Reality Check-Train from FCO to Florence

Should be. But you answered your own question with the "if things do/don't go smoothly". But normally, yes, that should be plenty. How much is the ticket if you buy it now vs waiting?

Have you checked the online on-time percentage for your 2 (?) flights? You know there can be snow in March in Ohio. Will your travel insurance cover "Delay"?

Because it's way off-season, I would book it. But: Are you connecting in ... ... the UK?

make the 11:08 a.m. Frecciargento AV train from FCO to Florence?

There is no direct train departing to Firenze at 11:08, on March 23 the FrecciaRossa1000 9417 leaves at 10:53

FCO instead of going into Rome.

All trains heded to Florence from southern Italy call at Roma Termini, otherwise they'd never break-even. You'll wait for a couple of hours to avoid changing trains in Rome, not to avoid going into Rome.

Do not buy tickets in advance, which are worthless if you miss the train. Get the Trenitalia app, tickets after retrieving your luggage; save time and avoid any security issues at the station.

Isabel--Haven't checked the cost variation between buying now and buying later, but I'm not concerned about the cost, though I will check now that you mentioned it.

Tim--Yes, the on-time stats are good for this flight. Flying out of Philly straight into Rome, so no U.K. to worry about. Yeah, weather is so utterly variable here in Ohio now. We had a bonfire in Cleveland on Christmas day as it was in the 50s, believe it or not. Yesterday we had snow. Great travel insurance--covers practically everything, expensive but worth it.

Dario--I have no idea where I found the 11:08 time now. I got out of the website from whence it came, and now I cannot recreate my steps to locate it. Trenitalia has a couple of trains (frecciarossa) that do go straight to Florence without going into either of the Rome train stations.

that do go straight to Florence without going into either of the Rome train stations.

I think you are wrong, but if you post here the train codes we can easily discover who's right on this site: https://prm.rfi.it/qo_prm/QO_Partenze_SiPMR.aspx?Id=1228&lin=&dalle=04.00&alle=08.00&ora=04.00&guid=027ce585-6b5b-4bff-afee-1fef415b4d7f

Right now, the 10:53 direct Frecciarossa is 73.80 EUR for 2 SuperEconomy (not refundable or changeable) tickets. The Base fare is 128 EUR, saving you 54 EUR. But as you know, flights can get delayed and you will then have to buy new Base price tickets to Florence. BTW, that direct Frecciarossa also stops at Termini for 10 minutes, then Tiburtina for 3 minutes before going nonstop to Florence SMN, arriving at 1:11 pm.

But lets say your flight arrives on time and you breeze through immigration and are standing there with your luggage at 9:00 am. For the same 128 EUR you could take the 9:23 Leonardo Express to Termini and get the 10:10 Frecciarosso and be in Florence by 11:46 am. Instead of standing around Fiumicino airport for 1 1/2 hours, you'll be in Florence.

I did this very thing last July, and there was a train at 11:08 that went from the airport directly to Florence. Everything went very smoothly for us. We bought tickets once we got to the airport, and we had plenty of time. I think we waited for a good while actually. However, our backup plan was to catch the Leonardo Express to the Termini if we missed the 11:08.

N Kingdom--I think I'm leaning more towards getting the tickets when we arrive, based on feedback on this post and others I've perused. I just know we'll have jetlag and won't be thinking/operating clearly, so I was trying to avoid any hassle.

Dario--you're correct. I misspoke about the two Rome terminals. Instead I should have said that we won't have to change trains. That's what I get for doing this while I'm ill with bronchitis!

Sam--Thank you for the information. I am leaning towards just getting the tickets when we get there.

Ladyvet27--I am looking at getting the tickets when we arrive even though we'll be tired. We booked an apartment, so we can't even get into it until about 15:00, so we don't have to be in hurry.

Thank you so much, everyone, for your input. It's been very helpful, and I appreciate it.

The 11:08 and 15:08 changed to 10:53 and 13:53.

I think you've answered your own question. If all goes as planned, you're fine. Otherwise...

I've never - as in never, ever - had an issue going through customs at FCO. I've been there multiple times. Having said that, I've read horror stories from people whose experience has been vastly different from mine.

If it were me, I'd look at the cost difference in the train tickets. From my POV, if the cost is less than $75 (US), I'd wait and buy my tickets once I arrive. Will I be bankrupted if I lose the cost of train tickets? No. Do I want to lose money? Hell, no.

I'm not sure if any trip insurance covers future train tickets if flights are delayed, but that may be something to consider as well.

Hope you have a wonderful adventure!!

Aquamarinesteph--I've been to FCO at least 7 times, and I've never had a problem with customs, either. I've also never had to find transportation as my aunt and uncle lived in Rome so I always had my own drivers. I think I'm just going to throw caution to the wind and get the tickets when we arrive :). Thank you for your input.

I chose the same type of thing .... we have 2.5 hours from our scheduled landing to get a flight to Venice.
We're changing terminals and having to clear security.
But if it works, is saves a bunch of time.
You have 3 hours.