In April my husband and I will arrive at 5pm from Split to Rome on the daily Croatia Air flight, no choice to arrive earlier. We will then try to make the last fast train to Florence to meet our children, leaving just 3 hours later, at 8pm.
My questions:
1) IF we are able to have only carry-on baggage on Croatia Air, and only have to go through immigration upon arrival in Rome, would 3 hours be a reasonable amount of time to make the train? I don’t know the ‘on-time’ record of this particular Split/Rome flight. Also don’t have any idea of the length of immigration lines in Rome, In April, in late afternoon.
2) If we miss the last train, what would be our chances of a last minute room at an airport hotel?
3) What would be our chances of a seat on an early morning fast train to Florence?
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
If you are close to on time, I'd think three hours would be plenty of time, even if you check bags. If you are two hours late? You still might make it but less likely of course. Carrying bags improves your odds a little. I am not sure what immigration lines would be like in the afternoon. I have flown Croatia Airlines once. They are not known for being punctual, but still, three hours should be adequate. FYI, a few days before my direct flight from Split to Paris, they canceled it and re-booked me on a flight via Zagreb that left at 6am instead of in the afternoon. (This was a few years back.) Be sure to double check your reservation a few days before departure from Split, just in case!
Can't imagine you wouldn't be able to find an airport hotel in Rome at the last minute. Perhaps pick a few likely hotels you would choose and have them at the ready just in case. I assume you'd have an internet device like a phone, tablet, or laptop to be able to book something yourself, easily.
Posted by
Tunbridge Wells
6113 posts
Picking up a checked bag only takes about 5 minutes extra at most European airports, so it wouldn’t add much to your journey. I don’t know why most people on this forum comment that it will save them so much time! The delay, if any, will be at passport control.
IF your flight is on time, then you should have enough time to get through the airport and possibly wait up to 30 minutes for the fast train, which takes 32 minutes to reach the rail station. This also assumes there are no problems on the rail line. Presumably you will have you rail tickets in advance? You will need a few minutes to find the correct platform and board the train.
Walking up and buying a hotel room on the day will probably be possible, but expensive. Check websites such as Booking.com in advance to look at the night in question. Monitor this again in a few months.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
To clarify, the last direct fast train from Roma Fiumicino to Firenze SMN leaves the airport at 19:08 every day except Saturdays (when there's no similar departure). I assume your 8 p.m. deadline (or a few minutes before) is for a train running into either Roma Tiburtina or Roma Termini to catch the last fast train from those stations.
Since trains from Rome to Florence run 3-4x/hour, seats rarely sell out.