What is the best way, via train, to get from the airport to The Jewish Quarter, then to the Coloseum and back to the airport? It's ok if there is some walking involved. Also, how much money will be needed for transportation?

First off, I have to admit that I tend to follow my tried and true ways in Rome, so someone else may come up with an easier or quicker route.

From Fiumicino to Roma Termini, the Leonardo Express takes 30 minutes withut stop. Cost: 9.50 Euro one way, 19 Euro return.

At a newsstand in the train station, buy 3 bus/Metro tickets at 1 Euro each; total 3 Euro. (Tickets are not sold outside in front of the station.)

In front of Roma Termini (a long walk from the Leonardo Express track), take the 64 bus as far as Largo di Torre Argentina. (You enter at the front or the back of the bus and validate your ticket in the yellow machine. Be careful on the bus, which is known as the "pickpocket special.&quot Walk down via Arenula towards the Tiber and turn left at one of the streets after Largo Arenula. You are in the Jewish Quarter, which lies between via delle Botteghe Oscure and the Tiber River. The Synagogue is on the Lungotevere at the corner of Via del Portico d'Ottavia.

Walk back up to via delle Botteghe Oscure and take the 87 bus to the Colosseo.

From the Colosseo, you can take the Metro to Termini, and from Termini the Leonardo Express to Fiumicino.

Total transportation cost: 22 Euro.

I would not suggest that you try to do this without any map at all; pick up a map at the Roman Tourist Office in International Arrivals, Terminal B at Fiumicino.

P.S. Also exercise care on the Metro.

Thanks Eloise, for such precise directions and for such a quick reply. Would taking a cab be easier? Would it be very expensive?

Taking a cab from and to Fiumicino will cost about 50 Euro each way. There are some shuttle services that charge less; one that I have used (to go from Rome to Fiumicino, not from Fiumicino to Rome) is

www.airportshuttle.it

I think they charge 31 Euro from Fiumicino and 26 Euro to Fiumicino.

A taxi from Termini to the Ghetto will cost about 8 Euro; from the Ghetto to the Colosseo another 8 to 10 Euro; from the Colosseo to Termini about 8 Euro again - if you get only honest taxi drivers who do not put their meters on to charge double fare.

Is your worry chiefly a lack of time, or have I made it sound more complicated and "dangerous" than it is? I would be sorry if I had done that: Both bus trips and the Metro trip are on one line only, without transfers. I did point out that you have to exercise care on the 64 bus and the Metro, but the danger, if there is one, is that someone will attempt to pick your pocket or steal your wallet out of your purse; there is almost never any violence involved. If you are used to an urban setting, you probably have the smarts to deal with Rome.

I've been going to Rome almost annually for 30 years; I have never been pickpocketed, and I have frequently taken the 64 bus. I've used the Metro less frequently, but I tend not to use the Metro in my own city: Not because of fear, but because I prefer to see where I am going, even if I know perfectly well where I am at any given moment on the subway.

If you want to avoid the Metro, which is probably the least friendly possibility, I think the 75 bus will take you from the Colosseo to Termini.

Taxis between your points within central Rome should be 10E or less, but it isn't easy to hail them from just anywhere. You are better off going to taxi stands. Of course there is one at Termini, sometimes with a long line of folks waiting. And I had some trouble finding the right spot near the Colosseum, but you'll find it if you ask around a bit, or sometimes you can jump in one at the curb as it drops off passengers at major tourist sites. Sorry, I can't help you with the location for one in the Jewish Quarter.

Thanks for the help. The directions sound a little complicated but thorough. As for the advice abot pickpockets on the bus/metro, don't worry, it didn't scare me off. I live in New York, so I am definately used to an urban setting.