RNSuzanne

Hello: Originally when planning my trip, and wanting to avoid an expensive and lengthy cab journey, I thought it best to take the Leonardo Express from the airport to the Termini station, switch to Metro A, take that to Cipro Musi Vatican stop, and grab a cab from there to the Hilton (Via Alberto Cadlolo 101). But now I am looking further and wondering about taking the Ferrovia Area Metropolitana
FM1 to "Trastevere", changing there to the FM3 line in the direction of "Cesano" and
getting off at the Balduina stop for a taxi to the hotel. Can anyone advice me, regarding comparison of time and difficulty of the two journeys, price, ease of getting a taxi from each stop, etc? Which would be a faster/easier/more economical journey all around?

kybourbon

Faster, easier and probably not much more expensive (unless you are traveling alone) would be a limo service. You can get a limo to pick you up at the airport (they will be waiting for you with a sign with your name on it) and take you to your hotel for 35E for 3 people.
http://www.romeshuttlelimousine.com/FiumicinoE.htm

kybourbon

The Leonardo Express is 11E per person. The FM1 from FCO to Trastevere is about 5E per person.

If you are going to tour a few museums and use public transport, you might consider buying the Roma Pass and Pui for 25E(not to be confused with the regular Roma Pass -20E) at the airport on arrival. It includes the Leonardo Express, metro/bus for 3 days and free admission to 2 museums and discount at others.

RNSuzanne

Would the regular 7 day pass cover the FM1 and FM3 trains? Do you think this would be a better option than the Leonard Express?

kybourbon

The 7 day CIS (16E)covers the same transportation as the Roma Pass. There is also a Lazio 7 day (CRIS) that covers Rome and surrounding areas priced according to how many zones you will be traveling.
http://www.atac.roma.it/
Click on biglietti in the left column. The English version does not list all available passes.

RNSuzanne

I thought I read somewhere that the pass does not cover the Leonardo Express? But I guess I was wrong. So final verdict? Do you think taking the local trains would be better, given where I am going, then the express and then the subway?

em_axo

Not meant to sound snarky, but have you asked the hotel? Surely they know the quickest and most cost-effective way to get there. I will second the suggestion of Rome Shuttle Limousine though. We used them and it was very convenient. He was right there when we got through baggage claim with a direct drop-off at the hotel. We did trains and metros in other cities, but it was nice to not have to deal with that right off the bat. Plus by the time you take all those trains and a taxi, the cost would be comparable.

kybourbon

The original Roma Pass did not cover the Leonardo, but supposedly the new Roma Pass and More does.
http://www.pierreci.it/do/show/article/01279

I don't think the transport only passes (CIS,etc.) cover the Leonardo at all.

On vacation, your time is worth something. I would spend the 35E on Rome Shuttle instead of wasting all that time with so many changes of transportation. If you are traveling alone, you might want to consider a shuttle that is a bit cheaper, but will be shared with other travelers and may take longer depending on the drop off route. http://www.airportshuttle.it/

RNSuzanne

We went, and now we are back. Rome shuttle did a great job of getting us to our hotel. We then made the mistake of attempting to book return transportation through the driver, instead of through our original point of contact in the office. The driver did not arrive, so we were forced to take a taxi. However, we saved some money and the taxi driver did a great job. So we're happy all around.