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
With the Rome Tourist Pass, you’ll be booking the Colosseum, Vatican Museums and 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 and an audio guide for the Pantheon.
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
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
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 Tickets | 100 minutes | 24 h | 72 h | 7 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 1,50 € | 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.
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
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.
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
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.
Comparison table Rome passes
| Rome Passes | Vatican Pass | Tourist Pass | Turbo Pass |
|---|---|---|---|
| Validity | free | free | 1 - 7 days |
| Email delivery | √ | √ | √ |
| Pick up in Rome | - | - | - |
| Local transport included | - | - | Option |
| Free entry | Vatican Museums | Vatican Museums, Colosseum, Pantheon Audio Guide | Vatican 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 | √ | √ | - |
| Hop on hop off buses | - | - | 1 day |
| Airport transfer | - | - | Option |
| Other services | Rome Audio Guide | Rome Audio Guide | Leonardo da Vinci Experience, Stadium of Domitian, Vicus Caprarius, Wax Museum, Video Game Museum, Gladiators Museum, Palazzo Merulana, Luggage Storage, Ancient Rome Video |
| Rome Passes | Roma Pass 48h | Roma Pass 72h | Omnia Card |
|---|---|---|---|
| Validity | 48h | 72h | 72h |
| Email delivery | - | - | - |
| Pick up in Rome | √ | √ | √ |
| Local transport included | √ | √ | √ |
| Free entry | 1 museum | 2 museums | 2 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 services | Free use of P.Stop toilets, reduced entrance fees for museums | Free use of P.Stop toilets, reduced entrance fees for museums | San Giovanni audio guide + cloister, Carcer Tullianum, free use of P.Stop toilets, reduced entrance fees for museums |
