Hello. My current plan for our April trip to Italy is to fly into Fiumicino, stay close-by that first jet-lagged afternoon, then visit Ostia Antica the next day before heading into Rome. Is it better to stay closer to Ostia Antica, closer to the airport, or it doesn't matter? We will be on foot and dependent on taxis until we take a train into Rome.
Thank you.

Since Ostia Antica is so close to Rome & so easily gotten to by train, as is the city from FCO on the train, to save the bother of moving I'd just go straight to your Rome accommodation on arrival, take it easy then go next day, or when ever the mood strikes to Ostia.

We visited Ostia Antica from our FCO hotel, easy to do.

ekscrunchy's recent report ends in Fiumicino with restaurant and hotel recs. Live! Very brief report on a few southern italian destinations

Ostia is a suburb of Rome so it's inside Rome.

Personally I wouldn't want an extra hotel change. Get it over with and head into the centre.

The only obvious advantage of seeing Ostia from the airport area is the cab ride might be cheaper than from the city centre.

Agree with avoiding hotel changes by just heading into your Rome accommodation on arrival. Osta Antica is quite easy to reach via public transport and is not far from central Rome.

Thank you all for your thoughtful replies. Avoiding a one-night stay has won out, and we have decided to head straight in to Rome, saving a visit to Ostia Antica for later in our stay.

You can easily get to Ostia Antica from central Rome by public transportation. Since it's part of Rome, a simple bus/metro ticket will suffice. Depending on where you're staying, take a bus or metro to the Ostiense station, and from there take the Lido train, destination Ostia. I think the stop is called Ostia Scavi, but maybe it's Ostia Antica. The route to the archaeological site is well marked when you get off the train.

If it helps Osita Antica is in the borders of Rome, Ostia is outside the borders of Rome and is its own commune. Many of the better beach hotels are in Ostia. For train journeys this is of little interest but it can mean taxi prices can be more flexible as you are crossing a commune border as there are fewer fixed prices for this sort of journey so you are "on the clock".

Ostia is definitely part of the comune of Rome. It's what's known as a "frazione" of the comune of Rome. You can also go to Rome's very own beach with a single bus/metro ticket.

Thank you for this information.