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Early morning flight from FCO— Advice on hotel, taxi?

Posted by (Portland, OR) on

Buongiorno,

I will be wrapping up an Umbrian art retreat with one last day and night in Rome, after which I have a 6:00 AM flight from FCO.

At first, I thought I could stash my bags in the room of another artist in my group while I enjoy my last day in Rome and then take a taxi to a hotel near the airport in the evening. I'd be closer to the airport in the early hours of the morning. However, when I looked at hotels around FCO they were either booked up, or way out of my budget. (This is in mid-April 2026.)

So, new plan: I will stay near the other artists in my group, around Campo de Fiori and Piazza Navona. Since I will need a taxicab at 3:00 AM or so, does it make sense to stay at a hotel that has a 24/7 front desk to help me call a taxicab? I am a solo woman traveler and this is my second trip to Italy. (The first was on a Rick Steves tour 24 years ago!) I am hard-of-hearing and understanding and speaking Italian is very difficult for me. That said, I have lived in big cities (NY, SF) and possess some common sense about safety.

Is it worth the extra cost of a 24/7 front desk to help me arrange a taxicab? Or will I be fine staying at a much much less expensive guesthouse with no on-site staff, and arranging for the taxi myself? Is there some other angle or option I might not have considered yet? (I don't think I'm up for the whole sleeping-at-the-airport thing; I'm older than I'd like to admit!)

Grazie, fellow travelers! I appreciate your advice.

Posted by
67 posts

Hi KMD,
For the peace of mind, I'd vote for the 24/7 desk. I once had a taxi fail to show on time; it was worth a lot to have someone speak Italian to chase down a replacement.
Have a wonderful trip.

Posted by
8879 posts

Agree with above.

Or arrange a driver ahead of time- Rome Cabs gets good reviews here. (Not a taxi company but a car service). A taxi to FCO will be 55 euros- Rome Cabs charges just a tiny bit more

Have you looked at some of the hotels in Fiumicino? Might be available and less expensive.

Posted by
5610 posts

Echoing Christine H, we've used Rome Cabs a number of time to get to the airport for early flights and have always found them to be very reliable.

Posted by
1550 posts

Hotel Smeraldo, close to Campo de Fiori gets excellent reviews on the Forum, including from us & has a 24-hour desk with great front desk staff. Personally, I would prefer to have someone responsible for the car booking so I'm sure to make my flight. Good luck!

Posted by
557 posts

Just a heads up: We had a 6 AM flight FCO to CDG in October(Air France). We were at FCO at3:15 and needed every minute to make our flight.
Brad

Posted by
47 posts

You may want to check out the Hotel Tiber in Fiumicino. Their prices are reasonable and they are very close to the airport and offer a shuttle service for a small fee. I had a very good experience staying there a couple of years ago. You could take the Leonardo Express from the Rome Termini station to the airport and catch the shuttle from there to get to the hotel the day before your flight and then take their shuttle in the wee hours ( I think it runs 24 hours but of course you would need to check with the hotel).

Posted by
5610 posts

I would prefer to have someone responsible for the car booking...

We tend to not have the hotel arrange our transport to the airport. One might wind up in a regular taxi, a private car service, or the desk clerk's brother-in-law. We had that happen to us in Rome, but there were four of us and one brother-in-law. We all had cell phones, and one of us spoke Italian very well, so things worked out ok.

But for a solo female, the best bet, in my opinion, is the aforementioned Rome Cabs.

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