Rome to florence

I think I have answered part of my question. It looks like the late night trains are very long trips with multiple changes. So I guess we would be better off staying in Rome on our arrival night. So my follow up question is whether we would be better off staying at an airport hotel (the Hilton?) or going to termini and staying at a nearby hotel that night.

Thanks again for any help.

I've been to Rome and Florence many times, and if I were landing that late at night, I wouldn't attempt to go on to Florence. I think you would be safe doing it, provided you exercise reasonable precautions, but I would be worried about logistics and trying to deal with logistics when I'm jetlagged. Consider how you would deal with a late flight, lost luggage, an unexpected train strike, getting lost trying to find the Florence hotel, etc. Also, while there are some direct trains to Florence from the airport, most routings will require you take a train from the airport to Termini in Rome and then another train to Florence. I would stay at a hotel near the airport in Rome.

If you do decide to go to Florence on your arrival night, make sure your hotel has a 24-hour reception desk. Many (most?) don't. You will typically find 24-hour desks at larger business-class and upper-end hotels.

The first question is why are you arriving so late? Second, are you connecting to Rome somewhere in Europe? That have some bearing on the answer since we need to know where you are clearing immigration. That could add substantially to your time in the Rome airport if you are clearing immigration in Rome. Then you need to get to the Roma train station and that could add another hour to your time line. So, as you concluded, it makes no sense to continue on to Florence. There are a number of decent hotels around Termini so spend a night in Rome and continue in the morning. If you book a discount ticket to Florence the next day, the saving would nearly pay for the hotel because you would be paying full fare to Florence the night before.

I would pass on trying to get to Florence. Just in quick looking, I do not see any trains leaving Termini after about 10:30 at night, meaning at best, you would be rushing to make that with a low chance of success. Adding to that, getting to a hotel in the wee hours.

I would concentrate on finding a place in Rome, figure you will not get out of the airport to close to 10:00, your options are a shuttle to an airport hotel, or a taxi or hired car to a hotel in town with a 24 hour desk. The express train into town is an option, but a taxi direct to a hotel at that hour makes more sense.

The most practical thing would be to have a hotel near Roma Termini station, so you can get an early train to Florence without logistical puzzles. (Some years ago I had a most comfortable and friendly hotel in the Via Gaeta, just across the station square.)
Trains from Fiumicino Airport to Termini run until after midnight. Or, if that would make you feel more comfortable, you can always take a taxi to the city. Any decent hotel - not only up-market business-type ones - will have a manned desk at the time you're most likely to arrive.

I agree with Paul. Find a hotel in Roma (check booking.com for 24-hour reception and breakfast the next morning). You can have a peek at Roma before you take the train to Firenze - there are trains about every hour from Roma Termini.

And check out the local travel groups -- the one in Larkspur on the second Saturday of the month has been meeting for over a year, the one in South Bay is just getting started in January, and Sacramento has been meeting more than 5 years(!)

Thank you all very much! We are connecting through London. These were the cheapest tickets that didn't require crazy things like overnights in Canada, etc. They also allow us to depart from a very close airport on the US end saving us time and money and allowing us to maximize days in Italy due to scheduling issues on the US end.

We are landing at FCO. Apparently there is a Hilton there we could walk to? So I'm wondering if that's the best thing to do. It seems like it would be the simplest on arrival. Just walk over and sleep there, then walk back in the morning and take the earliest train we can get from FCO, connecting at termini and then to Florence. It looks to me like we could get to Florence by 9am that way so we would still have most of the day there.

Again thank you so much for the help!

Your idea of staying at the Hilton is a sensible one. As someone who also travels with children I think you will be happier doing this.

Best and easiest and value would be Hilton Garden Inn at Rome Airport
then leave in the morning refreshed and ready to travel.

Thank you!

crl,

I'm late getting into the discussion, but have a few thoughts to add....

Staying at the Rome Airport Hilton is certainly one option, as you can easily walk there directly from the Terminals. However, it would also be reasonably easy to stay at hotels near Termini station, as that would make your journey the following morning a bit quicker. Whichever option you choose, be sure to tell the hotel that you'll be a "late arrival".

If you plan to use the Leonardo Express from the airport to Termini, note that you MUST validate your tickets prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or risk hefty fines (which will be collected on the spot!). For travel in the daytime, that's the quickest travel method as it's not affected by traffic.

If you're willing to commit to a specific train from Rome to Florence, you can save considerably by pre-purchasing tickets on the fast trains. The tickets have compulsory seat reservations which are specific to train, date and departure time, and can ONLY be used on the one train specified. On that route you can use either Freccia (Trenitalia) or Italo Treno. The trip is about 90 minutes.

Thank you!

Note that the Rome Airport Hilton and the Hilton Garden Inn are two different hotels - only the former is actually connected by walkways to the terminals (and consequently, it's more expensive).

If you don't like the price at Airport Hilton, the other way to go is as several above have suggested - book a hotel near Termini Station. Since you're arriving at night, take a taxi from the airport to the hotel (it's a fixed rate of €48 and not tipping is needed beyond this). The next morning, get your train to Florence (booked ahead as a nonrefundable and nonexchangeable ticket for best fares).

crl,

A few additional points to add....

Whichever hotel you book, I'd suggest leaving for Florence about mid-morning, so that you can enjoy a nice "first breakfast" in Italy (especially as you'll probably be paying for it in the cost of the room). Linger over that cup of Cappucino, made by people who are experts in preparing good coffee. Then take a leisurely walk to the station and board your train, well rested and well fed.

One other point to keep in mind is that if you arrive at your hotel in Florence too early, your room may not be serviced yet. That's not a problem as most hotels will allow guests to store bags somewhere until the room is ready. I prefer to arrive at hotels early to mid-afternoon as the rooms are usually ready and I can check-in straight away and get cleaned up and organized. This point is important if you plan to pre-purchase rail tickets as you'll need to choose a departure time from Rome, and with the cheapest tickets that time will be "cast in stone" and not changeable.

Thank you all! I have booked the Rome Airport Hilton paying careful attention to book the one that says it is directly connected to the airport terminals. I have booked a hotel in Florence with confirmation that they will hold our luggage until our room is ready. I will work on the train tickets later, but I am sure we want to go early as we have limited time in Florence and I don't want to spend that time in an airport hotel instead.

crl,

Great to hear you're getting everything sorted. To reach the Rome Airport Hilton, the entrance to the covered walkway is between Terminal 2 & 3, close to the rail station. There's a "moving sidewalk" in one part of the walkway (if it's working). When you reach the end you'll have to take an elevator down to ground level, and when you exit the elevator you'll see the entrance to the hotel.

Thank you!

Hi, I suggest you to stay for the overnight in a hotel close to the airport and the next day go to Florence. Try (Hilton Garden Inn Fco) with good rates!