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Flexible TravelThe Roma Pass is generally worth purchasing if you'll be doing plenty of sightseeing, are visiting Rome for 2-3 days, and are planning to take lots of public transport. At €36.50 (48 hours) or €58.50 (72 hours), the Roma Pass offers good value for money as long as you get plenty of use out of it.
But if you’re planning on exploring Rome on foot and would rather take tours than do your sightseeing alone, the Roma Pass is not worth it.
Public transport tickets only cost €1.50 each (for 100 minutes) or €12.50 for 48 hours. And the entry fees for many museums and attractions average out at €15 per person. (That's €16 for the Colosseum, €15 for Castel Sant'Angelo and €14 for the Ara Pacis at the time of writing).
The Roma Pass is a city pass that grants you free public transport and free fast-track access to one or two of Rome’s major attractions.
There are two types of Roma Pass. The first is valid for 48 hours and grants you free fast-track entry to one attraction; the second is valid for 72 hours and grants free fast-track entry to two attractions.
There are two types of Roma Pass: a 48-hour pass and a 72-hour pass.
The pass is valid from when you first use it, not from when you buy it.
The Roma Pass is great for getting around Rome since it grants free public transport on Rome’s metro, bus, and tram network. It also grants free fast-track entry to at least one of the following attractions (with discounted entry thereafter):
*Entry slots for these sites must be reserved in advance.
The pass also grants the holder discounts to attractions, events, and exhibitions in Rome, and it comes with a map and travel guide — which pales in comparison to our blog 😉.
The Roma Pass includes skip-the-line entry tickets to the Colosseum and Vatican, meaning you save on time if you want to see these attractions on your own.
But we wouldn’t recommend exploring these attractions on your own.
Without the content and context surrounding what you’re seeing, the Roman Forum can seem like nothing but ruins, and the Vatican Museums a vast array of seemingly infinite artworks. The best way to see them is through a guided Colosseum tour with an expert licensed guide.
The Roma Pass does not include free transport from Fiumicino or Ciampino airports. Tickets from/to these airports must be purchased separately.
→ Learn more about getting to Rome from the airports
Entry into many of Rome’s state-run museums and galleries is free or discounted for certain groups. These include children below 10, EU citizens aged 18-25, senior citizens and people with disabilities.
These same museums are also free on the first Sunday of every month (though the money saved on entrance fees usually balances out with time spent in line).
Reservation for the Colosseum and Borghese Gallery is mandatory, even for Roma Pass holders.
To reserve your timed slot for the Colosseum, follow this link and select your preferred time. Then scroll to the bottom of the purchase options to where it says 'RESERVATION OF ADMISSION FOR ROMA PASS HOLDERS' (note that there is a €2 booking fee for everyone over 18).
How to reserve your Colosseum ticket with the Roma Pass
You can book up to a month in advance but we'd encourage you to reserve as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
To reserve your timed slot for the Borghese Gallery, just follow this link and select your preferred time slot. The Roma Pass covers the booking fee. As the Borghese Gallery is as small as it is popular, we strongly suggest booking at least 10 days in advance.
The easiest way to buy the Roma Pass is online through either the official site or Tiquets.
To purchase your pass, just insert your dates and the number of passes, click buy, and collect at one of the following info points in Rome's city centre:
You can also buy the Roma Pass at all participating museums and attractions, but this may result in long waiting times in ticket lines.
If your focus is the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, the Omnia Card is better value.
There are two versions of the Omnia Card: the Omnia Vatican Card and the Omnia Vatican & Rome Card. The first includes access to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel only while the second includes access to all of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, as well as the hop-on hop-off bus tour and entrance to two additional attractions in Rome.
Visiting the Vatican? You may want to check out the Omnia Card.
Bear in mind that the Omnia Card is much more expensive than the Roma Pass, costing €129 for the 72-hour card and €69 for the 48-hour card. And so our advice bears repeating that it's worth purchasing only if you intend to get a lot of use out of it and your schedule is densely packed with sightseeing.
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