Roma Pass worth it?

Hello Chris,
The Colosseum/Palatine/Forum is all one ticket, and the cost of it is 12 euro. Indeed, the pass does not cover the vatican, but it does cover other sites like the Capitoline Museums, the Borghese Gallery, and more. Also to consider is that all those 1 Euro bus and metro tickets do add up. I say make life easy on yourself and go for it.

We just got back from a week in Rome and the Roma Pass was definitely worth it! We used it at the Colosseum/Forum and Borghese Gallery. It was nice to sail right by the long ticket line at the Colosseum! What really makes the Roma Pass a good value, though, is the transportation pass. We used it several times a day for each of the three days it was good for. If you do not plan to use public transportation, the Roma Pass may not be such a good deal for you.

I would buy it for the sole reason to skip the Colosseum line. For me, saving time is a lot more of a priority than saving money. But, with the Roma pass, you save both

There are three advantages to the Roma Pass.

1) Cost savings. If you go to the Colosseum/Hill/Forum (one ticket as noted above), and Ostia Antica, the pass will almost pay for itself (19 euro vs. 23 euro). If you decide to do a more expensive sight than Ostia Antica, such as the Borghese, it will pay for itself, and that doesn't even include the cost of the metro/bus pass.

2) Time savings. As another poster noted, you can skip the incredibly long ticket-buying line at the Colosseum. And you can skip the ticket buying lines everywhere else too, because you've got your pass in hand already.

3) Convenience. Goes hand in hand with #2. No need to track 3-5 different tickets and pieces of paper. No need to panic because you ran out of bus tickets and your bus is pulling up to the curb. There is definitely a peace of mind aspect to having your pass in hand.

For people who are staying in Rome 3 days or so, and have any intention of using public transportation (the pass will cover your metro/train ride to Ostia Antica as well), and visiting at least two of the sites covered by the Pass, it is a fantastic deal and I highly suggest you get one.

There isn't a museum included with the Colosseum/Hill/Forum, unless you are thinking of the Capitoline at the top of the Foro Romano--which is a separate ticket and which is on the Roma Pass, so you could use your entry there instead of Ostia if you chose.

You don't need a Roma Pass to skip the lines. You can also purchase your individual tickets in advance.

Last summer, we chose not to get the Roma Pass. We didn't expect to use the transportation (and, we didn't - we only used busses to get to and from the Appian Way). So, as others have said, if you're not going to use the Pass for public transportation, it might not make sense.

I guess the calculation will go as follows:

Colosseum/Palantine Hill/Forum = 12 euros
Ostia Antica = 7 euros

That's 19 euros.

Each bus or metro ride is 1 euro, so if you ride public transit at least 4 times, which is likely (for example, to and from Ostia Antica, and then to and from the Vatican), then you would break even.

If you buy a 3-day transport pass separately, it costs 11 euros.

And it's sure handy to be able to hop on any bus or Metro. Plus if you decide to visit another attraction, then they can be reduced.

There's a small museum included with the Palantine Hill, among the ruins.

This was in 2007. #e is what I applied to my pass. The Wife's pass never recorded use or timed out.
Borghese - covered, 9e
Colosseum/Palatine/Forum no wait - all covered, 11e. At this point the pass is paid for.....
Ostia Antica - Entrance covered, because we came in on the boat and the Capitan just gave us the Ostia entrance tickets when I showed him the Roma Passes. Boat ride was not covered. 4e
Etruscan Museum - covered - reader machine was broken, 4e
Capitoline Museum, Wife covered, Me - 1/3 covered, 3e
Sant Angelo, Wife covered?, Me - 1/2 covered, 6e. Kinda strange on that one since we started the Museum passes at the same time and just thought the Capitoline was a freak event. At this point we realized that her card was "special" and was even still working for metro on day 5.

Train back from Ostia - covered 1e
6 Subway rides - covered, 6e
4 Bus Rides - covered, 6e
Would have had a discount at Ara Pacis, but it was closed for a photo shoot.

50-18=32 Euro, times two, about $78 for both of us in savings.

Some of this is because the card readers were broken and we got a free-be at Ostia Antica. You just learn to go with it in Rome..... The nice part is we didn't have to go find a Smoke Shop or News Stand for metro tickets and if we made a mistake on the subway or lost a ticket, then it didn't cost us anything extra. The rule seems to be that if a card reader is down, then you get a full %100 discount anyway.

Chris-We bought the pass and did the exact 2 sites you plan to do with it. (Colosseum et al was one stop, Ostia Antica the other). We found we would have spent 26 euros without the pass (which was 20 euros at the time) The reason: We stayed one metro stop past the Forum and rode the metro a lot. Rome can be walkable, but it is nice to use the metro and save on the feet. Also, with the pass, we didn't think twice about hopping on Metro and riding over to see St Peter's after dark our last night, taking the bus to the catcombs, etc. It all comes down to how much you think you will use the transit pass. (also, keep in mind that the pass works all the way to Ostia Antica. That would be 2 euors round trip without the pass).

I'm looking at the same dilemma as you, and I decided that even if I don't squeeze every possible benefit out of the pass--even if I end up spending a couple of extra euro--it'll be worth it to not have to scramble for bus/metro tickets.

We are leaving in just under a month and definitely plan to buy the Roma Pass upon arriving (our tour guide Ron in Rome said to hold off buying it until we get there) - in addition to using it at the Colosseum/Forum etc, we will be using it for the Borghese Gallery, which costs 8,50 euros to enter soit has almost paid for itself by that point; if we decide to see any of the other sites, we will be eligible for discounted admission and we have the option of using the metro or buses to get to The Vatican etc if we are too tired to walk!

Worth it - just for being able to skip all the lines, even if you don't count all the other great benefits!