Now that you’ve decided to visit Rome, it’s time to figure out the best way to get from the Rome airport to the city centre. This is an important decision as the Rome Fiumicino Airport (also known as the Leonardo Da Vinci Airport or simply the FCO Airport) is over 30 km from the Rome Termini Station, a major train station and transportation hub in the Rome city centre. In this post, we review the 5 best methods of transportation from the Rome Airport to the city.
This post about airport transportation is written for all visitors to Rome, but if you are visiting Rome with a baby or toddler, we also provide the information and recommendations you need to make the best & safest choice for your family. It’s no longer just about cost and convenience, now you need to think about Rome car seat laws as well.
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5 Ways to Get From the Rome Airport to City Centre
So how do you get from the Rome Fiumicino Airport to your hotel? We have listed your airport transportation options in order of convenience:
1. Rome Airport Private Transfers
Private transfers are so convenient, we believe they are the best way to get from the Fiumicino airport your hotel. Instead of getting into a taxi line, your personal driver will greet you at your arrival gate with your family name on a sign. Who doesn’t love that?
Private transfers from the airport to the city need to be booked in advance and will generally cost you a flat fee. The convenience and personal service of this airport transportation from the FCO Airport straight to your hotel isn’t as expensive as you’d think. In fact, airport transfers are often the same cost as a taxi from the Rome Airport.
Families needing to travel from the FCO airport to their baby-friendly Rome hotel with a baby will appreciate the ability to pre-book an infant car seat. This is the safest method of airport transportation for your baby to travel and it respects local car seat laws.
We have booked private transfers several times after trans-Atlantic flights with our kids. After such a long travel day with kids, we simply love the affordable luxury and pure convenience of this airport transfer service.
Welcome Pickups is a Rome airport transfer service which provides a private driver and car from the Leonardo da Vinci – Fiumicino airport to directly to the door of your hotel, all for the same price as getting in line for a FCO airport taxi. Welcome Pickups is baby-friendly and provides infant car seats if requested at time of your reservation.
In addition to your convenient airport transfer, Welcome Pickups simplifies your trip planning by offering essential products (such as local SIM-cards or mobile hot spots) and experiences (such as tours, day trips, restaurant suggestions, etc.).
2. Rome Airport Taxi
If you aren’t traveling with a baby or toddler, then taking a Rome airport taxi to city centre is simple and fast. The cost of a taxi from the Rome Fiumicino airport to city center is currently a fixed rate of €48.
For new parents traveling from the Rome FCO airport to their hotel with a baby, a Rome airport taxi is not a good option. Licensed Rome taxis cannot be pre-booked and the odds of randomly getting a Rome taxi with a baby seat is virtually nil.
If the speed and convenience of an airport taxi appeals to you, but you don’t want to bring your car seat from home, then we recommend taking Welcome Pickups from FCO to your Rome hotel.
3. Leonardo Express Rome Airport Train
The Leonardo Express airport train is a fast and easy and option to get from the FCO train station to the Rome Termini train station in city centre. The Rome airport express train takes approximately 30 mins and tickets start at €14 per person, making it one of the cheapest options available. Children under 4 travel for free on the Leonardo Express airport train without a reserved seat.
The Roma Termini station is centrally located and from here you can walk, take the metro or the bus or risk a shorter taxi ride without a car seat. We do not recommend taking your baby in a taxi without a car seat, however taxis are typically exempt from the mandatory car seat requirements.
For those travelling with a baby or toddler in Rome, you do not need car seats for the Leonardo Express airport express train.
It’s quick and easy to buy your Leonardo Express airport train tickets on the ItaliaRail website. Simply request train tickets from Fiumicino Aeroporto (FCO) to the Roma Termini station.
4. Terravision Airport Bus
Terravision operates a non-stop airport bus service from the Fiumicino Airport to the Rome Termini Station. At roughly €7 per person, it is your cheapest option to get from the Rome Fiumicino Airport to city center, but this airport bus takes twice as long as the Leonardo Express airport train.
Children under 4 travel on the Rome airport Terravision bus for free. If you have the extra time or are visiting Rome on a budget, this FCO airport transportation option is a fraction of the cost of a private car service with child seats.
For our visit to Rome with our kids, we took the airport bus to the Roma Termini, followed by a public bus to our vacation home rental apartment.
We chose to take the Rome airport bus as our flight arrived well before our check-in time at our central Rome vacation home rental apartment, so we had lots of time and figured we’d save some money. Had we been able to check in right away, we’d likely have opted for the convenience of a private transfer.
5. Rome Airport Shuttle Van
An airport shuttle from the Fiumicino airport to Rome is the only non-taxi airport transfer in Rome where you get door-to-door service to your final destination (hotel, vacation rental, etc). Your airport shuttle van will wait at the FCO airport until it has collected enough passengers to fill the seats, which typically doesn’t take long during the busier times of day.
The Rome airport shuttle will then drop everyone at their hotels in the most efficient way possible. How long this takes varies, as you don’t know how long you have to wait at the airport before the shuttle van is full and you also do not know if you will be dropped off first, last or in the middle.
Shuttle Direct offers this service for €11.50 per person and this is a great option for single travelers from Fiumicino airport to Rome.
We don’t recommend airport shuttle vans for parents traveling with a baby or toddler. Babies are not free and car seats are not available. Given a family of three costs €34.50, we’d splurge and spend a little extra on the safety and convenience of a private transfer to travel from the Rome Fiumicino airport to the city center.
Is There Uber in Rome?
The regular ‘taxi’ Uber service does not currently operate in Rome, although the premium Uber Black, Uber Lux and Uber Van options are available at nearly twice the cost of a private transfer or taxi. Learn more about how to Uber with a baby.
Get Free Public Transportation With the Rome City Pass
If you plan on seeing many of Rome’s top attractions, consider purchasing a Rome City Pass. This popular Rome discount card includes free admission to tons of top Rome attractions (including the Vatican, the Colosseum and the Roman Forum) as well as unlimited access to the public transportation system around Rome.
Rome Hotels Near the Rome Termini Station
If you choose one of the Rome airport transportation options above which take you directly to the Rome Termini train station, staying at a Rome hotel nearby will reduce your need to walk with luggage or take a taxi.
We use Booking.com as we like their lists of family-friendly hotels. See the top family-friendly Rome hotels near the Rome Termini train station.
Vacation home rentals offer lots of baby-friendly amenities, such as laundry facilities, separate bedrooms and a full kitchen. There are many vacation home rentals near the Rome Termini train station.
Should I Bring a Car Seat to Rome?
Taxis are typically exempt from mandatory car seat requirements, but as a parent, you must decide if this is a risk that you want to take.
We recommend not traveling with your infant car seat unless you plan on renting a car at the Rome airport. There is plenty of baby-friendly transportation from the Rome Fiumicino airport to your hotel. Once at your accommodation, you’ll find Rome is a very walkable, baby-friendly city with good public transportation.
If you bring your car seat to Rome, you will likely find you only use it to and from the airport and it will take up a lot of space in your Rome hotel room (which are typically quite small).
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This post was written & edited by:
Celine Brewer is the owner of Baby Can Travel. Not only does she have years of experience traveling with babies & toddlers, but she's helped millions of new parents travel with their babies and toddlers for over a decade. In addition to writing on her baby travel blog, she has shared her expertise on traveling with a baby or toddler by contributing to articles about traveling with a baby with the Washington Post, USA Today, the Lonely Planet magazine and Pregnancy & Newborn magazine.
Celine also writes about family travel on the site FamilyCanTravel.com, which she co-owns with her husband. Being from the Canadian Rockies, she shares her passion about her home and travel to Banff National Park and area on their site TravelBanffCanada.com.