Roma Pass and Colosseum Lines

We used the Roma Pass in April 2016 and found it to be very worthwhile. We used it for the Borghese Gallery and the Colosseum. Lines were not long, and we used the buses (also included for 3 days) extensively to get around Rome.

The romapass doesn't allow you to skip all the lines to the sites covered by the pass, only the lines to the free sites you visit. For all other sites you'll wait in the normal lines and get your reduced tickets with the pass.

The colosseum and the Vatican museums are the only two sites in Rome that have long ticket lines. If the colosseum is one of the free sites you'll bypass the ticket lines and go to the special events counter to get your free entry ticket. There may be one or two people in front of you but you won't wait more than 10 minutes or so.

September is very high season in Rome so expect very large crowds throughout the city. If you plan on taking any tours you should book them now as they probably won't be available when you get there.

Do the math to see if the romapass will be of benefit to you. If not, just book sites through their official websites and skip the lines that way instead of buying an expensive pass.

Donna

To add: if you do purchase the pass and intend to visit the Borghese, you must still make a reservation in advance. Roma Pass users must do that by phone:

"For the Borghese Gallery and Palazzo Valentini (Domus Romane), booking is required also for Roma Pass 72 Hours and/or Roma Pass 48 Hours holders. Reservations are not required for any other museums..."

"For reservations to the Borghese Gallery and/or Domus Romane/Palazzo Valentini, please call +39 06 32810 (open Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm – Saturdays, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm). Bookings can be made directly from the visitor’s home country, even before purchasing the card. Please note: it is not possible to make an online reservation without prepaying the ticket. If you intend to visit the museum / site with your Roma Pass 72 Hours or Roma Pass 48 Hours, you must make your reservation on the phone, by calling +39 0632810."

We have not used the pass as we didn't feel it was worth it for two attractions and the very few times we intended to use public transit. Rome is too much fun to walk, and it's easy to just purchase a few BIT single-ride tickets and tuck them away for when you want them.

Don't use the Roma Pass for the Borghese gallery. You'll have to make a reservation anyway so you are better off paying cash and using the line skipping/free entry someplace else. One of your two choices should definitely be the coliseum. The lines are crazy long. You could do Rick's trick of going to the Forum first which is a combined ticket with the coliseum.

My advice and what I plan to do on my trip in October is...Forum first in the morning before it gets too hot. Enter at the gate furthest from the coliseum and work your way down. When you get to the coliseum ask to make sure you are in the right line. You will walk right past the loooong lines of people. When you get to the front just show your Forum ticket and walk right in. Stop to look at the "museum" first which explains (in pictures) how it was built and used. Then walk up to the highest level to look down....then find some shade it will be HOT.

There are only two sites in Rome that will have long entry lines, the colosseum and the Vatican museums. The romapass is not valid at the Vatican so there is no reason to not use your romapass for free entry to the Borghese gallery. If you do this you must call to make your reservation as it cannot be done online if using the pass.

Donna

Thank you all very much for your replies. From what you have all said, I think we are probably okay without the Roma Pass based on the fact that we already have purchased tickets for the Vatican so we don't have to wait in that long line and then on the day we want to see the Colosseum we will do as suggested and start to the top at the Forum and work our way down to the Colosseum, thereby missing that long line. I will go ahead and reserve tickets at the Borghese this evening so that we are covered there. Do any of you know if there are long lines at the Borghese or if we have already purchased our tickets we don't have to stand in a line there? Any other tips you can think of sending my way will be greatly appreciated! Thanks again!

Do any of you know if there are long lines at the Borghese or if we
have already purchased our tickets we don't have to stand in a line
there?

Allison, you are required to be at the museum 30 minutes in advance of your appointed entry time to confirm your reservations and check practically everything on you (bags, umbrellas, etc) at the cloakroom with the exception of cameras, cell phones, pocket wallets, etc. The museum is reserved by 2-hour time slots, and is completely cleared after one group before admitting the next; thus its excellent crowd control. You may stand in a bit of a line at the cloakroom so do be there on time. We went even a bit earlier to browse and purchase a printed guide at the bookshop and use the restroom before our appointed slot.

You'll do just fine purchasing your tickets for the Colosseum/Forum/Palatine at either the Forum or Palatine ticket offices or online in advance from http://www.coopculture.it/en/. You will have to do BOTH the Forum and Palatine at the same time (they count as a single attraction on your ticket) before moving on to the Colosseum. With a ticket in hand, you will skip the long ticket line at the Colosseum but cannot skip the security check queue. It shouldn't take long but if it's an especially busy day, you could have a short wait.

Security check queues are just a fact of life at the major attractions in Rome and in other European cities these days but most move pretty quickly.

You might still want to consider the romapass. If you're visiting the colosseum combo and the Borghese gallery both will be covered by the pass. If you visit another siteor two covered by the pass you should break even and be able to use public transportation as often as you wish. Do the math to see if it will break even for you but you may still want to consider getting the pass.

Donna

I forgot to mention that the lines at Castel San Angelo are also very long. Rick suggests as do I that you use the second free entry at the Castel. So get the Roma Pass, trust us it pays for itself in time saved and use it for 1) Coliseum/Forum 2) Castel San Angelo. Book Borghese and Vatican museums and pay separately.

Lines for St Peter's get really long because of security checks so if you plan to go and especially if you plan to climb the Duomo I suggest going at 7:30am to be the first in line when the gates open at 8am. BTW there is a cafe and restroom on the roof and the elevator back down drops you into the basilica so no waiting in line a second time.

If you use the pass for the colosseum combo and the Castel sant angelo you can use it to get a discount at the Borghese gallery. You still need to call to book this. Likewise, if you use the two free entries for the colosseum combo and the Borghese gallery you can get the discount at the Castel. The Vatican museums are not included in the pass and should be booked online at their official website.

Do the math to see if the pass will pay off for you. The official website has a list of costs and what the discounted prices are so you can see if the pass will be the best option for you or if you should skip it. I usually find that if I visit 3 sites and use public transport a lot or visit 4 site that the pass pays for itself.

Donna

Thanks again all of your for your replies and for taking your time to help me know what to do. Your knowledge has really enabled me to know how to best manage our time and to get the most for each dollar - and that makes all the difference on a trip. Thanks again for everything.