High speed rail travel from Rome to Florence

I believe that the FCO train station is just outside Terminal 3. You can buy your tickets to Florence at that train station. As Frank explains above, the Leonardo Express runs every 30 minutes. Once at Rome Termini, give yourself about 15-20 minutes to transition from the Leondardo Express tracks to the High-speed tracks. There is some separation. You can go to www.trenitalia.com and select English. Enter Fiumicino Airport in the departure window and Florence in the arrival window. Enter a departure time that is about 2hrs before the one you want. The schedules will appear. Click on the circle on the far right on the run you want and click on the small red details by selection bar. Scroll down a bit and you will see how much time you have to catch your train. Trenitalia will give you about 30 minutes between changes but there could be differences depending on the time and run you select. You'll see plenty of trains. There are 2-3 high-speeds departing Rome for Florence each hour so you won't miss a train.

Depends on which terminal you are asking about? The airport train terminal is a part of the airport and maybe a couple hundred yards of walking. Follow the signs, it is well marked. The train is the Leonard Express, runs every 30 minutes, and 30 minutes to Termini in Rome. The price is 14E. There is also a regional train that takes closer to 45 mins, makes a couple of stops, and is about 6E. The SIT bus will take you to Termini for 8E. And taxi might be more reasonable depending on the size of your party. The taxi is fixed at 45E. You can purchase your tickets to Florence at the station in the airport. Allow at least 30 mins to exit the Leonard Express, walk to the front of the station, and to find the platform for Florence.

Scott, As the others have mentioned, it's very easy to get to the Rail terminal at FCO airport (as I recall, it's opposite Terminal 3 and you'll have to go up an Escalator). The Leonardo Express is an easy 30-minute trip to Roma Termini (no traffic issues), where you'll transfer to the ES / AV trains. The tickets will be €14 if purchased from the automated Kiosks, or €15 from the ticket office. BE SURE to validate the ticket in the yellow machine before you board the train (I've heard that officials are checking that a bit more carefully now). The Leonardo Express arrives on Track 25 as I recall, which is set back from the other tracks a few hundred yards. Walk towards the front of the train and check the electronic board to determine the Track No. ("Binario") of the Florence train. Happy travels!

Thank you all for the information. It is very thorough and we appreciate it very much. This will be our first trip to Italy so we are trying to figure out some of the nuances. Thanks Again!!!

Scott - Frank, Larry, and Ken are the experts on train travel... and their comments are right on target. To aid you on your arrival in FCO and taking the train to Florence - with some pictures - take a look at these links: Arriving at FCO, the FCO train station, meeting others at FCO Airport, SITBus Shuttle, arriving at Roma Termini Station, and Riding Trains in Italy. These posts - and the pictures - may give you a better understanding of the guys comments... and in most cases will repeat what they've already said.

Great links. Thank you very much!

And Thanks Again, Ron, for the photo essay...!!! I love YOUR website - RonInRome.com, Lee's - GermanTravel-Info.com, and ParisByTrain.com - for the hand-holding and step-by-step photos. It makes things soooo much easier once you're there - you can spot those ticket machines a mile away. (heck, I even bought tickets for some Germans at a ticket machine...In Germany! It's good to feel smart...). And you can tell when you're in the wrong train station - because you recognize it from the photos... :-o