Time needed to get luggage and thru customs in Rome
 

We (2 people) will be traveling to Rome in August and are trying to book a private transfer from the airport to the hotel. Our flight arrives from the US at 9 am. The transfer company says they will wait one hour from the time the flight lands then will charge 60 euros per hour after that.
So the question is: Is 1 hour enough time to get our luggage, get thru customs and meet our driver? Especially at that time of day when a lot of overnight flights are arriving from North America.
I tried looking for this answer in the forum but all the answers were several years old.
Thank you for your help.

Well, assuming you don't have an EU passport, it might take longer than an hour. Why not just take a taxi? The rate between Fiumicino and Rome is fixed at 40 euros.

We just took a bus. It let us off at Termini station and then we got a bus to our hotel area. Very inexpensive and easy to do.

I take the Leonardo Express to Termini, then a short taxi or bus or walk to the hotel. You can't count on it taking less than an hour to be ready for pickup after landing - and I DO have an EU passport.

blonde1125, not sure what shuttle service you're trying to work with, but many do not have an incremental 60€/hour "late-fee." That's crazy - why give your credit card info to these guys?

No, I'd seek another vendor or as suggested, just ride a taxi into town. The time required to get in from the ARRIVAL time of your flight could be well past an hour. Figure 10-20 minutes to offload and walk to passport control; then 5 - 30 minutes in passport control depending on how many other non-Schengen flights have arrived; and then the BIG variable at FCO... waiting on your luggage. That could take 10 minutes or an hour!

So I'd suggest looking a different vendor; one who DOES NOT put this "clock" on you. Depending on where you are staying, the fixed taxi rate (as outlined above) is 40€ from FCO to Rome. And there are many other options. Here are few links on Arriving at FCO, getting through Passport Control and the T3 Arrivals area, and then a few transport options! The good news is there are MANY other options that time of day - Good Luck!

Arriving at FCO: http://tinyurl.com/FCO-arrive

Terminal 3 Arrivals at Fiumicino Airport: http://tinyurl.com/t3-baggage

Transportation Options From Fiumicino Airport (FCO) to the City of Rome: http://tinyurl.com/FCO-depart

The Leonardo Express – The Trenitalia Nonstop Train to the Fiumicino (FCO) Airport : http://tinyurl.com/FCO-LE

The FR1 Metropolitan Train To and From the Fiumicino (FCO) Airport : http://tinyurl.com/FR1-FCO

Terravision at FCO: http://tinyurl.com/terravision

SITBus Shuttle : http://tinyurl.com/SITBus

The Fixed-Rate Taxi Zone: http://tinyurl.com/Rome-fixed-rate

It's getting the luggage that is the difficulty. US flights land at a remote termina (you ride a little train to the main terminal) and if lots of planes come in at the same time, it can take an hour. Immigration is easy and fast, customs will not concern you.

This is a probability question, and it is not difficult to look at different scenarios.

1. You get out with luggage on time. Transfer=€60, Taxi=€40
2. You don't get out with luggage on time: Transfer=€60+€60/hr, Taxi=€40+no penalty

It appears you end up paying more in all cases with this transfer company. There may be benefits you thought you would be getting, but it is not clear from the posting.

blonde,

The last time I arrived at FCO, my flight came in from the US at about 8am. Picked up my small bag with no delay at all. Continued on to customs where there was one very LONG line at just one booth.

I noticed a gentleman sitting in another booth so I walked up, asked in my limited Italian if he was open. He smiled, stamped my passport and I waltzed right through!

After that, everyone standing in the VERY LONG line got smart and followed me.

Yes, it depends on how many flights are arriving, but use your common sense on a trip and you can improve a few things.

I also use the Leonardo Express, and did use a private taxi from hotel to FCO for $40 last trip. Both are just fine.

Buon viaggio!

You can have a shuttle pick you up t whatever time you want - they don;t pick the time - YOU do. If your plane lands at 9 am I think your chance of taxiing to the gate, deplaning (will you be n first class - or 25 rows back), wending your way through the airport, lining up for and getting through Immigration, making your way to baggage carousel, finding your bags and then getting through customs and out to a car is slim to none. I would simply get a taxi when you are ready to leave.

If you really want to take a scheduled car service, tell them to pick you up at 10:15 to 10:30.

Thank you all for your great feedback. We have US passports so that will make a difference. We have been to Europe before, but not Italy. All your feedback has helped us greatly.

Do post when you return with what you ended up doing. This type of question comes up often, receives all sorts of different opinions, and ... nothing. It would help the future readers if the OPs post what they thought before the trip and return with how it turned out.

We arrived in Rome at 7am and waited about. 1 1/2 hours to
Get through passport control. There were a total of 3 windows open for hundreds of people.

On the plus side our luggage was waiting for us when we finally made it through!

Good luck!

We've come through passport control at FCO often - and the times varied... Our best effort was a 06:55 AM arrival. We were in 1st class and got off quickly, hit passport control before the "crowd arrived" and other planes. There were 2-3 booths open and we were out of there in under 5 minutes. Because we had "priority tags" on our luggage we only waited about 10-15 minutes for the luggage. Customs is just a walk by at FCO (and other Euro airports) so we walked into T3 Arrivals less than 30 minutes after getting off the plane!

That's the good story... On the other end, we once waited 40+ minutes at passport control; Another time we waited more than an hour for our luggage; and the worst... our luggage was lost and waiting in line took more than 2 hours. So you just never know.

Our worst Italy airport experience... Alitalia into MXP where they also lost our luggage. 3+ hours in line to file and it took about 4 days for our luggage to catch up with us...

Living in Europe, we fly often on weekends (my wife teaches), so we do "carry-on" only. We're at the bus or taxi stand about as long as it takes us to walk through the Terminals. Of course, passport control lines in Non-Schengen countries do slow us down!