Trains from Rome FCO to Florence Santa Maria Novella

Not sure why you planned it so tight - a last-minute trip? Looks like you aren't going to get a lot of sleep that first night - which is the last thing I'd personally want to do after flying from overseas(?).

I DOUBT you'd make the last good direct train at 8:50PM to Florence leaving out of Rome, if you take a taxi to Rome Termini station from the airport. Your only shot is no checked bags, hope your flight is on time, and lines at immigration are short when you arrive. Then again, if you are flying in from elsewhere in Europe(?), you won't have to go through immigration upon arrival. Customs is probably a 10 second walk past the customs agent at baggage claim if, like most people, you have nothing to declare.

But I wouldn't count on making that 8:50 train.

Other public transit options are: train leaving at 10:35 with a change, get in to Florence at 2:19.

Or FlixBus: 10:45 from Rome, get in at 1:50am (no changes at least).

Or stay over in Rome - you'll probably be exhausted upon arrival anyway - and take the early 5:45am Italo train from Rome gets to Florence at 7:17. Leave your bags at the station if you have to if you are coming back to Florence in the evening.

These all seem like bad options but given those parameters, I don't see a good one.

Or...hire a private transfer to pick you up directly at the airport, probably not cheap, to get you to Florence that same evening.

You say you have a tour in Florence on Friday 10/19, but also that you have to catch a train from Florence to somewhere at 07:30 that same morning. Is this part of the tour? What is your destination from Florence? My thought being if you have to get on a train in Florence at 7:30, would it work for you to instead stay Thursday night in Rome and then take a train from Rome to wherever you're headed on Friday.

Other than that, your transportation options were laid out by the first response. A driver would be pricey, but would be by far the quickest way to get to Florence at that time of the evening.

...hire a private transfer to pick you up directly at the airport, probably not cheap, to get you to Florence that same evening.

A private car and driver is north of 500 euro ( for up to 3 people) ---- see example below

https://booking.suntransfers.com/booking?step=1&iata=FCO&hash=4f527264-94f1-42f5-a3f2-f9d22f4a6eec&fromNoMatches=undefined

The idea to stay the night in Rome and head for where ever it is your AM departure from Florence is going, looks like the best option

I would say re-book the tour from Florence, that first morning in Florence.
You won't get to your Florence accommodation till at least 3 am Italian time ,(that's just presuming you can get a train or bus to Florence from Rome late at night) by which time you won't know which way is up!
Cancel or rebook the tour for another day.
You say you are "planning" your trip.
If you haven't booked your flights yet, have a sit down, and build in more time for traveling between cities and getting to things; that way you will enjoy the trip much better!

Thank you so much for all of your great advice. I ended up rebooking my tour to Saturday so that i could get an extra day in and not stress and rush. Ya’ll are right, i do not want to start my vacation exhausted lol

I’m from California so I’m used to UBER, which i can take at any hour of the day. I wasn’t familiar with transportation in Italy but I’m assuming no Uber lol

You’ve made my vacation so much more enjoyable now, thank you again 😊

If you don't already have a good guide book, you need to get RS Italy at the least. Covers all the things you need to know and even though your trip is soon, you'll still learn so much you need to know for your first trip to Italy...

Good luck!

There is Uber, correct? I am planning to use it next week.

Amy, you'll very likely need to change your plans. There's no Uber in the sense you're probably thinking. Put "Uber Italy" in the Search box above and you'll find several posts discussing the topic.

Amy, there is only Uber Black, the service based on Licenced limo drivers. Uber Pop was banned a couple of years ago. Uber Black works only in Rome and Milan, I guess they couldn't break-even in smaller cities.

Terri, out of curiosity, may I ask how much would an Uber cost for a 270 kms (aka 170 miles) trip in America? Not to mention the return journey, Is Uber the usual way of travelling for such distances in US?

Yes, Dario has a point, Uber (or its local equivalent) wouldn't normally be the transport means of choice between Florence and Rome . . .would be like taking Uber from Baltimore to Richmond, VA . . .