Early, Early flight out of Rome

Roberto's time line is accurate. It will be a local flight. Check out of the hotel the night before and be ready to roll. Let the hotel arrange a taxi or shared shuttle. Have your coffee at the airport. At that time of day, everything will be quick.

That seems like A LOT of lead time - do you really need to leave that early? Cabs work around the clock so I would suspect it would not be that hard to get one especially at that hour if you ask your hotel to summon one ahead of time (in contrast to other means, like public transport) One last thought - if your airline has changed your schedule to a degree that it is totally unrecognizable from your original itinerary (i.e. drastic change or it poses a real burden on you), feel free to call your airline and ask them to give you other time options. I did this a few times because the new itinerary was not what I signed up for when I bought the ticket.

Thank you, Agnes, for your reply. I have heard that a 2 - 3 hr. lead time is necessary at the Rome airport. Have also heard that cabs are not most reliable as far as being on time. Interested in feedback from others who have been in a similar time constraint. The airline has offered alternatives, however, this early morning flight actually gets us home when we need to be. Alternatives have us arriving too late with very long layovers or overnight stays. Thank you again for your reply. Appreciate it.

Your hotel can probably set you up with a reputable taxi, be aware that a night fare is more expensive. Have the reservation made in advance; I like to have the cab's phone number in hand if the hotel isn't staffed 24/7.

That early in the morning it must be a flight to another European hub, because there are no flights that early to the US. You need to be at the airport about 1 hr prior to departure for a intra EU flight. Make it about 90 min. to be safe. Let's say 5:45 am. Nearly all airlines operating at FCO require that you have given your checked baggage to the check in counter and have your boarding pass in your hands 45 min. prior to departure for a EU flight. So if you get there 90 min. prior to departure you'll have 45 min. go through the check in line and check in your baggage, that is ample time. If you take a taxi from your hotel downtown Rome by 5:15 you'll be at the airport by 5:45am. That early in the morn. there is no traffic. The cost is approx. 50 euro. I've never had a problem with getting taxis in Rome. There are taxi stands all over the place. If you want you can ask the hotel to reserve one for you to pick you up the next morning in front of the hotel. Some hotels have taxis in front 24/7.

Call your airline to see if they can make any flight arrangements, other than early morning. Travel is hard enough on one's body. But I cannot get a good night's sleep if I know I've got to get up at 3:30 a.m.
It makes the situation harder and the jet lag harder when you get home.

Early EU flights out of FCO, Florence and Marco Polo are the rule and not the exception for getting back to the U.S if all of your flights are on the same day. You are obviously traveling to another large hub such as London, Frankfurt, Munich, Amsterdam, Zurich, etc. to catch your flight home. Since your plane home departs about 10:00am or so from the major hub, you need to leave very early from your first airport. Guess what. It's the same here in Sacramento. It's not a large airport. United has flights to Denver, Chicago, Houston, Washington D.C. and San Francisco all between 5:30am and 6:30am to catch the overnight flights in the late afternoon to Europe. Super Shuttle picks us up between 3:30am and 3:45pm. Check with your hotel. Usually, they can make arrangements to have a taxi at the front door anytime you wish. This is very common in Rome.