How to save on a trip to Rome? Is there a way to simultaneously get benefits for visiting museums and using public transport? One of the possible ways to save time and money is with Roma Pass tourist cards, which promise to make travel by public transport and exploring the sights of Rome cheaper. In fact, in fact, the savings are not so clear, let's look at all the nuances.
Types and cost
What is included in the list of features provided by Roma Pass cards?
There are two types of cards:
- Roma Pass 72 Hours (for 72 hours) for 38.50 euros
- Roma Pass 48 Hours (for 48 hours) for 28 euros. The cost is the same for adults and children.
A single card for tourists Roma Pass provides a range of services, which include preferential entrance to the territory of museum objects and historical and cultural monuments in the center of Rome (zone A) for 3/2 days and the use of the following vehicles:
- ATAC ground vehicles (bus, tram, trolleybus);
- Metro travel (directions A and B);
- electric trains (in the directions to Lido, Viterbo and Giardinetti). You can ride on the sea.
The validity of the Roma Pass - 72 card expires at 24:00 on the 3rd day, and the Roma Pass - 48 at 24:00 on the 2nd day from the date of purchase.
What we have time to see
- Roma Pass 72 Hours grants the right to free two-way sightseeing, and for visiting all the others, a single ticket must be provided to the ticket office in the queue and booked online in advance with a discount.
- Roma Pass 48 Hours grants the right to visit without admission and without a queue of one attraction and a discount on visits to other historical and cultural sites.
The list of museums, the visit of which is preferential for owners of Roma Pass free, can be downloaded here.
To visit the Coliseum, Castel Sant'Angelo or the Galleria Borghese on Roma Pass cards there are no special turnstiles and bonuses that save time. In fact, you pay about the same as regular visitors and pick up tickets at the same box office.
As a single visit is considered an inspection of the following museum complexes:
- Colosseum with a visit to the Roman Forum and the attractions of the Palatine Hill (Colosseo, Foro Romano, Palatino);
- Museum of Modern Art and its branch (Museo di Arte Contemporanea di Roma);
- Planetarium and Astronomical Museum (Planetario, Museo Astronomico), etc.
Both cards give the right of preferential entrance to exhibition events in the indicated museums during opening hours.
There are especially popular attractions with restrictions, for visiting which, even with a single card, you must pre-book a ticket:
- Colosseum - compulsory reservation worth 2 euros for at least 3-4 days
- Borghese Gallery - reservation at least one week in advance by phone or website for 2 euros;
- Palazzo Valentini (Domus Romane).
The reviews of tourists visiting Rome show that Roma Pass has not so many advantages, since it is inconvenient to reserve in advance the sights that are of most interest to travelers.
The only possible advantage of Roma Pass is the city map attached to the single ticket, but in fact the map will be given for free at any hotel or you can download it from the link in PDF format.
Do I need to buy?
When deciding to buy Roma Pass cards in Rome, you need to know some subtleties.
In the range of services provided to owners of Roma Pass, visits to certain historical and cultural sites and trips on the following modes of transport in these areas are not included:
- temporary expositions at the Museum of the Altar of Peace (Ara Pacis);
- sights and museums of the Vatican;
- rail transport of the Trenitalia system;
- electric train Leonardo-express (Leonardo Express) communication with Fiumicino;
- any transport from Rome to the airports of Fiumicino and Ciampino and vice versa;
- Taxi.
When buying cards you need to consider the following:
- children under 10 years old (from any country) use transport for free;
- people with disabilities and the people who accompany them visit museum and historical-cultural complexes for free.
Most of the museums in Rome do not work on Mondays, December 25, January 1, May 1. When planning a trip, you need to check the opening hours of museums that you would like to visit.
All categories of tourists can see 8 sights for free (that is, Roma Pass card is not needed for this):
- Library of the Academy of Saint Luke (Accademia Nazionale di San Luca);
- Museum of Ancient History of Rome (Museo di Casal de'Pazzi);
- Napoleon Museum (Museo napoleonico)
How and where to buy
The Roma Pass card is received at uniform card kiosks or PIT city ticket kiosks 5 days from the payment date. They are located at a number of points:
- at railway stations and at airports;
- at ATAC ticket kiosks;
- at subway stations of lines A and B;
- near the sights in the central part of the city.
Here are some convenient addresses where you can pick up your card:
- Lungotevere Vaticano (Piazza Pia) from 9:30 to 19:00 - this is next to the castle of the Holy Angel.
- At the exit of the baggage claim area at Ciampino Airport from 8:30 to 18:00.
- Piazza delle Cinque Lune next to Piazza Navona from 9:30 to 19:00.
- Departure from the baggage claim area at Terminal 3 at Fiumicino Airport from 08:00 to 20:45.
- In the tourist center on Via dei Fori Imperiali from 09:30 to 19:00.
- Corner of Via Marco Minghetti and Via del Corso from 09:30 to 19:00.
- At Termini Station, Via Giovanni Giolitti, 3 from 08:00 to 18:45.
It is not necessary to purchase a card in advance, but to buy it on the spot at the indicated points, since the purchase price on-line and on the day of arrival is the same. But if you need to use public transport, it makes sense to order a card in advance and pick it up immediately upon arrival at the airport or train station.
Card sales points work every day without days off from 9.30 to 19.00.
You can pay for a Roma Pass ticket with a MasterCard or cash.
If the card is lost or the trip to Rome is canceled after payment online, the funds will not be refunded.
How to use
Using the Roma Pass tourist card is very easy. First indicate the name and surname of the holder and the date of purchase on the back of the card. It takes effect upon the first activation in a museum or transport, if you attach it to a black circle on the composter and wait for the green signal.
Upon entering the museum, the museum worker must present a Roma Pass card and passport.
Questions on using Roma Pass tickets can be asked in the comments on this article.
How to get to the Borghese Gallery by Roma Pass
- Call the gallery at +39 06 32 810 and reserve tickets for your name at the right time and date in English or Italian. The surname must be the same as will be indicated on the Roma Pass. You can sign up before arriving in Rome.
- Come to the gallery an hour before the appointed time to get tickets on your card.
We sincerely advise you to visit the Borghese Gallery only if accompanied by a professional art critic who will put you on the shelves with information about Bernini and Caravaggio.
Conclusions and Math
Let's calculate whether it is profitable to buy Roma Pass, only mathematics, nothing personal.
Traveling in Rome for 100 minutes by public transport costs 1.5 euros, for 48 hours - 12.5 euros, for 72 hours - 18 euros. All transport prices are taken from the official website www.atac.roma.it
Subtract these transport costs from the cost of Roma Pass cards:
- Roma Pass 48 = 28-12.5 = 15.5 euros left for 1 attraction;
- Roma Pass 72 = 38-18 = 20 euros left for 2 attractions.
They usually take cards for the most popular attractions: a ticket to the Coliseum costs 14 euros, to the Borghese gallery since 2019 - 15 euros. Moreover, in the Borghese gallery you need to book a ticket in advance and in fact there are no seats for 3-7 days in the season from March to November, and for 1-2 weeks on super popular dates (May holidays, Christmas, etc.).
It turns out if you actively use public transport and run around all the sights, you will save 5-15 euros, provided that you get confused and manage to reserve a place in the Borghese gallery. Without a gallery, the benefit of a card is highly doubtful, although it’s worth recognizing that it’s convenient to use it, if only because of public transport.
Official website in Italian: www.romapass.it
