Rome FCO - best way to get to our hotel

Susan and Barry,

Always wear a money belt or money pocket and only keep what you can afford to lose in your purse or pant pockets.

Mary

Susan and Barry -
The Leonardo Express is still a good option: you just need to learn how to better protect your valuables! If you were easily pickpocketed on that train, you could just as easily been pickpocketed anywhere at all in Rome! Rule: never, never, never keep cards, cash, passports or Smartphones in a purse or exterior pocket!! Use a moneybelt, locking Pacsafe or Travelon bag, or any number of other methods of making it difficult to impossible for light fingers to get at your goods.

But another option to the train is to take one of the shuttle buses. They take a little longer but they are clean, air-conditioned, comfortable and as safe - if not maybe a wee bit safer - as any other option. Tickets are as little as 4 euro from airport to Termini. The website with links to the shuttle services is currently down but I'll post those when it comes up again. Regardless, tickets can be purchased right at the airport (have euros in your hand) when you arrive.

From Termini, you can either walk - if your hotel is very close - or take a cab. The Metro may be an option too if you don't have a ton of luggage and your accommodations are close to a station.

I usually take the train line (Leonardo Express train) into town and then either hop on the underground, walk or taxi to my hotel. Since I'm not sure the area of town you are sleeping in I would still recommend the train line. Easy from the airport and then go often. But if you are staying far from a metro stop or bus stop then the shuttle would be a good option. www.airportshuttle.it It will take you from the airport to your hotel. You must have a reservation. The last option would be to ask your hotel to book you a shuttle. Hope this helps. Sometimes I'm tired and jetlagged so that might sway me to doing the shuttle.

Just to clarify: the shuttles I'm talking about are the Terravision and SITbus, etc. buses from the airport and not a private or shared van.

Without question the "best way" will always be a car and driver - door to door. Second best would be a taxi. Again door to door at a fixed rate of 48 euro. Remember best, cheapest, and/or most convenient are not always the same.

You know what? A taxi is the best €48 you will ever spend. You sit in comfort after a long flight, your luggage is in the trunk, the driver having put it there, and you can lean back and relax until the taxi pulls up at the door of your hotel. Bliss.

These are all great ideas -- thank you!

Here's the link to the shuttle buses from Fiumicino to Termini. Terravision or SIT are the two I'd recommend, and SIT also has a stop near the Vatican. You don't have to buy tickets in advance: I did it at one of the kiosks right outside of baggage, and they told us which sign outside to wait at for the next arriving bus.

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

Tell us where you're staying in Rome and you'll get better advice. At least say the neighborhood if you don't want to name the hotel for some reason.

I'm probably in the minority here but with the exception of a very short trip, taxis, shared vans and private drivers are my least favorites because I get miserably carsick in rear seats. City buses have the same effect but the shuttles, trains and metro haven't bothered me.

To echo other advice, the "best" way is to take a cab or car service. The rate for the cab is fixed and the car services charge about the same price as a cab. The Leonardo Express is quick and easy, but once you get to Termini you have to make a family long trek from the train to a cab stand or the bus lot and pulling the luggage through the crowds is often a nuisance at best. Depending upon where you'll be in Rome you're likely to need a cab from Termini to your lodging...don't even think about taking yourselves and luggage on a bus. By the time you add up the cost of two fares on the Leonardo Express and the cab fare you'd quickly be approaching what a cab would cost directly from the airport but with a lot less hassle. Personally I think the cost of the cab is worth the convenience.

Last time I took the Leonardo Express it was eu15 per person. So, that's eu30. And then there's either a taxi to the hotel, or ride the bus. A taxi makes it almost even money. Fixed rate cab @48 -- it's worth the extra eu18 after an overnight flight to go straight to the hotel. I'm more alert the second day than the first for sure, and the pick pockets love hanging around the train station looking for jet lagged tourists.

I was asked what neighborhood our hotel is in, and it's Trastevere.

Thanks!