Aileen

We arrive in Rome at 2:50pm on a Friday. From there, we hop on a train to Florence. Taking into account traffic, customs, etc., how much time should we give ourselves to travel to the train station and make the train on time? We were thinking of buying the train tickets on-line, in advance although after reading the responses to Lauren's message, I'm considering not buying them here. I must admit though, that makes me a little nervous. Any advice? Thanks.

JAG

It's a good size drive from train station -maybe 45 minutes or more to the airport. Of course depending on traffic it may definitely be more- plus you also have to think about the fact that there WILL be lines when you get to the station to buy your ticket. And there will definitely be a delay at the taxi line. Of course the metro may go to the train station and that may be a faster way to get to the station-avoid traffic. You may want to check that option as well. <BR>We bought our tickets in advance and just made seat reservations as we went along. We had no problems with our advance purchase, but every one's experiences may vary.

Steve James

Hello Aileen,<BR><BR>As there's no guarantee your flight will be on time, in your situation I wouldn't pre-book.<BR><BR>If you look at the timetable (www.trenitalia.it) there are 3/4 trains (Eurostar & Intercity) PER HOUR between Rome-Florence from mid-afternoon till early evening - so I really don't think you'll have a problem. <BR><BR>Steve

bob

If it were me, I would make a train reservation. Trying to get from Rome to Florence on a Friday late afternoon without one seems to be tempting trouble.<BR><BR>Leaving extra time in case your flight is running late, getting your luggage, passing through customs, finding a taxi, then to the train station, I would leave 3 hours.<BR><BR>You might want to consider using a limo service. This would help significantly and not cost much more than a taxi.

Steve James

P.S. There is an express 30 minute train service from FCO airport to Roma Termini, - so you won't need a taxi.

Steve James

P.S. FCO-Roma Termini trains leave FCO every 30 mins, at<BR>15.07<BR>15.37<BR>16.07 ... etc.<BR><BR>Don't forget to validate tickets before boarding.<BR><BR>(Make sure you don't catch the Fara Sabina/Orte train from FCO by mistake as this doesn't go to Roma Termini)<BR><BR>Hope this helps ...<BR><BR>Steve<BR>

Jason

Aileen<BR>Hmmmmm...some choices here.I didnt see tLauren's post.I can guess tho.I would go ahead and spend the extra money to have tickets and seat reservations in hand upon arrival at Termini.You can make up the payout later on.Rome is like any other big city on a Friday afternoon.One less hassle makes things liveable.Thats my vote anywaz.Ciao<BR>Jason

Tess

It can be challenging to guestimate the amount of time you'll need, especially coming in on an afternoon flight. The early morning arrivals are more likely to be on time. Here's my best optomistic scenario:<BR><BR>Flight lands timely and you pick up your luggage and glide effortlessly through customs. The travel gods are with you, and you're able to hop on the 3:37 pm (15.37) train to Termini just as it pulls out from the airport. More likely you'll end up on the next train departing at 4:07 pm. A 30-minute trip to Termini, the main station in Rome. Theoretically you'd arrive in time for the 4:55 pm (16.55) Eurostar to Florence. I'd allow more leeway and book on either the 17.33 or better yet, the 17.54 run. <BR><BR>Another alternative would be to avoid the mad dash and give yourself a couple hours in Rome to walk around and then eat dinner. Once you get to Termini station, you can park your luggage for several hours with the left luggage("Deposito Baglio") --- then plan to take one of the later runs to Florence (8:30 pm, 9:30 pm, etc).<BR><BR>FYI, to check the schedules for trains look any of the following websites:<BR>www.trenitalia.it<BR>www.trenitalia.c om<BR>www.fs-on-line.com

Wayne

Just returned from Italy. Arrived into Milan Malpensa and had a train from Milan Centrale to Venice. No problem with luggage or customs; we were out of the airport in 30 minutes. I too worried about not having reserved seats on the train so I purchased them here in US through RailEurope. Although we did pay a premium for the convenience of advance tickets (about $20 more per ticket), I was well worth the extra cost because the train was sold out. If we had purchased the tickets at the station, we would have had to stand; many did. If you have large or more than 2 pieces of luggage, I'd recommend taking Eurostar instead of other trains like Inter-City. Eurostar has luggage storage racks in 1st class; Inter-City or regional trains generally don't and that can be very inconvenient if the train is crowded.<BR><BR>Once you get to Italy, you can purchase your other train segments at the station. Trenitalia now has computer kiosks at major stations where you can purchase tickets, reserve seats and pay by credit card (if they are working...you are in Italy, remember). Look for the yellow kiosks with computer screens; not too many people use them. Have a great time.

Santa Chiara

I would never go anywhere in Italy on a Friday without reservations. I have stood in crowded cars too many times. <BR><BR>Now some ground rules, you must book EuroStar at least three hours in advance. All seats are reserved, therefore you do not need to stamp your tickets. For this leg of your trip, I would do what someone else suggested and prebook in the United States. I would shoot for a train leaving around 5 6 p.m., but I am a worry-wart when it comes to things like this.

Alice Twain

I woudl suggest not to buy tickets in advance for the Rome-Florence trip. Thrains on ths route are very frequent (two or three every hour), and at least half of them do not require booking. your best option is probably to take an Intercity train, which is decently fast and decntly comfortable and require no booking. At worst you will have to stand in the corridor for one hour and a half, but if you buy first class tickets you should be able to find seats even without booking, in particular if you are travlling on a weekday.