dln

My brother and sister in law are arriving from the UK (both UK citizens) at 11:15 am to Ciampino Airport in Rome. They're going to rent a car and drive to Chiusi to pick us up. (We're taking the train from Naples to Chiusi.) The drive to Chiusi, according to mappy.com, will take them just under 2 hours. Does anyone know approximately how long it will take them to get through customs, collect their bags, and rent the car? Everyone I've asked only knows about FCO, not Ciampino! We'd like to schedule our train ride so that we arrive in Chiusi about the same time they do.

corkcary

There's no way to answer you question with accuracy. The time it takes to clear customs and get their bags & rent a car depends on how many planes land about they same time their flight lands.

I've cleared the airport in 15 minutes and another time I waited an hour.

dedlaw

I recently left from Ciampano, so didn't clear inbound customs there. But it is a VERY small airport -- good because there won't be lots of folks from different flights going through customs, but bad because they may not have many agents assigned to the airport. Walk from doors to tarmac to front of airport is about a minute.

dln

Thanks both of you for answering. I thought it might be a smaller airport, and perhaps easier to dash in and out of. What we'll do is "guesstimate" and then go to the museum in Chiusi and meet up, in case one or the other is earlier.

BATUFFOLINA

I live 10 miles from Ciampino and I have flown twice to and from this airport. The customs both times were as light as a feather, that is, there were no controls at all. There were some customs guys there who had just a lazy and sleepy look at the ID or passport. Anyway. This is what happened to me. AS for the baggage claim, being a small airport it really takes about 15 minutes or less to get them. Once you cleared the so called customs, there is a rental car company right in the airport large room (there is a large parking place in front of the airport, where you will pick up the car. And at the time you arrive it will be open, for they close around 8 pm or so). Depending on the traffic, it takes about 3 hrs to go from Rome to Chiusi. Ciampino airport is very near the so called G.R.A. (Grande Raccordo Anulare, the belt-road around Rome). When you get out of the airport area, past a police check point, just turn RIGHT, and you'll find yourself on the Via Appia Nuova, direction Roma (if you turn left you go south, no good!). After about a mile or less you will find yourself at the entrance of a kind of highway which is the G.R.A. . In order to go to Chiusi take the direction Firenze, because you are heading north and and then later on you'll find signs for Chiusi. A good map will help you more than I am doing now regarding the road directions. Anyway, this is the site with some info in english I could find.
http://www.adr.it/CONTENT.ASP?L=3&IDMEN=205

dln

Thank you, Batuffolina, for that wad of info. Since it is so specific, I'll just e-mail it to my brother-in-law. He and my s-i-l have done other parts of Italy but this is their first time venturing into Tuscany and Umbria. They'll appreciate this.