Thirty kilometers southeast of Rome is the small town of Fiumicino. It is unlikely that its name would be widely known to tourists if it was not for the main airport in Italy, named after the great genius Leonardo da Vinci.
It was built in 1961 with the aim of relieving the very compact Ciampino airport. After undergoing numerous changes, it has become a convenient and safe air harbor, through which approximately forty million passengers pass a year. Its services are used by all VIPs visiting the country, influential politicians and businessmen.
Airport infrastructure
The airport territory is divided into several terminals:
T1 serves passengers with Schengen visas. T2 is intended for charter flights. T3 accepts international flights, passengers of which pass passport control, as well as aircraft of the Italian company Alitalia. T5 serves flights to the USA and Israel. The airport has a cargo terminal, four runways, a waiting room, escalators, baggage claim, a huge lobby, and other specialized premises, the diagram of which can always be seen on the electronic scoreboard.
The terminals offer free Wi-Fi and non-smoking rooms. In the terminal building itself, you can have a snack in a cafe, exchange currency, buy souvenirs or necessary medicines.
There are numerous ATMs at the airport where you can withdraw from a euro card. Other currencies can be obtained at exchange offices operating from 6.00 to 23.00. > The third terminal has a left-luggage office open from 6.30 am to 11.30 pm. The cost of this service is six euros per day.
It will be interesting and useful for parents to know that there is a mother and child room at Fiumicino airport, in which you can leave your child for a certain time. There, experienced nannies will look after him, while moms and dads are busy with shopping, paperwork or other matters. Also, if necessary, passengers can be provided with qualified medical assistance.
Moving around the airport
You can travel between the airport terminals by shuttle buses, which travel free of charge. The interval between flights is 20 minutes. One of them serves terminals T1, T2 and T3, while the other circulates between T3 and T5. You should be aware that from 01.00 to 04.00 these buses arrive only when called by passengers. For this, there are intercom buttons installed at stops. Additionally, Terminal T3 can be reached by a small automatic train.
Registration procedure
All tourists are warned in advance that it is best to arrive for the registration procedure and preliminary control of tickets 2.5 - 3 hours before departure. This is due to the length of this procedure, especially when it comes to departure to the United States and Israel. But for clients who use the services of the airport's VIP lounge, there is an opportunity to go through passport and customs control, receive registration documents and checks for luggage without queuing and long waiting. They offer an airport bar menu, free and unlimited Wi-Fi, and fresh newspapers and magazines.
Refund Tax-free
For tourists arriving from non-EU countries, there is a Tax-free service, which implies a return of 20% of the value of purchased goods, the price of which exceeds 155 euros. There are several intermediary firms dealing with VAT refunds. One of them is Global Blue.
If the seller of the goods has an agreement with her, the money will be returned to the client even before boarding the plane. The rest of the companies transfer money to the customer's card after their departure from Italy. The only condition is the presence of a Tax Refund check, which must be stamped by the customs.
Nearby hotels
Unfortunately, sometimes weather conditions or other unforeseen circumstances force passengers to wait all night for departure. In order not to spend this time at the airport, you can use the services of hotels located near the exits from the terminals. There are only three such establishments, and these include:
Hilton Roma Airport
This is a rather expensive hotel, class "4 stars", where customers are provided with a high level of service, varied cuisine and many additional services included in the price of accommodation, which is about 200 euros per night.
Hilton Garden Inn Rome Airport
The hotel also belongs to the "4 stars" class and has approximately the same range of services as the option described above. The room rate per night is approximately 130 euros.
Welcome Airport Hotel
Refers to budget establishments "2 stars", where you can inexpensively, but quite comfortably spend the night, waiting for departure.
To save money, you can go to Fiumicino, where you can find a hotel, where you can stay between 30 and 70 euros per night.
How to get from the airport to the center
The journey from Leonardo da Vinci Airport to Rome does not take long and does not present any difficulties, as there are many types of transport available to passengers.
Bus routes
Perhaps the most easily accessible means of transportation is the Cotral bus. But there are two significant drawbacks, which include inconvenience when transporting bulky baggage and the lack of night flights.
Railway transport
The most economical way to travel is by rail. The disadvantages of this option include the low speed of this type of transport and problems with the transportation of bulky baggage.
Taxi
It is a convenient but expensive form of transport. Its cost, according to the municipal tariff, is 40 euros. This includes baggage transportation. The number of passengers should not be more than four people.
When using the services of local taxi drivers, you need to be prepared for the fact that he can call a higher price, counting on the inexperience of the tourist. But the correct indication of the real price puts everything in its place, although it slightly reduces the driver's mood.
Transfer
This is the most convenient way to get from the airport to Rome and has almost no drawbacks. First of all, passengers traveling with children pay attention to it. Having discussed this detail in advance, the client receives a car with seats equipped for babies, and a spacious luggage compartment, where large hand luggage, a stroller and so on can fit. You can also order a car equipped with an additional air conditioning system. And for tourists from Russia, a Russian-speaking driver is provided, who can tell a lot of interesting things about Italy, its traditions and local attractions.
