Rome Flights

How did I get there?? Well, since I live in Mexico I had no other choice but to get there by plane, as many of you will have to do as well :) The Fiumicino airport is about half an hour from the town, but there's the Leonardo Express train that takes you from the airport to Termini train/metro station (near downtown Rome and with lots of bus terminals) which run every half an hour and are very efficient & comfortable, and PUNCTUAL too! That is not very usual in the Roman (or rather Italian) transportation system ;) In fact on my very last trip I was able to catch a train only because it was running late.... but it's not the norm. However, keep in mind that after 9 PM (or maybe earlier) there's no one to buy the train tickets from at the airport terminal (outrageous, in my opinion) so you will have to get your ticket from a vending machine which does NOT take cash, only credit cards...!!!

If you're arriving from somewhere else in Europe, you may arrive at the Ciampino airport...... this one is small but still well furnished and organized, and you can get from the airport to Termini by bus+metro (take a COTRAL bus to the Anagnina metro station and then use the metro red line: it's about 13 stations from Anagnina to Termini). Same way if you want to go to the airport from Rome.

Nowadays there's another good alternative: there are shuttles that take you directly to Termini (by Via Marsala) from both airports and viceversa. I used the Terravision shuttle this time to go from Termini to the Fiumicino airport and I was very pleased with the service and the price.... Only 6 EUR for a one-way ticket (the Leonardo Express costs 14 EUR for a single ride)! The journey takes about 40-50 minutes but the buses are very punctual and they run very often; they are comfortable too. You can buy your tickets in advance and the staff will tell you which buses/times are more convenient for you to catch your flight on time. They usually allow for 3 hours before your flight in order to avoid any potential delays, but of course you can ride them closer to the departing time, under your own risk. You can also show up any time and just buy your ticket for the next available bus. They have a small office/lounge attached to the Termini station (next to the Despar supermarket) where they have internet access, a small cafeteria and tables & chairs for you to wait until your bus departs. This is where the bus schedules are displayed and where the tickets are sold.

If you travel by train you will most probably arrive into the Termini central train station, too. It's really huge and it connects Rome with most part of Italy and other destinations!

I rented a car with a driver to take us into the Centro Storico for euro 50, 2 persons and two large travelling bags. All went smoothly, he was waiting for us at the exit, took us to terminal 3 for the Roma Pass and delevired us within 45 minutes at the door of our self-catering appartement.

On the way back we decided to take the airport express. The fare was 14 euro per person and we needed two bus ticket (2 euro). It took about 90 minutes. It is a very long walk from the bus station to the platform (28 !) and there was a long queue at the ticket office half way. That's why you had better buy a ticket on line! I decided to return to the entrance hall and buy tickets from the machine there. With a little help from a kind beggar (1euro for a cup of coffee, pleae) I swiflty had the tickets. The is hard to get into and off with large bags, which is strange for a special, no stop train.

This is a note I posted on a forum on handicap access from Leonardo da Vinci to Civitavecchia:

First, how to get from the airport (Leonardo da Vinci, or "Fiumicino" as the locals call it (from the town that it is in)) to Civitavecchia:
1. At the airport itself, take the train to Stazione Termini (Rome's main train station)
2. At Stazione Termini, take one of many trains to Civitavecchia (about an hour ride, I think).
3. At Civitavecchia, take a taxi to the port - actually, I am told that the distance is not far, but for anyone travelling with luggage, much less a handicap, why not take a cab?

OK?

For the airport, look at http://www.adr.it/content.asp?L=3&IdMen=630 . At the bottom of the page is a link for "special assistance" and lists locations of lounges for special needs. One of them is at the train station in the airport. Note that I recently emailed a question to the redazione@adr.it (editorial staff for the website), and I got an answer within a day(!!!), so you might try, too.

For the Italian train system, I have found two pages, but, unfortunately (perhaps), they are only in Italian. The page for wheelchair-bound people is http://62.110.170.238/disabili/viSed.html, while a list of offices to contact is at http://62.110.170.238/disabili/hodi.html . In any case, it is clear that some trains, at least, are able to handle wheelchair bound passengers, and major stations can use lifts to load the passengers. Your travel agent should be able to use this information to get more specifics.

Also, if you're in Rome a while, there is a page by ATAC (Rome's bus system) on handicapped access - see http://www.atac.roma.it/disabili/index.asp?A=3&S=36&lng=2 - this is in English.

Well, planes are the first choice. Two airports, Fiumicino (or Leonardo Da Vinci) and Ciampino (Ryanair for example flies to Ciampino, it's smaller but well connected to the city - there's a shuttle bus to Termini).

I've also traveled through Italy by train. (Venice-Rome-Florence-Milan-Verona), this was during a backpacking trip I took in 2001.
If you're traveling through Italy, the ticket called Chilometrico is a nice choice (but have in mind you can only use the trains marked as R, IR and D, which are the slower ones - it didn't bother me). I think I can freely say that the train net-work in Italy (at least the part I have visited: the northern part and Rome) works pretty well. Just have in mind that the night-trains, which are always more "appealing" to back-packers can be really crowded.

Hi!

I travel many times around Italy and I have often flight connections in Rome Fiumicino and many other airports.

Suppose you have flight A and B of the same flight company and your first flight delays and you miss the second flight. The flight company in this case must bring you till your final destination.
This thing has happened more than one time to me. The last time happened in Mexico. The first flight from Monterrey to Mexico City delayed and I missed the intercontinental flight to Frankfurt. The second flight belonged to a different flight company (so it was a worst case than having flights A and B of the same flight company...). Well, the company of the first flight paid me one day in the awesome airport hotel of Mexico City and guaranteed a seat on the day after flight of the second flight company. :D
The airport hotel of Mexico City has the swimming pool on the top with a good panorama over the airport airstrip. Why do I tell you this thing? Because I have a rule: I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS bring a swimsuit with me. It becomes very appreciated when those things happen! LOL ;D

So, one hour and half of "flight transfer" is usually calculated by the flight company to permit you to get off and reach the GATE (not the check-in) of the second flight. In your case you have not to do "check-in" and "safety check" again: only "transfer" you have to do. Of course, if you stop yourself to buy something into airport shops, well, the problem becomes yours. :D

I instead should recommend an IMPORTANT THING ABOUT ROME FIUMICINO...
Statistics on my more than 30 flights with a connection in Rome Fiumicino showed me I have lost my luggage in about 30% of cases! Maybe I am very hapless but "statistics are statistics"!!!
In those cases I had to follow the tedious procedure of "lost & found" but finally I have always found my luggage. :D
It's FUNDAMENTAL YOU DON'T PUT INTO THE TRASH the portion of the flight ticket left to you during gate pass through!
That's a recommendation: if possible, avoid to bring valuable objects into your luggage. ...and the swimsuit MUST be put ALWAYS on your hand baggage; ALWAYS attached with you!!! LOL ;D

Have a nice flight!
Fabrizio

The ADR has RE-Numbered all the terminals at FCO. And somehow they’ve made it more confusing than before...........

On the night of 10/24 a small “army” of engineers and workers took to the field to change the signs of the terminal, roads, car parks and in all areas open to the public.
The change in signage was designed both to rationalize the existing situation and to realign the signs to the situation as regards the designation of the Terminal, the big international airports. The new nomenclature of reference for the system of the terminals has been determined:
Terminal A is renamed Terminal 1 (T1)
Terminal AA is renamed Terminal 2 (T2)
Terminals B and C (now merged) are renamed Terminal 3 (T3)
Terminal subsidiary sensitive flight is confirmed Terminal 5 (T5)

If you have entered Italy through FCO customs before, you will now be entering from customs into TERMINAL 3. Everyone on your flight exits the same way, so just follow the stampede. Continue directly ahead to the street exit. If you are taking the Leonardo Expess, cross the street - look up to your left and you will see what looks like a white glass overpass. There is the train platform for the Leonardo Express - it is very well marked.

Leonardo Express direct train service runs every 30 minutes to Rome's central rail station (Stazione Termini; www.trenitalia.com) between 6:30 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. That service costs 11€ and tickets must be stamped before you board the trains on the platform's validating machines.

I flew into Rome Ciampino Airport, which is where most of the cheap airlines fly to. Then it was a simple job of getting a return coach ticket to the Termini Stazione for about 8 Euros.

The coach journey takes about 40 minutes in decent traffic so remember to give yourselves plenty of time to get back to the airport, unless you want to do what I did which was arrive at the airport 5 minutes before departure and the run through security and up to the gate. Fortunately the airport is not all that big and also my flight had been delayed by half an hour.

Last winter (2007-08) we have been flying five times from Brussels to Rome and return with Brussels Airlines. On one flight we left late (45 minutes) from Brussels. On another one from Rome we left 20 minutes late. All other flights were on time.
Brussels Airlines is the regular Belgian company. It is NOT a low cost low service company but Brussels Airlines has competitive, all inclusive, prices when booking a few weeks in advance.
With the b.light economy rate one is allowed to take a 20 kg registered luggage (with no extra cost) and 8 kg hand luggage (1 piece).
For Europe the planes are B 737, Airbus A 319 or AVRO RJ85 – AVRO RJ100. All these planes have seats with sufficient space for the legs.
Drinks and food can be bought on the European flights with the b.light economy rate.
Brussels Airlines joins Brussels National to Rome Fiumicino.

I read here a quite enthusiast comment from 2004 on Ryan Air.
Since then travellers have been able to compare the overall and final net prices, the comfort and service between the two companies. Furthermore Brussels National is an all weather airport while Charleroi at 40 km from Brussels, from where Ryan Air operates is closed when there is mist.
Just read (27/02/2009) in various EU papers that Ryanair plans to charge (1 £) for using plane toilets. I first thought it was an early April Fool's day joke!