Though I would love to avoid FCO airport, we are putting together our trip rather late and have different destinations for family members after the trip so the abundance of carriers / flights from FCO aids the coordination greatly. My question is this - if we have a 6:20am flight out of FCO, does it make any sense to book a stay at the airport hotel. I've been advised to have 3 hrs at the airport so that means essentially leaving the hotel at 3am. 1) Should we even bother with a hotel then ? or just go hang out at the airport ? 2) Does the airport shut down during the night ? This seems so undesireable that I am considering flying out of FCO the evening before to Amsterdam, then take our flight back to the US the next day. 3) Is that adding extra trouble unnecessarily ? 4) Also, since we are travelling on March 24/25 to Amsterdam -- is weather a risk ? 5) Should I try to look for a southern European city for connections ? 6) This is a late idea to go to Italy and may not be such a good one for how little time we have to plan it and perhaps the weather too will not be pleasant enough ?
Any inputs would be greatly appreciated. (I did go to Italy with my daughter just last April so am banking on that knowledge and experience -- the weather mid April was wonderful !)
Posted by
The Hague, NL (AMS)
2207 posts
The airport is "open" 24 hours in areas, although it's not the cleanest nor most comfortable place to spend the night. I've been on many 06:00 - 06:30 flights out of FCO and seen folks sleeping. If you have a 06:20 flight I imagine you ARE NOT headed directly to the USA as no US-flagged airline flights depart until after 09:30. So you're probably connecting somewhere (KLM to AMS? We've often been on that flight). Because you're connecting, you don't need to be there three hours early. The counter to check-in probably will not open until two hours before the flight departure time. So you can ride the Cotral bus out to the airport in the early morning (say 03:00), take a taxi or private shuttle about 04:00 - 04:30, or spend the night at the airport. Look at the bottom half of this post for a review of your early-morning options. If you want to book a hotel out near the airport, here are a few suggestions, but I'd suggest enjoying your last night in Rome; not in an FCO Airport hotel and not in the FCO airport. Frankly, when we had an early flight, we just called a taxi and ride out shortly after 04:15. I don't think the weather will be an issue in April. Of course it's hard to predict snowstorms and volcanic ash... but AMS is a well-established, modern HUB for KLM. They have had closures due to snow before, but not in April. The weather in April in Rome is usually breezy and sometimes rainy.. but again, no way to predict that now...
Posted by
OP
PA, USA
17 posts
Thanks Ron -- you also helped me last year on my Mini ticket purchases ! My message was too rambly -- thinking out loud late at night ! The reason I was considering the airport hotel or going to AMS early for the connection back to the US is because my son is headed back to college / classes early Monday 3/26 so I did not want the last leg of the trip to be so taxing with the 4am trip to the airport, etc... But maybe that's silly. I was also asking about weather for March 17-25 this trip --- which is 3 weeks earlier than last year when I visited April 5-15. The weather was gorgeous to me because I like it on the cool side but not cold and too wet preferably. Thanks again for your help !
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8359 posts
Sandy: You've received great info from the infamous RoninRome.com. Obviously, he knows what he's talking about. My 4/11/12 reservations out of FCO are at 11:50 a.m. non-stop to Philadelphia. 10 hour plane rides and changing time zones are physically hard enough on the body without having to get up at 3:00 a.m. to make an early morning flight. Is there any reason you cannot fly back later in the a.m.? I was looking at the seating charts for the times you're going, and they're not sold out. Fortunately, Spring fare are 1/2 the cost of Summer travel. Spring has arrived in Central Italy by the time of your trip, but night/day temperatures are usually in the 45/55 degree range. You just have to be prepared for all kinds of weather this time of the year. Since you've been to Italy previously, it shouldn't be such a culture shock. Have a great time!
Posted by
Atlanta
97 posts
Sandy, One important thing to confirm is when is daylight savings time in Italy. I'm almost positive that it is the last weekend in March, which is the weekend you are travelling. Note that this is DIFFERENT from the date you change your clocks in US. I know this from personal experience. I was very confused in Italy a couple years ago, when all the Italians changed their clocks and I did not. My 3 year old was not happy when we showed up late to the Explora children's museum.
Mike
Posted by
OP
PA, USA
17 posts
Hi David - I am still trying to get the flight later but it looks like 9am is the best we can do -
the challenge is coordinating the different return destinations for the 3 of us. I do wish I had aneven later option that would still get my son back to college at a good time. However, with the 9am flight, we could consider an early cab ride in, rather than sleeping at Rome airport . My husband is still inclined to fly to AMS late Saturday night though to avoid the morning rush and we are all night owls ! Hi Mike - Good point about daylight savings. It does change on March 25th so we'll lose another hour of sleep that night ! I know we are at risk with the weather in March -- so that may be the final factor in deciding whether we go for the trip. But I also hate to pass up a chance to go when my son has the time. Thanks for all your inputs !
Posted by
Portland, OR
52 posts
I would suggest getting to FCO EARLY. The departure terminals tend to never be correct and you will end up having to walk back and forth. The lines at check-in are long and slow and then you need to get through security and all the fun of modern airline travel. Unless you love to run sprints, get there early! Weather should not be a problem that late in March, but you never know when a volcano might mess up your travel plans!