GETTING THERE

How to get from Fumicino, Rome to Soriano by train and bus.

You can take a train to Orte and then a bus to Soriano.

By Train: From Rome to Orte. From Fumicino there is a train that goes to Orte. It takes 2 hours.

When you have retrieved your luggage and cleared customs and come out into the arrival foyer, look for signs to the trains. The station is right in the middle of the airport across the road from the terminals. You may have to go upstairs but there are covered walkways to the station. There is a train for Orte almost every hour. It usually leaves at 3 minutes to the hour. It is usually east to get a seat and there are racks for luggage. You have to buy a ticket from the bigletteria to the right as you enter the station and validate it by punching it in a machine before you get on the train. If you forget you can write the date and your name on the ticket but this is one place where the tickets usually get checked. For this trip they usually sell you 2 tickets and it costs about €9.00. You have to punch (validate) both tickets

If there is a long wait for the direct train to Orte you can take the Leonardo express to Termini and then get the regular train to Orte. This is usually quicker but it is not great fun tackling Termini with all of your luggage. The Leonardo express costs about €9.00 then you have to buy a ticket from Termini to Orte. It is best to do this at Fiumicino station as the ticket office at Termini is very crowded

When you get off the train at Orte you go to the entrance of the station and there are blue buses that go to Soriano. They will either have Soriano or Chia written on the front of the bus. If it is Chia you will have to change at Chia but the bus for Soriano is usually waiting to leave as soon as the passengers arrive.

Bus: From Orte to Soriano.

Soriano bus leaves from Papaqua and from near the war memorial at the bottom of the hill on Viale Vittorio Emanuele.

How to get from Soriano to Rome

Getting to Rome by car: Also, for what to see in Rome and how to get around Rome the following web site can be accessed in English or Italian: www.virtualrome.com

Here are several options for getting to Rome that we have worked well for us. Distances and times are taken from Route 66 and are fairly accurate from our experience.

Soriano – Orte – Rome. ( 93 kms; 1hr 22mins). There are several options here.

Take the A1 and park at Settebagni. Toll cost is 3.10 euros each way and cost of train ticket into Rome using a B.I.G a combination ticket that can be used across different zones for a day. Possible cost is about 4 euros.

Park at Orte in the large free park (take a left over a bridgeway just before you reach the actual station at Orte) and then buy a BIRG ticket for trains into Termini or Tiburtina as well as unlimited metro bus and train useage.

Soriano – Viterbo - Sutri - Rome. (99 kms; 2hrs). This ia a scenic route. Take the via Cassia, out of Viterbo. Slow drive through a series of small agricultural and historic towns including Sutri.

Stop at Sutri and explore the ancient amphitheatre and take the time to walk into the old town. If you have time for a lunch or dinner, I can recommend a wonderful restaurant in Sutri, Locanda del Saturno.

Soriano - Vignello - Fabrica di Roma - Sutri-Rome (111 kms; 2hrs 23mins). This is another alternative route. This a scenic route through hazelnut plantations.

To get to Rome from Soriano by bus and train: If you want to go to Rome for the day from Soriano it is best to buy a BIRG ticket (bigletto). You can get it from the Tabacchi shop just outside the main gate before the duomo in the main square. As you go through the gate it is to the left. Ask for a zone A to D which should cost €9.00. This covers the bus to Orte, the train to Rome and all metro and busses in Rome. You have to validate it when you get on the first bus and you should put you name on the back. You validate it by stamping it in the machine on the bus. I have found a lot of these don’t work so you either have to write the date and time on it or wait till you get to Orte station and validate it in the machine at the entrance. There are no validating machines on the platforms.

Unless you want to get to Rome very early I found it convenient to leave the apartment at 8.20 and walk down the hill to the war memorial at the roundabout. The busses stop there outside the cartoleria. The bus should arrive at 8.40 and have written in the front window Orte FS and go via Vasanello. It will get to the station at Orte just after 9.00am.

At the station look for the next train to Roma Termini and see which binario (platform) it leaves from. It should be a reg (regional) train. Eurostar and I.C. (intercity) need a supplement which means you have to pay extra. There is a train that leaves Orte at 9.33 and gets to Rome Termini at 10.16.

From Termini you can go outside and there is a huge bus depot with busses leaving for all over Rome. For example the 40 bus leaves every 4 minutes to go to the Vatican. If you know where you want to go to you can plan the route in advance by going to the ATAC (bus company of Rome) web site www.atac.roma.it and using the calcola percorso to work out what bus to take.

Under the Termini station is the Metro station where both the subway lines of Rome meet so you can go in any direction. For example take the red line A in direction Battistini to go to the Vatican or the Spanish steps and the Blue line B in direction Laurentina to go to the Coliseum.

When you decide to go home there is a train that leaves Termini every hour. The regional trains leave at 14 minutes past the hour so plan to get back to Termini on the hour to make sure you get a seat. The trains usually leave from binario 1. When you get to Orte there will usually be blue busses waiting outside the station for the train. They will either say Soriano or Chia. If it says Chia the bus goes to Bassano then Chia and there will be another bus waiting to take you to Soriano. If in doubt ask that bus drivers as they are usually very helpful and will let you know where to change.

Refer to bus timetables for Soriano-Orte -Soriano (above).

REMEMBER DO NOT CARRY VALUABLES IN ROME. Take some identification e.g. Australian Licence and only money that you need for the day etc.