Visiting Vatican from Trastevere neighborhood

Barbara:
We visited the Vatican in October and actually walked to and from Trastevere for lunch, I think about 30 minutes each way. So Vatican Museums in the AM, lunch in Trastevere, back to St. Peter's in the afternoon, and then walked back to Piazza Navona and our apartment. If you can walk from Trastevere to the Colosseum, you can walk to the Vatican. There are busses, but they seemed to move slower than walking speed down the Lungotevere due to noon traffic. You can try the Rome bus route planning tool from ATAC, http://www.atac.roma.it/index.asp?lingua=ENG . Cab should be cheap, though, since it's a short distance. The Vatican sells tickets online here: http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?action=booking, both for individual entry and for tours. We loved our tour with Walks of Italy, though, http://biglietteriamusei.vatican.va/musei/tickets/do?action=booking. Worth every penny for the insight we gained from our excellent guide, Amanda. Have fun! I can't wait to go back myself!

We stayed at the Casa San Giuseppe at the foot of the Ponte Sisto just last month. I agree with the above comment and would simply add that the walk along the river is a sheer delight. Blessings!

As suggested above, you can certainly walk from Trastevere to the Vatican area. We lived a block from the Vatican and often walked to Ponte Garibaldi, the Jewish Ghetto, or even to Porta Portese from our apartment. But it will take you, as mentioned 25-30 minutes, depending on what part of Trastevere you are staying in. Public transportation is certainly an option. Because the Lungotevere are one-way streets, you would have to walk across any bridge FROM Trastevere to catch a bus TO THE Vatican area. You could do this and catch the 271, 280, or 23 buses - which can get you "in the area." The 23 and 271 are probably better options, because they stop on Via Crecenzio, just off Piazza Risorgomento and also at the Ottaviano metro. Or you can ride the #8 tram to Largo Argentina and then you have a MULTITUDE of options. To go to the Basilica, I'd jump on the 62 bus. It stops just beside the passetto and St. Peter's Square - as close as you can get! You can also ride the 64 bus to the south side, but due to its well deserved reputation (and reality) for pickpockets. I'd not recommend this bus. The 571 and 916 leave from Argentina and stop at the SAME bus stop as the 64 (Lgt Sassia/S. Spirito) so I would recommend these, rather than the 64. You can ride the 81 bus from Largo Argentina - it "dead-ends" at Piazza Risorgomento so no worries about when to get off! From there, you can easily go to the Square or the Museums. The 492 bus stops just on the corner near the Vatican Museums - it's the bus I most frequently rode from Largo Argentina! To get back, reverse your bus directions. The good news on the return is the buses 280, 271, 23, etc are all headed down the Lungotevere, adjacent to Trastevere, making it easy to jump off near your apartment. For more bus info (with pictures taken in Largo Argentina), see this link: http://tinyurl.com/rome-bus

At the Vatican, tickets are now €15. If you want to "skip the line," each ticket is an additional €4. It really depends on the time of year, day of the week, etc. as to whether you need to purchase the "skip the line" tickets. I usually go into the Museums in the afternoon because there is frequently no lines and it's often less crowded. Of course, much of the crowd level depends, again, on when you are going. If you have any doubts, pre-book at the Vatican website. These two links might help you with more info on your Vatican visit: http://tinyurl.com/vatican-tips http://tinyurl.com/prebook
As far as getting back to the airport, the least expensive - and perhaps easiest - method is to ride the FM1 train from the Roma Trastevere train station to FCO ( if that's your airport of departure and not CIA). You can catch the #8 tram anywhere on Viale Trastevere - the main drag - and get off just in front of the Roma Trastevere train station... just as the tram makes a huge right bend! From here, it is only €8 each to ride the regional train all the way out to the airport. These trains come about every 15 minutes (unless it's Sunday or a holiday). So this is probably your best option from Trastevere. For more info getting to FCO, read this link: http://tinyurl.com/go-fco