From reading the postings on this site, it sounds like the best way to get to the train station is to take the airport shuttle. Our flight arrives at 8:50 am, and we want to get the train in Rome to Florence.

It sound like we need to make reservations on a specific train, so how much time should we allow between our scheduled flight arrival and the train departure in Rome?

I've been to the trenitalia web site a couple of times and am becoming more familiar with it. Can/should I buy the tickets on line before we get to Italy? Since we are going directly from the airport to the train, I don't see how we would have time to buy them at the airport. We only have one week for our trip, so I want to get to Florence before the day is shot, and not spend it standing in a ticket line.

Thanks for your advice/information.

You should take the Leonardo Express from FCO to Termini. It leaves the airport at every :05 and :35, and takes 35 minutes. You also need at least 15 minutes to get to your next train, as the Leonardo Express arrives at a platform quite far from the ES train to Florence.

But the wildcard is what time your flight will arrive. There's no way to know in advance. Maybe it's early, maybe 30 minutes late, maybe an hour. All pretty common. I walked from my Air France gate to the FCO train station in 17 minutes (from the time the plane door opens - not when I get off), with no luggage.

I suggest you wait until you get to the FCO train station before you get your ticket. There's a manned ticket counter where you can buy your FCO-Termini and Termini-Florence tickets.

LOJO,Do a search on this site, Walter( paradiselost) has perfect directions to get you from the airport to termini as quickly as possible. If you are taking a train to Florence the person at the airport train counter will also be able to tell you which trains to Florence you will be able to catch, allowing for the distance (and confusion) at the termini station. One suggestion that was helpful to us was to print out and have with you the Rome to Florence train schedules so you and the agent can work directly from that. We did this and it helped us get to Naples as quickly as possible. My regret is that I hadn't thought far enough ahead to have a similar printout for the return from Naples to Rome Have a great trip, Deborah

ES train leaves Rome for Florence at every :30 (to Milan), plus at :55 during the even hours (to Venice).

If you get on a :05 Leonardo Express, you should arrive Termini at :40. So, if you get ther at 10:40, you can hurry to get on the 10:55 to Florence.

If you get on a :35 Leonardo Express, you should arrive at :10. You can make it to the hourly :30 train.

The Leonardo Express stops at a platform on the SW side of Termini. Walk towards the front of the train, then follow the signs to the moving walkway in the basement level. Go all the way to the front of the station; get back up to the main level, and walk towards the NE (i.e. turn right). The ES trains use the far platforms (with the lowest numbers).

Thanks for the information, all very helpfull. Regarding a reservation, I neglected to mention that we are arriving in Rome the day before Easter. Will it be so much busier that weekend that we should make a reservation?

The Leonardo Express runs all the time, every day. I have traveled during Easter and all trains are running still. Easter is Sunday, April 16 this year, so finding a train leaving on Saturday, April 15 should be no problem at all.

The Leonardo Express leaves from Terminal C (by the Lufthansa check-in area) in Rome's Fiumincino Airport and you will arrive at Roma Termini within 40 minutes, on binarios 26 & 27. The trains to Florence will be on your far right and they leave every 15 minutes (trip takes 1 hour, 36 mins on an ES train). After de-boarding the Leonardo Express, you will have to go into the front part of the station to the ticket office first (where there may be a line), then come back out to board your train. To speed things up, you might try using one of those automatic ticket machines in the front area by the ticket windows. I have used them several times and it sure beats standing in line for 15+ minutes and missing a train. They accept all credit cards and are very convenient. Don't forget to validate your tickets in those little yellow machines on your way out to the train!

You do NOT have to go to the ticket office at Termini. You can buy the tickets for ALL of your trip (FCO-Rome, Rome-Florence) at the FCO train station--a huge time savings.

ellenem is absolutely right.

And ES trains from Rome to Florence do not leave every 15 minutes. I already posted earlier that in general it's 3 trains per two hours.

And timetables don't even show the much slower non-ES trains with or without connections anymore.