Train to Rome airport

A month before my husband, Thom, and I took a trip to Italy, April 16-May 10, 2013, we bought Italy train passes from the Rick Steves website; Eurail passes must be purchased in the US and, within six months of purchase, must be validated in Europe before your first train ride. Our 4-day, single-country Saver Pass (for two people traveling together) cost $454 for the two of us, riding in second class.

We flew into Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, spent five nights on our own in the city, then used our train pass to go to Florence to join our Grand Circle Cruise Line small-ship trip, “The Rivieras: France, Italy & the Isles.” At the end of this excellent trip, we used our railpass to go to Milan for two nights, then headed toward Rome again, stopping in the wonderful town of Arezzo for a night. 

We had no desire to take the train back into Rome and then use the expensive airport train nor to stay another night in Rome, so I began researching a way to use the pass to go directly to the airport. This turned out to be quite easy.

From Arezzo, we took the train to Rome’s Tiburtina Station and transferred to a regionale train, which accepted railpasses. From the airport station, we took a shuttle to our hotel. The next day, we shuttled to the airport. 

There are several suburban stations that regionale trains serve, so you can do this from several points in Italy. 

We were pleased with the newly renovated Courtyard by Marriott (Via Portuense 2470, Fiumicino-Rome, 00054 Italy; in the US, call Marriott at 888/236-2427) at the airport. The hotel is under new management. Our Internet price was €104 (near $135).

MARGO WILSON

Scottsdale, AZ