There are two major airports that serve Rome: Fiumicino (also known as Leonardo da Vinci Airport) and Ciampino. If your tour company or hotel isn’t sending a driver for you, there are a number of options to get you from Fimuicino to your hotel.
Most international flights from outside Europe land in Fiumicino, Rome’s main international airport, which is near the coast to the west of Rome. Transport options from here are train, taxi, limo, shuttle-bus, or coach.
Get from Fiumicino Airport to Rome with an English-speaking driver who will wait for you in the arrivals hall
‘Welcome Pickups’ is a new service that charges just €4 more than a taxi, but allows you to book in advance, and gives you the advantages of a limo service: pay online in advance, and get a named driver (you’re emailed their details in advance) who will wait for you in the terminal with a name board, will wait up to an hour if your flight is delayed, speaks English, and can provide insight to Rome as well as tourist advice. Book a Welcome Pickup >
Get from Fiumicino Airport to Rome using the train
There are two kinds of train that service Fiumicino: the express and the local train.
Getting into Rome on the express train
The ‘Leonardo Express’ takes 30 minutes to get to Termini, Rome’s main train station. It’s modern, direct, air-conditioned, has wheelchair accessible toilets on board, and is very frequent. It costs €14 each way. Buy your Leonardo Express ticket in advance here >
Getting into Rome on the local train
The local FL1 metropolitan train is slower but cheaper. At the station it might be signed as ‘Orte’, ‘Monterotondo’ or ‘Fara Sabina’, and stops at several stations in Rome including Trastevere, Ostiense, Tuscolana and Tiburtina. Ostiense and Tiburtina stations are both connected to the Metro. There are toilets on board (one of which is wheelchair accessible) available in the front and back carriages, and tickets to the city are €8. Book your local train ticket here >
A note on buying train tickets from Fiumicino Airport to Rome
If you don’t book your train ticket in advance, they can be bought from the machines in the airport station, or from the ticket booth or private ticket stand if open, though you sometimes get charged a small booking fee. Either of the options above will leave you at a train station, and from there you will of course have to travel to your final destination.
Note that when you buy a ticket from one of the machines (which have an English language option), it will ask you which specific train time you want to travel on. This is misleading, as all tickets bought from the machines are valid for three months from the date of issue – so just choose the next available train time and you’ll be fine. If you buy a ticket online just carry a printout of your voucher with the QR code on it.
Getting from Fiumicino Airport to Rome by taxi
Taxis are meant to charge a set fee for anywhere in the city, currently €48 per car for up to four passengers including baggage, to destinations within the Aurelian Walls (essentially the city center). If your destination is outside the walls they will use the meter, which can work out more expensive. However some drivers will try to add ‘extras’ on, or rely on you not knowing what the set fee is. Even though it’s expensive and subject to traffic restrictions, a cab will drop you directly at your hotel.
Warning: only get an official ‘white taxi’ from the official stand. Do NOT respond to anyone who approaches you offering cheap transport: these are unlicensed and uninsured drivers and the people who approach you are scammers.
Getting an Uber from Fiumicino airport into Rome
Uber in Rome is a limo-only service. The prices from the airport into town are therefore very high and not recommended. Welcome pickups is a better option for a lower price.
Getting a coach from Fiumicino Airport into Rome
There are several bus companies that run coaches into the city. These usually stop at Termini, though some will stop in the Vatican area too before continuing to Termini. At €4-6, they are the cheapest option, but they are subject to the vagaries of traffic. Some of the coach companies also tend not to leave until they are full, which means you may be sitting on the coach for thirty minutes or more, waiting for other passengers. Book your coach from Fiumicino to Rome here >
The coaches stop running at 11.30pm but there is a limited night coach service to Rome from Fiumicino.
Getting a shuttle bus from Fiumicino Airport into Rome
A little more luxurious than the coach, these luxury mini-vans also have the advantage of dropping you and your luggage direct to the door of your hotel. However you also have to share with people going to their hotels too, so the end of your journey may end up a little delayed. Book your shuttle here >
Summary of transportation from Fiumicino Airport into Rome
Service | Pros | Cons | Buy from |
|---|---|---|---|
Welcome Pickup | Drops you at hotel, personal service, waits for your flight 24-hour service, transparent pricing. | Subject to traffic. | Book Now > |
Taxi | Drops you at hotel | Subject to traffic, bad reputation for ‘hidden extras’ | Pay on board |
Airport shuttle | Drops you at hotel | Subject to traffic, relatively expensive | Book now > |
Leonardo Express train | Fastest option, reasonable price | Does not run late | Book Now > |
Metropolitan train | Cheaper than express train | Does not run late, arrives into Tiburtina, takes 1 hour | Book now > |
Coach | Cheapest option | Slow, subject to traffic | Book now > |
