Flying from Manchester by jayhawk2000
We flew direct to Rome from Manchester aboard Jet2, the Ryanair of the North of England. We enjoyed stupendous views over London, the white cliffs along the English coast, a bird's-eye view of Paris and the sight of the Alps turning pink in the sunset. Jet2 provide an excellent service and an expanding range of destinations from their hubs at Manchester and Leeds/Bradford airports. Fares are competitive and the timings to and from Rome were convenient. If you have flexible dates in mind, you can view a calendar on their website with which you can pinpoint the cheapest fares month by month.Jet2 flies into Rome's main airport, Fiumicino (also known as Leonardo da Vinci Airport). A train called the Leonardo Express travels non-stop from the airport to Rome's main train station, Termini. It's a bit of a stretch calling it an 'express' because the trip takes 35 minutes and the train trundles along rather slowly. There are two trains an hour in either direction so you should never have to wait for more than half an hour for one. They run daily from about 6am till 11pm. In March 2007 we paid 11 euro each for a single (one-way) ticket which you can purchase from machines on the station. Don't forget to validate them by punching them in the yellow machines you'll see on the platform.
There are more frequent trains which stop at other Rome stations which you may find more convenient for your own destination. There is a bus service too, but it doesn't run very often during the day. Explore your options at www.adr.it/content.asp?L=3&IdMen=731. The website will also explain how to travel between Fiumicino and Rome's other airport, Ciampino.
