geosch

cost?

PWMTrav

EUR 14 each way. Google is your friend

Perche

Think about where the bus will drop you off, and then how much it will cost to get you to your hotel. If you only travel with a shoulder bag, know your way around, and are a strong walker, it doesn't matter where you get dropped off. But if you have roller-wheel suitcases, especially a four wheeler, walking across town in Rome on cobble stone streets will mean that you will need to get new luggage very soon. The buses from the airport stop at five different places in Rome. If where they drop you off is not close to your final destination you will have to either do a lot of walking or take a cab, which could seriously raise the price. If your final destination is really Termini, and you are not looking to get to another part of Rome and you are on a really tight budget, just take the Terravision bus because it is less than half the price of the train. That's a personal value decision. You didn't give your arrival time. The Terravision bus goes every half hour but I don't think it goes late at night.

geosch

"cost?" was meant as a reason not to prefer the Leonardo Express (I consider 14 € quite expensive; this is more than what I pay for taking the train from NRT into downtown Tokyo, for example)

Yes, my flight times in and out are during the day, so that should not be an issue with the busses (yes, I know there can be traffic jams).

I am just specifically wondering

a) if you buy an online ticket for Terravision can you directly board the bus with it (as opposed to queuing at some ticket/checkin booth)

and

b) whether Schiaffini/Rome Airport Bus has more expensive on-board/walk-up prices than online or whether they are the same (in Terravision's case the differ)

Of course any somewhat recent experience with those two bus companies on the FCO-Termini route would be appreciated to learn about. Thanks.

Perche

Where are you going to in Rome? There are 5 major bus stops. If you are not going to be near one of them, consider the extra cost of getting from the bus stop to the hotel. There is no difference in price between Schiaffino and Terravision, they each cost about 4 euros each way. Bus is the cheapest way to get from the airport to Rome. I can understand being on a budget. But where in Rome are you trying to go? That is about as vague as saying I want to go to Tokyo, which is a major, sprawled out city. Rome is also sprawled out. I wouldn't try to save 2 euros if it means I have to walk five miles once I get to Termini.

There is not going to be anyone who has take both bus companies from FCO to Rome, who can do anything more than give you an anecdote. Just take either one. They will be the same.

geosch

As I said, I actually need to go to Termini.
For Terravision, the 4 € each way price seems to be valid only when pre-booking online. The walk-up prices are higher.
Schiaffini does advertise an 8 € r/t price, but separate tickets seem to be more expensive (at least for getting into town). What I could not find any reliable (i.e. recent) information about are Schiaffini's walk-up/on-board prices.
This is what I was hoping someone could provide here.

On the way back, I could also depart from EUR-Magliana. I read that there's a bus service from there to FCO. Any experience with that? Is it reliable (during the day/early evening)? Is it better to take that bus than first taking the metro into the city centre and then a bus to FCO?

Perche

I guess I'm confused. Yes, if you pre-book online you save about one or two euro, it's that way with all airport buses. What is the problem with that, pre-booking online if you want to save a euro each way? Schiaffino costs the same, about 4 euros each way, but what do you mean by separate tickets? One ticket, FCO to Termini, 4 euros. EUR Magliana is so far away from Termini that you'd have to take a bus or a cab or a train to get there, and I don't see how that shaves the cost off of a ticket that only costs 4 euros. You don't have to queue and exchange your e-ticket, all you have to do is show it to the bus driver on your phone. It doesn't hurt to print it out anyway, I do that with plane tickets because there are occasional glitches with the phone, like running out of battery power. Just buy the ticket on-line, print it, go to the bus. I don't get the question about EUR. It's not near Termini.

geosch

Thanks for all the input so far. I was not aware that in Italy, apparently, different online pre-booking vs. on-the-spot prices are so common-place that it's hardly worth mentioning. I'm not used to that from other countries for public (non long-distance) transport (with the exception of Easybus in the UK, of course).

Maybe I have to formulate my questions even more clearly: on my way back, I will need to start near EUR-Magliana anyway. Cost-wise it does not matter whether I take the metro to EUR-Magliana or to termini. Therefore I am wondering whether it might be advisable to take the bus (Cortal) from EUR-Magliana to FCO instead of taking a bus from Termini to FCO. The Cortal bus seems to run very rarely though, just once an hour. Also, I have no idea how prepared they are for taking luggage. Anyone ever took that route?

As for the ticket on the phone aspect, one company (I think it was Terravision) on their web pages explicitly denies that option. I guess that their procedures might require their drivers/other employees/employees of their subcontractor to physically collect the ticket for further internal processing.

Palal

Sorry, no experience with the Cortal bus, but from EUR-Magliana, you may also want to consider taking the train from Roma-Ostiense (a few stops up on the metro) which takes ½ an hour and runs every 15 mins and costs 8€. That may also be your backup plan if you decide not to take the Cortal bus.

geosch

For the record: I decided to book online with Schiaffini (RT 8 €) since their departure times were convenient for me. The booking process was probably as low-tech an online transaction can get these days (payment processed via Paypal; no option to specify times; wierd-looking scanned-in ticket to be downloaded). It was sufficient to walk up to the bus stop and present the printout on boarding (saved time searching for the ticket booth); the journey in and out took 45 and 50 mins., respectively. Both times the bus left on time by the minute. All-in-all, an uneventful and pleasant trip.

beltway

Looking for quick advice on taking a train in from FCO:

We're staying in the historic center, between the river and Piazza Navona. Given that Termini isn't all that close, I'm tempted to take the less expensive commuter train into Trastevere or Ostiense & then catch a cab from there to the hotel. Is there any reason to pick one station over the other, apart from the obvious fact that it takes 5 more minutes to reach Ostiense?

KLouis

If you don't mind walking a little, you could even take the tram from Trastevere (closer to P.zza Navona than Ostiense) to Argentina and then walk the 200 m. Taxi from Trastevere should be fine, though, especially if you have luggage.

beltway

I considered the #8 tram, but after an overnight flight I'm not sure we'll be up for train->tram->taxi. Thanks for the suggestion; perhaps we'll try it if we're feeling ambitious.

El Boocho

Is romeshuttlelimousine.com still a reputable outfit? Any recent data points are appreciated. Arriving Rome with my wife, 2 young kids, and older mother, after a flight from North America so I'm keen to avoid the taxi queue/scrum. Many thanks.

rove312

I used them last month, was fine.