How to get from the airport to Rome

How to get from airport to Rome - Travel for a Living


If you are travelling to Rome, chances are you will arrive at one of two airports: Fiumicino (or Leonardo International Airport) or Ciampino. And needless to say, neither is right in the center of town, therefore you will need to know how to get from the airport into Rome center.

During our recent trip to Rome we arrived at Fiumicino.

Thanks to a massive work load leading up to the trip (and me essentially being a little lazy as foreseen) I arrived at Rome with minimal preparation. However the one thing I did check before was the location of our hotel and how best to get there (ok, that is actually two things if we are being pedantic today).

How to get from the airport to Rome: by taxi

The most convenient, but also most costly option is taking a cab. The good news is that there is a fixed fee, so no need to worry about cab drivers taking an extra long route just to charge you exorbitant amounts. It is 48 Euro (around £42.50) from Fiumicino to central Rome and 30 Euro (around £26.50) from Ciampino.

Using an Uber might be a little cheaper than a conventional cab (depending on where in Rome you’d like to go). But when I recently checked, a trip from Fiumicino to Termini was estimated at just over 40 Euro.

Cheapest way to get from the airport into Rome - Travel for a Living

How to get from the airport to Rome: by train

Next option is taking the Leonardo Express. A direct train from Fiumicino airport to Rome Termini, the main train station in the center of Rome. A one way ticket costs you 14 Euros per person (approx. £12). This is the option we went for and with just 32 minutes to Termini (and trains running every 15 to 30 minutes), this really was quick and easy.

But the Leonardo Express is not the only train going into town. On the adjacent platform is another train going to Termini, which only costs 8 Euros per person one way. However this train stops several times (as in half a million times, judging by the rather long notice board), taking considerately longer to arrive at the same destination.

How to get from the airport to Rome: by bus

The last option is taking the bus (and if you know me, you do know I mean this quite literally… taking an airport bus is the very last option I would consider). There are several bus companies serving the route from Fiumicino airport into town, also taking you to Rome Termini. For a fare of 4 to 6 Euros, this for sure is the cheapest way into Rome, so probably a good idea if you are travelling on a very small budget.

Arriving at the airport, finding our way to the train station was easy, as the route is clearly signposted. A little more tricky was the whole buying a ticket thing. There are plenty of tickets machines, so this isn’t the problematic bit. And we knew that the train was supposed to cost us 14 Euros each, however when buying the ticket it wasn’t quite as straight forward, since there were first and second class tickets on offer, but it wasn’t that obvious if these were for the Leonardo Express or the regular train.

In the end we opted for the 14 Euros first class ticket, hoping for the best. And luckily it turned out to be the right one. As in fact there is no first and second class on the train. The first class ticket is the ticket for the Leonardo Express, the second class ticket is for the regular train. Easy peasy … if you know it.

Whether we take the Leonardo Express back to the airport or splash out on a cab isn’t decided yet … probably depends what’s left in our travel budget.

Best way to get from the airport into Rome - Travel for a Living

Leave a Reply

2 Comments

  1. Easiest Way to get around Rome - Travel for a Living

    […] arrived at the airport, made our way into town and since our hotel was fairly close by Termini Station, we simply walked there. As we arrived late […]

    Reply
  2. What to do in Rome in Two Hours - Travel for a Living

    […] were starting our two-hour walking tour at Termini, Rome’s main train station. If you are arriving from the airport by train, Termini is where you get off the […]

    Reply