Looking for advice on the best way to get from the Vatican to FCO in time to make a 6PM flight (Alitalia) to Venice. For a domestic flight, do we need to budget a full two hours before take off? Or is that more practical if you’re flying back to the US? Thanks!
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23653 posts
At time of day I would allow two hours because it can get backed up at that time of day. You can take the train from the St Peters stop near the Vatican or a taxi.
Posted by
Green Bay
21274 posts
Are you going to Venice proper, or somewhere else in the region?
If Venice, you could leave from Roma S. Pietro station at 15:13 and after a train change at Trastevere, be at the airport by 16:03, a comfortable time for a 18:00 flight to Venice. You would land 17:10, and by 17:30, you could be outside ready for your bus to Piazzale Roma, getting there at 18:00. Walk over the bridge to Santa Lucia Station and be there by 18:15.
Or you could stay on that same train from Roma S. Pietro and get off at Roma Tiburtina station and change to a train to Venice and step off that train at 17:35 and at 17:45 and be standing by the Grand Canal waiting 30 minutes for the person who took the plane.
Posted by
OP
Washington State
62 posts
We've already purchased the airline tickets so we're flying (even though train now starting to sound a lot better).
Is there a good spot to store luggage while visiting the Vatican City sights?
Posted by
Green Bay
21274 posts
You can probably leave bags at your hotel and you can drop by and pick them up before your leave. Alternate would be to stop by Termini in the morning and use their baggage storage depot. Then take the Metro over to the Vatican, and return there afterward and retrieve them, then take the Leonardo Express train to the airport.
Posted by
Tucson
4183 posts
Yes, your 2nd thoughts are well-warranted. You can take a fast Frecce train from Roma Termini to Venezia S. Lucia and probably get there faster and cheaper than flying. They run almost hourly, there are no train changes and trip time is about 3 hours and 45 minutes. Plus it's very cool to look at the monitor and see how fast the train is going. The Frecciarossa I was on from Rome to Bologna last summer got up to 250 km/h.
Of course you'd have similar logistics for getting to the train station, but you wouldn't have to be at the train station so early before the train leaves. This is a Trenitalia link in English if you or anyone else reading this wants to experiment. Use a date at least a month from now to get an idea of prices for booking ahead.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16209 posts
90 min before departure is more than sufficient. The issue is the traffic if you take the taxi. Allow for 45-50 min in the late afternoon.