Roma Pass, is it worth it? Tourist card comparison

Whether the Roma Pass or City Passes are worthwhile is hotly debated. Here you will find all advantages and disadvantages at a glance.

Overview

Most people expect a Rome City Pass to save them money. The question is whether you can actually take advantage of many offers without just rushing from one museum to the next.

However, with Rome Passes that include reservations, you can really save time. You don’t have to gather all the services and tickets individually but book everything together at once. You can see at a glance which dates are available at the Colosseum and the Vatican Museums, so you can coordinate the dates. If you have to register and verify on several websites, it will take you several hours from research to bookings and the individual payments.

Basically, there are two categories of passes:

  • without public transport, with delivery by e-mail and including reservations for the Colosseum and the Vatican Museums.
  • including ÖPNV, with pickup on site but without reservations for the museums.

Roma Passes with reservations

All reservations are included with the Turbo Pass, the Vatican City Pass and the Rome Tourist Pass. Delivery is by email. The advantage is that when you buy the passes you are sure that you can actually visit the museums.

Our tip: Rome Tourist Pass

Digital Pass Rom

With the Rome Tourist Pass you book the Colosseum, the Vatican Museums and a guided tour for St. Peter’s Basilica in no time. All reservations are included and are made immediately upon booking and delivered instantly as an email.

In addition, you will receive an audio guide with lots of information about sights in Rome.

The advantage of the Rome Tourist Pass is the particularly good availability of tickets when they are otherwise already sold out. The passes will be delivered via email.

Vatican Pass

Digital Pass Vatican

With the Vatican Pass, you book the Vatican Museums along with a guided tour for St. Peter’s Basilica. All reservations are included and are made immediately upon booking and delivered instantly as an email.

The Vatican Pass includes entry to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, a guided tour of St. Peter’s Basilica and an audio app for Rome.

Turbopass Rome

Rom Turbopass

The Turbopass Rome is a very flexible pass. It can be booked with a validity of 1 – 7 days. In addition to the reservations for the Colosseum and the Vatican Museums, the Turbo Pass offers access to numerous other museums and exhibitions and a day ticket for the hop on hop off buses.

Optionally, the guided tour of the Vatican Museums and the airport transfer can be booked. You can also book public transport tickets, but you have to pick them up on site.

Public transport and Roma passes

Does it make sense to buy the Roma Pass or the Omnia Card with the 72h public transport ticket? We’re not convinced.

Rome has a very small city center and you can usually do almost everything on foot. There are only long distances if you have the hotel at Termini train station or further outside the city center. Some sights such as the Basilica of St. John, the Basilica of St. Paul, the catacombs or the monumental cemetery are outside the center and you need a means of transport. Whether you take single tickets or multi-day tickets depends on where the accommodation is located and what you want to visit.

Basically, it is important to know that you have to pick up the passes with public transport in Rome. With the public transport option in the Turbopass you have to redeem a voucher in Rome.

Getting public transport tickets in Rome is not difficult. There are single tickets, 24h/48h/72h tickets and weekly tickets at reasonable prices. You can find more details about all ticket types including e-tickets in our article on Metrebus Tickets.

Metrebus Tickets100 minutes24 h72 h7 days
Price1,50 €7 €18 €24 €

Private pickup at the airport

It is very convenient to be picked up privately from the airport and the driver will arrange the 72-hour ticket for you. Reservation is extremely easy and you pay for the journey and ticket directly with the driver.

Roma Pass, is it worth it? Tourist card comparison 1

Passes without reservations

The Roma Pass and the Omnia Card must be picked up on site. Reservations are not included. You should make the reservations before purchasing any of these passes. Otherwise you risk, especially in the high season, that the Colosseum or the Borghese Gallery are already fully booked and you cannot visit the desired museum despite the Roma Pass.

Roma Pass

Roma Pass online

The  Roma Pass  is the official tourism card of the municipality of Rome.

The Roma Pass offers free travel on public transport for 48h or 72h.

You can also visit one museum for free with the 48h pass or two museums with the 72h pass. However, most museums require an extra reservation. The Vatican Museums are not included.

Telephone reservations: Colosseum +390639967700 – Borghese Gallery +390632810 – Municipal Museums of Rome +39060608.

The whole procedure seems a bit cumbersome to us. In this case it is easier to book the museums directly.

Kolosseum Tickets Tiqets

Musei Vaticani Tiqets

Child discount

There is no child discount with the Roma Pass. Children up to the age of 10 have free travel on public transport. Children up to the age of 5 have free entry to the museums of the Municipality of Rome. Children and young people up to the age of 18 have free entry to the state museums.

Omnia Card

Omnia Card

The Omnia Card is the city card of the Roman pilgrimage. It combines the Roma Pass with the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, preferential entry to St. Peter’s Basilica, audio guide and entry to the cloister of the Basilica of St. John – the seat of the Bishop of Rome – and entry to the Carcer Tullianum, where the Apostle Peter was said to have been imprisoned. You can also use the yellow hop on hop off buses with the Omnia Card.

Getyourguide Tickets and Tours

Comparison table Rome passes

Rome PassesVatican PassTourist PassTurbo Pass
Validityfreefree1 - 7 days
Email delivery
Pick up in Rome---
Local transport included--Option
Free entryVatican MuseumsVatican Museums, ColosseumVatican Museums, Colosseum, Pantheon Audio Guide, Castel Sant'Angelo, Roman National Museums, Baths of Caracalla
Reservation for the Colosseum included-
Vatican Museums
St. Peter's Basilica with guide+ Dome with audioguide-
Hop on hop off buses--1 day
Airport transfer--Option
Other servicesRome Audio GuideRome Audio GuideLeonardo da Vinci Experience, Stadium of Domitian, Vicus Caprarius, Wax Museum, Video Game Museum, Gladiators Museum, Palazzo Merulana, Luggage Storage, Ancient Rome Video
Rome PassesRoma Pass 48hRoma Pass 72hOmnia Card
Validity48h72h72h
Email delivery---
Pick up in Rome
Local transport included
Free entry1 museum2 museums2 museums + Vatican Museums
Reservation for the Colosseum included---
Vatican Museums--
St. Peter's Basilica with guide---
Hop on hop off buses--√ (currently only on weekends)
Airport transfer---
Other servicesFree use of P.Stop toilets, reduced entrance fees for museumsFree use of P.Stop toilets, reduced entrance fees for museumsSan Giovanni audio guide + cloister, Carcer Tullianum, free use of P.Stop toilets, reduced entrance fees for museums

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