Hi Fodorites!!

I will arrive in Rome's FCO on 10OCT 2010. I will catch a train to Florence after I clear customs. How much time should i give myself to get from FCO to Termini?
My flight arrives at 0755 at FCO. I do not like to rush so how much time should I give myself to catch the Eurostar?

It can vary tremendously based on if your flight is late or luggage is delayed. I would not buy a ticket until I arrived at FCO and was at the FCO train station. Only then will you know for sure. The Leonardo Express train departs FCO every 30 minutes and arrives 30 minutes later at Roma Termini. It is best to allow 15 minutes to get from the Leonardo Express arrival track to the Eurostar departure track since you are unfamiliar with the station.

So, at FCO train station, buy your Leonardo Express ticket and your ticket from Roma Termini to Florence at the same time, choosing a train that departs at least 45 minutes later than the time the Leonardo Express departs. There are virtually hourly departures for Florence.

At FCO Trenitalia, there are at least three ways to buy all your train tickets.

1. Ticket window, takes CC
2. Old ticket machines, do not take CC
3. New ticket machines, take CC

While the ticket window always seem to have a long line, the seemingly short lines at the ticket machines can be deceptive as many who are buying there are using the machines for the first time and are seen scratching their heads. This spring, I initially lined up at one of the new ticket machines, but after seeing families throwing up their hands in frustration on all the new machines I could see, I relined up at the ticket window and got my ticket ahead of those who stayed at the ticket machine queue.

It is best to have a print out of all likely train combination to double check the proposed itinerary. If you buy tickets from an agent, the ticket agents are usually good about selling tickets on trains that can connect ok. There are more than one Florence stations. The one you want is usually Firenze SMN (Santa Maria Novella).

At FCO, 15min is sufficient as long you know to 1) use the short cut underground passage, which is easy to walk past but is the slope going underground as you walk from the Leonardo Express to the Termini main area, and 2) to use the digital display to identify which platform your train is leaving. For Florence, I think the train destination is either Milano or Venezia Santa Lucia. The best way to match what the digital display says is the train number printed on your ticket.

If you encounter someone speaking English who tries to look like a Trenitalia employee and tries to help you between trains, pay no attention. They are scammers trying to ask you for a fat tip for helping you out. There are real Trenitalia employee on the platforms, but they usually don't approach you and certainly don't volunteer to take your luggage. You have to approach them.

Thanks to the posters contributing this great info; I'm going FCO to termini to ravenna this weekend. Cheryl I found a blog, maybe via posters here, with step by step directions and pictures, to get to Leonardo express from the terminal; leave an email here if you want me to send it. I don't recall the blog address but did email it to myself.

Cheryl -

We've done exactly what you're doing and it really is simple! As Ell said you land, collect luggage if checked, proceed to the Express and purchase your tickets. Check here for additional info: http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/planning/rome_airport.htm

This blog posted ^ ^ by travelfan looks like similar info to what I got, including pictures. Looks like you are all set with info.

Thank you all for such EXCELLENT information and instructions.
What a big help as well as anxiety relief!!