We will be flying into Rome's FCO airport is a few weeks and plan to take the train to Naples. We are looking to purchase our train tickets now to save on the last minute fare increases. We are scheduled to arrive at FCO at 9:00 AM, but are unsure how long it will take to get out of the airport. Does anyone with recent experience at FCO have an estimate for how much time it will take?
Better yet, how much total time should we plan from arrival at the airport to Rome Termini to go to Naples?
Fares don’t increase with time above the BASE fare (Trenitalia) or FLEXI (Italotreno). That is the maximum full fare and it is already shown in the respective websites. The only difference is that by purchasing ahead of time you can get discounted fare, like Economy or Super Economy. Be aware that once you book a train at those discounted fares, you are stuck with them. They are not refundable or changeable without penalties, therefore buying them in the day of your flight is very risky. To answer your question the time varies. From landing to Termini is probably close to two hours on a good day. But sometimes there might be long lines at passport control or longer than usual waits at baggage claim. Once you are at the airport station the train journey is 32 minutes, but the trains depart every 30 minutes, so you could potentially have to wait half hour for the next one. Give yourself at least 20 minutes to transfer trains at Termini. I generally pay full price when I arrive to avoid the risk of losing it all in case I miss the train.
No one can really say. First you may be delayed in getting there, or land 30 minutes early with a good tailwind. If Rome is your first stop in the Schengen zone, then yes, you will go through passport control, that could be 20 minutes, or two hours. Do you have bags to claim? that is another delay. Then getting to the train station at FCO, do you make the train immediately, or have to wait most of a half hour. Once at Termini, finding your train and boarding.
I have done it in under two hours, though I would leave at least 2 hours, 3 would be safer, 4 should cover most issues.or just don't risk it, and purchase a ticket once you land and are at the FCO station.
If you are set on saving some money, allow plenty of time, just plan on eating lunch at Termini, there are some decent dining options.
Get the Trenitalia app.
Once you have cleared passport control and have your luggage- purchase your Termini to Naples ticket on the app. You can also get your LE ticket on the app. N
You just can't predict what time you'll be out of FCO. Flight delays are common, could be thru passport control in no time all- or could take hours. I will add that the process has always been pretty quick for us- YMMV
Since you are travelling in a few weeks, I wonder if there are any SuperEconomy tickets left. If not, is the price difference between Economy and Base tickets worth the risk of wasting all your money? How many tickets would you have to buy again at the counter paying the full Base fare? Two or more?
The Leonardo Express fares are fixed and airport trains can't sell out, get at least those tickets either at the counter or via web at the arrivals.
The direct FCO-Naples high speed train departs from the airport at 9:38 AM. I doubt you could take it, but if you buy in advance a non changeable ticket for a later train I am sure you can't take it.
Thanks for all of the replies. I went back and checked the prices and saw that they don't change. I was on the Italiarail website (recommended by Seat61) this morning checking today's rates vs mid April. The rates for today's trains were all $140 each. I now realize that they were all Executive class seats. When I checked the Trentalia app on my phone the same trains were listed as "not purchasable". I assume it was late in the day and non-executive seats were sold out. I will take everyones advise and purchase the tickets once we arrive at Roma Termini. Thank you so much for your help.
