Rome to Fiumicino airport

Since you asked for the best mode of transportation, have you considered a private car service? It is not the cheapest way but for five it might be cost effective. Regardless of cost it is definitely the best. We can not say enough good things about Rome Cabs. It is a private car service (not a cab company) but only cost a little more than a regular taxi. We always use them and have always been very pleased. Go to romecabs.com and see what you think. We always send an email and they answer us with a quote within 24 hours. You do have to pay cash (Euros) and the end of the journey but not in advance.

Great recommendation TC, and the price was very competitive to taking the Leo Express and much cheaper than quote I received for a taxi.

But it leads to a follow up question: Do you think a 0700 pick up time is ample enough time for us to travel and make it our 0945 flight? As a pick up time before 0700 is subject to a 10 Euro late night fee.

I appreciate your help! Thanks!

I would also recommend a private car service. We paid 50 Euro last summer for a family of 3 plus luggage to travel from the Vatican area to Fumicino. This was arranged through our apartment landlord, so I cannot refer to you to a specific agency, but I was very pleased with the convenience and service.

I am not sure 0700 is early enough to get there and be ready for your flight. Depending on traffic, getting there could eat up close to an hour. I think the 10 extra euros is worth far more than possibly missing a flight for 5 people. How early does your airline recommend you check-in? That should be your guiding factor. The car service is likely to also have a recommendation for you on how early you should depart based on the time of your flight.

In your case the best is by taxi or private car (limo) from the hotel directly to the airport.
Taxis charge a flat fare of 48 euro from anyplace in the city center to FCO.
A private car is just a few euro more (I think around 60 euro max for 5 people).
Taxi can be called by your hotel the morning you depart or arranged the night before.
For private cars many people in the forum recommend Romecabs:
http://www.romecabs.com/transferservice/airports/

Your hotel or apartment host can arrange a taxi large enough for you and your family.

I took a taxi, arranged the night before by my hotel, and I was surprised to see a big van waiting for me the next morning.

While I am at it... We are catching a 0945 flight to Paris, how early should we plan to arrive at the airport?

I’d suggest arriving at least two hours prior to your departure time.

Enjoy your trip!

Car hire is the best bet. Your hotel can arrange it. Worth the extra money!
You HAVE to be at the airport 2 hrs before. FCO is big and Italian. Plan on an hour to get to the airport.
Enjoy your trip.

Just to be on the safe side consider getting to the airport earlier. The ten Euro extra fee is really not that much in the overall scheme of things, and split among five it's really, really not that much. A potential problem with having the hotel make the arrangements is that you may wind up with a regular taxi, some sort of car service, or the desk clerk's brother-in-law. Happened to us once but the brother-in-law turned out to be ok. We were just a little apprehensive at first.

Why hasn't anyone voted for the train??

Is there a reason why everyone suggested a private car? Curious, because I am worried about morning traffic...which has me second guessing all the suggestions. The price for the family on the train is equivalent to price for the private car.

With prices being equal (or nearly so) it's a matter of convenience. We've always gone to the airport a little earlier than you plan to, but if you get there two and a half hours ahead of your flight (not unreasonable) traffic should not be a problem. As with traffic anywhere, there are no guarantees but it seems to be an acceptable risk to assume.

Why hasn't anyone voted for the train??

You can certainly take the train to the airport if you choose to. You can buy your tickets the day before.

I usually like to splurge and take a taxi for convenience sake.

Regarding traffic... I took a taxi to the airport recently (October 2017) and there was not much traffic on the way to the airport. The taxi picked me up at 7am for an 11am flight. I always prefer to arrive at the airport early, especially for a transatlantic flight.

Enjoy!

Like most urban commutes, traffic goes IN, in the AM ; and OUT in the PM.

I took the bus from Termini, but my flight was early afternoon, so had the luxury of time to save a bit of cash.

As for the train not getting a lot of 'love', when the cost of a car is roughly the same and will come to your front door, why drag you stuff to the train?

We can highly recommend romashuttle.com and have used them many times. When we were in our early 60's we used the Leonardo Express to Termini and then walked to our b&b in the Esquilino neighborhood. For the last five years we've used Roma Shuttle for door to door service. Since there are five in your group it would be less expensive to use Roma with their van service.

Buon viaggio,

Train is certainly a dependable option, but it involves walking to and from the train stations. Leonardo Express would cost your family 70 euro (5 times 14 euro), as a child must be under 12 to ride free. I think the reason people haven't focused on the train is that they're suggesting a family of 5 can get door-to-door service for about the same cost as the train, maybe even a little less.

Flying out of FCO in the morning, I would find the convenience of hiring a car or taking a taxi well worth it over the train.