rosetravels

We have a flight out of FCO at 7:50 a.m. It's an Alitalia flight to Milan, connecting to Chicago. Two questions:
1) What time should we arrive at FCO?
2) What's the best way for a family of 4 to get to FCO from central Rome?

Thanks!

BellaVitaItalia

You should be there 2 hours beforehand and the best mode of transportation is private car & driver. Either your hotel can set up something for you or I reccommend Bob at http://www.romelimousines.com/.

Happy Travels...Megan

rosetravels

Thanks Megan,
I thought I'd read somewhere that the ticket agents don't open until 6. Is that correct?

tcreath

Two hours is usually the norm. However with my experiences of flying out of FCO, which is 3 times in the past few years, all being early flights, is that its not really as necessary. The traffic is almost non-existent that early in the morning, and if you get there two hours in advance the ticket counter probably won't be open, nor will any coffee shops or restaurants to fill your time. I would probably try to get to the airport between 6:15 and 6:30, especially since you are flying to another EU destination.

For a family of four I would probably ask your hotel to reserve a taxi or consider using a shuttle service. That early in the morning it should take about 20 minutes to get to FCO from Rome's historic center.

Good luck!
Tracy

rosetravels

Thanks Tracy for your help. We're renting an apartment so I think I'll try to reserve a shuttle service before we leave. I sent an email to the one Megan recommended and I'll await a reply.

Bob's Rome Limousine website is funny - it talks about and allows you to reserve a ride from the Airport to Rome but the reservation system doesn't accomodate the reverse.

Statia

Just my two cents.

My departing flight from FCO on AF was around that time and I had a driver with Rome Cabs pick us up at 4:45 a.m. at our apartment in the city. The drive was about 20 minutes or so (no traffic). There was already a line at the check-in counter when I arrived there at 5:15 a.m. and the counters were open and operating.

With that flight time you would begin boarding approximately 7:20 a.m. so I personally wouldn't feel comfortable with anything later than a 5:30 or 5:45 a.m. check-in time. But, I always prefer to be a bit earier than later and risk unexpected delays checking in.

I can give you the link for Rome Cabs if you would like. We used them for not only our airport transfers (3 people), but also a day trip and night tour. They were wonderful, prompt, and courteous.

tcreath

Hmmm...perhaps it depends on the time of year? Each time I visited Rome it was during off season; December, February and then this past March, but my experience was the opposite of Statia's. There were no lines and hardly anyone around when I got there at 4:30 for our first flight out of FCO. But again it could depend on the time of year. I think that perhaps you should contact your shuttle or limo service and ask what time they recommend because they will have the most knowledge.

Tracy

sandi_travelnut

If you're in the city center, allow 30-40 minutes by taxi to the airport, then a full 2 hours before the flight. Twice when flying out of FCO on Swiss Air, the line from the ONE single ticket counter formed quite early. They waited until the last miinute to "man" the counter and get us moved through to get our boarding passes. It took most of the 2 hours to get all the passengers through the line.

Statia

I was there this past March, but there could be many factors that come into play with different people's experiences. I'm just of the mindset that I'd rather be too early than too late.

rosetravels

We're flying out on December 31st and definitely I'm in the group that likes to be early.

Statia if you have the link to Rome Cabs I'll check on their prices.

Statia

Hi rosetravels. You can contact Stefano with Rome Cabs at the following website.

http://www.utenti.lycos.it/romecabs/

tcreath

If you feel better arriving early, I would most certainly do what you feel most comfortable with. There are plenty of places to sit and lounge before the flight. I don't like sitting in airports any longer than I have to, but I also don't like missing flights! So arriving early will probably be for the best for you, especially with a family of four.

Best wishes and good luck! Rome is my favorite European city, and I'm envious of you!

Tracy

rosetravels

Thanks Statia - that's a good price. I'll contact them.

Tracy your posts have been really helpful to me in my planning. Your love of Rome and reading your thoughts and tips has fueled my excitement. I haven't been to Rome for 25 years and I know I'll love it too.

tdyls

An early morning flight out of FCO will take you about 20-25 minutes to get there by taxi from central Rome. How early you get there is a personal preference based mostly on how strongly you believe in Murphy's Law and how late you want to sleep. If you get there so early that the ticket booths aren't yet open, so be it. It means you can be that much farther ahead in the check-in line. ;-)

Granted my experience flying out of FCO has been on flights FCO-JFK, FCO-BRU-ATL, and FCO-ATL, not FCO-MXP-ORD. On the flight FCO-JFK, and this is 10+ years ago, there was some major international conference occurring in Rome at the time so there was heavily armed security throughout FCO. After having my passport and tickets checked, stamped, rechecked, and re-rechecked, it took probably the better part of an hour to go from the back of the check-in line to clearing passport control. Now with all of the EU and Transportation Stupidity Administration rules, who knows....

BellaVitaItalia

If you arrive 2 hours before, it will be 5:50AM which is only 10 minutes before the ticket agent would open. FCO is pretty big and sometimes chaotic (no matter what time of day), I'd stick to the 2 hour before rule just in case...

If you have any issues with Bob's Limo web site, just email him directly and he'll set up whatever you need.