Roma Pass vs Rome HOHO

[chinathepug]

Hi there, has anyone have any experience with the Roma Pass???

 

We will be in Rome from Sept. 18th to 21st, before our cruise and were intially going to take the 48 hr Rome HOHO/Cruise but then found out about the Roma Pass..

 

We do not know exactly what we plan on doing or sites we want to see in Rome yet and trying to figure out which one would be the best bang for the buck since we would only do one of them.

 

Any info would be greatly appreciated..

D

[cruisemom42]

What are you most interested in doing? If you want to actually visit several museums and other sites (e.g., Colosseum/Forum/Palatine Hill), the Roma Pass is a good deal. It includes free admission to 3 museums/sites (the C/F/PH listed above counts as 1), and free bus/metro transportation for 3 days. It does not include a panoramic overview-type bus ride like a HOHO bus, however. The Vatican museum is not included in the Roma Pass (as it's not officially in Rome), but most other museums are included -- such as the Borghese Gallery, Capitoline Museum, etc.

 

The HOHO bus is just that -- a bus that will drive you past most of the well-known sights of Rome, with a little commentary. But the buses can be crowded and tend to show up on an erratic schedule, so if you actually want to "Hop Off" and visit a site, you may have difficulty hopping back on. The HOHO bus does not, of course, include admission to any sites or museums.

[H2Otstr]

I think the Roma Pass is the better deal just because you can use it for both the metro and the buses. If you buy a Metro ticket it is only good for ONE ride and then all the buses, but only for 75 minutes. Then you have to buy another. Each ticket is 1 Euro. That can quickly add up.

 

If you buy the pass you can ride all day and also get discounts to some of the museums.

 

The HoHo ticket is good if you are only there for 1 day, but if you have an extended stay I feel the pass is a better deal.

[euro cruiser]

Cruisemom has asked the key question. If you plan to visit museums, the Roma pass is a good deal. If not, you're better off buying a multi-day transit pass.

 

The HOHO bus, in my opinion, is a waste of money. Most of the things that most people want to see in Rome are no more than a five to ten minute walk from one another. If you have several days, you can explore Rome in small sections and never be more than a half mile from where you started.

 

Take a look at a guidebook for Rome and make a list of the things that interest you; you'll be surprised at how central most are. Even the Vatican and Castel Sant' Angelo, as close as you come to "outliers", are walkable.

 

Rome buses and trams are easy to use. You can buy bus maps at most newstands in the city, or download them from the ATAC web site (www.atac.roma.it). I noticed that they've just launched a new site and, at least as of this morning, don't have the English language version up yet, but "mappe" is the Italian word for maps and they're pretty easy to find on the site.

 

Rome metro tickets come several ways:

• BIT - 1 Euro, good for 75 minutes
  
• BIG - 4 Euro, good for 24 hours
  
• BTI - 11 Euro, good for 3 days
  
• Settimanale - 16 Euro, good for 7 days
  

[CintiPam]

BTW, the usage of the three-day Roma Pass for museums and the three day period for bus and metro transportation do not have to be the same three days. (They are two separate passes in the same booklet.)

 

We spent five days in Rome in June, with the first day walking only to areas near our hotel, mainly touring the Jewish ghetto area, Pantheon and other nearby churches. The next morning we took the free 116 small green electric tourist bus to the Borghese Gallery, where we had a reservation, and purchased our Roma Pass there, using it first for the entrance fee for the incredbly worthwhile Borghese.

 

After our Borghese visit, we used the free green electric bus back to the Spanish Steps, and walking a lot from there to Ara Pacis, etc. and did not start the transportation pass until the following day, our third in Rome. We then had free transport for our last three days in Rome.

 

The transportation pass starts when you validate it on the bus. Worked out great!

[euro cruiser]

The next morning we took the free 116 small green electric tourist bus to the Borghese Gallery...After our Borghese visit, we used the free green electric bus back to the Spanish Steps

Um, what gave you the impression that the #116 bus is free?

[CintiPam]

Um, what gave you the impression that the #116 bus is free?

 

When we got on the bus at Campo di' Fiori, we tried to pay, and the driver said it was free. There are no places on this small bus to insert a ticket (unlike the regular buses with the boxes for validation). No one who boarded after us produced a pass or ticket either.

[CintiPam]

When we got on the bus at Campo di' Fiori, we tried to pay, and the driver said it was free. There are no places on this small bus to insert a ticket (unlike the regular buses with the boxes for validation). No one who boarded after us produced a pass or ticket either.

 

Sorry, spouse (the man who carries the money while I carry the map) has corrected me: he had purchased regular bus tickets from the tobacco shop, but when we got on the bus, he looked around for the box to validate the tickets. He could not find one, and the driver then told him that it was free. (And, indeed, no one who boarded after us even tried to show or give the driver a ticket.) Of course, these buses are so small, only perhaps seven(?) people could ride in one.

[euro cruiser]

They are small, there are a couple of electric bus routes in Rome (the #117 is also a small electric bus). I could have sworn there was a machine to validate the ticket the last time I was on one, but it's been a couple of years.

 

The reason I asked was that I've known Americans who think that buses in Rome are free because you don't pay as you get on, the way we do here (at least here in New York). It does appear to be something of a free-for-all, so I can see how they could come to that conclusion. I have been on buses several times, however, when they come around to check for tickets and they are serious about it.

 

I've had people in Naples actually ask me why I was validating a ticket, in other words, "why are you paying for the bus? we don't." They actually shook their heads as if to say "poor thing, she doesn't know any better."