Puglia Travel Forum

Do any of the several train systems run from Fiumancino Airport in Rome to a destination in Puglia? Is it necessary to go into Rome Termini before catching the train? I'm trying to save time and the 11 euros for taking the train from FCO to Termini

I've caught the train from Rome to lecce and it went from termini. I am almost 99% sure it will not be possible to go direct from FCO to Puglia.

Double check on Trenitalia to make sure -

I think Jen is right.

There are 2 trains from Rome, with the Leonardo Express going only to Termini and the FM1 going to several local stations, including Roma Tiburtina, which actually has a lot of trains around the country.

However, I just looked for Roma Tiburtina to Lecce and to Brindisi, and all solutions from Tiburtina (the only local station that might have long distance trains besides Termini) are routed for a change of trains in Termini anyway.

You could take the FM1 to Tiburtina for 4.50 euro (more or less), but then you would be a kilometer or 2 east of Termini, and, with luggage, would need to taxi over to Termini, erasing most or all of your savings.

This situation of the airport train only going to the central train station in town is not unusual...Pisa is that way, I think Milan is that way (on a private railroad), and so on.

Sorry...

Bill

i was fairly sure i was right bill - FCO is a feeder station - nothing goes through it - they only come to it and then go away

Thank you, Bill, for your time. Looks like it's going to be into Termini and out to Lecce. My travel companion is planning to write something about two very MATURE women traveling on the cheap. To that end we are trying to knock off every bit possible.

what an amusing idea - what fun - well asking on VT for a cheaper option and getting our living treasure macalpin's answer is part of the fun of trying to make travel cheaper - it didn't shave any euros off - but you tried

of course you could !!!!!!!!! if you are totally serious take the train from FCO to Trastevere - in 2006 it cost 5 euro - might have gone up now - then get off at Trastevere and buy a local ticket to termini for 1 euro

that is a saving of 5 euro

oh by the way we didn't mention the amica fare - that is heavily discounted tickets for some trains you have to buy at least 24 hurs before

hahaha! Well, let's make this a game!

In addition to Jen's suggestion of getting on the FM1 and getting off at Trastevere to change trains to go to Termini, you can also take the FM1 to Ostiense (the next stop after Trastevere), then switch to the Metro system (again, for one euro) to go to Termini's Metro stop.

Or, if you flew in on a select list of discount airlines (they check your flight ticket), you can take the Terravision shuttle from Fiumicino to Termini for 7 euro one way or 12 euro round trip! (OK, the trip takes 70 minutes because it goes the long way, it's valid only for certain airlines, and the departures are only once every couple of hours - see http://www.terravision.eu/rome_fiumicino.html# - but it IS cheaper ;-) ).

Or, you could find 2 other people who want to go to Termini from the airport, and all four of you (the maximum) pile into a taxi with all your luggage, and take the fixed far 40 euro ride to the train station - you save one euro each over the Leonard Express!

Or, you could...well, nevermind ;-)

Bill

excellent options mccalpin - and i should point out that changing trains at trastevere cuts out that long long walk from where the leonardo express comes in up to the part of the station where the lecce train leaves - it doesn't save money but it sure saves tramping miles (OK miles is hyperbole)

the termini train from trastevere stops in the main part of the station

OK, my new best friends,(I know I"m pushing my luck!) of the thirty or so train fares offered are any of them applicable to 2 friends(Amici fare?)ages between 68 and 78(Senior fare?)traveling from Rome to Lecce who aren't eligible for anything involving a Cartaviaggio(sp??)membership or EU citizenship. Or do I just put out of my cheap little mind the possibility of saving euros on a one way trip from Termini to Lecce on 18 November, 2007 on the 13:38 train. Of course, second class. Unlikely they have a steerage class.
I'll talk to the "author". If the result of this trip is ever a book, rather than just having one great experience, maybe an acknowledgement for the Puglia duo..............Bill and craic?

The only fares that us foreigners are generally entitled to are the "Standard" fare and the "Amica" fare than Jen referred to. The Amica is about a 20% discount. It applies to a limited number of seats which can sell out, and the ticket must be bought at least the day before...that is, you can't arrive at the airport and get it for same day travel.

Furthermore, the Amica fare is available on the higher speed trains (Eurostars, InterCity, Alta Velocita', etc.). Actually, in Italy, this is really a lot of trains (especially long distance ones), but the point is that any local trains (called "regional") don't offer this fare.

The Leonardo Express is priced as a first class ticket, but otherwise is like a reional train - no Amica fare. The trains from the airport to Trastevere and Ostiense are also regional trains - no discount. However, most trains between long distance routes like Rome and Bari will offer the discount...which means that when you arrive in Bari or wherever, you can look into getting it for the return trip.

Note that there is no discount for roundtrip tickets, so, unless you are scared to death of having all seats on every train sell out (not very likely unless you have very specific time requirements), you can wait until you get to Puglia and sort out when you really want to return before you get your return ticket.

Oh, I have just had a brilliant thought!!! There is a train called "TrenOK", which is the remains of a larger discount scheme by Trenitalia. That is, they used to have trains running up and down Italy at deep discounts, but discontinued most of the routes...except the Rome to Bari route is still running.

Now, only limited trains are eligible, and often they are at funny times, but the discount can be deep.

For example, suppose you left Fiumicino on the Leonardo Express at 12:35, and then caught the Eurostar from Termini to Bari at 13:38. The standard fare is 49 euro (for both segments) in second class. But if you wait until the TrenOK train that leaves Termini at 17:16 (arrives Bari at 22:49), there are seats on that train for 19 euro, 29 euro, and 35 euro (the difference is the limited number of seats in each fare class)! Note that you would still have to pay for getting to Termini. The website for this train is at www.trenok.com - however, it's all on Italian. However, if you go to www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html and look up regular schedules, you will see that this train is listed with the "TOK" icon.

Anyway, if the game is to be CHEAP, you can go from the airport to Termini the cheapest way you can, then park your luggage at the Left Luggage (oh, this will cost some money :-(, wander around Rome for a few hours, then take the 17:16 discount train to Bari and save up to 30 euro each!!!

Hey, we can do this(!) ;-)

Bill

goodness bill you are a genius! i had no idea what TOK meant.

I did look into old people's discounts for trains because my husband is officially an old person and to get them you have to apply for a card and you have to have an italian address but not necessarily be (by my understanding) an itlian citizen

ps i am quite happy to be one of your new best friends

Wow, Bill,
I hate to admit it but plans have changed again. While I was looking for advice for FCO to Rome to Lecce on the same day, my friend decided she wanted to stay in Rome a couple of days. The late train might be a great idea for us. I printed up all your suggestions to digest later.

Besides being a fount of knowledge, you can type faster than I can read. Because I now consider you my resource for all things Puglian, can I pick your brain further? Is it possible to see pratically everything within a 75 mile radius of Lecce by local transport, i.e., bus, train or will I need to rent a car? Car rental is very expensive and could boost my cheap mama trip to the luxe level.(I don't plan to write a book.I just don't want to strip my travel budget and eliminate China/Tibet in March.) It appears that the agencies all rent cars inclusive of practically every insurance available. I further understand that I should now have an international driver's license. It wasn't required a couple of years ago.

A little note to Jen:Thank you for your input, new best friend. Beause you've attained that status, I'm trying not to take umbrage from the old people allusion. Never thought of myself that way.

Sadly, the only place that I've been to on that end of the country is Brindisi, and that was just to pass through on the way to Greece by ferry. So, alas, I will be little help for the surrounding environs except by second hand (I can read the Internet in both English and Italian ;-) ).

Car rental is indeed expensive. The likelihood of a foreign driver having an "incidente stradale" (a "street incident", as they call traffic accidents) is sufficiently high to make insurance of some sort the wise choise. And since your existing car insurance is probably not good in Italy (but do check), insurance through the agency is normally a good choice. Certainly, you do not want to be at the airport about to go home, arguing with a disinterested employee that THAT SCRATCH was already on the car when you got it...with the full insurance, you hand them the keys and get on your plane (more or less).

As for the International Driver's License (IDL), it's actually been required by the police all along, but the car rental agencies didn't demand it, so you can be forgiven for not realizing this. Even now, Avis, for example, now says that they require the IDL along with your local license to rent a car, but I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of rental counter employees couldn't be bothered (they didn't care the last several times I rented a car there). But if you are stopped by a policeperson for any reason, he/she can demand the IDL...so why give the policeperson a reason to hassle you when it's so cheap to get the IDL?

Bill

sorry about the *old people* thing - husband doesn't like it much either in spite of the perks - but i only say it because it teases

we have a member here called dnwitte who knows the south well - perhaps you could drop him a line and ask him some pertinent questions - or post more questions on the forum about the south and yu may lure him out

he was a great help on my first trip to italy in 2004

i don't drive so know nothing of cars - and was lucky when i was in the south to have friends who drove me around - don't miss Otranto - the cathedral is something else

Hey, Bill,
You have a seriously senior woman indebted to you! Now I have a new problem. Once you start out being nice..........
I've found the TOK ticket for 9 euros from Rome to Bari. Fantastic! Part of the ticket issue process with the header of "Services" asks for "Coach" followed by an empty block. This is followed by "Seats". The "seats" block allows only a three number and/or letter entry. I don't know what coach or seat to choose. I've tried emailing Trenitalia but mail is returned with a fatal flaw notice.

Make certain before you help me further that you are interested in becoming my very best friend!

Actually, Jen, no offence taken. I appreciate you help. This my second time to Italy but the first to Puglia. First trip was to Rome, Sorrento and the Amalfi coast.
What a boon Bill is to anyone fortunate to be using VT's website.

Oh, yeah, 9 euro...I was looking at a sample date next week, within 7 days, and I see that the 9 euro tickets disappear unless you do this more than 7 days in advance. But when I entered a date 2 weeks ahead, the 9 euro fare appeared - good for you!

As for the Seats question, I am not seeing the same thing...are you on the trenitalia website (instead of the trenok site)? Well, if it's what I think it is, you don't have to indicate a seat preference - they will assign one to you. You use this feature if one seat is more important to you than another, or, more likely, if there is more than one of you and you want to sit together. But if you are buying two tickets at one time, that shouldn't be a problem, since they'll sit you together anyway (one hopes). Yeas, I just tried it, and it offered me couch 4, seats 74 and 76 (I am guessing they face each other? I'll have to go look up the layout someplace)...

OK?

Bill

I will have to second what Jen says about dnwitte - he has been around a lot more of the South than I have and is a frequent contributor.

He is also responsible for one of my favorite saying about Italy - "Italy is just littered with monuments and ruins and places to see" (well, a close paraphrase). It's true, though. ;-)

Bill

I don't want to get too familiar with a very new friend, but you, Bill, are an absolute doll!

I will check your suggested authority for information on specific "litterings" in southern Italy

Jen, didn't mean to leave you out of the praise for suggesting dnwitte. I will check that authority as soon as I nail down the 9 euro train ticket!

So my cockles were warmed for a little while......Went back to the Trenitalia page for the TOK ticket. One of the icons that comes up under "details" is an 'R'. The R stands for "reservations must be made in Italy" Arrividerci for that one.
My friend and I are arriving from Barcelona 2 days before we need the ticket.

Trenitalia doesn't cater to cheap foreigners. Back to the keyboard.

my nose isn't a bit out of joint

Thought there was something wrong before I read the fare details and found that "R". At purchase point you have to register name, email address. Then TrenItalia will send a password. Friend and I tried 4 different email addresses but never received TI's reply issuing the all important password. Friend right now is scounting her friends in Italy for help.

best of luck - we are off to italy for 6 weeks in november - to the north - and expecting lots of those great italian surprises

like when they change the binario 2 minutes before the train takes off

"One of the icons that comes up under "details" is an 'R'. The R stands for "reservations must be made in Italy" Arrividerci for that one. "

I don't think this means that you have to actually be in Italy to make the reservations. I can't find anything in the fare description that says anything like this. Most discounts state that you have to be a Cartaviaggio holder to get the discount, and you have to have an Italian address to get that card, but this does not say that.

Besides, the whole point of ticketless travel - which this is - is that you make the reservation online and get an email with the PNR (booking number) which you present when you board the train. They really don't care (or even know) where you are when you made the booking.

I think the problem is the way they translated the Italian into English. In Italian it says "Prenotazione obbligatoria in Italia", which just means that to get a seat on this train in Italy, you have to make to make a reservation. What it should have said in English is "[for this train]In Italy, reservations much be made."

Make sense? Go get those tickets! ;-)

Bill

"much", er, "must"...my typing is getting worse and worse :-(...

Bill

Thank you. You have worked wonders, Bill! Acting as free travel agent, translator.... The 9 euro ticket wasn't available, but the 19 euro one was. We are booked on the train from Rome to Bari. We will spend the night in Bari and catch the train to Lecce the following day.
My traveling buddy is responsible for taking care of that.
I leave my TN home on Monday to go to MI to meet my 2 daughters. The three of us will fly out from Detroit to Merida, MX. We are celebrating youngest daughter's having finished 9 months of cancer therapy and surgery.
I will be back in TN for one day before leaving for Spain on Nov 1. Will arrive in Italy on 11/18/07. Looking forward to all of it.
Bill, I am making obeisance in the direction of TX for your incredible help.

that is quite complicated - great as bill is - kudos bill - i don't think he can deal with that

over to you bill

Yikes! No wonder you have to save every penny!

Well, your traveling buddy has it easy...Bari to Lecce is just 1.5 to 2 hours, and half the trains are regional trains...no reservations - you just show up at the station, buy a ticket, validate it at the little machine, and get on (even if you have to stand).

Best wishes to your daughter...I have a niece who developed leukemia at the age of 8...she's now 18(!)...

Bill