Housing Italy: Rome - Arriving & Departing

Arriving & Departing

Most international flights and all domestic flights arrive at Leonardo da Vinci Airport, also known as Fiumicino, 30 kilometers (19 miles) outside the city.
Some international and charter flights land at Ciampino, a civil and military airport on Via Appia Nuova, 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the center of Rome.
For airport and flight information for Fiumicino, call 06/659-53640; for Ciampino, call 06/794941.
Flying times: 2 hours from London, 8 1/2 hours from New York, 10-11 hours from Chicago, and 12-13 hours from Los Angeles.
Carriers Make an airline reservation online with Preview Travel.

FROM THE U.S.
Carriers serving Rome include Alitalia (tel. 800/223-5730); Continental (tel. 800/525-0280); Delta (tel. 800/241-4141); and TWA (tel. 800/892-4141).

FROM THE U.K.
Direct service from Heathrow is provided by Alitalia (tel. 0171/602-7111 or 0345/212-121 outside London) and British Airways (tel. 0181/897-4000 or 0345/222-111 outside London). From Manchester, there are one or two direct flights daily to Rome.

WITHIN ITALY
Alitalia (main Rome office, tel. 06/65621 or 06/65628246) and its domestic affiliate ATI, in addition to smaller, privately run companies such as Meridiana (main Olbia office, 0789/4745057), complete an extensive network of internal flights in Italy.

Between Fiumicino Airport and Town:

BY CAR
From the airport, follow the signs for Rome on the expressway, which links with the Grande Raccordo Anulare (GRA), the beltway around Rome. The direction you take on the GRA depends on where your hotel is, so get directions from the car-rental people at the airport.

BY TAXI
A taxi from the airport to the center of town costs about 65,000 lire, including supplements for airport service and luggage, and the ride takes 30-40 minutes, depending on traffic.
Private limousines can be hired at booths in the arrivals hall; they charge a little more than taxis but can take more passengers.
Ignore gypsy drivers; stick to yellow or white cabs.
A booth inside the arrivals hall provides taxi information.

BY TRAIN
To get to downtown Rome from Fiumicino Airport you have a choice of two trains. Inquire at the airport (at EPT or train information counters) about which takes you closest to your hotel. The nonstop Airport-Termini express (marked "fs" and run by the state railway) takes you directly to Track 22 at Termini station, Rome's main train station, well served by taxis and the hub of Metro and bus lines. The ride to Termini takes 30 minutes; departures are hourly, beginning at 7:50 AM from the airport, with a final departure at 10:05 PM. Tickets cost 13,000 lire. The other airport train (FM1) runs from the airport to Rome and beyond, with its terminal in Monterotondo, a suburban town to the east.
The main stops in Rome are at Trastevere, Ostiense, and Tiburtina stations; at each you can find taxis and bus and/or metro connections to other parts of Rome. This train runs from Fiumicino from 6:15 AM to 12:15 AM, with departures every 20 minutes, a little less frequent in off-hours. The ride to Tiburtina takes 40 minutes. Tickets cost 7,000 lire.
For either train you buy your ticket at automatic vending machines (you need Italian currency). There are ticket counters at some stations (Termini Track 22, Trastevere, Tiburtina).