Taxis, Rome

"Rome is a city best seen on foot" is what I have read and readily agree with. However, there are times when you are just exhausted from walking but still want to go see the city. We took a taxi several times throughout our stay in Rome and found that not only was it inexpensive and convenient, it was also an experience in itself. The driving in Rome is absolutely crazy (Naples is worse) and being able to experience that from the perspective of being in the car was exciting and fun. Also, we almost always had a nice cab driver who would give us facts about places we would drive by in his broken English. Back to the inexpensive part: If you stay in the city center, you can pretty much spend no more than 7-10 Euro on a cab ride. It can be more at night as the base price may be a bit higher. This is also the case if you take a cab from the train station. However, this is no comparison to getting a cab in NYC. So in conclusion, I highly recommend this type of transportation when your feet are hurting or when you are lost, it is worth the money.

We needed transportation for 8 persons from Rome airport to Civitavecchia, Italy for cruise. Also from cruise to hotel in Rome and departure to airport for 4 different travel times. We contacted Stefano Costantini of Romecabs. After comparing other rates which were pretty much the same, we contracted with Stefano. They were exactly on time every time including suggesting where we should meet in the airport since we were all coming from different places in the US. We asked Sylvester, our driver, to take us to buy wine before checking in at the hotel in Civitavecchia, and he was very accomodating including ruling out the first place as too expensive. The vehicle was large enough for all our luggage also. We paid cash in e's and included a small tip. You could travel cheaper from airport to cruise port but certainly not as dependable or convenient.

Athens, Belgrade, Bucharest, Kaunas, Kiev, Krakow, Minsk, Moscow, Prague, Riga, Rome, Sofia, Warsaw, Zagreb.

Something all of these places have in common is no shortage of taxi drivers who see it as a divine right to rip off tourists. In Bucharest, Minsk and Moscow in particular it is utterly outrageous and if there is an honest taxi driver anywhere in these cities then I am yet to find them.

Some thing else each of these cities have in common is a well developed public transport system based on any of metro / tram / trolley bus. The public transport systems are simple, efficient, quick and inexpensive and provide a welcome alternative to the inevitable taxi driver rip off.

I've heard a lot of stories about taxi rip-offs but I never had any problems. At night, it's best to take a cab because the busses and metro don't run late and it can be dangerous to walk at night. If you're travelling with someone, just share the cost. But even in times when I took a cab on my own, the most I paid was around 10 Euros (from the Testaccio nightclubs to my hostel close to Termini).

Cab drivers might take advantage of a tourist who doesn't know their way around. We got into a cab and the driver started heading in the opposite direction of our destination. We immediately reminded him where we wanted to go and pointed back in that direction and he turned around. I'm sure at that hour he wasn't too busy and thought he could make a couple extra bucks off of us. Needless to say he didn't get a tip.
Always check to see where the meter is and that it is running when you get into a cab.

Taxis are few and far apart, in Rome as in any Italian city. Italian taxis do not stop if you wave at them, Italians telephone booking for a taxi maybe 15 minutes before they need it and taximeters start running BEFORE they arrive to pick passengers. In addition, there are half a dozen places where taxis park: like in front of the train station. That is why your hotel porter will offer to get a taxi for you, if you just walk out of your hotel, you will not find a taxi.

I used Rome Cabs to take me from the airport to Rome and back a week later to the airport. The service was very reliable, the driver was waiting for me when I landed. Arrived a few minutes before the pick up time to take me exactly to where I needed to be to return to the U.S.

I'm sixty, to tired to lug luggage on a train, then find transportation at the terminal to where I am staying.
Of all the different transportations I've used in various cities, I like these folks the best. They are 5 stars in my book.

My opinion and I found their services surfing the web.

I used this service some years ago for several months, traveling every week to Rome.
The service was always great and I gave this info to a lot of other friends in the past.

Since I'm reading here a lot of posts regarding price and safe transport (expecially from women that are traveling alone) from Roma airports - Fiumicino and Ciampino - and other posts regarding daily tours around Rome or transport to Civitavecchia or Napoli, I contacted the company and I hope to help the VT travelers with my infos:

from Roma Fiumicino or Ciampino to downtown EUR 44,00
from Roma to Civitavecchia EUR 130,00

ask for other services: e-mail camorservice@tin.it
quoting flight number and air company and the airport
Fiumicino = FCO
Ciampino = CIA

Someone can find the prices more expensive than a taxi but I think that the service (the driver will wait you into the airport) is good and safe.