject are mixed. Some folks stay in town and have the hotel arrange for an early taxi, others stay near the airport.

Thank you, ira, I re-checked the trenitalia schedule and it DID say 1:35 hrs. for the trip. I don't know how I got that mixed up yesterday. Need my eyes checked, I guess.

I can't vouch for how accurate this information is in terms of price but the times are legit. Just got back last Friday and went from Rome to Florence, then Florence to Venice, then Venice to Rome on the EuroStar.

On the EuroStar ? leave 8:30 arrive 10:05, leave 8:55 arrive 10:30, leave 9:03 arrive 10:38, leave 9:30 arrive 11:05, leave 10:30 arrive 12:05, leave 10:55 arrive 12:30, leave 11:30 arrive 1:05, leave 12:30 arrive 2:05, leave 12:55 arrive 2:30, leave 1:30 arrive 3:05, leave 2:30 arrive 4:05, leave 2:38 arrive 4:14, leave 2:55 arrive 4:30, leave 3:30 arrive 5:05. First class is $50.00, second class is $36.00.

WOW!! mdtravel....thanks for ALL of that. I really appreciate your taking the time to help me out.

Next time start in Florence and end in Rome and avoid the problem.

Anytime Travler2...glad to help. If you're curious, here is the same info for the other routes we traveled:

Florence to Venice Trains
On the EuroStar ? leave 8:38 arrive 11:27, leave 10:38 arrive 1:27, leave 12:38 arrive 3:27, leave 2:38 arrive 5:27, leave 4:38 arrive 7:27. First class is $45.00, second class is $33.00.

Venice to Rome Trains
On the EuroStar ? leave 8:33 arrive 1:05, leave 10:33 arrive 3:05, leave 12:33 arrive 5:05, leave 2:33 arrive 7:05, leave 4:33 arrive 9:05. First class is $78.00, second class is $54.00.

I probably don't have all of the times in the late afternoon/evening.

Thank you again, mdtravel, for your very kind efforts. Do you think it pays to travel first class as opposed to second class? I'm told that with first class you can keep your luggage close by but with second class you store it at the end of the car. First class is almost double the price.

You cannot necessarily keep your luggage close by in 1st Class..the racks above the seats provide limited space..depends on how big your bags are. From Florence to Rome you can get Eurostar service that is non-stop so even if someone tried to steal your luggage they couldn't get off with it before you do.
The advantage, if you feel it is one, in 1st over 2nd on these trains is the seating configuration...two and one in 1st and two and two in 2nd.

Intrepid, thank you for that explanation. I have decided to go for the splurge.

Didn't see the follow up. The luggage really wasn't a problem for us even though it was at the back of the car. We got on quickly and put it on the bottom so other luggage would get stacked on top of it.

We had one of our trips that was in second, and the other two in first. The chairs were a lot more comfortable in first, but I guess that's about the biggest difference. I'd go for first again if it were me.