Rome vs. Florence Airport?

If you are going to Rome for your lodging then being 3 hours away by car or 90 minutes away by high speed (320 km/hr) train in Florence isn't the best idea, or vice versa.

Rome's main airport has frequent trains, buses and taxis into the centre of Rome.

Florence airport has frequent buses and taxis into the centre of Florence.

Thanks. Just to clarify, the plan would be to stay in the arrival city for a day or days before proceeding with the itinerary and then staying in the same city at least one night before departing for the return flight.

Either one works. Florence is the smaller airport. You need not fly to and from the same city; a "multi-city" flight search would allow you to fly into and out of the two furthest/end cities of your trip.

The Florence airport is smaller, probably easier to navigate.

Thanks Laura. I hadn't considered that since we're using FF miles and I assumed that Delta would increase the requirement. However, doing a quick check shows that not to be true. So, which would you suggest using for the arrival and which for the departure? Again, thanks much.

Plan your trip, then decide if you fly into Florence and out of Rome, or into Rome and out of Florence.

Rome has the train station (walking accessible) from your arrival at the airport. This will take you to the main train station in Rome, then easy to access a hotel by taxi.

Florence is smaller and much easier to navigate for sure...you can access to the main train station via a bus that is simple to use and very inexpensive...easier than a taxi, unless you are tired and don't want the hassle of figuring out where you are and aren't up to walking.

The cities (Forence/Rome) aren't that far from each other, but you should decide where you want to go first, then spend some time in that region, then continue closer to your departure city. I'm sure you will want to spend time in both Florence and Rome...you HAVE to as a first time traveler to Italy!

You can arrive in one and fly back home from the other.
However in my experience using frequent flier miles, it's often hard to find mileage award seats available to FLR because only small regional jets can land there (the runway is only 5600ft long) and airlines reserve only limited seats per planes to mileage award travelers.
Also if you are using Delta FF miles there are only 3 ways to use FLR with a Delta code share:
1. AirFrance from Paris (CDG).
2. KLM from Amsterdam (AMS)
3. Alitalia from Rome (FCO).
In the last case, then you might as well fly in and out of Rome. There are only 3 daily Alitalia flights from FCO to FLR and when everything is said and done, the train is just as fast.

I don't know where you home airport is. If your home airport is connected non-stop to CDG or AMS with a SkyTeam airline (Delta or AirFrance-KLM), then you could fly as follows:

Going: HOME AIRPORT > CDG or AMS > FLR
Return: FCO > SKY TEAM HUB (CDG/AMS/JFK/ATL) > HOME AIRPORT.

If your Home airport has no non stop connection to CDG or AMS, then chances are Delta will fly you to Italy via ATL or JFK first. At that point you might as well fly to FCO both ways since both ATL and JFK have non stops to FCO with Delta (or Alitalia in code share). Whereas to go to Florence you need to stop somewhere else in Europe (CDG or AMS) first.

You mention using miles so you should check the airlines to see what is available and plan your trip accordingly. If flying from the U.S. chances are you will go through Rome even if it is only for your connection to get to Florence.

I agree with Richard in terms of checking availability with the airline that you'd be flying then planning your trip accordingly.

If your itinerary includes Venice, you may want to fly into Venice then travel to Florence & fly back home from Rome & thus avoiding back tracking!

Another consideration is that flying into Florence may require an extra connection - I would much rather do that on the way home in case you or your luggage misses the connection. On the other hand, generally it is a good idea to starts in the smaller city and end in the bigger one. Rome can be overwhelming and best to enjoy when you have your travel legs about you at the end of a trip.