Train or Air Paris to Rome

Taking a night train saves you the cost of a night in a hotel and gives you more daylight hours for sightseeing. However, I just learned that there will be no Paris-Rome night train service from 11 December to June 2012. Fast + cheap = a budget airline. The cheapest way to get from Orly to central Paris is to take the airport shuttle bus (€2.50) to the Pont de Rungis RER station. Take the RER C into Paris and transfer as needed to the metro and/or other RER lines. The fare is €3.95.

Thank you Tim. Just the answers I needed. I am pretty much convinced to fly instead of the night train. Forgot to say this travel is in September 2012 and maybe the train is running then, but it looks like the best way is to fly a budget airline. I'll have carry on only. Guess I need to check their rules on dimensions and weight limit.

Linda, In the same situation, I'd use EasyJet from Paris / ORY to Rome / FCO, which is a two hour flight. They currently have flights listed as low as €34.99, however I'm sure there will be a few "additional charges" by the time the booking is completed (they charged €16 for a flight that I took this year, to book using a North American credit card - I expect the other budget carriers have similar policies). For transportation between Paris and Orly, have a look at This Website. For transportation between FCO and Roma Termini, use the Leonardo Express which runs about every half hour. The station is right in the airport, and you can buy tickets either from the staffed ticket windows (will cost a bit more) or from the automated Kiosks. Fare is about €14 as I recall. The Leonardo Express arrives on some of the "peripheral" tracks, so it will take about five minutes to walk to the main part of the station (it's not long, but a bit tedious when hauling luggage). Happy travels!

Ken, is there some reason you have for flying EasyJet as opposed to Vueling? I am unfamiliar with both carriers so I could use your insight on the choice. Thanks for the reminder regarding the Leonardo Express in Rome. I have been to Rome once but did not travel to/from the airport. My trip 2 years ago, I flew in and out of Florence with my focus on that trip, Tuscany & Umbria. This trip the focus will be Rome & Amalfi coast. I'll have more questions as time goes by. Just trying to lock down my flights across the pond and connecting up with my friends in Paris for a day/night before heading back home to Seattle. I've studied RS books and Lonely Planet over the last several months. Also like the TimeOut book on Naples & surrounding area. Use TripAdvisor for recommends and then book hotels/hostels in advance.

Linda, I've never flown with Vueling so can't offer any first-hand comments, but I've heard that they're a reliable carrier. My experiences with EasyJet have been quite "easy" and pleasant, so I usually check flight connections with them before looking at any others. I travelled with them on a flight from Prague to Milan in September, and it was a nice flight. One advantage with EasyJet is that they often use main airports, rather than forcing travellers to use very out-of-the-way airports (ie: one of the airports used by RyanAir is Paris Beauvais, which is a considerable distance outside Paris). With your flights, travel to ORY is relatively straightforward, as is travel into Rome from FCO. The pricing on EasyJet seems to be competitive, but they're a "no frills" carrier so if you want snacks during the flight, be prepared to pay for them! I normally check my main Pack and overestimate the weight. That way I can pay the luggage charges "up front", rather than getting nicked with a huge penalty if it's over the weight limit at the time of check-in. As with most European budget carriers, they typically only allow ONE carry-on item. That DOESN'T mean "one plus a personal item such as a purse", it means ONE ONLY. Are you using only Trip Advisor listings to choose Hotels, or have you looked at the listings in the RS Guidebooks also? Which part of Rome are you planning to stay in? Cheers!

Linda, I would just use which ever airline is cheapest,, both Vueling and Easyjet use Orly,, both are considered reliable. I flew using Vueling a few summers ago when I saw how much more the train was, it was fine. I also paid the luggage charge up front as its cheaper then having to pay at the airport. It was only 1.5 hours Paris to Rome. The hotel I stayed at in Rome was only 90 euros, so for two people,, the flight and hotel was still cheaper then taking the train.. for one person it may be a toss up,, unless you stay somewhere even cheaper.

Ken, I look at several guides and online sources for all my travel questions. RS guides, Lonely Planet, Let's Go, Time Out etc. Tripadvisor and sometimes Hotels.com for hotels in the U.S. I have been on one RS tour and enjoyed the information and all that we covered in the tour but it was somewhat rushed for me. This trip in Sept 2012 will be short by my standards as I have just recently transferred to a new job and don't want to "press my luck" with an extra long vacation. Sad, I know. Americans really ought to live the way that most of the rest of the world lives. Alas, that is not to be for me in the very near future any way. So my trip is 10 days with 8 days of touring this time. Trying to find the best way to maximize my time. Thanks for your help.

Regarding EasyJet baggage. I plan on taking one carryon rolling suitcase that measures 22x14x12 and packing my purse in the bag. The EasyJet carryon rules state they'll accept a bag with dimensions not over 56x45x25cm, which converts to 22x 17.7 x 9.8. Do you think I will have trouble taking this bag on the plane without getting dinged with a fee? My dimensions are off, but I believe the total amount of measurement falls within their limit. What do you think?