In a few weeks we'll arrive in Roma (via Air Canada) at an estimated 9:45 am at Fiumicino Airport. We're thinking the Rome Airport Shuttle seems a reasonably-priced option for the trip into the city and less problematical than the taxi option.
First question: has anyone here used this service, recommended by RS in his Italy 2011 book? (We had a bad experience with a shuttle service in Paris 8 or 9 years ago--we were on time and the shuttle never arrived. We had to stumble through a translated telephone conversation with the shuttle service which never seemed to have heard of us, the "substitute" shuttle arrived 1-1/2 to 2 hours after the originally-scheduled pick-up, and the charge was more than the web site had originally indicated.) Next question: In spite of RS' and many travelers' advice, we'll be checking a couple of pieces of luggage for our three-week adventure. Assuming the aircraft arrives pretty much on time, how much time should we allow for customs and immigration clearance and picking up (with some luck, perhaps) our luggage at baggage claim and delivering ourselves to the appropriate pick-up point?
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23268 posts
An hour should be adequate. Customs is a walk through and immigrations is not much more than check the passport. Why mess with a shuttle or do you have a big party? Not sure what you mean by less problematical than the taxi. Taxis are pretty simple for the airport - fixed price, 45E. Go the starter, get a taxi.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
You should check out Ron in Rome as a resource: http://www.roninrome.com/ His latest posting is all about arriving at FCO.
Posted by
Charlotte, NC, USA
78 posts
By the shuttle you mean the express train to the main station correct? I did it. It's very easy to find, inexpensive, and runs frequently. Advance reservations are not required, so just head over there when you've assembled all of your bags and hop on the next departure.
That having been said, if you have numerous large bags, I'd take a taxi. Getting bags on and off of a train is a huge inconvenience. To that end, if you are intending to visit several locations in Italy by train and change hotels frequently, STICK TO A CARRY ON BAG ONLY. You will be so happy that you did. My mom never thought she could do it two years ago (for a two week trip) but once we got there she thanked me repeatedly for forcing her to. Lugging big heavy bags through cities and subway/train stations is not an enjoyable experience.
Posted by
OP
Seattle
149 posts
Jen,
By shuttle I mean one like that offered by www.airportshuttle.it. These were recommended by RS in his Italy 2011 book. The fare is 26€ for the first person and 6€ for each additional person. I used a carry-on rolling bag (a 22-inch Eagle Creek) for our first trip in 2000 (before airport security was even in place) and it just fit through the "size" tester at aircraft boarding (we traveled from Seattle to Milano with a stop at O'Hare). On the way back, with a few souvenirs in place, the bag didn't quite make it and I had to check it. We've since traveled with slightly larger rolling bags (my more recent bag is the 25-inch Eagle Creek), and we found too much time (for usour touring time is both costly and precious) was spent washing clothes in hotel sinks and bathtubs. My other discipline to answer the time-cost of seeking out laundromats is to only use those within two streets of the hotel or budget some extra trip money to enjoy the luxury of having the hotel do the laundry every few days. I've found that my standard and minimum travel kit is three of everything to pack and one to wear plus one pair of shoes packed and one to wear, plus the usual minimum toiletry items. Everything else goes in my carry-on back/daypack: (camera, books, etc). I agree that larger bags can be a hassle on trains and in stations, especially on station stairways, so we hope to keep our transfer discomfort to a minimum with just two hotels this time (Rome and Siena) and a bus between Rome and Siena and another bus departing Siena for Milano and the flight back to Seattle.
Posted by
Renton, WA, USA
240 posts
last year we used romecabs.com I think that was the name. They we there waiting for use outside the baggage claim area holding a sign with our name on it. You can make a reservation on line. We went last December during the big snow storm. Our flight was delayed coming in to FCO. I just sent an email and told him our plans had changes...no problem. The next day, we told our guy to come pick us up to take us back to FCO to pick up our rental car to drive to Florence..easy-breezy!
The cost was 50 euro