FRECCIARGENTO 9401 Florence to Rome airport question

That leaves you a little more than an hour. You have to get from the train platform to Security; I would not cut it that close. But you may be lucky.

FCO Airport's international terminal is pretty inefficient.. I wouldn't suggest you go less than 2 hrs. prior to your flight leaving.

You'd do better to move down to the Rome area or FCO area the day before leaving and getting to the airport earlier.

At least you don't have one of those 6:00 a.m. flights out of Rome that take you to another European gateway airport where you sit for the rest of the morning before final departure.

Most airlines will want you at the airport no less than 3 hours early when flying internationally. There is no way I would risk this plan because you could very easily miss your flight. Even 2 hours would be cutting it close because you need to go to the other terminal, which takes time, and then go through security, which could be a nightmare. I suggest spending the last night in Rome so you don't have any issues.

Donna

Is your 11:15 flight to PHL with US Air?

If so, you will need to go to T5, while the train station is across from T3. There is a shuttle bus that connects the two (I suggest you don't walk to it) every 10 to 15 min. Between walking from the train station to T3 and the shuttle bus transfer you could waste an additional 20-25 min.
So you will have less than 1 hour until the flight departure.

In order to make the flight you need to be at the gate 15 min prior to departure which is when the flight closes.

Will 30-40 minutes be enough to complete the following steps?

• Stand in line at the check in counter at T5 to check in.
• Go through the security line and passport control at T5
• Wait for the shuttle bus airside which will take you back to T3 where the flight actually departs from.
• Take the people mover from T3 to the T3 satellite terminal where flights to North America depart from.
• Board.

I don't know the answer to that question, but I think it would be cutting it very close.

You could do this if it was a EU Schengen flight, which goes to a European hub first, but with an intercontinental flight to North America operated by a US airline (i.e. with check in at T5) I wouldn't chance it.

I would leave for Rome the day before and spend the last night in Rome. Actually that is what I always do when I depart from Rome (and I also come from Florence).

Having spent a total of 6 days do-si-do-ing around FCO in November, what everyone else has said is absolutely correct. You need to allow about 3 hours. You can stay in Rome and take the train or a taxi. The former will involve the transferring from the main terminal to T5 as already mentioned. A taxi can take you directly to T5. In either case, the ride from Rome to the airport is about 30 minutes.

Or you can stay in Fiumicino at the Hotel Tiber (http://www.hoteltiberfiumicino.it/en/) with their EUR 6 per person each way shuttle service from and back to the airport. There are other lodging options in Fiumicino, some with and without shuttle service. We loved the Hotel Tiber and they treated us very well. The breakfast was great and there were lots of restaurants within easy walking distance. I would not recommend the hotel restaurant. The shuttle usually goes via back roads and some creative Italian driving gets you to and from the airport within 10 minutes.

This link -- http://www.hoteltiberfiumicino.it/en/position-hotel-tiber-fiumicino-roma.html -- shows where the Hotel Tiber is and if you scroll down the page, you will see information about the shuttle. Don't be put off by the specific schedule listed from the airport to the hotel. You can call and they will come pick you up at no extra charge.

game,

I agree with the others. With an 11:15 flight departure, there's no way I'd try to get to FCO from Florence. There would appear to be two choices here....

1. Travel from Florence on flight day - the earliest train you can take from Firenze SMN departs at 05:50, arriving Roma Termini at 08:26. There may be earlier trains from other Florence stations, I didn't check. If you're "quick", you may be able to connect with the Leonardo Express departing at 08:35 (arrival FCO at 09:07), otherwise it will be a L.E. departure at 08:50 (arrival FCO at 09:22). With this scenario, you could pre-purchase your L.E. tickets the day prior to travel to save time, and then just validate before boarding the train (DON'T forget to validate!). Using this method means that you'll have to be awake VERY early, probably won't get a decent breakfast and it will be a tiring experience.
2. Travel to Rome the previous day - this method would be much easier, as you'd be able to sleep in a bit, have breakfast at the hotel and then have a relaxing trip out to the airport in lots of time to connect with your flight.

Good luck!

Thanks everybody! I did not think the timing would work, but wanted to check with folks that had been there and done that.

Thanks again.