Airport-Rome transit tip

The train from Fiumicino Airport to Stazione Termini in central Rome cost €14 (near $20) per person in May ’10.

The airport train station is a little tricky to find but doable. At Termini, though, the train’s platform is far from the other trains and involves a longish walk during which it is easy to become lost. Next, you’ve got to pay for a cab to your hotel. For the two of us, it cost a total of €38 (two train tickets and a 10-euro cab ride, $55).

Alternatively, there is a flat 40-euro cab fare from the airport to central Rome (and vice versa). We paid €2 less but had the big hassle of dragging our luggage to the train station, buying tickets, humping luggage onto the train, finding the cab rank in front of Termini and then dealing with traffic. It took longer, and it was not worth the saving of €2.

On the return, we got a cab very near to our apartment, zipped to the airport with little hassle and luggage handling, paid the €40 and lived happily ever after.

If there are at least two people, it makes so much more sense to take the cab the whole way. Be sure to take a white Rome cab (with “SPQR” on the doors), as non-Rome cabs don’t have to adhere to the fixed rate. The fixed rate of €40 is actually on signs at the airport and at every taxi rank in Rome, so there is no argument about the cost, and there are no luggage fees or add-ons.

JAMIE OSBORNE

Kailua, HI