Flying into Rome and connecting to Florence. I am concerned if my plane is too late, we will miss the connection. Since next flight is 7 hours later, the other option would be to get from the airport to the train, then take the train from Rome to Florence. I know I'd have to deal with my luggage, which will be flying to Florence....but how do we get from the Rome airport to the train? (Can you tell I'm stressin'?!?!?!?!!?)

Don't stress. The train from Rome airport to Florence is easy.

Firstly which Rome airport are you flying into? If it is Roma Fiumicino, then you take the train directly from the airport to Roma Termini station to connect to your Florence train. If it is a different airport, then still easy to get to Termini.

Tickets for fast trains can be bought more cheaply in advance but you probably don't want to do that so you can either pay full price or catch a regionale train (which are not pre-booked but are slightly slower).

However, if you miss your connecting flight, I think it unlikely that your luggage will fly without you as the airlines generally won't take luggage without the passenger. You would need to reclaim your luggage in Rome if it has been checked all the way through to Florence.

If you haven't already purchased the flight to Florence, I'd be tempted to opt for the train in preference to flying.

Train timetables are at www.trenitalia.com. Click on 'tutti treni' for regionale trains but note that timetables for these are not published all that far in advance so use, say, a date within the coming week for sample times.

This requires understanding how your flight itinerary is structured, which you have not posted. If you just take a train on your own you can get into a big problem.

If booked your flight so that the segment into Rome and Rome-Florence have a different booking codes, and Rome-Florence is the only flight on that separate booking code, you have an option of a train by canceling the Rome-Florence flight without other consequences.

However, if the segment into Rome and Rome-Florence are on the same reservation and you have remaining flight on the same reservation, you flights beyond Florence will be cancelled if you do not take a Rome-Florence arrangement made by your ticket issuer.

If I was to do this, I would not book an itinerary that included Rome-Florence. I would do the train from the beginning because for flights from my home airport, flight itineraries including FLR are more expensive and harder to find. I rather book flights into FCO where I have considerable more choices of carriers, depature/arrival time options, and layover alternatives. You can also fly directly into PSA (Pisa) on Delta if you are coming from JFK (I presume that is where NativeNewYorker might live), and if your trip is in summer.

>>>Since next flight is 7 hours later, the other option would be to get from the airport to the train,<<<

As Greg pointed out, the other option is not a train. If you don't show up for any leg of a flight that is all booked together, the rest of your flights will be cancelled so you would have no flight home.

Hi nn,

>... the other option would be to get from the airport to the train ...<

Only after you have arranged with your carrier not to be penalized for doing so.

It is quite possible that they will offer you that choice, anyway.

It would be helpful to know how much time you currently have to make that connection which you think you might miss.

We need more precise details about your arrangements to help.

How exactly is your trip booked? As one through-ticketed trip with one airline or partner airlines on the same code? Which airline(s)?

Are you sure about that 7-hour wait? And if there really isn't another earlier flight to Florence, are you sure that - if you get into Rome late - they couldn't put you on the next flight to Pisa, or to Bologna? From both those airports it's a much shorter train trip than having to get into Rome and take a Trenitalia train (www.trenitalia.com) from Roma Termini or an Italotreno train from Roma Ostiense or Roma Tiburtina (www.italotreno.it/en/Pages/default.aspx).

If you have the option, cancel the portion of your air arrangements Rome > Florence. Take the train from FCO to Rome Termini, then a train to Florence.

If you really don't want to deal with your luggage, hire a car to pick you up at FCO and take you to Florence. Depending on the number of people traveling, and the price you paid Rome > Florence, this might be within your budget.

Thanks all. Didn't know the whole rez could cancel if we skip out in Rome. Didn't consider a flight to Pisa if connections mess up. We have just shy of 2 hrs to make connecting flight. A friend had some weather here in NYC yesterday & it gave me pause. I wanted to train, but travel companion wanted connecting flight.....

BTW- bummer that we couldn't fly direct to Pisa in autumn!