The Roma Pass is one of a handful of city passes available for visitors to Rome. It is available for 48 and 72 hours, and it is one of only a few that includes unlimited public transport for the timespan of the pass. The scheme includes a number of interesting Rome’s more interesting and popular archaeological sites, museums and related attractions. Depending on the pass you purchase, the first or second venue you visit is ‘free’. For entry to any of the other venues you are then charged a reduced rate. Having used it myself, this is definitely a pass I recommend. But it must be used strategically otherwise it is a waste of money and time.
- Thomas Dowson
- Last Checked and/or Updated 03 June 2023
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- Italy, Italy Travel Tips & Ideas, Travel Reports
My first trip to Rome was the ultimate impulse decision. One drizzly February evening I was researching archaeological sites in the Eternal City on Google maps, and then as if by slight of mouse I was searching for flights to Rome. Not even two weeks later I was sitting in a café across from the Colosseum in bright sunshine. While enjoying a glass of wine and a tomato and mozzarella bruschetta I studied the details of the Roma Pass I had just purchased at the kiosk in the nearby metro station. Everyone who I had mentioned my trip to Rome insisted I get a Roma Pass, so I did – without much research myself.
If the internet made getting to Rome easy, a Roma Pass is indispensable for visiting the city. But I do wish I had researched it a bit more. Not because it was not worth it, but to make better use of it. These are my tips.
What is the Roma Pass?
As with most city passes, a Roma Pass gives the card holder free or reduced access to a set of top archaeological sites, museums and experiences in Rome. Also included is free use of Rome’s public transport system (metro, buy and rail) as well as discounts to certain exhibitions and travel services, including the p.stop network of public toilets. Specific details about all the participating venues and services are provided with a useful map showing where each point of interest included in the scheme is located in the city. There is nolonger any medical assistance for passholders.
The Roma Pass is available for either 48 hours or 72 hours. The only difference between the two, besides the length of time for which the pass is valid, is the number of attraction for which you can enter without paying anything further. (I hesitate to use the word free because you have paid for the card.) For the 48 hour pass, the full entry fee for the first site, museum or experience you visit is included in the price of the card. For all others you then visit after this you pay a reduced entry fee. For the 72 hour Roma Pass, the entry fees for the first two attractions you visit venues are included.
Roma Pass 48 hours costs €32 and the Roma Pass 72 hours costs €52
If used strategically, the Roma Pass is very good value for money. In a two or three day period, you can pack in a lot and the costs soon start adding up, particularly for families. So think about your time carefully and you can save quite a bit. For example, albeit a very simple and obvious one, from your list of participating attractions that you want to visit, choose either the one or two most expensive to go to first – they will be ‘free’ (depending on whether you have the 48 or the 72 hour pass).
The list of attractions in Rome participating in the scheme is extensive. It is not only for the archaeology sites of Rome, but also the planetarium and the zoological museum, as well as a number of other contemporary museums and art galleries. And in these participating institutions, temporary exhibitions and other events that are normally ticketed as extra are included. But do look at either the website, or the accompanying leaflets, for which sites and museums are part of the scheme as not all the obvious ones are – the Vatican museums are not.
The Roma Pass can be bought online, but I thought given that is so easily available in many places it is just as easy and no more expensive to buy in Rome. You get a small ‘wallet’ that includes all the necessary information about what attractions you can visit with the pass, a very good fold-out map, up-to-date information about other participating events, and details about the medical assistance should you need it. The all important ticket itself is the size of a credit card, and has a chip within it that works by a Radio Frequency Identification system. You only need to sign it, and it gets activated the first time you use it.
When using it for the metro, just don’t do what I did.
Having been politely ejected from the Palatine at 6 pm on my first day I decided I had had enough for one day and headed back to my hotel. Walking by the Colosseum I stopped to take a few more photographs. Seeing the nearby metro sign was the last straw, my feet were simply not going to go any further. So I decided to try out my Roma Pass on the metro. To my shame, the ticket gate would not accept my ticket and there was no one official in sight. I tried and tried again, until some young chap indicated I should follow in after him quickly. Which I did. I have to admit to then being concerned about how I was going to get out at the other end, as my ticket would not show I ‘started’ a journey. That fear turned out to be needless – I just walked out. Thinking there was something wrong with my Roma Pass, for two days I quickly followed in after unsuspecting ticket holders. It was not until the end of my third day I saw someone rub their card on the yellow pad of the ticket gate. Of course the instructions are quite clear: “it should not be inserted … touch your card on the yellow reader to get through buses and metro trains. A Green light indicates that the card was read correctly.” The joys of travelling!
I did not really use the metro that often, as all the sites I visited are in close proximity to each other. Walking between them was not only easy, but interesting as there are just so many bits of ruins here, there and everywhere. For more detailed information, the terms and conditions, etc., visit the Roma Pass website.
And the best companion to the Roma Pass? For anyone wanting an in depth guide to the archaeology of Rome, one that will tell you just what all those bits of ruins are (or were), I highly recommend the Oxford Archaeological Guide to Rome by Amanda Claridge (Read a review, but the book is available on both Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk).
Buy your Roma Pass online.
Archaeology Travel Writer
