Early Flight Out of Rome - Hilton Airport Hotel

Roberto, the rates have gone up. Expect 48€. See a page at Ron in Rome - what he doesn't know about Rome doesn't need knowing. Its at http://www.roninrome.com/transportation/new-taxi-rates-take-effect-in-rome#more-18594 The link is not working on this editor today.

That does seem a little steep for the Hilton, I don't recall ever paying that kind of a rate, however, I usually avoid Rome in the summer. This past March we had a room for under 100E and in May the year before, it was about 130E for us and our grandson. You can also check the Garden Inn for their rates, and I do believe they also have a shuttle to T5.
Good luck!

I would ALWAYS choose an evening in Rome vs. a night at a hotel airport. My rationale is that I can always sleep on the plane. Would you be willing to stay in the historical center, then take a very early-morning taxi out to the airport?

Hi Lexma - We will have spent five nights in Rome earlier in our trip and will be traveling from Cortona to Rome to catch the flight home. So, yes, we might consider a hotel in Rome but thought it might be easier to just stay at the airport. Do you have a recommendation for an inexpensive hotel in Rome? Thanks.

At that time in the morning any taxi will take you to Fiumicino from anyplace downtown Rome in 20-25 minutes flat. The taxi cost is probably around 40 Euro. By staying in Rome you'll enjoy a nice evening in a nice place rather than in some suburban overpriced hotel near Fiumicino. There are plenty of choices in Rome for any price range. I also sometimes have to come back to the US out of Rome very early but I always stay in Rome proper. I use the following website for hotels: www.nycerome.com
Click on the area you prefer on the map. Near the station (Termini, Termini Esquilino or Quirinale) is a little cheaper than in the Centro Storico. I usually stay at the San Remo Hotel, when they have room. It's in via D'Azeglio not far from the station. I also often stay at the Selene, across the street from the Opera House. They are 3 stars. If you want cheaper, just select fewer stars.

Also at Ron in Rome is this link on Getting to FCO in the morning.

At least with the 7 AM flight it is a domestic flight and if you are there by 5:30 or so you will be fine. Hotel rates do not change that much over time unless airlines or the trains. I doubt if the rate will change. The hotel is charging for the convenience factor. The taxi or shared shuttle from a downtown hotel will work best if you do not want to pay the Hilton rate.

My experience was in 2010 the airport Hilton was in the $300+ range. We had stayed there twice in the previous stays for around your indicated price. In 2010, we decided to spend our last night in the city center and wake up early. Both ways have advantages, but it is around 45 minute drive so you are only waking up that much earlier - not really a big deal. Your hotel can set up transportation. Taxi service does not run early in the morning, so you will have to have a service. The price is reasonable but not the $40.

At 5 AM any taxi will take you from downtown Rome (let's say Piazza della Repubblica) to FCO in under 30 minutes. Guaranteed. The cost is Euro 40, plus various supplements for luggage (1 euro/piece)+ night supplement (I think it's 6.50 euro before 6 am). http://www.6645.it/ProntoTaxiCms/home.2puntOT?lingua=en

If you are going to pass yourself off as a semi-local you need to get up to date. The fixed car fare is 48E for a day rate.

I guess I'm still stuck on 2011 prices since this year didn't pass through Fiumicino and my last time there was 2011. However I was never charged a fixed price to FCO. Only FROM FCO to inside the Aurelian walls. So I bet you can still pay less than 48.

Roberto is in error about the fares. It is, indeed, now €48 from the center of Rome to Fiumicino. So factor that into the hotel cost. This is the most up-to-date fare list (English on page 2 of the PDF file): http://www.comune.roma.it/PCR/resources/cms/documents/tariffario_taxi_luglio_2012.pdf So the €48 fare is all-inclusive; there is not any sort of additional fee for having an early morning start time (as there would be if you were going on the meter instead of at a fixed rate). If you will have to depart via Terminal 5 at Fiumicino, I would get there by at least 5am. This is because Terminal 5 has added steps: first you have to go through the initial checkpoint and get a security sticker on your passport. Then you have to go around the big wall and find your airline and wait in line for check-in. Then, once checked in, you have to go through security and then get on a bus, which will take you to the place where you actually depart from. Then, once you arrive there you have to find your gate. If memory serves, my last flight through that terminal began boarding 45 minutes prior to departure. If you are staying in Rome then I would plan to leave so as to get to the airport at 5am, if your flight leaves at 7. That will give you plenty of time so that you can get on the plane in peace and tranquility and then sleep a bit on the flight back. Good luck!

I would also hesitate to "guarantee" that the taxi will get you to the airport in under 30 minutes during that time. Yes, it will be much faster than during the daytime, but it depends upon which part of the historic center you will be leaving from, and how fast the cab driver personally is willing to drive. I would expect at least 30 minutes (not under) at that time of the morning, and at least 45 minutes starting around 7am.

David from Costa Mesa claims that taxi service does not run at that time of the morning. That is false. Taxi service runs 24 hours a day. There are taxi stands all around Rome. If you are going to be staying in the historic center, it might be easier, given your early start time, to hire a car service that will pick you up right at the hotel. I have used this one before with good results:
http://www.romalimousinecarservice.com/ You might want to start another thread to ask for recommendations on car services to use in Rome, if you decide to go that route. Or use the search engine to look at past threads on the topic.

Your hotel will arrange, if you ask, the night before for an early taxi! Listen to the local boy! He's absolutely correct regarding the hassle of getting through terminal 5! Make sure your cab driver knows you're going out of #5! This terminal is stricly for people going to the U.S. and Israel. Dur to the post 9/11 world, we need and get extra security than inter-Europe travel.

If you're leaving at 07:00 AM, you're probably NOT leaving on a US flagged Airliner, thus you will not be leaving from Terminal 5. If you're connecting on an Alitalia, KLM, or Air France flight, you're probably leaving from T1. For most other airlines at that time your check-in would be in T3. Because USA-flagged Airline flights arrive in Rome AFTER 05:45 AM (overnight flights), they don't leave on their return flights to the USA until 09:00 AM or later. Thus T5 does not even open until after 07:00 AM. A couple of years ago, when living in Rome, I dropped my wife off for a 6:00 AM KLM flight and then "walked" over to T5. I wanted to see how far it was and if it was walkable. It was a long way and in some places, NO SIDEWALK. Upon arrival, just before 07:00, the doors were locked and a young French girl was sitting on her luggage outside. I asked what flight she was on - turns out her plane was departing at 08:30 and thus she was at the WRONG terminal. So together we hauled her 3 bags up the hill and back to the Main Terminal Area. At that time of morning, because T5 was not open, there are NO shuttles running to or from T5. So, check with your airline. If you are connecting in FRA/AMS/LGW or another European airport and flying from THERE on a USA airline, your connecting leg departing from Rome will not be on a US carrier .... so carefully check to see which airline you depart Rome from on that first leg.

Yes, I looked back and I was mistaken about the taxi not ruinning prior to 6 am. But, we did use a service set up be the hotel which I agree was very easy and reasonable to do.

Ron - excellent info about Terminal 5 - thanks! Recently I had a flight and it said online that it was out of Terminal 3. So I went there -- and the flight was listed as leaving via Terminal 5. Fortunately there is ahuttle bus that runs fairly regularly.

My friend used her Marriott points to get me a room near the airport in Rome for FREE... check with people you know who travel a lot. Maybe someone will volunteer to book a room for you using their points, too!

We usually stay at the Hilton Garden Inn. If you book the non-cancelable rate it is cheaper. This time off a cruise we are going into Rome and staying for three nights and gettig up at 4 a.m. and getting to the airport. I hate wasting the day sitting in the hotel there at the airport and paying a lot for lousy food. So this year we are staying in Rome an extra day. I am booking a couple of people on our cruise there so if you want me to book you let me know. Your ino has to be sent by private message. Susan

The taxi fee is a fixed rate so there is no early morning surcharge... unless you book through a hotel and then many hotels do "add a fee." Currently, because taxi rates have increased, most private shuttles have ALSO increased so you're looking more at a 50-55€ for a party of two... and often times private shuttle companies WILL charge you an "early morning surcharge." Tips are totally at your discretion - I've traveled often to the FCO airport via private shuttle and my tip is usually 5-10€; hardly excessive for the service provided. In addition, we often flew on the 6:00 AM flights and called a taxi. We were NEVER left standing at the curb and if you have a local (Italian) mobile phone number – which many travelers have now - then you will receive a SMS from the taxi company telling you they are on the way. We often scheduled our taxis the day before. And you still have to get out to the airport, even if you're staying at an airport hotel... so part of your early morning taxi fee you want to avoid, you would have have to invest to get to the airport "on that day before" if you plan to stay at an airport hotel... so back out 8€-48€ depending on HOW you decide to get to the airport. And do remember that unless you stay at the Hilton Airport Inn, you MUST make sure your airport hotel has a shuttle operating at 05:00 AM. Otherwise you may pay 20€ - 25€ to go three miles by taxi at 05:00... which defeats the thought process of saving money as you've paid to get out to that airport hotel... and then paid again to get to the airport from that hotel. For me, it was never about the price, but more about having the opportunity to stay in Rome one more night. Because when you're out at an airport hotel your vacation is OVER... and I always wanted as much time as I could get enjoying Italy.

We were fortunate to be able to travel from Rome quite often. We lived near the Vatican, inside the Aurelian walls, and because of our location we could not count on trains or buses at early hours. We perhaps made 55-60 trips to the airport in the years we lived in Rome as we traveled often, and the early AM flights on Wiz Air, easyjet, Czech Air, KLM, etc, were often the cheapest and so we considered the taxi ride (versus the COTRAL bus) as part of our airline ticket cost. After relocating to Copenhagen, when we returned to Rome for vacations and to visit friends, we still rode taxis in the AM. It's a matter of your comfort level and your preferences... For us, airport hotels were a waste of an evening in Rome... but I understand those folks who feel they NEED to be close the airport.

Just wanted ya'll to know that the Hilton has a FREE bus service to the center of Rome every 2 hours. Last trip we arrived from Palermo around 2, checked in, caught the bus, had an excellent dinner down town(needed to reserve at 7:30 when it opened) and caught the 9pm bus back to the hotel. Pretty sure the bus schedule is on the hhonors.com website.
By the way, while staying there this past March,I paid 49E and 25,000honors points nightly including breakfast--a pretty sweet deal!

Re the immediately previous post: For many travelers, part of the joy of traveling is to get to experience these cities and villages without having to worry about catching a transfer back to a hotel at a certain time. We believe it's worth it to pay extra (though often not that much extra) to stay in or within easy walking distance of the historic centers. As for me, every single time we've stayed well outside the historic center to save money, we have regretted it. As I often say, there's no one-size-fits-all approach to travel. But that's what works for us.

I recently flew into Rome from Western Canada and was flying out to Athens the following morning. Rather than stay at a downtown Rome hotel (was later spending a week in Rome), I stayed at the Hotel Tiber in the town of Fiumiciano. The rate was 90 Euro and included breakfast. Taxi cost 7 or 8 Euro - for 10 min ride. Nice brand new hotel overlooking the Tiber river as it reaches the sea. The fishing boats dock and unload right along the river - great fun to watch people buying their supper and the freshest fish you will ever see. Hotel had a decent restaurant. A nice alternative to an airport hotel - I appreciated the sea air after 16 hours of canned air!