Late Night Bus/Train from Rome Airport to Termini in December?

I don't think the Terravision bus leaves that late.
The last train leaves at 23:27
I think the taxi is the best bet. I doubt you will be out of the airport in 20 minutes. It takes that long just to get out of the airplane.

Take the Leonardo Express non stop train directly to Termini from the airport.

The Leonardo Express doesn't run that late, and you can't make the last one. Taxi.

Not sure we'd want to pay for a taxi? Is it $40 each or $40 total for the 2 of us (destination near Termini)? I read there is an all-night café at the Airport. I think we could hang out there, sipping café until the Leonardo starts running? Does security boot travelers out of the airport very often, if they are drinking coffee in the café for hours on end?

It is €48 for one taxi for both of you to the center of Rome. The Leonardo Express is €14 each, or €28. Is it really worth saving €20 to have a sleepless night, wasting your first day in Rome because you had no rest? And your hotel may not let you check in so early in the AM unless you have paid for the prior night. Take the taxi, get some sleep, enjoy the city.

For the last few years we have been using romashuttle.com and we can highly recommend them for door to door service. I first heard about them from roninrome.com. We are both in our early 70's and still travel, but using the limo instead of humping the luggage ourselves makes the trip more enjoyable. The cost is around €48 one way for two people and their bags.

Buon viaggio,

So is the Cotral Night Bus still in service? I read an article from March of this year that says Night bus
is very much cheaper than the others at €7, but only runs every few hours. These were the times it had listed:
Cotral Fiumicino Night Bus
From Fiumicino Airport (Terminal 1-2)
01.15
02.15

Has anyone taken it? Is it still in operation? I checked with our hotel and they said we can check in at any hour, by ringing the bell and leaving our passports at the desk. The night bus seems an inexpensive way to go, but I'm not sure it is still in existence? We are on a tight budget and trying to save as much money as we can.

Does your hotel have any info about Cotral Bus?

If you are contemplating sitting in the airport from midnight to 6Am to save $40, perhaps you should reconsider the trip, if your financial situation is that desperate.

If you are flying in from AMS, its possible your plane will park away from the terminal and you will be bused to the terminal, negating any chance of catching a bus before midnight

Found some additional info-- here is their website, which unless you read Italian is not very helpful, ---http://www.cotralspa.it/
but did find this on the site--

-Contact Center
@BusCotral
Download App
App Store Google Play | WP Store
Contact Center
Monday - Friday 8:00 - 18:00
800 174 471
From fixed network with free call
06 7205 7205
From mobile with tariff charged to the manager

good luck!

Just take a taxi or hire a private transfer. Trying to save 20 euros by sitting up all night makes no sense. Cut costs elsewhere such as have a slice of pizza for lunch for two days instead of a sit down meal. That will make up the difference.

Donna

Last Terravision bus leaves Fiumicino airport at 23:00 (http://cms-tvision.terravisionlondo.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/9/files/2017/04/cadenzato_fiumicino-2014.pdf?bf4fad) so it's a no-go but the last SIT shuttle leaves as 12:30 AM so that's a possibility:

http://www.sitbusshuttle.com/en/
http://www.sitbusshuttle.com/pdf/ORARI_FIUMICINO_TO_ROME.pdf

Tickets look to be 6,00 €.

Info for other shuttle buses:

http://www.adr.it/en/web/aeroporti-di-roma-en-/pax-fco-bus

Editing to add: T.A.M. looks to have shuttles that operate well after midnight so check that one as well.

http://www.tambus.it/p/orari.htm

Schedules could change before December so I'd re-check the sites as your arrival day becomes closer. Whatever the case, you don't want to spend the night at the airport just to catch a train or bus. If all else fails, bite the bullet and take a cab. Same as with the airport, you do NOT want to spend the wee hours just hanging around Termini: please don't consider that.

I think we will be fine arriving in the wee hours there and walking 3
minutes to our budget accommodations.

If you are staying on Via Marsilio Ficino, you are a VERY long walk from Termini!! Have you looked it up on a map? Doing this on foot in the middle of the night is not advised, and especially not if you have a spouse who is "getting old". My husband and I are dedicated walkers and there's no way we'd attempt this after midnight with luggage. Please take a cab from the train station. During the day/evenings, Ottaviano and Cipro are your closest metro stops, and there will be buses.

Let us know where you ARE staying if not on Via Marsilio Ficino?

I didn't say Termini was "bad" but that it's no place to spend hours at night just sitting around. As you were thinking about doing that at the airport instead of going to a hotel, I was afraid you might also try to do that at the train station: not a good idea.

I read there is an all-night café at the Airport. I think we could
hang out there, sipping café until the Leonardo starts running? Does
security boot travelers out of the airport very often, if they are
drinking coffee in the café for hours on end?

Sometimes what looks like a bargain can turn out to be an expensive mistake, in time, energy or money.

Take the taxi. December schedules for buses and the metro are different than during the summer, some not as frequent.

Scrimp elsewhere. it can be done. Supermarkets sell sandwiches and salads for a few euro, a tavola calda sells takeaway hot food, a slice or two of pizza can be a light lunch or dinner. Buy water at a supermarket for €.30 instead of €1.50. You can make up €20 pretty quickly.

I'm with Zoe: for where you're staying (if on Via Marsilio Ficino) and the hour that you'll be traveling, it's more time and trouble than it's worth to mess around with a bus to Termini and then a cab from there. Make up the extra cost somewhere else. There are lots of free things to see in Rome, and she has given you some good suggestions for budget meals.

Found the english version of the website.

http://www.cotralspa.it/lang/

Tickets are €7 euro each available from the driver. Unless the schedule changes, for a weeknight arrival your looking at the 2:15 am bus. Getting you to the hotel at 3 or maybe later. After a presumably long flight and maybe a long connection, I'd opt for the taxi. For the extra 35 euros I would find myself in much better condition to enjoy the next day. Well I guess it's technically the same day.

It is possible to save a LOT of money in Europe by traveling frugally, Through the Back Door, and with a spirit of independence and openness to adventures. That said, some savings are not wise, and can easily result in a very unpleasant or unsatisfactory traveling experience.

The people who post on this Forum, and who have posted in this thread, have expressed their concern about both the safety and the feasibility of some of your ideas about how to transport yourself and your husband across Rome in the middle of the night, to a hotel at which you have never stayed, in an area of town you may not be familiar with (some of us ARE familiar with the Termini area, and suggest it may not be the best area for you to walk through at that time of the early morning) just to save a few dollars.

As has been suggested gently above, you are arriving jet-lagged in the middle of the night to a strange airport, and you think it might be wise to stay up until the train begins running in the morning by sitting in a cafe. When I was 23 years old, that might have been an interesting option, but I think you are not evaluating this correctly. Spending the night in the airport and then arriving at Termini in the early morning will not only be unpleasant but possibly dangerous and confusing. Remember that early morning in Rome is when all of the Romans are hurrying to work or opening shops. Just FYI, it takes almost 5 minutes to cross the street in Rome, so I believe that 3 minutes to your hotel is optimistic. And, as is mentioned, you will be paying for that first night in the hotel anyway, whether you show up in the middle of the night or early that next morning.

What you will want (and need) most after a trans Atlantic flight is rest. Spend the money on the taxi. Enjoy the free breakfast in the hotel in the morning so you can save on lunch. Don't have a second glass of wine or beer for the next couple of days and the taxi cost will be absorbed by your frugality, and your trip will begin in a more pleasant way. Good luck.

I am posting again because it appears that there may be a big misunderstanding here.

If gracialynne is staying on Via Marsilio Ficino, this street is near the Vatican, but it is across town from Termini. The minimum time it would take to walk from Termini to Via Marsilio Ficino is MORE THAN ONE HOUR. That is assuming that you know the streets. There seems to be a breakdown in communications if your hotel has told you it was a 3 minute walk. It is not.

Please, check a map and pay attention to the posters on this thread. You really don't want to be traipsing across Rome to find your hotel. By the time you take the train or bus into town from the airport and then get into a cab to go to Via Marsilio Ficino, you likely would have spent twice what a cab would have cost you.

Rocket, thanks so much for the English version of the Cotral site. Interesting that 2:15 a.m. is the earliest departure we could get. Good to know. It looks like the 1:15 a.m. departure from Termini is only on weekends. I appreciate the info very much.

We are staying at two different locations while in Rome. The first two
nights we are staying on Caviour, just 3 minutes from the Termini.
From the 22d on, we'll be on Via Marcilio Ficini.

Whew. OK, that's a great help and a big relief. You should be fine on foot if your hotel is truly that close, and if you've already made acquaintance with Rome. I was truly worried for you!

We were in rural Nigeria last year as well as Lagos and had no
problems anywhere. We're pretty street savvy

And with THAT bit of information, I don't doubt that for a minute!

Aww, you are so sweet, Kathy! Thank you.

You'll have a great time in Rome. And gosh, it really does have oodles of things to do that cost only a bit of shoe leather! About, oh, 900 glorious churches or so...although I do feed the alms boxes a bit for the privilege. :O)

LOL, my husband rolls his eyes and says, "She dragged me to a HUNDRED churches, I swear!" No, dear, only 20 or thereabouts (so far). HA!

How did you KNOW, Kathy?! We are religious workers, and that is why our financial situation is "desperate." LOL. My plan IS to take hubby to see at least 100 churches in Rome... He even wants to visit a BAPTIST one. HAHA. I was able to secure FREE tickets to Midnight Mass at St. Peter's Basilica. We are not Catholic, but we are sooo excited to have this awesome opportunity! Plus, we plan to go to the Pope's Sunday appearance, and I have tickets for the Papal Audience the following Wednesday-- up close. Our first lodging is very near the Mary Maggiore Basilica. Can't wait to see it! My sis and I stumbled upon Sopra Minerva last Spring and fell in love. I want to try to work in as many churches as possible while we are there. I majored in Philosophy & Religion in college, so Rome is my kinda place!

Kathy, I meant to ask you which 20 churches in Rome you and your hubby visited, and which ones did you like the most? I'd like to go to the church on Christmas Eve that puts candles on the many steps leading up to it, but I don't think we'll be able to work that in with Midnight Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, but maybe next time? Do you know how late on Christmas Eve the candles remain lit on the steps of that church? I was thinking maybe we could taxi over to see them, if they remain lit quite late, since public transportation won't be running that late on Christmas Eve, I'll bet? I'm just thrilled to death, though, that we got tickets to Midnight Mass at St. Peter's Basilica. That was our #1 choice. Do you know of any interesting churches in the area of Marsilio Ficino, apart from St. Peter's Basilica? Or other interesting churches near the Maggiore and Cavour Street? I love offbeat churches, too. They don't have to be flashy. It was so fun visiting Fraumunster on Easter Sunday in Zurich-- the Women's Church. Soooo cool and different!

Gracialynne, I'm not Catholic (or even very religious, in the traditional sense) but I dearly love Italian churches. They all have their own personalities, and many are wonderful art museums in-and-of themselves!

Sadly, I haven't been to Rome during the Christmas season (lucky you!) but hopefully someone else can help you with with the "church with the candles on the steps". I have a hunch it's Santa Maria in Ara Coeli (which I've been to) and it's at the top of Capitoline Hill beside the Vittorio Emanuele, very near the Campidoglio so a bit of a ways from St. Pete's.

But favorite churches? Oh my... you'll get a long, long list from Our Gang! Just to start (and no particular location so star them on a map):
Santa Maria Maggiore: very glad this is already on your list.

Santa Maria in Trastevere: very old and has wonderful mosaics

Santa Sabina: on the Aventine, she's the oldest Roman Basilica in the city and a very special lady indeed. A panel on the wooden doors has one of the oldest depictions of the crucifixion in existence, and there's a 14th-century floor tomb said to be the last of its type in Rome. Take a minute to stroll into the little orange garden beside the church for a nice view of the city.

San Clemente: the 12-century church you see is just the tip of an iceberg, sort of speak, that descends down to the remains of a 4th-century basilica, and down again to 1st-century Roman ruins and a Mithraic temple. Fascinating! There is a fee to see the ruins under the church.

Gesù: the ceiling, the ceiling, the ceiling!!!!

Santa Maria del Popolo: gorgeous with Raphael's Chigi Chapel, a couple of stunning Caravaggios and lots of other goodies.

Santo Stefano Rotondo: a very old 5th-century round church that may have been modeled after the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. This one has a Mithraic temple in the basement too (visitors aren't allowed yet), and the walls of the ambulatory ring are lined with 16-century frescoes of martyrdom in all of its very gory forms. LOL, I'm told this is a popular choice for weddings! Who'da thunk it? This may be your "oddball".

Sant'Andrea Delle Fratte: another glorious church with the two angels Bernini sculpted himself for Ponte Sant'Angelo and which now reside here (copies are on the bridge).

Basilica San Giovanni in Laterano: the Pope's church, as Bishop of Rome, and more important in that sense than St. Pete's! The ground "La chiesa del Papa" is built upon has a long, long history so do some reading up before you go. Ooh, it's a big fancy thing, it is!

So many more ( and I've a long list for next time) but these are standouts which quickly came to mind, and now you must hear from some of the other folks?

Churches in Roma, in addition to Kathy's list:

Santa Prassede, very close to Santa Maria Maggiore
Sant'Ivo (spiral dome)
San Luigi dei Francesi
San Lorenzo fuori Le Mura
San Pietro in Vincoli
San Paolo fuori Le Mura
Santa Cecilia (Trastevere)
Pantheon
Santa Maria degli Angeli
Santa Costanza
Santa Maria Della Vittoria
Sant'Andrea delle Valle
Chiesa degli Quattro Coronati (very close - uphill walk - to San Clemente)

Thank you sooo much, Kathy & Zoe! Those churches all sound Fabulous! I need to plot them all out on my map. I don't want to miss a one! I also need to start researching free Christmas concerts at these churches. I'll bet some of them have them!

Saint Cecilia is the patron Saint of musicians, so I would look into that.

If you are at the Pincio on the 24th or 25th (I forget which day), there is a motorcycle Santa parade (with police escort), elves ride in sidecars. You can google motorcycle Santa Parade Rome.

That parade sounds like so much fun, Zoe! I have Googled, but I can't find any info on it? Do you know of any parades focused around Befana, the Christmas witch, or appearances of her? I've read that Piazza Navone has lots of Befana dolls for sale. I LOVE the idea of a FEMALE Santa figure.

I replied to your other post about the parade. The Piazza Navona market is really not much. Many churches will have displays of presepi (Nativity) set up through January 6. There is a big exhibition of them in Piazza del Popolo but the entrance fee is pretty high, in my opinion.

Thanks for the info about Piazza Navone, Zoe. I want hubby to buy me a really nice Befana Doll for my anniversary present. I hear Piazza Navone has them for sale at the Christmas Market. Did you see them anywhere else in Rome?

I haven't run into any Befana dolls, but there is a big toy store at the northern end of Piazza Navona that may have them. Pricey store, though.

Looks like finding the doll at Piazza Navona should be not too difficult

http://www.mozzarellamamma.com/2012/la-befana-italys-good-witch/

Thanks, Zoe and Joe. Have you ever heard of Befana putting in an appearance in Rome prior to January? I would love to see her at Christmas, but maybe she stays put until Epiphany. I sure hope they bring back the Piazza Navone Christmas Market, because I'm sure I can't afford any Befanas from the pricey store. I could buy one from a street vendor, though. Maybe the other Christmas markets will carry these cute dolls.