Should I Buy a Roma Pass?

UPDATE: On January, 1 2012, the cost of the Roma Pass jumped from €25 to €30 – a 20% increase. There is a proposed ATAC (bus and metro) ticket increase for June 2012. With this latest increase – and no changes to the benefits – the Roma Pass may become less viable for you – at least until the proposed price increase in June 2012. Certainly you’ll have to be far more organized to get an effective return on the revised cost of the Roma Pass. I’ve updated the costs in this article, but you’ll need to consider how you want to spend your three days if you purchase the pass. Here’s the text of the original posting….

One of the few discounts available to non-EU travelers in Rome is the Roma Pass. The Pass, currently priced at €30 (effective January 1, 2012) , has multiple benefits. First, it serves as a three-day transportation ticket, good at all local metro, bus, tram and regional train connections… and second, it acts as a museum or “site” card that gives you free access to two locations and discounts to many others. The only downside is you must cover these sites… and use the transportation system … in the same three days. So you have to BE ORGANIZED to use this card effectively.

It’s important to say it again – When you use your Roma Pass, the FIRST TWO museums or archaeological sites you go to are FREE. After you visit the first two sites, any other sites on the approved “site” list are then “discounted” when you present the card. The card is only good for THREE DAYS so you’ll have to plan your itinerary in order to maximize your usage of the card. After three days, the card is NO longer valid for sites or transportation. The card is ALSO valid for discounts at exhibitions, events, dance performances, and even the theater. It now includes the benefit of the Medical Call Center of Travel Health MET.

From their website, the Roma Pass kit currently contains the following:

• • Roma Pass -your public transport and site card
• • Roma Map -a map of the city illustrating the location of Tourist Information Points, Underground stations, museums/sites of interests
• • Roma Pass Guide -the complete list of museums/sites of interest that have joined the initiative;
• • Roma News -the program of events and tourist services that are eligible for discounts divided by area of interest: art, music, theatre, dance, entertainment and sightseeing tours.

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How to Use Your Roma Pass at Museums or Sites?

When you purchase your Roma Pass, you must print your name and the date you will start using the Pass on the overleaf form. Then, when you go to your first site/museum – or validate on your first transportation system… the card is “validated.” This starts the clock running. Now you have until midnight of the third day to use your card. So if your first stop is the Colosseo on Monday at 10:00, then your Roma Pass card will expire on Wednesday at midnight…

The first two sites you go to are FREE with your card. After that, any other site you go to is discounted and you must present your Roma Pass card at the ticket office to get the discount. The “barcode” information on your card will contain your initial validation date. It also tells the vendor whether or not you have been to “two” free sites already. By rule, you must present ID when you use your Roma Pass at a site – Frankly, I’ve helped folks used this card over a hundred times and NO ONE has ever asked to see an ID. But you probably should carry a “copy” of your passport photo page anyway. In Italy, you must always have a valid form of ID… that’s the law. This card is ONLY good for three days so if you plan to get multiple discounts, you will have to plan ahead.

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How to Use Your Roma Pass for Transportation?

You can get free access for THREE DAYS on ATAC buses and trams, the Metro Lines A & B, and specific “local” Met.Ro train lines: the Roma-Lido, Roma-Viterbo (in the Roma-Sacrofano section), and the Roma-Pantano lines. You can also use the pass inside the “Rome-zone” on Regionale trains in 2nd class. Using the bus and metro system you can get all over town. See our previous posting, Bus Riding In Rome for more help

Most folks do not use the Pass for trains as the routes and times can be a little limited. The train line most folks use their Roma Pass on is the Roma-Lido line. This route will take you to Ostia Antica, the ancient settlement, for free – using your Roma Pass transport ticket. If you stay on the LIDO train, as the name suggests, it will take you all the way to the beach and the Tyrrhenian Sea, which is an arm of the Mediterranean. Just get off at the last stop (C. Colombo), walk across the street from the Metro Station, and you’re at the sea! Of course, it’s mostly private beaches in this area, but you can use your transportation pass to ride a bus in this area a few stops south to the public beach! If you’ve ever been on the LIDO train, you’ve seen everyone with their ice chest, umbrellas, and bikinis headed to the beach – It’s how we often go!

Again, you’ve written your name and the first date you will use it on the overleaf of your Roma Pass. If you’ve used it for a museum or site, it’s been validated. If you’re using it for transport first, “validate” it on your first bus, tram or metro ride. THE PASS IS ONLY VALIDATED ONCE - either the first time you get on a transportation system or at the first museum/site you visit.

The Roma Pass is now a “plastic card” so to “validate” the card at the metro you hold it over the pad at the turnstile. On the buses, you would validate the pass by holding it OVER the yellow button on the validation units on the bus. The machine will flash a green color signal and you’re validated. Again, you only have to validate ONCE … but you will have to use the plastic card each time you ride the metro to get through the turnstiles.

The “old” packet with the separate site and transportation paper cards in the left side pockets.

The “new” packet with the plastic card in the top left pocket and an info brochure in the bottom slot.

The Transportation Pass and Museum/Site Card are now on THE SAME PLASTIC CARDT – THIS IS A CHANGE if you’ve used the Roma PAss years ago. Now that the site and transportation privileges are on the same card, the clock is now ticking (concurrently). In the past you could actually ride buses for three days using the separate transportation card… and then use the separate site card for three days. No more – Unfortunately, now that the two sections of the Roma Pass operate concurrently you only get three days (really less since it expires at midnight). So do plan your sites – and paths – before you validate!

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What is this Travel MET Health Benefit?

I’ve never had cause to use the Health Benefit section of a Roma Pass – thank goodness. This is a relatively new feature of the card. It does provide a multilingual CALL CENTER, open 24 hours a day. You can get information about public and private medical facilities in Rome. They will also give you location information (address, phone number, hours open) of facilities in your close proximity. And if you need direct medical assistance, they do provide a service in this area at discounted fees.

If you have an emergency in Italy, the Italian healthcare system is pretty responsive. They do their best work in emergencies – and often you may not even see a bill! It’s when you need to schedule an eye appointment, persistent back pain, etc. that you get in trouble here – so, in most cases, you’ll be taken care of. I think this “Roma Pass benefit” is a good support mechanism, and I would use them as such if I had this card. For an emergency, the Italian system would be my first contact.

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I’ve hear of the Roma&Più Pass, What’s the difference?

The Roma&Più Pass is exactly like the Roma Pass… but whereas the Roma Pass is for the city of Rome, the Roma&Più Pass is for the city of Rome and the province of Lazio. So it has a larger scope. Currently the Roma&Più Pass is listed as €27 – BUT NOT BEING SOLD! According to the Roma Pass website, it’s coming back soon – but that’s been posted for some time! So what do you get on the Roma&Più Pass?

On the transport section of the pass you get the same benefits as the Roma Pass AND you can ride the extra-urban COTRAL coaches (regional bus line), and the regional railways of Trenitalia (2^nd class). So in the province of Lazio, you can use your Roma&Più Pass to head to Tivoli on the COTRAL bus or regional train. You can ride trains – other than the Met.Ro trains in and around Rome – as long as you stay in the first three zones of the Trenitalia map! (Tthe Roma Pass does only two zones on these trains).

If you are looking to get out of the city to Lake Braciano, than this pass works for you. This always seems to stir up confusion, but according to the lastest updates on the Roma Pass website (April 27, 2011), NEITHER PASS WILL WORK on the Leonardo Express from FCO to Termini or on the FR1 train from the Airport into town – UGH! Sorry, but those routes are big money makers for Trenitalia!

Using the Roma&Più Pass you will also have access to Museums and sites in the Province, not just in Rome… so you get a few more opportunities to get discounts or free entry. This is primarily more of a benefit if you plan to travel and visit sites outside the city of Rome.

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Where are these good at?

Head to the Roma Pass website to get the best descriptions – CLICK HERE – but this is a list of what they currently feature for the Roma Pass and Roma&Più Pass:

ARCHAELOGICAL MUSEUMS

• • Appia Antica – Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella e Castrum Caetani -Via Appia Antica, 161
• • Appia Antica, Terme di Caracalla – Viale Terme di Caracalla, 52
• • Appia Antica – Villa dei Quintili – Via Appia Nuova, 1092
• • Colosseo, Palatine Hill, and Forum – These three all count as ONE STOP
• • Trajan’s Market – Piazza della Madonna di Loreto
• • Capitolini Museum – Piazza del Campidoglio, 1
• • Centrale Montemartini – Via Ostiense, 106
• • Museo Barracco – Corso Vittorio Emanuele, 166/A
• • Museo dell’Ara Pacis – Lungotevere in Augusta
• • Museo della Civiltà Romana – Piazza G. Agnelli, 10
• • Museo delle Mura – Via di Porta S. Sebastiano, 18
• • Museo Nazionale d’Arte Orientale – Via Merulana, 248
• • Museo Nazionale dell’Alto Medioevo – Viale A. Lincoln, 3
• • Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia – Piazzale di Villa Giulia, 9
• • Museo Nazionale Preistorico ed Etnografico “Luigi Pigorini” – Piazza G. Marconi, 14
• • Museo Nazionale Romano – This has four different sites that all counts as ONE STOP on your Roma Pass: The Crypta Balbi, Palazzo Altemps, Palazzo Massimo, and the aggregate of the Terme di Diocleziano.
• • Museo Nazionale Romano – Crypta Balbi – Via delle Botteghe Oscure, 31
• • Museo Nazionale Romano – Palazzo Altemps – Piazza di S. Apollinare, 48
• • Museo Nazionale Romano – Palazzo Massimo – Largo di Villa Peretti, 1
• • Museo Nazionale Romano – Terme di Diocleziano – Via E. De Nicola, 79
• • Scavi di Ostia Antica – Viale dei Romagnoli, 717 (Ostia Antica)
• • Villa di Massenzio – Via Appia Antica, 153

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MODERN MUSEUMS

• • Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna – Viale delle Belle Arti, 131
• • Galleria Borghese – Piazzale del Museo Borghese, 5
• • Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica in Palazzo Barberini – Via d. Quattro Fontane, 13
• • Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica in Palazzo Corsini – Via della Lungara, 10
• • Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Venezia – Via del Plebiscito, 118
• • Museo di Roma – Piazza San Pantaleo, 10
• • Musei Capitolini – Piazza del Campidoglio, 1
• • Galleria Spada – Piazza Capo di Ferro, 13
• • Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant’Angelo – Lungotevere Castello, 50
• • Museo Napoleonico – Piazza di Ponte Umberto I, 1
• • Museo Nazionale degli Strumenti Musicali – Piazza S. Croce in Gerusalemme, 9/A
• • Museo Nazionale delle Arti e Tradizioni Popolari – Piazza G. Marconi, 8-10

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CONTEMPORARY MUSEUMS

• • MACRO – Via Reggio Emilia, 54
• • Museo di Roma in Trastevere – Piazza S. Egidio, 1/B
• • Museo Carlo Bilotti Aranceria di Villa Borghese – Viale Fiorello La Guardia
• • Musei di Villa Torlonia Casina delle Civette – Via Nomentana, 70
• • Musei di Villa Torlonia Casino Nobile – Via Nomentana, 70
• • Museo Pietro Canonica a Villa Borghese – Viale Pietro Canonica, 2 (Piazza di Siena)

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SCIENTIFIC MUSEUMS

• • Planetario e Museo Astronomico – Piazza G. Agnelli, 10
• • Museo Civico di Zoologia – via Ulisse Aldrovandi,18

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MUSEUMS IN THE PROVINCE – GOOD WITH THE Roma&Più Pass

• • Museo Archeologico Nazionale Cerite – Lungotevere Castello, 50 (Cerveteri)
• • Museo Archeologico Nazionale Prenestino e Santuario della Fortuna Primigenia – Piazza della Cortina, 1 (Palestrina)
• • Museo del Giocattolo – Palazzo Rospignosi, Piazza Indipendenza (Zagarolo)
• • Museo delle Navi Romane – Via Diana, 15 (Nemi)
• • Necropoli della Banditaccia – Piazzale della Necropoli (Cerveteri)
• • Palazzo Chigi in Ariccia – Piazza di Corte, 14 (Ariccia)
• • Scuderie Aldobrandini per l’Arte – Piazza Marconi, 6 (Frascati)
• • Villa Adriana – Largo Marguerite Yourcenar, 51 (Tivoli)
• • Villa D’Este – Piazza Trento, 1 (Tivoli)
• • Villa Gregoriana – Largo Sant’Angelo/ piazza del Tempio di Vesta (Tivoli)

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The EVENTS that either the Roma Pass or the Roma&Più Pass are viable at are very date specific. So I recommend that you click on the links below if you are interested in “events.”

• • Art
• • Cinema
• • Dance
• • Music
• • Theatre
• • Sightseeing Tours
• • Festivals
• • Tourist Services
• • The Lido (Beach)
• • Health Service Assistance
• • In the Province – Roma&Più Pass only

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Where can I get one of these passes?

You can purchase the Roma Pass and Roma&Più Pass online and at many locations throughout town. I suggest against purchasing online because you’re not sent the packet. Rather, you are given a “code” that you have to take to specific “pick-up points.” Now, if one of these is convenient to your hotel or B&B, then yes, this can be an effective method for you. But more often than not, these pick-points are not. And many do not open until 9 or 9:30 AM! So do know that if you purchase online you WILL NOT walk off your plane with a packet in hand.

You can also purchase these over the phone at their call center, +39 060608. Again, you will still get a code for a pick-up. The good news is that all participating museums and sites listed above sell the Roma Pass. The bad news is… often they are sold out. So don’t wait until you get to a site expecting to buy the pass and then use it to go. Okay, that’s how it’s supposed to work…. But as we say here, T.I.I. – This is Italy!

You can also purchase your Roma Pass at all the Tourist Information Sites, called PIT, which stands for Punti Informativi Turistici. Again, these open about 9 AM – 9:30 depending on season and location. Some of these include, but are not limited to:

• • PIT Castel S. Angelo, Lungotevere Vaticano (Piazza Pia). 9.30 – 19.00
• • PIT Ciampino, Aeroporto – International Arrivals Area in the Baggage collection. Open from 9.30 – 18.30
• • PIT Cinque Lune, Piazza delle Cinque Lune (Piazza Navona). 9.30 – 19.00
• • PIT Fiumicino, Aeroporto Leonardo Da Vinci - International Arrivals Area in outside Terminal 3 in the hallway heading towrd the escalator to the train. station. Open from 9.00 till 18.30
• • PIT Minghetti, Via Marco Minghetti (angolo Via del Corso). 9.30 – 19.00
• • PIT Nazionale, Via Nazionale (Palazzo delle Esposizioni). 9.30 – 19.00
• • PIT S. Maria Maggiore, Via dell’Olmata. 9.30 – 19.00.
• • PIT Termini, Stazione Termini – Via Giovanni Giolitti, 34. 8.00 – 20.00
• • PIT Trastevere, Piazza Sidney Sonnino. 9.30 – 19.00

You can also pick up the passes at a new information desk in Termini which is adjacent to where you go for car rentals. This is on the far right side of the station as you look at towards the incoming trains, to the right of Track #24. Also, outside Termini, in the main square in front, Piazza dei Cinquecento, you can purchase your Roma Pass at the “Trambus Open.” The zoo in Villa Borghese sells the passes, as does the Visitor Center on Via dei Fori Imperiali – the road leading to the Colosseo (It will be on your left, about 250 yards away, as you are walking towards the Colosseo).

In addition, you can buy the Roma Pass at many, many newsstands. You’ll see their signs and logo posted everywhere. (see the picture above). I’ve bought them in the metro station at the Colosseo, downstairs in Termini, and on street corners downtown. So again, you don’t have to buy this online to find it.

How much can you save with a pass? Click on this link for the prices, as of January 2012, for all the participating sites and museums: Cost of Tickets

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Okay, great info, but should I buy either of these Passes?

The bottom line is that if you are going to be in Rome for three days, plan to visit two major sites included in the Roma Pass or Roma&Più Pass, and plan to use the public transportation system, then this is a good buy for you. Let’s do the math.

• • The most popular site is the Colosseo. When you use the Roma Pass at the Colosseo, this ticket ALSO includes the Forum and Palatine Hill. These all count as ONE STOP on your Roma Pass… so you still have one site you can visit free. The Colosseo bundled ticket costs €9, but when it has an exhibit (ALMOST ALWAYS!), you will pay €12.
• • Let’s select a second “free” site. Many folks use this pass at the Galleria Borghese or the Capitoline Museum. The current price for the Galleria Borghese is usually €8.50.
• • A three day metro pass in Rome (BTI – Integrated Tourist Ticket, Biglietto Turistico Integrat) costs €11.

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• Colosseo, Forum, Palatine Hill          €12
• Galleria Borghese                               €8.50
• BTI – Integrated Tourist Ticket        €11

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That comes to €31.50 – or a savings of €1.50 if you use the transport system. If you go to the Capitoline Museum, this site, with exhibition fees, is often €10.50. If you are not going to use the transport system AT ALL, then this pass probably will not save you money. You could only offset the cost by receiving multiple discounts at sites AFTER your first two free site visits. But remember, you have to do all this in just three days.

So, I’ll say it again, if you plan on using public transportation, either of these passes may make good sense. If you are staying in a central location, like the Pantheon area. you might not use the transport piece as much as Rome is very walkable if you have no mobility issues. As a local, I live here, ride the buses and metro often, so I spend my day jumping on and off buses to reduce walking…. but you will have to do your homework on the bus or metro system. Obviously, if you’re headed out of the city, the Roma&Più Pass, for two more Euro offers a better deal. (Hopefully they will start selling it again soon!)

Two notes of caution. The Roma Pass or Roma&Più Pass do not work on the trains in from the FCO Airport (Leonardo Express or FR1), and also you do not see the Vatican mentioned anywhere. The Roma Pass DOES NOT work at the Vatican – that’s a separate country and is not covered by either pass.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use the Roma Pass to “skip the lines?”
At the Palatine Hill and Forum, you would not have to wait in line to purchase a ticket. With the Roma Pass you already have yours. So at Palatine and the Forum entrance, you can head past the crowds directly to the turnstiles, and using your Roma Pass go right in!

At the Colosseo, in the past everyone had to go through security – Now they have removed the “token” X-RAY machines, so hold your Pass in your hand, go directly towards the turnstiles. First you see three divided areas by ropes – GO TO THE CENTER PATH, pass in hand. You will go directly down the center all the way to the turnstiles. On your LEFT is a line for groups…. On Your RIGHT is the line to purchase tickets. You will blow past both of these lines and go directly to the turnstiles and in! According to the February 1, 2010 update, there is now a “designated” turnstile for Roma Pass holders. Head for it! Frankly, if you’ve had the pass and know the system, you always bypassed the lines!

Can I get discounts first, and then because of my schedule, use the pass at the free locations I want?
No, the FIRST two sites you go to and use the pass will be your “free” sights. They scan the pass and electronically “marks” your card as used. So you have to plan out your first two locations!

Can I buy the Roma Pass tickets at the Airport in Rome, but not use them till I come back the following week?
Yes, you can buy the pass anytime you want and hold it … indefinitely. I’ve had two or three in my possession for more than a month. As long as you DO NOT the pass (be it for a site or a bus/metro) you can use it when you come back to town. Your three days do start until the card is VALIDATED. That’s either when you put it in a validation box on a bus or tram or enter a metro or it’s the first time you enter a site or museum … they validate it!

Can I use the Roma Pass is Florence for the Uffizi or in Pompeii?
No, sorry. These passes are only good in Roma, or if you buy the Roma&Più Pass, in the parts of the province of Lazio.

Is the hop-on/hop-off bus included in the Roma Pass?
No, Bus 110, the hop on/off bus, is not included in the Roma Pass but you can purchase it for a 15% discount using your pass! See Bus 110

Roma Pass and Roma&Più Pass – what does Più mean?
Più means “extra” and as you see from these comparisons, the Roma&Più Pass does give you more extras!

Do under 12′s need a Roma Pass?
Okay, this can be very confusing and very subjective. From a transport side, children under 10 do not need a ticket to ride the Metro. Okay, that’s the easy part. On the “site or museum” part of the pass, it is dependent on the specific “site” or “museum” you are going to. So you may have to go to their website for more details. Unfortunately, many sites DO NOT offer children fees to non-EU citizens, so you may be forced to pay full price.

How do I use the Roma Pass at the Galleria Borghese – they say you need a reservation
This question gets asked all the time… and it can be very confusing. First, yes you can use your Roma Pass or Roma&Più Pass for entry into the museum at no cost to you. Unfortunately you need a reservation to get into the Galleria Borghese. When you go online to get a reservation, it asks you for a credit card number, etc. and you have to PAY for the reservation online. This is NOT what you want.

To use the Rome Pass, you must get a reservation “code.” The good news is this costs NOTHING! The bad news is you cannot get this online (at least as of April 2009). To get a code, you must call the Borghese Galleria at +39 (06) 32810. The office is open during ROME HOURS as charted below. Frankly on Mondays I always get a recording they are closed????

• MON – FRI 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
• SAT 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
• SUN Closed

To save you money and hassle, just email your hotel or B&B and have them call for you. You will need to provide:

• The DATE you want to go to the Galleria
• The NAME to put the reservation under
• The TIME you want to go (2 hour periods at 9 AM, 11 AM, 1 PM, 3PM, and 5 PM – pick your time)
• The NUMBER of tickets you will need

Often times though you can only book your slot 3-4 weeks in advance, although this time period varies quite erratically. Better to have someone local call, then to waste money and find out they are not accepting bookings for your time period yet! Once I did book about 6 weeks out for someone… no one seems to understand their booking system – including them.

The Galleria website, for more info, is http://www.ticketeria.it/ticketeria/borghese-eng.asp

Can I buy either pass in Rome with a credit card rather than Cash?
At the official Tourist Information points (many listed above), the Info desk INSIDE Termini, and at the Airports, yes – you can use your Visa, MC, or AMEX card. Out at the newsstands and local vendors, no – most do not accept credit cards.

Can I use the either pass at the Colosseo one day and the Forum the next, as they are counted as one site, or do I have to all of them on one day?
The Colosseo, Forum, and Palatine Hill are all counted as one site… but you get two days to enter them. So on Day 1 you could go to the Colosseo and then on Day 2 to the Forum and Palatine Hill. What you cannot do is GO BACK into one of these three. For example, if you went to Colosseo on Day1, then back to Colosseo on Day 2….you have now used 2 sites and your card is not good for anything FREE – except to visit the Palatine or Forum on that second day – so good at all three but only for one entry each!

When you buy a Roma pass can you use it on the trains and buses before you enter a museum or site, or do you have to enter a site before can use the transportation piece?
Now there is only “one card” in the packet. Thus the transportation card is NO LONGER separate from the “site or museum” card. Effective Febraury 1, 2010 they NO LONGER work independently. Now you must use the card as a tranportation and site card concurrently – a big change that will require you to be more

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Header: Rome(Colosseo) – Photo by fe_ni_ks