Lucca Travel Forum

Anyone know the fastest way to get from Rome to Lucca by public transport? Many thanks

I didn't find a direct bus from Rome to Lucca on the SITA website (www.sitabus.it), perhaps someone else knows better...

As for the train, the answer is 3.75 to 4 hours. You go Rome to Florence by Eurostar (1.5 hours), wait to change trains, then take a regional train to Lucca (also 1.5 hours or so). See www.trenitalia.com

Bill

The fastes is a plane from Pisa (maybe!)
Like today, saturday, there are four direct flights by Alitalia at 7:20 - 11:15 - 15:00 and 19:10
fare should start from 69 Euro till 140 Euro one way plus 44,06 euro of taxes
www.alitalia.it

Form Lucca town center to Pisa's airport there about 30 km, an ordinary bus to get there it takes quite a long as it has many stop, here
http://www.vaibus.com/pdf/Quadri%20Orari%20Extraurbani.pdf at page 14 and 15 you'll find the time table of line Q3 Lucca-S.Giuliano Terme-S.Maria Giudice-Ripafratta-Pisa. It must be something direct, I don't know.

I hope it helps. ciao

ops!! IT WAS FROM ROME TO LUCCA!!

let say from Fiumicino airport Alitalia's plane leaves at 9:50 - 14:30 - 17:50 and 21:25 It's about 1 hour trip.

Then for timetable of the bus it's the same file
http://www.vaibus.com/pdf/Quadri%20Orari%20Extraurbani.pdf
at page 12 and 13.

I found this timetable from www.pisa-airport.com
http://www.pisa-airport.com/sat/cda/aree/index.php?idArea=5&idSection=5&page=lucca&service=yes

You can buy tickets from the information office in the air terminal.
The bus terminus is located just outside the Airport Arrivals area.
For further information click on www.lazzi.it

Bravo, cgf! Very imaginative!

You know, they say that when traveling within Europe, trips of less than 250 miles are usually faster by train than by air, because of the fact that airports are outside of town while train stations are in town, because of the extra security, and so on. So let's test the theory...

The total trip that cgf describes seems faster, but...30 minutes (non rush hour, otherwise longer) to get from Rome to the airport, 1 hour to check in and wait around, 1 hour of flight (cgf's estimate, may be shorter), 30 minutes to wait for the next bus (estimate, buses leave about once an hour), and 50-60 minutes to get to Lucca...hmmmn, hey, that's 4 hours(!). So, depending on the connections, the flight could actually be longer than the train. Of course, the 3.75 to 4 hours for the train doesn't count the time it takes to get in Rome to Termini, but it is almost always a shorter trip to Termini than Fiumicino.

For direct trains (like Rome to Florence), the train trip is clearly faster than flying, but for trips that require changes, the answer is "it depends".

And the train fare (Rome to Lucca) is about 34 euro...

Hmmmn, how about this? Take the train from Rome to Pisa (amazingly, the change of train through Florence is only 3 hours, while the direct train from Rome is at least 3.5 to 4 hours). The bus that cgf referred to looks like it passes near the central train station on the first stop after it leaves the airport (Via Crispi), so you could either go to the airport or walk a few hundred meters to the next stop and take the bus...of course, this trip won't be faster than the 3.75 hours you get on the train...

Bill

Bill, my advice was not a substitution of yours, just an other way to get there.

Betty lives in Melbourne, AU and she probably arrive to Fiumicino before Lucca, there are four flights a day, I thought it might be faster having a flight to Lucca beside if she will come to Italy with an Alitalia's intercontinental flight, the trip to Pisa will have no cost; beside Pisa airport is not so far and unconfortable from Lucca, less then 30 km. Hiring a car or get a taxi it won't be expensive.. she wrote something fast not cheap and that'll be what I would do if I had to go from Rome (Fiumicino) to Lucca.

If I were already in Rome downtown, sure it's waste of time to go to Fiumicino and I'd catch the train to Lucca changing at Florence or Pisa as there is not direct train but it's different if I'm already at Fiumicino Airport, no waste of time to go to town, already pass security as lately in Fiumicino you have to pass security as well when you arrive, security not just passport control, Alitalia check limit time from Fiumicino to Italy is 30 minutes, my plane might be approaching to Pisa meanwhile the train leaves Rome. She has more possibilities, from www.alitalia.it and from www.trenitalia.com (flight and train) she will take her decisions.

When I use Alitalia for an intercontinental flight I have to go to (or back from) Milan or Rome as the intercontinental are leaving/arriving from/to there. I found is more pleasant to get there (at the same price) with a closer home airport which there are four flights to Rome and other four to Milan each day, doing so surely is less stress especially when I come back from South America I have almost a couple hours at the lounge after more then eleven hours of flight, no feeling to take any train.

"I thought it might be faster having a flight to Lucca beside if she will come to Italy with an Alitalia's intercontinental flight, the trip to Pisa will have no cost; " - very true...actually, I was sincere in my "bravo!" because I never think of flying within Italy, yet the country is long enough that it should be a consideration, for the right discount airline...certainly, if it is part of an international flight, staying at the airport makes a lot of sense...hmmn, you know, I myself have flown from Milan to Rome on Meridiana, you would think that I would remember that...oh well...

Bill