Bus pass in Rome?

Depends a little bit on where you are staying. We always stay in the Termini area and walk everywhere. Old Rome is really quiet small and compact. Remember, they didn't have buses 2000 years ago. Second there are a lot of small, little, twisty street you can only get to via walking. Most of the time with a bus pass you have to use it several times a day to break even. If we use a bus we would only use it maybe once or twice during the day but don't know the price of a bus price. I guess we never consider it.

If you're planning on visiting museums, the Colosseum, etc. anyway, consider either the 24-hour or 36-hour Roma Pass, which covers your bus (and tram and metro) costs for the duration of the Pass, plus your first 2 covered sights free, and your remaining covered sights for a discount. Nothing in the Vatican is covered on the Pass, though, so it depends on what sights you're planning on visiting.

Taxis are inexpensive but you can't rely on hailing one in the street - but there are taxi stands near every important tourist sight. You might want a daypass for buses/metro on the day you visit the Vatican/Saint Peter's if you are not staying near there. Also, it can get really hot during the summer, so you may not want to rely on walking everywhere.

FYI, there's no such thing as just a bus pass for Rome. It's a transit pass that covers buses, trams and the Metro. The only way they make sense financially is if you're going to be taking transit three separate times during the day. Because the historic center of Rome is so compact, most tourists find they end up taking transit at most twice a day. If this will be true for you, buy single-use tickets that are good for 100 minutes from when you first validate them. You can buy them at any tabacchi store. (Look for the "T" sign out front.) Take a handful of them with you during the day and use as needed.

When you get on the bus, BE SURE TO VALIDATE THAT PUPPY IN THE MACHINE!! You won't see anyone else validating anything because they're the locals and they all have monthly passes that don't need to be validated. This has led some clueless tourists to think that everyone is a scofflaw and that it's perfectly OK not to validate or even have a ticket. NOT TRUE! Inspectors routinely stop buses to check for valid tickets and it's a whopping fine (at least 50 euros pp) and they do NOT make exception for clueless tourists. I once saw them ticket a nun!

Also, once the ticket is validated, PUT IT IN YOUR POCKET. Don't stand or sit there holding it. That's a flashing neon sign that reads "CLUELESS TOURIST" and can draw the attention of pickpockets.

Have a great time. Rome is amazing.

We do the same as Frank and walk almost everywhere in central Rome. No, it really isn't all that large, and a lot of the fun is seeing what's along Roman streets. I think we took the metro just three times during an entire week on the last trip, and one of those instances was because of a shoe failure! We've never used the buses.

As Michael has suggested, individual tickets are easily purchased if you want to get between two points in a bit of a hurry.