Meeting Letter

Absolute Eastern 16 Days Rome - London

The following pages contain specific information relating to your tour; please ensure you have the correct information for your tour (the tour name can be found on your email confirmation if you are unsure). Please make sure you have downloaded and read the latest Pre-Departure Information from our website: Pre-Departure Information and you have the latest itinerary for your tour Absolute Eastern.

Meeting point for Rome Arriving in Rome Travelling from Rome Fiumicino Airport (Leonardo da Vinci Airport) to Termini Central Station Travelling from Rome Ciampino Airport to Termini Central Station Travelling from Termini Central Station to the Expat Explore accommodation Getting around in Rome Important passenger information Tour accommodation on Budget Tours Emergency contact number

MEETING POINT FOR THE START OF THE TOUR Your tour starts in Rome and finishes in London.

Check-in time: 15:30 hrs Location: Camping Village Roma, Via Aurelia, 831, 00163 Roma, Italy, Tel: 0039 06 662 3018.

Your tour is part of a longer tour and the day your tour starts will be day the group are travelling from Florence; the planned arrival time in in Rome is 15:30 although the exact arrival time will be dependent on local traffic and may therefore arrive later than the expected time. You should be back in London on the last day of your tour at around 19:30 hrs – 21:30 hrs, depending on ferry crossing times and local traffic. The drop off point will be in the car park next to Canada Water Tube Station

ARRIVING IN ROME Rome has two major airports: Rome's main airport, "Leonardo da Vinci" - still frequently known by its old name, Fiumicino - for scheduled flights and "Ciampino" which handles mainly charter flights and business aviation.

TRAVELLING FROM ROME FIUMICINO AIRPORT (LEONARDO DA VINCI AIRPORT) TO TERMINI The airport lies 16 miles south west of Rome and is linked to the city by train and by road. The Leonardo Express is the direct train that serves the route between the airport and the centre of the city of Rome every 30 minutes with a journey time of 30 minutes to the central station, Termini. Ticket costs approximately €11, and are available at the counter as well as news-stands, get your ticket stamped in a yellow validation machine just before using it. Ticket expires 90 minutes after validation.

Terravision Shuttle Bus The bus line Terravision serves the route between the airport and the central station of Rome, Termini. Tickets cost approximately €9; the journey takes about 70 minutes with 7 services a day.

TRAVELLING FROM ROME CIAMPINO AIRPORT TO TERMINI CENTRAL STATION The airport lies 7 miles south east of Rome. There is no direct train connection from Ciampino Airport to Termini station in Rome. The nearest railway station to Ciampino Airport is Ciampino Città, connected to the airport by the by a 5 minute Cotral or Schiaffini operated bus departing every 30 minutes.

Terravision or SIT Shuttle Bus From Ciampino, arguably the most popular direct link to the centre for visitors is the Terravision or SIT coach service. The airport is a relatively small single terminal airport. On exiting customs turn left going through the doors outside.

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Bear left and there is a coach stand on your left. There will probably be other passengers waiting and an airport-coach representative who will assist you. The journey lasts approximately 40 minutes and costs approximately €4.

TRAVELLING FROM TERMINI CENTRAL STATION TO THE EXPAT EXPLORE ACCOMMODATION By train: From Termini station take a train in the direction of “Civitavecchia”. Please be aware that not all the trains stop at “Aurelia”. From “Aurelia” station follow the road "Via della Stazione Aurelia" for about 400 metres towards Rome centre, where you'll find Camping Roma or take a bus (no. 247, 28, 985) and get off at the first bus stop.

By bus: From Roma Termini station take the Metro (Linea A), towards “Battistini” and get off at "Cornelia". Follow the signs for the Piazza Irnerio exit, and after that, via Aurelia. Once you're outside, in front of McDonald's, catch bus no. 246, which will drop you off right outside Camping Roma.

By metro / bus: From the Metro station "Cipro" (Linea A, Vaticano) near the Vatican City, catch bus no. 247, which will drop you right off outside Camping Roma.

By shuttle: You can use the campsite's “Cipro” shuttle service that travels between the Vatican and Camping Roma at the following times: from "Cipro" station at: 08.30; 09.30; 10.30; 11.30; 15.30; 16.30; 17.30; 18.30.

GETTING AROUND IN ROME The city centre is a fabulously beautiful place and meandering through its streets exploring for yourself can be one of life's most delightful pastimes. The Rome Metro has just two lines intersecting at Rome's Termini Station. Although limited, it’s worth using where you can as it’s by far quicker than any surface transport. Rome’s busses are very comprehensive and frequent. For further information on route planning on the Underground, fare costs and maps please see www.atac.roma.it.

The busses: Public buses run a very comprehensive and frequent system running from about 05:30 hrs to midnight daily. These bus services are supplemented by night services that run all night along the core routes. In general, the busses are used for very short journeys and as a feeder service to the metro and train networks and will often find you have a wide choice of routes going where you need to, especially in the town centre.

The metro: the system has just two lines named A and B, the lines intersect at Rome Termini Station, the main public transport hub in Rome. The metro misses much of the city centre; however, there are stations next to the Coliseum / Roman Forum and Spanish Steps and within 5 minutes’ walk of the Vatican.

Tickets / fares: All local public transport is integrated in Rome and tickets must be purchased before you board any public transport in Rome. Tickets for both the bus system and metro can be purchased from tobacconists, coffee bars, or vending machines at metro stations and major bus stops. Tickets cost € 1.00 for one Metro ride or 75 minutes on all buses or € 4.00 for a daily ticket, valid for unlimited metro, bus, and train travel within Rome.

AIRPORT TRANSFERS Book airport transfers in Rome to / from Expat Explore’s accommodation, before or after your tour; these cost €12 per person to / from Fiumicino Airport and €13 per person to / from Ciampino Airport for a single journey. If you wish to book a transfer, please contact Camping Village Roma on [email protected] who will email you a booking form with payment instructions. Please don’t forget to include details about travelling with Expat Explore and your tour name and dates.

IMPORTANT PASSENGER INFORMATION If you have not already sent us your ‘Important Passenger Information’ please click here to complete the online form for yourself and every person travelling in your group.

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TOUR ACCOMMODATION ON BUDGET TOURS Budget Tours are sold on a multi-share, same-gender, accommodation basis. Clients travelling on these tours will be accommodated in multi-share same-gender rooms, usually 2-4 persons sharing and up to a maximum 6 persons. Clients travelling in mixed gender groups will be accommodated in same-gender rooms. Occasionally, at the discretion of the tour leader and availability at hotels, mixed-gender rooms may be offered.

EMERGENCY CONTACT NUMBER Should you have any queries you can contact Expat Explore on 0044 (0)207 394 5232 between the hours of 08:00 hrs and 17:00 hrs.

If you encounter an emergency on the morning of departure you can contact Expat Explore on 0044 7854 002475. This number is a service for emergency calls only. We respectfully request that you consider the urgency of your enquiry. Non-urgent enquiries should be made during office hours. Please be considerate of time zones.

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