We are leaving from the Rome airport on a morning flight and driving in from the east. We thought we could stay in one of the small town just west or south of the airport the night before to make it easier to get to the airport and drop car etc.

Can anyone provide any ideas on towns nearby or do you think that this is just a dumb idea?

thanks a lot

Pat

Ostia Antica.

It depends on how early your flight is. You might want to spend the last night closer to the airport... Ostia Antica, as suggested is a good bet...or Tolfa where the agriturismo Fontana del Papa will give you views, food and ambiance to remember. Lots of possibilities, but need to know the time of year, time of flight.
Buon viaggio !

thanks for your replies. May 6 coming back and our flight is 11:00 am.

further info really appreciated

Pat

West of the airport puts you in the water. Tolfa is north, not south. At that time of year, you should be able to get good rates at Lido di Ostia. Will you be arriving late and just want somewhere to spend the night or earlier and want to do a bit of sightseeing?

There is a very highly regarded restaurant in the town of Fiumicino itself that might make for a wonderful last night in Italy. And of course Fiumicino has plenty of hotels.

http://www.pascuccialporticciolo.com.../about-us.html

if that's too rich, the town of Fregene is an altogether nicer beach town than Lido di Ostia.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/07/09...pagewanted=all

Tolfa is a great suggestion if you're willing to get up a bit earlier. For an 11am flight, however, you do need to be at the airport no later than 8am, and since the car rental drop off is such a pain to find at FCO, I would recommend targeting 7:30 am.

Another interesting choice north is Tarquinia. It's a little bit further from the airport than Tolfa, but it is right on the main highway, so travel time is just about a zippy. It's a fascinating destination in itself, with an important Etruscan museum, a beautiful medieval core, and at least two very good restaurants (Arcadia and I Cavatappi).

If you would like to go south, and are willing to get up early, Saubadia, Terracina, and even San Felice Circeo are possible and fascinating.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/200...familyholidays

But if you are only looking to zip in at night and have a place to sleep, then Fiumicino or the Courtyard Marriott near the airport are better than staying in Ostia Antica, where it can be hard to find a reliable hotel and you have to navigate some tricky highway crossings to get to the airport.

Anyway, it's not a dumb idea in the slightest.

Oh, and PS:

Going west of the airport does not "put you in the water." It puts you in either Fiumicino or Fregene (or Focene, but the last has very little in the way of visitor amenities). Look at a map.

thank you all, especially zeppole, for all your great ideas. It is just a whip in, sleep and out as we are coming from a distance away.

Pat

Particularly if it's "whip in, sleep and out", I suggest you look up driving routes and times at www.viamichelin.com before deciding. For safety, add 30% to the driving time; Viamichelin notoriously underestimates. Its estimate for San Felice Circeo to FCO is 1 hr 34 minutes. Then look for accommodations. Neither San Felice nor Fregene is well endowed with hotels; they both cater to Romans who own property there or, in the case of Fregene, day trip there.

Fiumicino is close and convenient. It's not the best beach town on the shore, but it has an ample supply of hotels.

Have done this Fiumicino is closest a harbor town not a lot
of there there have stayed in a few ok not great
hotels there bus to the airport for a couple of euros
taxi quite expensive.

Also have stayed at Roma Lido Raddison Aran Blu nice hotel
not too cheap no easy FCO connections will not save you
much.

Last May for $69/nt I did the Seratona Roma hotwire.com their "secret" South Rome 4 star they had an airport shuttle located in a nice area halfway between Rome and the airport

Good for the price food not good but shuttle saved me lots..

Happy Planning!

booking.com FCO search for hotels around FCO with free shuttle
will save you a tonne. Marriott.com has a great CC points deal
where you could get a Marriott or the Coutyard both super nice
for free with CC hotel points if you sign up.I just did.
If you are dropping your rental hotels in area with shuttle make the best sense.