I will be traveling to Italy with my family this summer. We will spend some time in Rome then travel to other destinations in Italy. We will return to Rome and depart very early the next morning so will stay at a hotel right the the airport. We plan to visit Ostia Antica on our last day before departure after leaving our luggage at the hotel for storage. Can someone tell me what it will cost for a taxi from the airport hotel to Ostia Antica. Thank you for your help
KM

I can't help you about what the taxi fare might be, buty I can suggest and alterative. You can take the FM-1 (Ferrovia Metropolitana-1) train from the airport train station to the Ostiense stop. This costs 5.5 euros. You get off at the Ostiense station and there board the Lido train to Ostia. I am not sure how mcuh the Lido train costs because it was covered by my Roma pass.

The attachment shows the stops on the Lido train. You get off at Ostia Antica. it is only a short walk to the ruins and there are signs.

Well, here's what happened to me when I tried to get from the airport itself to the modern part of Ostia. However, I suspect that getting to Ostia Antica would be a whole nother story, and much less complicated!

Probably someone one will chime in soon on the specifics, but my guess is that you might want to allow E20 to be safe, in spite of the short distance. You could also contact the airport hotel, too, and ask them, since they must be used to both the question and the local rates. It might be a lot less if the taxi they call isn't hoping for a fare to Rome.

We will be staying in Ostia for 3 days in a couple of weeks. Our B&B owner has told us to pay 25 euros only to & from the airport and "apologized" that it is expensive considering the short distense. There are more creative ways like using illegal taxis but not recommended. Our B&B is just by the ruins. If your time is limited I would just take a taxi. Otherwise there are some sites near Ostiense that you could visit on the way. Do a search as we talked about his a couple of months ago when I asked similar questions.

It could indeed be 25 euros to and from ostia from an airport hotel. On Venere.com for Fiumicino and ostia hotel reviews there were comments from customers about how expensive the taxi ride from the airport to the ostia hotels were for such a short distance. The taxi ride from Central Rome to the airport is fixed by law at something like 40 euros. A pickup outside the Rome borders does not have legal limitations, so I think the taxi drivers "make-up" on theri fares.

maybe it is worth it, if your whole family can fit in the taxi and you only have to pay one fare.

You say you are returning to Rome. How are you getting to Rome? are you driving to the airport, dropping your car there, and then proceeding to your hotel?

Or are you returning to Rome by train? If you were returning to Rome by train, you could store your luggage at Termini for a small fee and go to Ostia Antica directly from there easily by using the Metro to get to Piramide Metro stop which is right by the Ostiense train station. You could leave Ostia Antica and go back to Termini for you luggage, take the Leonardo to the airport, and get to your hotel from there.

DorothyK - loved your report on getting to Ostia Antica. And curious about the author (Lindsey Davis) you mentioned. Do you recall which of her books specifically dealt with Ostia? I've never heard of her books but have now ordered 2 of them. Particularly would like to read anything about Ostia Antica.


JVP
Deep in the Heart of Texas

Hi jvp -

The Lindsey Davis book I was thinking of in particular was probably Scandal Takes A Holiday, but I believe there are Ostia scenes in several of her other books as well. I had a long commute, and before going on that trip I listened to every one of them that I could get on tape or CD from our library.


I also ran across a children's book on tape, The Thieves of Ostia: The Roman Mysteries, which I enjoyed in spite of (or maybe because of??) my age.

Another interesting picture of Ostia is given in Roberts Graves' fictional autobiography of the Emperor Claudius, I, Claudius. I think in the written version (as compared with the BBC Movie), it must be in the second volume, Claudius the God.

yes. It's in Claudius, the God.

I knew I forgot something! When I was trying to (virtually) remember the name of the Lindsey Davis book, I ran across a game called Ostia The Harbor of Rome. Sounds as though it might be a bit beyond me, but I know there are some pretty crafty Slow Travelers out there...!

For 1 euro (+/-, if you buy your ticket before you board the bus) you can ride the blue Cotral bus into the modern town of Ostia from FCO

It goes past the ruins but I am not sure how close it comes to the entrance.

I caught it outside of Terminal the time I rode it into Ostia.,

Fibonacci.

Here (a PDF) is a schedule for that bus, but it's for 2007. The date qualifiers can trip you up, and it looks like the asterisks by Voli Internazionali mean it does stop there but they don't want to set a time. The Piazza della Stazione where it ends is presumably on the train line that can take you to Ostia Antica. Any more specifics on where it stops at the airport? "Outside of the terminal" covers a lot of space.

If I remember correctly, the bus I didn't take - which I think would have been the right one - was not that far from the main taxi queue. It was less than half a block to your right if you're looking out from the airport.

(Hmm. Now I'm thinking there may be any number of "main taxi queues" depending on what flight you came in on ? I arrived from Amsterdam on NWA.)

I was told by the taxi dispatcher that I had to buy my ticket BEFORE going to the bus stop, but maybe there were options he didn't mention. I got mine at a small tabac in the airport, which is where I was warned against using it lest I get lost in Lido di Ostia; I think there may be some all-purpose kiosks that sell them too.