Rome Bus Tours

We were in Rome last week & used "Rome Open Tour." Their busses are easy to spot because of the ugly green color. (lol) If you buy tickets online you will save some $, but you will need to print out the confirmation info (3-4 pages) so make sure your hotel can accommodate. That being said they were the best option for us, but we use them more as a transportation service rather than a tour service. We do ride it 1 time completly, just so I can take pictures & my husband takes notice of the actual stopping places. The narration is all recorded & generic. They do take you lots of places, but be warned they say a round trip is 1.5 hrs however it may be way longer than that...one trip alone was over 2hrs & we got off early. Not sure when you are going, but right now it is 90+ degrees & VERY HUMID, with FULL SUNSHINE. So bring or buy a hat when you get there. Street venders are plentiful selling them. Also, if you decide to sit downstairs vs the topside be warned the buses do not have A/C & you only get a "slight" breeze IF the driver goes fast enough. Side note: taxi's are rather cheap & we had no problems with our "limited" italian, most could speak or understand English. Good luck choosing & happy travels!

Also look at their routes. Not all buses follow the same route so look to see if they go where you want to go. Also tickets are good for 24 hours so we tend to activate the ticket around noon so that it is good till noon the next day. Assume that nothing has changed in the past 18 months.

The Hop on Hop Off buses in Rome are good for a few far flung places, but most of central Rome is not able to be viewed from the buses due to narrow streets and pedestrian routes. You could get as much value from hopping on a couple of key Public Bus Routes plus walking Central Rome.

Have you thought about doing a general overview walking rather than a bus tour? For the same kind of prices, you get a much better tour, a live guide and certainly more history about the sites you are looking at. Rick lists tours, and if you check the Graffiti Wall or the Guidebook Feedback section, you will find good reviews of the best tours. Also check Trip Advisor for the most up-to date reviews of all the tour companies operating in Rome.