Rome, Italy Hotels and City Guide

Rome - Getting There

Leonardo da Vinci Airport has excellent passenger facilities within its three terminals. These include a bureau de change, numerous 24-hour ATMs, bars, restaurants and first-class shopping centres that include duty-free. Terminal A also houses an Executive Centre, providing a wide range of facilities for the business traveller.

For those looking to hire a car on arrival in Rome, there are many car rental companies represented at Leonardo da Vinci Airport. Car hire companies include Avis, Italy by Car, Europcar, Hertz, Maggiore Budget, Targa Rent, Auto Europa and Sixt. To find great deals for rental cars at Leonardo da Vinci Airport, visit our Car Rental page.

Leonardo da Vinci Airport has good passenger car parking facilities. There are four short-term multi-storey car parks at the airport that are directly linked to the terminals via pedestrian walkways. In addition, a long-term car park is situated on the motorway running between Rome and Fiumicino. A shuttle bus service runs between the long-term car park and Leonardo da Vinci Airport every 15 minutes.

Rome - Ciampino Airport
Rome Ciampino airport (CIA) is located around 10 miles (15 kms) south-east of central Rome on the Via Appia Nuova. CIA airport is Rome's second airport, providing charter flights and regional European flights and budget airlines including Ryanair and Easyjet.
Ciampino has four passenger terminals with a range of facilities and services including bars, restaurants and shops, information desks, ATMs, nurseries, business services, first aid and modern disabled facilities. CIA airport has parking for 1900 cars with major car rental companies on-site including Avis, Europcar, Hertz and Maggiore.

To find great deals for rental cars at Leonardo da Vinci Airport, visit our Car Rental page.

Getting Into Rome

From Fiumicino airport:
Transport options from Fiumicino Leonardo Da Vinci Airport to central Rome include:

Train: Two trains operate from Fiumicino airport into Rome: the Leonardo Express direct service to the Termini Station runs every 30 minutes at 7 and 37 minutes past the hour from 6.37am to 23.37. The metropolitan FM1 train lto Roma Tiburtina station leaves every 20 minutes, stopping at Trastevere, Ostiense, and Tiburtina. Journey time is around 40 minutes. Tickets for both trains are available from airport vending machines.

Coach: Several coach operators serve Fiumicino airport. Terravision coaches take about 70 minutes to reach Rome’s Termini Station – returns from €15. Departures approximately every two hours. Schiaffini Travel and Cotral provide occasional daytime and night services.

Shuttle: Airport Connection Services provides shuttles between any Rome hotel and the airport (7am to 7pm). Up to two people can travel for a flat rate of €30. Book in advance.

Car: Free shuttle buses link the terminal building to long-term parking areas. From the airpirt the A12 Rome-Fiumicino highway links to the G.R.A motorway encircling Rome.

Taxi/limousines: Taxis cost around €40-60 into central Rome – private limousines more – with a journey time of around 30-40 minutes.

From Ciampino airport:
Transport options from Rome Ciampino Airport to central Rome include:

Train: There are no direct trains operating from Ciampino airport to Rome but Cotral buses connect passengers to the Ciampino town station 'Anagnina' every 20 minutes. From there
trains into Rome are every 10 minutes and take about 45 minutes to the Termini Station, continuing onto the Spanish Steps and Vatican.

Bus: Regular buses operate from the airport to the Anagnina metro station for Line A trains to the Termini Station.

Coach: Several coach operators serve central Rome: Terravision coaches take around 40 minutes to the Termini station with departures every 15 minutes at peak times. Returns from €13.50. Cotral/Schiaffini services link passengers with Rome’s Anagnina subway station via Ciampino railway station between 6am and 10.40pm.

Car: CIA airport is a short distance to from the Rome city ring road (GRA) and from the main road system of the north-south and east-west motorways from Rome from Via Appia Nuova in the direction of "Castelli Romani".

Taxis: Taxi fares to central Rome cost around €35 – a journey time of around 20 minutes.

By Rail
The Italian State Railway, Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) (tel: 892 021), runs a fast and efficient service throughout the country. Tickets can be purchased by credit card online (and then either picked up at one of the automatic ticket machines dotted across Rome station or aboard the train if you choose the ‘ticketless' option during the web transaction) or by phone at the number above. Stazione Termini, Piazza Cinquecento, is Rome's main station. Its extensive facilities include left-luggage, carabinieri (army) and police stations, a tourist information office, a hotel reservation point, an Internet point, money exchange, four banks with ATMs, a post office, car and scooter hire, a ticket agency selling tickets for concerts and sporting events, bars, restaurants and over 100 shops (including the department store Upim) selling everything from clothes to gifts.

Other important stations include Tiburtina, Piazzale della Stazione Tiburtina; Trastevere, Piazza F Biondo, at the end of Viale Trastevere; and Ostiense, Piazzale Ostiense. Automatic ticket machines are located in all main stations. Tickets must be validated in the yellow machines located on the station platforms prior to boarding, in order to avoid fines.

Rail services: Most long-distance trains run to Termini station, which is also the main hub for the local transport network (metro and bus). However, the importance of the less centrally located stations (Tiburtina and Ostiense) grows as the night draws on and trains cease to run to Termini station.

All international trains, including direct services to Paris (journey time - 13 hours to Gare de Lyon; 14 hours 20 minutes to Paris Bercy), Munich (journey time - 11 hours), Vienna (journey time - 13 hours) and Zurich (journey time - 12 hours), leave from Termini station. Intercity or InterCity Plus (in some cases) trains run from Termini to all major Italian cities, including Florence, Naples and Milan. Venice can only be reached on the faster Eurostar service (journey time - 4 hours 30 minutes), or by taking a Eurostar train to Bologna and then an Intercity to Venice.

Eurostar trains are at least 20% more expensive but also faster since they only stop at major cities like Florence (journey time - 1 hour 40 minutes), Bologna (journey time - 2 hours 40 minutes), Milan (journey time - 4 hours 30 minutes) and Naples (journey time - 1 hour 50 minutes).

Naples can also be reached from Rome on the first completed section of Italy's North-South high-speed rail line. The TAV (Treno Alta Velocità) between Rome and Naples takes 1 hour 30 minutes. Tickets for Eurostar trains are always accompanied by a reservation for a specific train; if you miss that train you have to go to the ticket counter and pay the booking fee again.

By Road
Motorways (autostrade) are prefixed by the letter ‘A'; European roads by the letter ‘E' and state roads are prefixed by the letters ‘SS' (strada statale). Over 85% of motorways have tolls. Road signs are international and traffic drives on the right. Undimmed headlights are prohibited in towns and cities but are compulsory when passing through tunnels and headlights must be switched on at all times on autostrade and strade statali. The minimum age for driving is 18 years. Passengers are required by law to wear seat belts. The legal alcohol to blood ratio is 0.05%. Speed limits are 130kph (80mph) on motorways, 90/110kph (56/68mph) on country roads, and 50kph (30mph) in urban areas. Fines for speeding and other driving offences are on-the-spot and particularly heavy. All vehicles must carry a red warning triangle, available at border posts, and a yellow or orange reflective jacket (or two) which must be worn at night or in bad visibility if your car breaks down on a motorway. There is an on-the-spot fine for failing to wear it.

UK driving licences and EU pink-format licences are valid in Italy (UK green licences must be accompanied by an International Driving Permit) and a Green Card and motor insurance certificate are strongly recommended. A driving licence or a motorcycle driving licence is required for motorcycles over 49cc and the wearing of crash helmets is compulsory. Visitors should note that many petrol stations in town close between 1300 and 1500, though some now offer the self-service option payable by credit card. The AA or RAC in Britain and the AAA in America have reciprocal agreements with the Automobile Club d'Italia (ACI) (tel: (06) 49981), who provide a useful advisory service as well as dealing with breakdowns.

Emergency breakdown service:
ACI (tel: 803 116). Routes to the city: Rome is encircled by a network of motorways. The A12 leads into Rome from the west and the A24 from the east. Ciampino Airport is connected to the city by Via Appia Nuova (SS7). The A1 runs between Rome, Florence and Milan, while to reach Venice, drivers should turn off the A1 at Bologna and take the A13. Driving times to Rome: From Florence - 2 hours 30 minutes; from Milan - 6 hours; and from Venice - 6 hours.
Coach services: Eurolines Italia (tel: 199 184 616) runs international coaches, with connections to cities throughout Europe, such as London (via Paris). Be prepared for a 31-hour journey, however. There is no central coach station in Rome, so coaches depart and terminate in front of Tiburtina train station, Via Tiburtina (metro stop Tiburtina). Domestic coach services covering northbound routes terminate outside the metro stations of Lepanto, Ponte Mammolo and Tiburtina, while those covering southbound routes terminate outside the Anagnina, Laurentina and EUR Magliana metro stops.

Hotels in Rome, Italy