If anyone can comment on traveling from southern Italy to the USA I would be very grateful.

I'm finishing a bike tour in Lecce, Italy (Puglia) on October 1 and need to catch a flight back to the USA through Rome. I plan to spend another day in Lecce so the start of my trip back to the US will begin on October 3. I see from other posters that there's an airport bus from Lecce to Brindisi which is great for that leg of the journey but after that my choices are slim. There's only one Ryan Air fight (Brindisi) to Rome (FCO) that day and that leaves at 9:40am and arrives at FCO at 10:55am. The flight I need back to the USA leaves FCO at 12:20pm. I've had one experience on Ryan Air and it was hopelessly late in departing so I'm a little nervous about a close connection.

Does anyone have an opinion as to whether this schedule is too tight or should I travel to Rome and catch a flight the next day?

Thanks in advance.

Just a note about traveling to Rome previous day - you could take an overnight train from Lecce that leaves most nights at about 10 pm and gets into Rome Termini early next morning - lots of time to hop Leonard Express Airport train and be in Rome at 6:10 am - plenty of time to hop train to airport from Termini and be there by 7-8 am. Acquista il biglietto con le nostre offerte - Trenitalia for fares and booking online. www.seat61.com; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com all have great info on night trains and trains in general.

Just an option. Saves a night in a hotel.

Have you checked rome2rio.com? You'll need to follow through any of the links to which it directs you, but it should identify most of your options. And look at routing through Bari, too.

Good luck!

Much as I often defend Ryanair, I would not trust them on a connecting flight.
Get an evening flight from Brindisi to Rome on the 2nd. Alitalia has one at 19:10 for about €40 - at that price it is not really worth worrying about a train journey unless you get a decent deal on the overnight train (I couldn't find details for the the night train Lecce to Rome)

www.bahn.de/en lists that night train - probably won't beat 40 euros but no hotel costs and nicely arrives early at Rome Termini for easy access to airport trains.

I think from what I'm hearing here and from my previous experience with Ryan Air, I'll sleep a lot better without the angst of a possible missed flight in Rome so I'll investigate the overnight train which sounds appealing or a one night layover in Rome.

Thanks to all!

https://www.seat61.com/Italy-trains.htm

If it were me, I would go to Roma the day before departure and spend the night there. Too many things can go wrong causing you to miss your flight home. Generally, many poster on this forum would be against staying so far from Roma or FCO the night before your flight home.

Buon viaggio,

Agree with rbciao47 and consider staying right at airport hotels.

I would choose the night in Rome over the overnight train. Too many possibilities of delays or strikes on the train.

So you were thinking of flying but not on ryanair yet you seem to have totally dismissed the idea of flying on a different airline?

I would say that in 3 years of using Ryanair with some frequency (maybe 2-3 times a year) for intra-Europe flights, I'd give them a solid C for service, reliability, and timeliness. EasyJet for us has worked out a whole lot better, but even that has its glitches.

We never, ever, these days travel more than an hour to a departing airport (BTDT and boy is it a PITA when it doesn't work out!).

I also despise overnight trains, but that's a personal decision. I'd choose a night in Rome or at the airport in this situation in a heartbeat.

Thanks for everyone's reply. I'll overnight near the airport.