Florence to Rome
 

We are traveling from the US to Rome to Florence. What has me a little worried is that the first train from Florence to FCO will have us arrive at the train station at 0923 for a flight that leaves at 1115. Is this doable? Will we be risking missing our flight? I do not know how long it will take to get from the train to the USAIR counter for checkin. How long in advance should one arrive at FCO for international flights?

Where are you arriving in Rome? The termini? If so, that's not near the airport. You should be at the airport itself at least 2 hours before your flight.

I would want to sleep in Rome the night before my return flight at FCO.

Can you reverse your schedule?

arrive from US at FCO
go directly to Florence
visit Florence
visit Rome
depart FCO for US

Unfortunately, we cannot reverse the itinerary as one person is leaving after the Rome portion the trip, with four then going on to Florence. The arrival time of 0923 is given for FCO, not termini. Is the train station truly at the airport, or will there be time involved in reaching the terminal proper?

There is a train station at the airport, but the express train to and from FCO and Rome Termini only runs every 30 minutes. I can't imagine you would be on the regular trains that leave the airport as they stop at many of the small stations in Rome (Trastevere, Ostiense) and are mostly the slower R trains. I don't believe they would route you from Florence on www.trenitalia.com without taking you through Termini. If they do, the trip will be longer.

I think the Leonardo Express in an r train and while you can buy a ticket, you won't have a seat.

I don't think this is doable if, indeed, your train arrives in Rome at 9:23, then you need to take the Leonardo Express to the airport, then check in...not enough time for a flight to the US. FCO is a very busy airport with long lines for security (as most gateway European cities are these days) & trekking to the gate. I know this isn't what you want to hear, given your logistics.

When I searched on http://www.italiarail.com I came up with the earliest train leaving Florence at 0640, and they say arriving at FCO (not Termini) at 0923. This is a different web site than www.trenitalia.com. I don't know if they are a different train, a trip retailer, or what.

Looking up the schedule for tomorrow on www.trenitalia, it shows an ES train (reservations mandatory)(#9421) leaving Florence Santa Maria Novella at 6:40, arriving at Termini at 8:30, and taking the Leonardo Express (#3288) at 8:52, arriving FCO at 9:23.
To look it up on Trenitalia, put in "Firenze" and "Aeroporto Fiumicino".

Hi D,

The 06:40 from Florence arrives Rome TE at 08:30.

You then take the 08:52 LDV express to Rome FCO, arriving at 09:23.

That gives you less than 2 hr to check in and go through security.

I don't think that you will make it.

I suggest staying overnight in Rome or at the Holiday Inn EUR Parc Medici. They have a shuttle to FCO.

((I))

Plus Italian trains are not always reliable. To be safe, you need to spend the night in Rome or at an airport hotel.

OK, clearly I was nearly begging someone to tell me it would work out. I can see that I would be taking a big risk by trying to take the train in the morning from Florence. While the Holiday Inn EUR Parc Medici looks good it seems a little steep for just a place to sleep. Are there any cheaper hotels near the airport? Or alternatively, a decent place near Termini someone could recommend?

dauerbach - I went through something similar to you are going through. To reduce the stress, I chose to stay in a nice little hotel near Termini in Rome the night before my flight so I didn't have to rush. The hotel is close to Termini, but not TOO close to Termini (the area right next to the station itself can be a bit sketchy).

I stayed at the following place - Don't be deterred by the appearance of the outside of the building. Inside it's VERY clean and they have a nice little breakfast. There's also a great restaurant for dinner about a block away. Had I known about this place earlier, I would have stayed there longer. It's about 3 or 4 blocks from Termini:

Hotel Dolomiti, Rome
Via San Martino della Battaglia 11 -00185 Rome
Phone 001 (39) 06.491.058
Phone 001 (39) 06.495.72.56| Fax: 001 (39) 06.445.46.65
Email: [email protected]
Web Site: http://www.hotel-dolomiti.it/eng/hotel_dolomiti.php

The Termini railway station is less than a 10 minute walk from the hotel (and that's with a LOT of baggage!)

To get to the hotel FROM Termini: Walk out of termini along the Via Marsala. Head toward the Via Solferino, which turns into the Via San M. d. Battaglia.

When going from Termini to airport:
Termini Tickets for the Leonardo Express are available at Termini via vending machines or at the counter. I got mine the night before so I didn't have to stand in line the morning of my flight. I'm glad I did this because in the morning the line was HUGE.

Leonardo Express leaves from platform 27 at Termini (a 400m walk from the main concourse). When I was there, thefirst departure was 5:52 am, then trains run half hourly. I think it Costs 9.50 Euros if you buy ticket in advance. It takes about 30 minutes to get to the aiport.

Good luck!

I also have reservations on you making your outbound flight. We were in Europe the past 5 years (France & Italy) in high season and we were amazed as how tight the security was last year over the previous four. We flew out of FCO in early Oct. last year and arrived at the airport @ 9:00 am for a 11:45am flight and had about 10 min. to spare before boarding began. I think you are taking a chance. Happy Holidays!

D,

My last experience flying out of FCO was in Sept 05. I arrived at the airport 2.5 hours early. I stood in check in line at the ticket desk for 1.5 hours. They only had 2 agents checking in 4 international flights!!! They finally started pulling people with the earliest flights out of the line and taking them first (finally!). Went through security fairly quickly, but that was before the whole liquids thing.

Go early!

We always get to Rome the night before a flight and allow more than three hours for our outgoing flight especially for the reason the previous poster had. One big word you have to remember in Italy is STRIKE. If you run into that the day of your flight and you still have to go from Florence to Rome, you can pretty much kiss that flight goodbye.