Has anyone ever taken a train from the Rome airport directly to Florence? Could you share you experience related to ease, time, pre-purchase of tickets (or not?), and anything else you think is relevant.
We arrive around noon on a Saturday at the Rome airport and are wondering if we would have enough time to collect baggage and do whatever else is necessary to take the 3:00 train from the airport to Florence.
Thanks!
That should be enough time as long as the flight is on time.
As I recall, I had to take the express train from the airport to the train station to catch a train to Florence. I think it's called the Leonardo Express. That was in 2014, so things may have changed. I didn't buy advance tickets for fear that I might encounter delays.
As I recall, I had to take the express train from the airport to the
train station to catch a train to Florence. I think it's called the
Leonardo Express.
There are two trains a day which go directly from Fiumicino airport to Florence, no changes.
I would think the only risk to pre-booking the 15:08, with a noon landing, would be a delayed flight or other airport snag. Those do occur, though.
Thanks for the replies.
And Kathy, that's our concern exactly-- that if the plane is delayed, we may miss the 15:08 train. (It is a direct flight from Toronoto to Rome). It's my understanding that if we do miss the 15:08 train, there is no refund. Is that right? And then, of course, what we do if we do miss that train? The next one wouldn't leave from the airport until Sunday. That's my understanding anyway.
I guess we could take the "commuter" train to Termini and get a train from Termini to Florence? But those are reserved seats as well, right?
Thanks for handing my hand. I appreciate all responses.
We took the direct train fron FCO 2 weeks ago. We were quite nervous that or plane would be late, but luckily it wasn’t. We had 2 hours between landing and the train. It was very convenient to not have to change trains at the Rome Termini. We pre bought our tickets. All in all it worked out great. The trains go from the main FCO train station. The Trenitalia staff were very helpful.
While there are only 2 direct trains per day to Florence, there are 2 or 3 Leonardo Express departures per hour to Termini and at least 2 regional train departures per hour to Tiburtina. From either of those stations, there are multiple high-speed train departures per hour to Florence. You won't have to wait until the next day to go from the airport to Florence, but you would need to make 1 change. The changes are pretty easy.
I've pre-booked the 11:08 direct train to Florence multiple times with about a 2 hour window between landing and departure, and I've never missed the train. However, I only book it if there's a significant savings. For example, my last ticket cost 19.90 euro (non-refundable) versus the base rate of 55.00 euro (slightly higher base rate for trains with change at Termini or Tiburtina), so I thought it was worth the risk. If you have a low risk tolerence, buy your tickets upon arrival at FCO train station. Another considertion is that a 3 hour wait is long. After you collect your luggage and eat lunch, you'll be looking at your watch and thinking it's still more than an hour before the train departs. If your flight arrives on time and you take the first available train (with change), you could be arriving in Florence about the time the direct train departs. Just something to consider.
If you prepurchase a Supereconomy fare on line and miss the specific train you book (no matter which), you get no refund. So it is indeed a risk to purchase a discounted ticket online for a trip immediately after landing, because flights are unpredictable primarily because weather is unpredictable.
I generally buy the ticket in the spot at the FCO Airport train station for the first train available.
Even if the 15:08 is not available, there is a train departing from the city stations to Florence every 15 to 30 min.
You don’t need to take the expensive Leonardo Express to Termini. All trains to Florence stop also at Tiburtina. It is cheaper to take the regular Regionale from FCO to Tiburtina and catch at Tiburtina the exact same train to Florence. You don’t save time with the LE either. Because the Regionale takes a shortcut bypass to Tiburtina. Tiburtina is also a more modern and less crowded station where you are less likely to be robbed by the gypsies.
The full base price for standard fare to Florence is just over 50€.
www.trenitalia.com
Enter from FIUMICINO AEROPORTO
to FIRENZE SANTA MARIA NOVELLA.
use a date in the next week if your travel is too far ahead in the future. Timetables don’t change much.
You don’t need to take the expensive Leonardo Express to Termini. All
trains to Florence stop also at Tiburtina. It is cheaper to take the
regular Regionale from FCO to Tiburtina and catch at Tiburtina the
exact same train to Florence.
That's a great tip. Roberto. 👍
It's cheaper, but The FL1 train takes 48 minutes from Fiumicino airport to Tiburtina. The Leo Express train takes 32 minutes from Fiumicino to Termini. The LE has the right of passage and it's guaranteed to run even during a strike.
At Termini there are only level transfers to go from one track to another, at Tiburtina you must always use either an escalator or a lift. With luggage it makes a difference.
It depends on the time of departure, but in many cases the FR1 takes you to Tiburtina on time for the same train departing from Termini. From Termini to Tiburtina the train takes 7 min. So 32 + 7 = 39.
