Shuttle or private service from Rome airport to Cortona

Better and more reasonable might be mutually exclusive. Depending on the number of people in your party, it will probably less expensive to take the train. But a better way, in my opinion, is a private car service. After a long flight, some jet lag, not being familiar with the area, there is nothing better than having your private driver meet you inside the terminal and whisk you to your destination. An extravagance? Perhaps. Only you can decide if it is worth it. It is not the cheapest way, but it is definitely better. If you decide to check out a car service, we can not say enough good things about Rome Cabs. It is a private car service -- not a cab company. We always use them from the airport into the city of Rome and have always been very pleased. Go to romecabs.com and see what you think. We usually 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.

Oy. Cortona is a LONG way from Fiumicino/Rome: 147 miles or more. It's closer to Florence. Just pulling up one or two random transfer sites, it looks to cost about 300 euros for car service.

You know your budget better than anyone else but that would be outside of ours. It would take longer than by car but I'd take a train from Fiumicino into Roma Tiburtina and another train to Camucia- Cortona. You would need to take a bus or taxi 5 km from the train station up to the town.

Train tickets from Tiburtina are running as low as 11.05 euro PP depending on type of train and desired time. In case of a flight delay, I would purchase them when you get into the station. Tickets from Fiumicino airport to Tiburtina are 8 euro PP.

Editing to add: you could also take the train to Terontola-Cortona if train times to there work better for you. It's 11 km from Cortona, and you would take a bus or taxi from there.

Editing again to add: this site should be useful for bus/taxi info into town from the stations:
http://www.cortonamia.com/en/how-to-reach-cortona/

Thanks Kathy and all.

Yes it does seem more reasonable to take the train. It shouldn't be that complicated. Is there a fast train and a slower train from Rome to Cortona? I suppose the fast one doesn't stop at too many places?

Do people buy food somewhere and take on the train to eat? We will be jet lagged and hungry as we arrive in Rome at 11:40 a.m. from Toronto, Canada.

Thanks again.
sharon

You can check the train options on the TrenItalia website. Use Roma (Tutte le Stazione) as the origin and Camucia-Cortona as the destination, then repeat the process using Terontola-Cortona as the destination. Almost all the departures involve at least some time on a regional train, and their schedules are not loaded online very far in advance, so just use a date within the next week or so (same day of week you will make the trip). That will be fine for planning purposes.

All the trains heading to either of the Cortona stations stop at Roma Tiburtina Station; only some will have made a previous stop at Roma Termini, so be careful about that as you decide whether to take the Leonardo Express from the airport to Roma Termini or the local train to Roma Tiburtina. I think you probably would be able to get your tickets all the way to Cortona at the airport train station.

If you wish to check the schedule between the airport and Roma Tiburtina and Roma Termini, use Fiumicino Aeroporto and Roma Tiburtina or Roma Termini on the TrenItalia website. The fare to Tiburtina is quite a bit lower but the train is slower.

Nearly all the departures from Rome stop at both the Terontola-Cortona station and the Camucia-Cortona station, sometimes after one change of trains. The train reaches T-C first, so you'll normally save a very few minutes by getting off there, but you'll be farther from Cortona and if you end up needing a taxi, it will probably cost you more. The one departure for which there's a significant difference in travel time is the 1540. It reaches T-C at 1728 and C-C at 1823 (after a layover), but I'd expect you to make an earlier train than that.

There's generally not a huge difference in the running time for Rome-Cortona itineraries with or without a faster train in the mix, because you lose some of what you gain by having to change trains, and the price can be quite a bit higher. I wouldn't wait around to take a (more expensive) fast train if there was another train departing earlier.

You certainly can take food on the train, and even fairly small stations often have a little café with pre-made sandwiches for sale. Termini will have lots of food options, but it's a large, hectic station and you might not be willing to leave the platform area to look for food. Tiburtina will have one or more food sources. It's a much smaller station.

Tiburtina station has several boarding areas but the signage is easy. Certainly, buy food and drink at the station and have a picnic on the train, lots of people do.

All the trains heading to either of the Cortona stations stop at Roma
Tiburtina Station; only some will have made a previous stop at Roma
Termini, so be careful about that as you decide whether to take the
Leonardo Express from the airport to Roma Termini or the local train
to Roma Tiburtina. I think you probably would be able to get your
tickets all the way to Cortona at the airport train station.

A good addition above from acraven. I would agree that you could probably purchase your tickets all the way through at the airport train station. Depending on the type of train you choose, you will have to validate your tickets before boarding. This is really ALWAYS the case unless you are taking a train requiring seat and carriage assignments, and will probably apply to the trains you'll end up taking from the airport and to Cortona.

That may be true with the buses to Cortona as well (but I won't swear to that. Anyone know?)

Have taken the train to Camucia, but be aware that station is well below the town of Cortona. You will need to take a taxi or a bus up the hill to Cortona. Be aware there are 2 busses that stop at the train station and only one goes all the way up the hill into Cortona. The other drops you off at base of hill and you would need to hike uphill into Cortona (have done that). You can purchase your bus ticket at the café at the train station and they can tell you the proper bus to take (one is blue and one is orange as I remember).