SNAP GUIDE
Rome: Essentials
TO / FROM THE AIRPORT
Aeroporto Leonardo da Vinci di Fiumicino (FCO)
011-39/06-65-951, adr.it
Express rail: The Leonardo Express is a nonstop train that runs between the airport and Termini station, the city's main train station. Departs from the airport to Termini every 30 minutes 6:35 a.m.--11:35 p.m.; to the airport every 30 minutes 6 a.m.-- 11 p.m. Trip time is 30 min., $12 each way. Local rail: FR1 metropolitan trains leave the airport every 15--30 minutes, with service to Roma-Trastevere (24 min.), Roma-Ostiense (29 min.), Roma-Tuscolana (34 min.), and Roma-Tiburtina (44 min.). This train does not stop at Termini station. Trains run from the airport 6 a.m.--11:30 p.m.; to the airport from Tiburtina 5 a.m.--10:30 p.m. $6.25 each way.
Look for ferrovia (rail station) signs for Local and Express trains in the airport terminal, then follow a series of escalators and covered passageways to the three-track platform of the airport train station. Buy tickets from window agents or automatic vending machines (cash or credit), or at the newsstand (cash only) on the platform. Validate your ticket at the orange time-stamping machines before boarding the train. Luggage carts are not allowed on trains.
Aeroporto G.B. Pastine di Ciampino (CIA)
011-39/06-794-941, adr.it
Public transportation: From the airport, take a blue COTRAL bus (011-39/06-57-031, cotralspa.it) to Roma-Anagnina, then metro line A to the city center. Most are modern coaches, but some are like school buses, with vinyl seats and no A/C. Purchase bus tickets from the ticket machine or pay extra on board. Buy metro tickets from the tabaccherie (tobacco stores) or newsstands. Total trip time to the city is about an hour, $2.50 each way. Private coach: Modern, air-conditioned, and upholstered Schiaffini buses (011-39/06-474-4534, schiaffini.com) run between Ciampino and Termini station seven times a day. Buy tickets from the Schiaffini desk or onboard. Trip time is 44 min., $6.25 each way. Cash only.
Traveling Around Italy: Discount train cards & passes
GETTING AROUND
City Buses, Trams, and Metro ATAC
Agenzia per la Mobilità: 800-431-784 (within Italy), atac.roma.it
Regular buses and trams run 5:30 a.m--midnight; metro lines 5:30 a.m.--11:30 p.m. (until 12:30 a.m. on Saturdays). Night buses, marked by an "N" after the bus number, operate between midnight and 5:30 a.m. The 29N does a loop that includes stops at the Colosseum, the Vatican, and Villa Borghese. The 78N runs between Termini and Piazzale Clodio by way of the centro storico (historic city center) and the Prati area near the Vatican. Download a map of the bus and tram system from atac.roma.it, or purchase a city map with bus routes at newsstands throughout the city. Buy tickets at tabaccherie (tobacco stores) and some newsstands. The green ticket-vending machines outside major bus stops are usually out of order.
Standard tickets (BIT) for buses, trams, and metro are valid for 75 minutes from time of stamping. The BIT ticket allows unlimited transfers on buses and trams, but only one transfer on the metro (e.g., between lines A and B). Single-ride tickets are $1.25. Daily tickets (BIG) cost $5 and are valid for 24 hours of unlimited travel from time of stamping. Three-day tourist tickets (BTI) cost $14 and are valid until midnight on the third day of use. Weekly tickets (CIS) cost $20 and are valid for unlimited travel until midnight on the seventh day of use.
COTRAL Regional Buses
011-39/06-57-031, cotralspa.it
Most day-trip destinations are served by this regional bus line. Buses to the Etruscan necropolis at Cerveteri and the beaches north of Rome depart from Cornelia metro station; buses to Villa d'Este and Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli and Palestrina (a quiet medieval town with an ancient hillside sanctuary) depart from Ponte Mammolo metro station; buses to local beach resorts Sabaudia and San Felice Circeo depart from Laurentina metro station. Depending on season and destination, 5--10 buses a day. Tickets $2--$4.50. Cash only.
