Hi all, i'm flying into bologna airport (mid june) and need to get to florence SMN station. My flight arrives 1:20pm - how long does customs/immigration typically take at bologna airport? If i got a taxi from there, would i make a 2:50pm train from bolonga centrale? (Think i'd be pushing it for the 2:25pm...)
Thanks.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10766 posts
I don't know how long it takes to get through passport and get your suitcase because we arrived on an intra-European flight, but the taxi ride into town was fast--20 to 30 minutes. However, I'd still leave more than 90 minutes, perhaps two and a half hours to be safe between landing and taking the train.
With two train companies to choose from, you have trains leaving every half hour, and it's only a 30 minute ride on the high-speed train.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32405 posts
jess,
The easiest and simplest solution will probably be to take a Taxi from the airport (which is only about 6 km from the city) to Bologna Centrale. Once there just buy a ticket (Kiosk will probably be faster) on the next train to Florence and you're all set.
If the trains you connect with are Regionale, you MUST validate your tickets prior to boarding the train or you'll risk hefty fines which will be collected on the spot! You may be able to connect with a FrecciaRossa departure at 14:25, arriving Firenze SMN at 14:59.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16240 posts
Where is the flight to Bologna coming from? If it's from the EU Schengen area, then you will have gone through immigration already. Customs is just a walk through. It's hard to predict whether you will make a certain train or not, because that is dependent upon whether the flight lands on time too. However there are so many trains per hour to Florence that you don't need to worry. I wouldn't buy a discounted ticket ahead of time because that locks you on a specific train which you may not be able to get on if your flight is late.
Another option you have to Florence is a bus directly from the airport to Florence. The bus doesn't travel as fast, but once you consider the time it takes to go from BLQ to Bologna Centrale, the travel time is about the same. This is the bus website:
http://www.appenninoshuttle.it
Train website is below:
www.trenitalia.com
Posted by
OP
5 posts
Thanks so much for the advice everyone! I'll be flying in from dubai (coming from sydney), so there'll be immigration to go through.
I'll do as suggested and buy my ticket when i get to the station. I'm meeting my mum and dad at SMN, their train gets in at 3 from Rome - so hopefully i won't keep them waiting too long! :)