From FCO to Siena - is the bus best?

Posted by Giugno (Texas) on 05/12/23 09:48 PM

We land in Rome at 8 am and will stay our first night in Siena. Reading older posts, I see that the Flix bus is a good way to go. We are renting a car in Siena (or possibly another Tuscany town) to get around before taking the train to Florence a few days later.

Question: getting from the airport to Rome Tiburtina - is this best by train or bus?

If by train, can I just buy the ticket from FCO to Tiburtina on the Trenitalia app?
Does this eliminate the stress of validating a ticket, as I've read?

Thanks for the advice.

Posted by Frank

Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA

05/12/23 10:02 PM

23948 posts

Buy the ticket when you need it at the train station in the airport terminal. If you buy the ticket on-line you have to indicate a starting time and then it is good for four hour. If you miss that window, the ticket is no good. There is no stress to validating a ticket. Just stick it in the box.

Posted by Richard

Pleasant Hill, CA, USA

05/13/23 01:35 AM

473 posts

We are also going by Flix bus to Siena. We’re spending two nights in Rome before moving on. You could take a taxi. It’s 50€fixed rate from FCO. We bought our bus tickets for next month for less than 20€.

Posted by Roberto da Firenze ⚜

San Francisco Bay Area (USA)

05/13/23 02:30 AM

17053 posts

Yes. The bus from the Tiburtina bus station is the best way to go. Floxbus is only one of the bus companies operating that segment. There is also Infobus, Itabus, Marinobus.

From FCO to Tiburtina station the train is probably the fastest option that is also cheap. Only €8 per person and it takes 48 minutes. Make sure you take the right train and not the Leonardo Express that goes to Termini. A taxi will probably get there in comparable time (depending on traffic) but it’s €50 so I don’t think it’s a great deal unless you have 4 people, in which case it’s not that much more.

You can use the app or also buy the paper ticket. There is no stress in validating the paper ticket before boarding. The validating machines are easy to spot. This is one at the Fiumicino Aeroporto station. Just insert the ticket in the slot and the machine will stamp it with the time and date.

If you purchase on the app do so when you are there, so you are sure you will board the train within the 4 hour window.

The bus station is next to the Tiburtina train station.