Rome FCO Airport to City Center by Bus

[euro cruiser]

I tried something new (for me, and relatively recent in Rome) last week to get into town and back, the Terravision bus. I was very pleased with the service.

 

The regular fare is very inexpensive at 6 Euro per person, one way or 11 Euro round trip. They are running a special at the moment for only 4 Euro per person, which we took advantage of.

 

The bus leaves from the bays (parked at #3) at the end of Terminal 3, the terminal that international flights arrive into. We walked out of the secure area, turned right and walked just past the end of the building to the bus. We bought our tickets from the agent at the bus stop.

 

Luggage goes into an undercarriage storage area and the bus is a large, comfortable tour coach, not a city-type bus. As it was a Sunday morning there was little traffic on the drive into the city and we were there in about 45 minutes.

 

The bus stop in Rome is on Via Marsala, the road along the north side of Termini train station (near the intersection of Viale Castro Pretorio).

 

The return trip was just as easy, leaving from the same place in Rome and dropping off at the same place at the airport. For those leaving from Terminal 5 at FCO, remember that the bus stop is on the lower level of the airport and you need to go into Terminal 3 and up one flight to find the shuttle bus that goes out to T5.

 

I found this service far preferable to the train, but I should admit that I've had issues with the Leonard Express for years, so I'm biased. The bus is far less expensive (the train is 14 Euro) and more comfortable because (1) you are guaranteed a seat, which you often don't get on the train, and (2) you don't have to deal with your luggage or worry about it during the ride in.

 

One caveat is the time difference - the bus does take longer than the train and can be impacted by traffic. If you have a tight train connection in Rome this probably isn't your best option.

 

Web site and more information here: http://www.terravision.eu/rome_fiumicino.html

[euro cruiser]

 

I'm not sure if this helps much, but this is the sign at the bus stop at Terminal 3.

[cruisemom42]

I just took a look at their schedule and it looks like they've added an earlier morning departure from FCO which is helpful -- last time I checked it there was a big gap between one early departure and an 8:30 am departure. A lot of flights arrive early a.m. from the US, so this seems to make sense.

[euro cruiser]

The printed schedule that I got with my tickets has departures from FCO starting at 5:35 AM, then at 7:45, 8:30, 9:10, 10:25, 11:05, 11:55 and throughout the day until 11 PM.

 

Returns to the airport from Rome start at 4:40 AM, the one we were on (:eek:).

 

An interesting side note about arriving that early at FCO; I was concerned about whether or not the shuttle bus to T5 would be running that early. When we got up to the stop at about 5:25 AM a bus was waiting and we left a few minutes later. We got to T5 around 5:35 AM and found a sign at the United check in area that said they open at 7 AM! It turned out to be wrong, an employee showed up a few minutes later and we were checked in and through security by 6:15 or so. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 8:45 AM so I didn't know how they were going to manage it only starting at 7 AM, but clearly the sign was outdated.

[db37]

I had just posted a question about Terravision and then I scrolled down the posts and found your (Euro Cruiser) very informative write-up so thanks for the great info! I think we'll try this service!