Taxis, Rome

Don't waste your time with taxis that do not say "Radio Taxi" anywhere on the outside of the car. These are generally UNAUTHORIZED and OFF-METER so you will end up "striking a deal" with the driver and essentially get ripped off. They will be pushy and even try to convince you that you're lucky to even find him, but just say "No, grazie," smile and move on.

We really did a lot of walking in Rome but during the heat when we had done our sightseeing and wanted to get back to the hotel or to some where else fast (and cool!) we took a taxi. You can hail them yourself or they tend to hang around tourist attractions. Several times we went into a hotel lobby and asked the desk to call us one! We always had polite drivers and from one side of the city to the other it was never over ten dollars and that included a tip. We found the buses very confusing....certain bus stops only service certain destinations. Confusing and there was a slight language barrier. We opted for the ease and conveninece of a taxi and were glad we did.

Initially, I took taxis to get around Rome, just because I wasn't brave enough yet, this being the first stop on my trip, and first time overseas. Boy did I learn quickly. you want to avoid taxis in Rome at all cost. And I do mean cost. They are so much more expensive than public transport, that they should only be used if you are in an extreme hurry, or if you have loads of luggage. Otherwise, the public transport might not look the best, but it always get you there eventually. Additionally, as in all major tourist spots, they can and will try to rip you off by charging you extra baggage fees, the wrong fares, etc. etc. Just be aware.

I chose a hotel that had a free shuttle to/from the airport and to/from the Termini and the Piazza Venezia. This cut down on both the cost and alleged risk of Italian taxis.

It really worked out quite well, as we were able to travel on the hour in airconditioned comfort, rather than taking our lives into our hands in a crazed taxi driver.

Cabs in Rome, well all cars really, are small. There are taxi ranks which are the best place to catch a cab as there are rogue drivers out there. You can ask how much it will cost to get to a certain place before you get in.

Four of us took a taxi to St. Peter's Square one morning and the journey was like a Disney thriller ride! The cab driver swooped in and out of traffic, just like all the other drivers, and then got in to a hollering match with a well dressed man on a scooter. We did pick up a few handy Italian insults to keep in mind for future use LOL! In the end the scooter driver spit over his shoulder at the cab driver with a few hand gestures but the wind caught him and it landed all over his nice leather jacket. We all were in puddles of laughter over that.

It was, i think, a typical cab journey but other journeys we took were less eventful. A cab ride from the hotel in an outlying area of rome to the center was at the time 24,000 Lira which was about $24 Canadian at the time. It's now all euros so i can't say what the prices would be like now.

If you need a taxi from Stazione Termini, go to the official taxistand. The queues are long but go very quickly. Taxis are not very expensive and, as far as we have experienced, take you to from A to B in the shortest of time. Unlike taxis in Amsterdam, where they think you do not know the way in your own hometown...

Make sure that if someone orders you a taxi to or from the airport that they are clear exactly what airport you are going to. The reason being is that the reception at the hotel i stayed at wrongly advised the taxi firm to go to the wrong airport.. i.e. there are 2 and not 1 airport in Rome.
Only due to us realising by looking at the signpost we realised. And when we told the taxi driver he was trying to charge us 20 euros more even though the taxi was well over the price it should have been in the first place. It didn't help that he couldn't speak a word of english and i only knew a small amount of italian.. Because we refused to pay the extra amount he threatened to throw us out of the cab on a motorway and then drove us down some country lanes off the main route - thankfully these were only scare tactic to get us to pay for the extra fare. I am very relieved to be here now to warn people about this as we could have been less fortunate..
Flights like ryanair offer buses services to and from the airport this works out a lot cheaper and also a lot safer. Although i appreciate this isn't always practical.

Taxi drivers...what more can I say? They get the best of me most of the time...probably because I am either tired or just not paying attention. BUT, I think I've got the hang of it now...don't take a taxi from the street, have your hotel or a local call one for you---you'll have a better chance of getting a decent rate. Good Luck! :o)