Train from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport (FCO) to Rome Termini Station.

Italiarail is not a train company-it is a third party reseller

Trenitalia ( the actual train company) runs just a few direct trains from FCO to Florence
1:50 pm ( and I think one early am)
(I have never seen those times you posted but haven’t looked at in a while)

Use the Trenitalia website or app
Put Fiumucino to Firenze SM Novella to see the schedule

Otherwise you do have to take the Leonardo Express from FCO to Roma Termini then change to a fast train

It’s best not to book any of these trains in advance as flights can be delayed, no way to predict how long immigration etc takes

Just use the app once you have deplaned or buy tix at the kiosk at FCO station

https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html

Hi KS,

The trains from Roma Termini run very often directly up to Firenze SM Novella. I’m looking at January 21 as an example, and there’s 3-4 per hour available.

I ride the trains a lot in Italy and purchase the fast ones a few months ahead for some savings. But I don’t reserve the one for my flight arrival date because there’s too many unknowns - flight delays, amount of people in lines. etc.

For your option stated with just two direct times available, I definitely wouldn’t go that route. Waiting around at an airport vs. taking the next available Leonardo Express train directly to Roma Termini & switching very quickly (or stop and have a bite to eat) makes a better choice to me.

The Trenitalia app is very easy. Have it downloaded and just open it as you’re almost to the Leonardo Express at the airport - no kiosks or long waits at the ticket machines while jet lagged people try to figure out how to buy a ticket. ; )

And don’t worry about the process to switch trains at Roma Termini. The station lines are like fork tines, so you don’t need to be going up & down stairs to switch trains. I fly from Spokane, Washington so most destinations in Europe are three flights, plus often I am taking 1-2 trains to reach my first city. I’m in my late 60’s, so I’m sure you’ll do fine.

Italo is private company that runs fast trains from Termini to Florence. Check that website as well. Some are of the trains are non-stop and the timing may work better for you, depending on when you arrive.

Since the Leonardo Express is operated by Trenitalia, no reason to switch to Italo at Termini. You can buy a through ticket at Fiumicino airport that includes the connection to a Trenitalia train at Termini. They are more frequent than Italo trains anyway

The direct trains between FCO and Florence come and go. The way tracks are laid at Termini, trains from Fiumicino arrive at a end of the station and trains to Florence leave at the opposite end. If you plan a direct train, it has to cross all the tracks entering or exiting the station, blocking all other inbound/outbound traffic for a minute or so; this prevents scheduling a regular hourly service. When traffic surges, the first train to be axed by timetable planners is the direct connection.

which month are you looking for, and what time is your flight scheduled to arrive (remember that flight times are often amended)?

Wow thank you all for the great answers! As soon as I hit send I thought to myself that booking ahead for this is likely not advisable due to uncertainty of flight arrivals/customs etc that comes with travel these days.

You have all provided me with the answers I was looking for and additional help. I will definitely wait until we arrive to book. At this point it looks like the flight we are taking (not booked yet) will arrive at 1240 so plenty of time (if on time) to get to Florence. Initially we wanted to fly into Florence but our West Jet Companion Voucher is dictating flying into and out of Rome, inconvenient but the savings are worth it.
Thank you all once again for your great advice, as always this forum has been a great help.

Cheers,
KS

You have to judge your own needs, but neither the FCO Airport Express, nor the lower-priced (and slower) trains to Florence require taking one particular departure. And it is not necessary to pre-book the Airport Express. It's not "like" a premium long-distance train.

It's perfectly true that countries like Germany often have a huge variety of departures from the larger airport rail stations. But I keep thinking about the many American airports that don't even have good (... one-seat) public transportation for travel to the city associated with the airport. I mean like the New York City tristate area.

For all train travel, I go to this website: https://www.seat61.com/ It's my first place to check.

I agree Tim, Europe/UK have more established and convenient train travel from their airports than many in North America. I have always been able to negotiate it well especially with the help of this forum.

Yes Evelyn the Seat61 has also been my "go to" while planning, I just couldn't find the specific route however now that I have asked the fine folks of the forum I believe I am set.

Thanks Again to all,
KS