Need Roma pass for 9 year old?

Reduced fees are only for members of the EU and a few countries with reciprocity agreements. The U.S. is not one of those countries. You should get them a romapass. They will be able to get discounted admission into the Vatican museums if you're going there. Donna

Roma Pass is only valid in Rome in Italy. They are not valid in the Vatican is in Vatican City, a completely different country.

Yes, the romapass doesn't include the Vatican museums. I know my post was confusing, sorry. What I meant is that the Vatican does offer discounts to school age kids, even those in college with an I.D. A 9 year old won't need a school I.D. to get the discount. Donna

Thanks for the tips. Our plan was, as well as the museum, to use public transportation to and from the Vatican. I am thinking that the Roma pass won't be worth it. Initially, we were going to go to the National Museum of Rome, but I think it would be too much "culture" for the 9 year old. Our itinerary looks like this: Sunday Pantheon Roman Forum Walk – Forum, Colosseum and Palatine Hill Eat on Campo de' Fiori Heart of Rome Walk Monday Vatican Museum/ St. Peter's Basilica Tuesday Borghese gardens
Borghese Gallery

Unless you have proof that your 9yo is an EU citizen, you will need to pay full price admission for her. We are EU residents - but not citizens. A year ago we had no problem just flashing a French driver's license and getting our kids in free. This year, we weren't always successful. It is full price for a non-EU minor at the museums in Rome. Get her a Roma pass if you are getting one.

Thank you for the replies! Now I have to figure out if it's worth getting the pass. We plan to go to the Colosseum/ Forum, and the Borghese. Is it worth getting the pass just for 2 places?

If you'll be using public transportation a lot then it may be worth it, though the 9 year old rides for free. Are you considering any other sites covered by the pass? If so, this usually makes the pass worthwhile, if not, you may just want to pre-purchase entry tickets to the colosseum. You can do that at the official site: http://www.ticketclic.it/Gb/HTML/musei/colosseo.cfm Just use the "collect onsite" option about halfway down the page. You can also book an official tour if you wish. Donna

Unless you're headed to at least three major sites, the Roma Pass may not pay for itself. Because you're child is under 10 years of age, they can ride the bus, metro and trams free... so you will ONLY be using the "site" section of the Roma Pass and not the transportation piece, and the Roma Pass is now €30. You can't use it at the Vatican (that usually takes a full day), and the Colosseo, Forum, and Palatine Hill, all count as one "stop," and that's usually a tiring half-day. So you basically have to find two other major sites in that three day span...You have to ask yourself, even paying full price, will we spend €30 in museums/sites (non-Vatican) over a three-day span? If so, then yes buy the pass. Most folks - especially at 9 years old - might be "museumed" out at that pace. ( Donna, appears we are typing and thinking the same thoughts... Ciao! Ron)

That's still a lot of culture for a 9yo. My kids love the Colosseum, could care less about Palantine Hill and the Forum (although we've dragged them twice to Palantine Hill and once to the Forum). Those places just look like rubble to them and even reading a walking tour and showing them pictures from a Rome Then/Now book, they were still done with it in about 15 minutes. Go after lunch to the Vatican Museum on Monday for a smaller crowd. That's the most popular day to visit (because it's closed on Sunday) Decide ahead of time what rooms are important to you and make sure you create a route that goes by them, but by passes some of the other stuff. It's a big museum, and the walk to the Sistine Chapel can seem like an eternity to a young child (again - just ask my kids) Although the climb can be claustrophobia-inducing, it can be worth it to climb the dome of St. Peter's. IMO, unless you are really into art, or something specific, it's only a 1/2 day here when you have kids with you. Using public transportation to balance out all the walks you have planned is a good idea. Be sure to allow time for gelato and souvenir shopping. And possibly cat watching in some parts of the city. Those things seem to be more interesting to kids.

You can use the pass for entry to the colosseum combo and the Borghese gallery. This along with some trips on the metro may make the pass worthwhile for you. If you add back in the National museums you'll certainly get value out of the pass. My daughter went to Rome with me the first time when she was 10 and loved it. She never tired of the museums and galleries, in fact, she usually bought the guidebook at each place so she could remember the artwork she had seen. I was worried before the trip that she would be bored but I was surprised at how much she enjoyed it. We watched a lot of shows on the travel channel and the history channel before we left so she was very interested in seeing these sites for herself. Donna

Donna, We took our then 7 year old to the Louvre and she loved it. I agree to split up the time with lots of gelato (mom won't mind that either!) and she'll be fine. I think that we'll just be taking the metro to the Vatican, so I'll just have to price everything out.