Rome to Florence

No, there is no direct train from the airport. You need to go to the termini to catch the train to Florence if using Trenitalia. If using Italotreno I believe you leave from Tiburtina station.

Donna

Either of those companies sells tickets online with an advance discount starting three months ahead (nonrefundable, nonchangeable), or you'd pay about $55 to buy a 2nd-class ticket in on of those central Rome train stations. Buon viaggio.

Donna is correct.

I might also add that I wouldn't bother spending just a night at a hotel in Rome before going to Florence. I'd go straight on the day of arrival if you land at FCO at a decent hour (like before 6:30 pm).

The fast train to Florence is only 1.5 hours and the last high speed train out of Rome Termini is at 8:50 pm (the same train stops also at Roma Tiburtina at 9:00 pm). There is a Leonardo Express train which departs from the airport at 7:38pm and arrives at Roma Termini at 8:10pm. Plenty of time to catch the last 8:50pm Frecciarossa to Florence.

If you arrive earlier, even easier. There are 2 Leonardo Express trains every hour departing from the airport, and there are 2 to 3 fast trains every hour going to Florence from Roma Termini.

Trenitalia discount tickets are available up to 120 days ahead, by 90 days out some of the most popular routes have no super-economy tickets left.

Thank you all so much for the useful information. Unfortunately, we will be arriving to Rome at about 10:20 p.m. we will most likely have to make our trip to Florence the next day in the morning. Does anyone know how early the Leonardo express train leaves from Fiumicino airport to the city center? Or is it literally every hour? Also, anyone know the cost of that train to the city center?

kp,

Given the late arrival time, it would probably be better to spend the night in Rome and then travel to Florence the next morning, after a leisurely breakfast. I'd suggest staying in Rome rather than Fiumicino, as that will facilitate your journey to Florence the next morning. One thing to keep in mind is that if you arrive too early in Florence, your hotel room may not be serviced yet. I find that arriving in a new town at 13:00 or later usually works well.

It will be very easy to get from FCO to Roma Termini using the Leonardo Express. There's a station right in the airport, so very easy to access. There are departures about every 30 minutes, the trip is about 35 minutes long and tickets are €14 PP. DON'T forget to validate your tickets prior to boarding the train or you'll face hefty fines. There are departures from FCO at 22:38, 23:08, 23:17 (with a change at Ostiense) and 23:38. I believe the first departure in the morning is at 05:57. You may find it helpful to have a look at the excellent Ron In Rome website as that provides lots of good information on the airport transportation options.

Depending on when this trip is taking place, you may be able to save some money by pre-purchasing tickets for the Freccia train to Florence. One point to note is that tickets for the Freccia and other premium trains are specific to a particular train, date and departure time. You can NOT use any other train than the one listed on your ticket (again, hefty fines). If the trip will be taking place in the near future, you'll probably be paying Base Fare anyway, so I'd suggest just buying your tickets at the airport station when you arrive in Rome. You can use either the Kiosks or the staffed ticket office. Research the departure times of trains to Florence using the Trenitalia website. Note that your departure station will be Roma Termini and your arrival station will be Firenze Santa Maria Novella and the trip will take about 90 minutes at 300 kMH.