Touring Rome

The romapass is worth the money if you're going to visit three or more sites covered by the pass or two or more sites covered by the pass and use public transit. You can find out all the information about the pass and the sites covered by it when you visit their website. Just a note: the romapass doesn't cover anything at the Vatican. You cannot tour "the Vatican". Not all of it is open to the public. there are areas that are open to the public including the dome, St. Peter's basilcia and the museums. The lines for the Vatican museums can be very long, especially in the morning. You can book a tour or entry tickets directly through the vatican website. Both tour and entry tickets will allow you to bypass the lines. http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?weblang=en&do http://www.romapass.it/?l=en Donna

I have never bought the Roma Pass, I prefer to wing it. But the first response person seems to like it. You might check with http://www.througheternity.com/ for tours. I've had great times with them. They can also arrange for the pre-purchase of tickets for the Vatican Tour. This will save you a couple hours in line. The tours are done with a small headset. No shouting out info, very nice.

There really is no need to go through a third party vendor to book Vatican museum tickets. You can do that on your own and save money. You can also book a tour on the vatican website. They also use headsets and you get skip the line privileges. Best of all, when the tour of the museums is over you can re-enter the museums to visit any rooms not covered on the tour or revisit rooms you've already seen. Donna

It has been my experience that if you arrive to tour St. Peters very early then you should not have a problem with lines. My goal is to be among the first group to enter the basillica and you will certainly beat the crowds. One additional benefit to this is that the light in the early morning is beautiful. I did purchase the Roma pass and though I forget the details/ specifics I think it was beneficial because we toured three of the covered sites. As for public transportation, the metro in Rome is not that useful but the busses can be.

Rhoda, I used the Roma pass a few months ago and found it worthwhile. I believe that it is good for three days, not 72 hours, so start using it in the morning. Good tip about getting to St Peter's basilica early, i'd recommend the opposite for the Vatican museums. As for buses, be sure to take the #116 - it's a little electric bus that will take you through the historic center and little side streets that the larger buses can't access. It makes a nice self-guided orientation circuit.

St. Peter's basilica is unbeatable early in the morning- try for 7 or 8 am. No lines and no crowds near the Pieta. I recommend staying away from it on Wednesdays - in the morning it is closed for the Pope's General audience ( unless you want to go to that- it is fantastic! But outside) But, on Wednesday afternoons,pilgrims from the audience swamp the basilica. It is a horrible time to see it! The line, for me, nearing 1/2 of the way around the piazza. Book a ticket online for the museum- well worth it.

Has anyone taken the Pierrici Colosseum: Guided Tours to the Hypogeum? Is this the one that also does the third floor? I found their website and the name of the tour, but when trying to make a reservation the link only indicates that it's the 3 site Roma pass. Does anyone have experience with this? Many thanks!