Hi, I will be traveling to Rome with my family of 5 in November. We will be staying at an apartment near Trevi Fountain for 3 nights and have only two full days for sightseeing. We plan on going to the Forum, Colosseum, Palatine Hill with Capitoline museums on one day and the Vatican, Sistine Chapel & St Peters the next day. Likely abbreviated 3 hr. private tours for each day. In the afternoon I hope to visit the Pantheon/Piazza Navona area, the Spanish Steps Piazza del Popolo areas. We will likely include the Basilica San Clemente in our first day of Ancient Rome tour. Given where we intend to visit and where we are located, does it make sense for us to get a Roma Pass or should we buy the 3 for 1 pass for the Ancient stuff and pay for transportation as we go. Trying to figure what is most economical...
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
The romapass does not cover anything at the Vatican so based on the sites you list you won't save any money with the card. You will be able to bypass the lines at the colosseum but you can do that by buying entry tickets online before you go. Donna
Posted by
OP
huntington beach, california, usa
30 posts
That's what I thought. Should I bother with any sort of transportation pass or just pay as we go? Hard to know how much we can cover by walking and how much metro/bus we will need.
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
I think you'll find you won't use much public transport. I always walk and have, in fact, never used a bus in Rome. The sites you have listed are all very close to each other so I would say you don't need to worry about transport unless someone has mobility issues. Also, you can always pay as you go. A single ticket is a euro and good for 70 minutes or so. Donna
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
If you decide to go the single ticket route, remember that hardly any buses sell them on the bus. You usually have to buy them at a Tabacchi store, and those are everywhere. Do NOT try to ride the bus without a ticket. It's a 50 euro fine on the spot if you get caught. They have a zero tolerance policy on excuses. And they do board the buses to check. It will look as if most other riders don't have tickets since they're not validating anything when they get on board. What they have are passes that don't require additional validation. Happy travels.
Posted by
Utah
446 posts
we were in rome 9/29 thru 10/2 and roma passes were unavailable. we were told they would be on sale again but dont know when
Posted by
Pa and Italy
4152 posts
The romapass is available again. Check out the website. Donna
Posted by
white bear lake, minnesota, USA
87 posts
Roma passes not available when we were in Rome about 2 wks ago. We were there 5 nights and did not see as many sites as you are planning to. We did buy some extended time passes for transport (like one day or 2 day passes) just to avoid inconvenience of having to buy tickets for every trip. It was great jumping on buses or metro trains (don't forget to validate your pass each time) and was worth money just for the convenience. Note: Metro trains have limited routes but come very frequently and are fast. Buses from the Termini area (we stayed near Piazza Republica) were always hot and packed like sardines. Nov. should be better. People say you can walk everywhere, but if you have been seeing sites on hard floors and cobblestones for 6-8 hours, you will be glad to ride sometimes. Go to Trevi in the wee hours. Crowded at all other times. Next time I go to Rome, I will splurge a bit to stay more in the center near main sites so I an be there when the sun comes up and the hordes of tourists haven't hit yet!
have a great time. We loved it. Rest at mid day and you will enjoy.