Fiumicino Airport Late Arrival - stay near FCO or make our way into Rome?

The Leonardo Express runs into Rome from FCO every 15 minutes, takes 32 min. Last train leaving the airport is at 11:23pm. Cost is €14.
Taxi is €48. Stay in Rome near Termini station.

Thanks so much for the very quick reply. I saw the timetable on their website and think there may be enough time to catch it before it stops running.

I was interested in hearing more about other travelers' experiences with arriving late. Is it more of a convenience to just stay at the nearby FCO hotels? After taking the Leonardo Express into town, we'd need to travel again to our accommodations and I am a little hesitant to go this route in case there are any delays along the way.

I have vivid memories of arriving after 2300 in Florence many years ago via train. Got lost, finally after dragging our luggage for an hour found our hotel closed up tight, with a sign to use your key to enter. The emergency number went unanswered. This did not end well. Why travel that time of night? Bed down at the airport, get the train in the morning and you’ll be where you need to be to catch your next train.

Depending on your budget, because it's a pricey hotel, I'd just stay at the Hilton right at the airport. You'll probably be tired and ready to sleep and it's very easy to get there since it's at the terminal. Then in the morning you can just hop on the Leonardo Express and be at Termini for your train to Naples. I used the Hilton when I had an early morning flight out to Sicily after having arrived at 9pm the night before. Enjoy your trip!

Alan and Barbara, thank you very much for your very kind responses.

The Hilton is out of budget unfortunately, but it's great to hear that it is directly inside of the terminal.

Does the Taxi flat rate still apply if we are just going somewhere local to a nearby FCO hotel?

By the time you are on the train it’s past 10:30pm. Presumably you have luggage, you will probably be tired if you are coming from across some Ocean, and your hotel may be a few hundred yards from the station. Also the Termini station and immediate surroundings at night, although not unsafe, has some seedy people hanging around in the evenings. Also the LE train is 28€ for you and your wife.
Because of all these factors, the taxi (48€ flat fee), may be a wise investment. It will drop you off in front of the hotel of your choice. No tip required (or even advised) to Italian taxi drivers, all of whom are proprietors of the taxi and none of whom are poor.
It’s your choice. The train+a little walk saves you 20€.

The Hilton at the airport would be a great choice, but it’s 191€ for the night you arrive, therefore not a budget hotel (but not extraordinarily expensive either for what you get). If it’s too expensive for your budget don’t bother with other choices nearby, because there are none. All others are at least 15€ or 20€ away by taxi. Just go to near Termini station, that way in the morning you are one step ahead on your way to Naples. Otherwise you spend extra taxi money for nothing.

If you want a nice reasonable hotel just a few blocks from Termini, I’ve sometimes stayed here when I needed to be near the station. They have a nice bar too for a night cap before going to bed. Their rate for 2/18 is 117€ (non refundable) or 133€ (with free cancellation).
http://www.sanremoroma.com

Whatever hotel you do choose be sure you can check in late at night.

There is a Hilton Garden Inn at FCO (not in it but nearby with a free shuttle that runs until 1AM) for 148 Euros.

At what time is your train to Naples?

Since you are having to be at Roma Termini anyway, I would go to a hotel very close to Roma Termini. Be carful of the area and you should be fine. I think it would be cheaper than staying at the airport. Plus IF you have the energy, you could see a bit of Rome that night, or early in the morning depending on your plans. But if you feel like zombies after your flight from the USA, you can just crash and wake the following morning and be really close to catch your train. In order words, you can decide once you are there on how you feel and how much you want to do. But with an airport hotel, the decision is already made, you are staying in.

For our one night stays in Rome we use the Hotel Contilla - about a block south of Termini or a couple of blocks further is Hotel Sonya. Regular hotels with night desks.

Thank you so much everyone for the very detailed insight! It's so nice to be able to receive all of this great information.

Our train to Naples departs at 10:10am.

After giving it some thought, we are more inclined to actually not make the journey into Rome via taxi or train. Just in case our flight is delayed or the timing at customs slows us down, we will most likely book a hotel in FCO or nearby.

Does anyone recommend staying in nearby Fiumicino? There is a shuttle service from the airport for 20€ and the cost of the hotels are generally much lower than options in Rome. Thank you all again!

If saving money is the objective keep this into consideration: you will need the shuttle (or the taxi) from the airport to the town of Fiumicino twice: once when you arrive and the next morning to take you back to the airport (there is no rail service at the town of Fiumicino anymore, only at the airport).
So to the price of your hotel in Fiumicino you need to add the price of the shuttle of maybe 40€.

The hotel Sanremo I suggested above, near Termini, is 117€ for the night you need. You can take the Leonardo Express and walk to it.

Assuming the cost of the shuttle to Fiumicino town is only 20€ each way for both you and your wife, your hotel would need to be under 77€ to break even. I don’t think you will find many at that price.

Roberto is correct (as usual). It doesn't make any sense to stay near the airport. Grab a taxi, it is fixed rate of 45E plus a night time surcharge - I think, door to door and one less hassle in the AM. Hotels recommended above will have night staff. Taxi is 30 minutes at that time of night.

Thank you both, Roberto and Frank - I truly appreciate it!

It seems that the consensus continues to be going into Rome that evening. I had only looked a Fiumicino because I saw a few highly rated hotels for around $48 USD. It may end up costing a little less, but there's a lot of back and forth.

I think the hassle of shuttling there - then using the shuttle the next morning + the Leonardo Express ends up being more travel. We'll look into the Rome recommendations and will most likely just taxi straight from the airport or use the LE if time/easy logistics allows for it. Thank you all again!

Contrary opinion- I would be a zombie after that flight. I don’t know how old you are or what your overseas travel experience is. We all tolerate long flights differently. You’ll wind up taking a taxi. I would not want to take the LE that time of night, arrive in Termini and then have to find my hotel. The neighborhood is sketchy. And the chance of you doing anything meaningful in Rome that time of night is small. Do the math. If you can get a hotel near Termini for 120 Euros, plus the cab you’re at 170. For 207 you stay at the Hilton in the airport, get the LE after breakfast. If the extra 40 Euros puts you over budget than I suppose the decision is budget driven and you’ll do what you need to do to save you the money.

Alan, I appreciate your perspective. When we read your first post, this actually resonated the most with my wife. We thought that we would most likely be too tired to continue into Rome after the long flight.

We haven't made our decision yet on what we are going to do, but budget definitely has played a large role on top of our desire to have the most seamless after-flight transition. We'll end up doing the math for both options before committing.

Thank you all again!

The Hilton at the airport at least used to have a free bus shuttle to a few places in Rome. I know they had an early one, I remember like an 8 am or something departure. Check that out. All told, may help you put the pieces together to save money. I concur with above - either get a taxi and get dropped at Your hotel near Termini or stay at the airport, and take a train in the morning after you have slept and sorted yourselves out.

https://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/italy/hilton-rome-airport-ROMAPTW/index.html

States 8 trips per day to downtown Rome ( free)

Look for "HIghlights" on the Hilton page... (scroll down a bit)

I believe that free shuttle takes you to Piazza Venezia, very central for sightseeing in Rome but not very close to Termini. The FCO Hilton is super-convenient to the airport and the Leonardo Express, but that's why it's so expensive.

We've kind of beaten this topic to death, but FWIW I'd vote for a late-night taxi directly to a hotel close to Termini. Simple transfer when you're tired, then wake up in the city with an easy taxi or walk to your train.

My inclination would be to spend a few euros more and have less hassle on arrival. Your choices are staying near the airport and getting up early to take the train to Termini or staying the night near Termini and having a leisurely breakfast. That's a personal preference. I know what mine would be, but I'm not a morning person.

We rented a condo for 85 a night outside the airport (took a bus to it) ... was coming home ... you could do that and in the morning grab the train to the Rome Termini and check buses to Naples ... come June we'll be coming up from Sorrento with a direct bus to a Rome (Morazzi bus co.) ... we found through the years 1&2 weeks stays went by to fast ... 3 weeks are what we prefer ..and if for whatever reason you never go back u wish u would have stayed longer etc. ... besides airfare divided by 3 weeks sounds cheap but divide it by 7 days ... cost per day goes up etc.

I'd try and make my way into the city. You get to bed late, but have the entire next day to enjoy. Book a car to take you to your destination, you'll be glad you did.