Has anyone taken the new highspeed Italo trains? They seem a lot cheaper than the Trenitalia trains, but, well, new things can also have bugs. It also seems that the Italo trains do not go to the Termini station in Rome but leave from the Tiburtina station. We land in Rome around noon on April 18 (a Thursday), and will immediately head straight to Florence (and by immediately, I mean after however long it takes us to get through customs and grab our luggage). Originally I was planning on taking the Trenitalia express train, but the website is telling me the cheapest price is 58 euros. Ouch. The Italo trains are just 20 euros to 25 euros but mostly leave just once an hour that day, except for an extra one in the 4 p.m. hour. The trip lasts 1 hour and 22 minutes, so a little less than the Trenitalia train to Florence. Also, how hard and long is it to get from the airport to Tiburtina Station? Is it worth it for the lower price of the Italo train, or should I just shell out for the tried and true Trenitalia?
Posted by
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A.
127 posts
Tiburtina stazione is 2 metro stops from Termini; the station is quite nice. I took Italo from Rome to Naples and back in October. It's new, clean and staff is first rate. I would not criticize Trenitalia; the reason I took Italo is because Trenitalia employees were to be on strike at the time of my trip and I had reservations at a hotel in Sorrento. I'm glad that Italy has both Italo and Trenitalia.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32206 posts
Teresa, Using the Freccia trains from Termini will probably be the easiest option, as that's where you'll arrive if you use the Leonardo Express from the airport (€14 PP). The costs may be a bit cheaper on Italo, but the travel times are similar. The travel time for the Freccia trains is ~1H:27M, and fares for this week are as low as €29 PP. If you decide to use the Italo train from Roma Tiburtina, it's not hard to get there via Metro. However you'll have to haul your bags down about two levels at Termini and travel to Tiburtina. The Escalators can be crowded at times, so you'll have to contend with that as well. Happy travels!
Posted by
OP
Chicago
57 posts
Thanks guys! I'm an idiot - I was getting 58 euros because that was the price for TWO people. Silly me. OK, well then 29 euros pp is not bad at all. I'll watch the prices online, but unless the trains get really booked and only the most expensive Trenitalia seats are left, I'll probably stick with Trenitalia. It seems like less of a hassle then having to take the extra step of getting to the Tiburtina station.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Teresa, train ticket prices in Italy don't fluctuate like airfares. The cheapest tickets disappear the fastest, then you are left with the next economy level and the base (highest) fare. As soon as you see the super-economy fare, buy it - but know that you can't make changes to the super-economy tickets.
Posted by
Green Bay
20085 posts
FYI, you can also get the train from Fiumicino to Rome Ostiense and change there to the Italo train to Florence.
Posted by
lexington, il
4105 posts
By the time you deplane, go thru immigration, grab your luggage you wil have used up at least an hour. 15-20 minutes to get to the station in terminal 3. Tickets: Leonardo Express and Florence SMN 43 euro. If you do this purchase at airport station together saves time at termini Tickets: airport-Roma Ostiense 32min.Fl1 regional train 8 euro. Italo 20 euro 1h37m
Either option will work, but you probably won't get to Florence before 4:00
Posted by
Toronto, Canada
415 posts
You can take a slower train right from the Fiumicino train station to Tiburtina. It's cheaper than the Express train to Termini (8 euro or so), just know that there are stops. You don't have to get off at Ostiense and take the metro - just stay on to Tiburtina. I think it takes about 40 to 45 minutes from Fiumicino to Tiburtina but you don't have to change anywhere. Just get off the train at Tiburtina and you are right in the same station as you need for the Italo train.
Posted by
Tilburg, Netherlands
2829 posts
Italo trains are one generation newer than the ones currently used by Trenitalia. The trains (AGV) are the latest high-speed marvel unveiled in Europe. Everything else being mostly equal (price, schedule) I'd go for Italo without thinking about it.
Posted by
lexington, il
4105 posts
Just to clarify, the FL1 train goes to both the Ostiense and the Tiburtina stations. The Ostiense station is closer. Italo trains run from both stations to Florence.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32747 posts
The .Italo trains are reasonably comparable with Freccia Rosso, maybe a bit better in some ways and not so hot in others, and a huge leap over Freccia Bianca. Seats are cumfy and leather, loads of legroom. But three small niggles bother me - There is no bar car, unlike the Freccias, the TGVs and ICEs. I was surprised by the fact that available to the lowest of the three classes is only ONE dodgy espresso MACHINE. And it wasn't that great. And it dropped one of those tiny clear stirring sticks. Bah!! The power point, of which there are some at every seat (yippee) were positioned in such a way that a device plugged in was considerably inconvenienced. The Freccia way of doing it is IMHO much easier on the customer and equipment. I'll give that the .Italo ones did all work - those which I tested. Because of the concept that each (pretty short) carriage is isolated and suspended from each pair of bogies - an interesting idea I grant - the walk through the train was less smooth and door locations are not completely obvious. The cars are really short. Other than that, and the fact that they use secondary stations, the ride on the .Italo is not bad.