how long does it take to get out of rome airport

I would say you are cutting it a bit close. I just visited Sulmona and took a bus from Rome's Tiburtina bus station. I was told to take the bus because it is much faster than the train. Took about 2 hrs. to Sulmona.

Not enough time, IMO. The entry/passport control line could take nearly an hour. The train runs every 35 minutes and takes about 40 minutes. Very tight at best.

You should not have to clear passport control. We traveled through Munich and cleared PC there. When we arrived in Italy we were on a domestic flight and just claimed bags and were on our way. I do think this is a bit tight though to get to the train... Even if your flight arrives on time, it can take a long time for bags to arrive.

ok - I guess I was too optimistic!! There are later trains to sulmona so I can live with that - but I'm not opposed to going via bus - just can't figure out the sita italian site - have NO Italian language...

Any other place I can check out bus schedules in english and also how do I get to bus station? Where is it? at Airport, near rome termini, or what?

Thanks

Actually, the longest part for me in Rome was waiting for my bag to come off the plane. I was probably in Rome within 2 hours of my flight's arrival, so it might be feasible, but no guarantee. It is a bit of a timing issue. The train to Rome runs every 30 minutes and takes about 30 minutes.

Consider Rick's advice about carrying your luggage on the plane to Rome because the longer delay is waiting for the luggage. I was there last week and we actually went through customs BEFORE baggage claim, then straight out of the terminal from customs because I carried mine. I too think you are cutting it very close on the train connection, but a taxi may get you there quicker than the LE unless you have perfect timing (the drivers are nuts, but good). You might also check to see when the next train leaves Termini Station for Sulmona.

I arrived in Rome at 9:00am and was checked into my B&B in Florence by 12:30pm. I did not check any baggage so I did not have to wait for that. Just follow the signs in the airport to the Leonardo Express--even people who do not speak English understand if you ask "Dove Leonardo Express?" They'll point you in the right direction. I got lucky and the train was waiting for me--I bought my ticket, validated it, and jumped on the train just before it left for Termini. At Termini I got lost and wasted time but managed to get my ticket to Florence and get on the train before it left. I was meeting my daughter by 1pm so it all worked out great for me. But I was very lucky!

Just arrived in Rome a couple of days ago at 1030AM. We were out of airport in only 30 minutes almost all of it waiting for luggage. Passport control was no more than 5 minutes if that much.
Having a great time visiting relatives in Firenze.

We flew Phila to Paris and changed for Rome on Air France. Arrived in Rome the morning of Sept 15. Our luggage did not make the transfer to our flight to Rome in time. After waiting had to go to Air France luggage desk. They said it would arrive by 5 PM that night at our hotel. They called our hotel, but it did not arrive until the next night after dinner. If you could do carry on it would be better. Be sure to have a print out of the address and phone number where you will be staying the first few days of your trip so your luggage can find you. They ask for a description and color of your bags. My rain jacket was missing from my suitcase when it finally arrived to our Rome hotel. I was wondering if one of those TSA appoved locks would have prevented that from happening. We flew Air France all the way, but our bags came from Paris to Rome on Alitalia.

That isn't enough time. If you have check in luggage and if there are no delays. You could have delays or traffic jams ect. Try taking on just a carry on will save you time if you can do it.

Hi Roz - we flew to Rome last week on Alitalia from Amsterdam and they had some serious baggage issues at Fiumicino. People who had flown in from Milan before us had been waiting 2 hours for theirs, and it took and hour and 1/2 for ours to come through (the poor Milan group was STILL waiting). Reading that Alitalia seems to have all kinds of ongoing issues these days, I think you definately should give yourself more time for getting to Sulmona - you'll start your trip more relaxed without having to worry about delays. Have a great trip!!

Roz, once you have your luggage and have been cleared through customs, you walk out and follow signs. As I remember, I had to walk up to another level to get to the train. At that level, you can purchase your train tickets from machines, at the Tobacco shop, or at the Trenitalia Office. They run twice an hour; at 5 and 35 minutes after the hour. The trip on the Leonardo Express to Termini takes about 31 minutes (don't take the "milk run train").