Rome Trip Planning pt. 1; City Cards

Before documenting our Roman travels, I thought I would share some trip planning advice, as these are things that should be done before a trip to Rome.

During our sojourn here in Europe, I've learned that most cities have city cards. These discount cards allow you to pay a one-time fee of 30-50 euros (per card) and will grant you free discount admission to popular attractions around town. Usually included with these cards as well are benefits like unlimited use of public transit and discounts at select restaurants and shops. Most cities have 1; Rome has 2 city cards and 4 museum cards.

The 4 museum cards all work the same way; you pay for the card and in return you receive admission to all museums covered on the card. For more information about the cards click here.

• The Roma Archeologia Card is valid for 7 days and costs €27.50. 
• Admission is provided for the Colosseum, Palatino and Palatino Museum, National Roman Museums, Baths of Caracalla, Cecilia Metella, and Villa Dei Quintili.
• The Biglietto 4 Musei is valid for 3 days and costs €6.50.
• Admission is provided for Palazzo Altemps, Palazzo Massimo, Terme di Diocleziano, and Cripta Balbi.
• The Capitolini Card is valid for 7 days and costs €9.00
• Admission is provided for the Capitoline Museum and Centrale Montemartini.
• The Appia Antica Card is valid for 7 days and costs €7.50.
• Admission is provided for Terme di Caracalla, Cecilia Metella and Villa Dei Quintili.

Next is the Roma Pass, a traditional city card including free admission to select sights and public transit. The card is valid for 3 days and costs €30.00. The first two museums or archeological sites visited are free, and any following sites visited entitle the bearer to concessionary (discount) tickets. Unlimited use of public transit is included for 3 days. For full details of all the card’s benefits, click here.

The final pass is the OMNIA pass. This card includes a Roma card and provides admission to various Vatican sights, several audio tours, and a hop-on/off bus tour. The pass is valid for 3 days and costs €90.
In addition to all the benefits of the Roma Pass (see above), the OMNIA pass provides free admission to the Vatican Museums (Sistine Chapel), Mamertine (St. Peter’s) Prison, St. Peter’s Basilica or the Vatican Gardens, and St. John Lateran Cathedral with cloisters. There is also an independent audio guide for use at sites and walking tours around the city.  Full details are available on this website.

I personally recommend the Roma pass. The price point is excellent for the services provided; we especially utilized the public transport. I think the OMNIA pass is too expensive and is a little misleading. Admission to St. Peter’s is always free, though it won’t be fast. You are paying extra for the fast pass entrance. Furthermore, the tour of the Vatican museums and Sistine Chapel is by audio guide only. If you visit the website of the Vatican Museums you can book tickets or tours personally guided by Vatican employees. Booking ahead of time, you will be able to bypass the line at the Vatican Museum entrance, and the one of the tours ends in St. Peter’s Basilica, thereby bypassing security and giving you fast pass/preferential treatment. A simple ticket costs €16.00 and a guided tour of the museums and the Basilica is €37.00. The best part about booking these tickets is personally selecting the time of your visit, allowing you to tailor your schedule around the tour ahead of time. As I understand it, with the OMNIA pass you are assigned a time to visit.

As for St. Peter’s prison, I read numerous online reviews, deciding if we wanted to visit on our own. Admission is around €5-10 (I couldn’t find an exact number). Reviews were mostly negative. Apparently, the prison recently changed how the tour is conducted. Before it was designed as a quiet, contemplative experience, but they have changed it to an audio tour where the walls “talk” and tell the story of St. Peter. I also read that there is a lot of doubt about the authenticity of the prison, and it’s likely he was never held there.

Rounding out the OMNIA pass is a visit to the St. John Lateran cathedral. This is the official cathedral of Rome, where the Bishop of Rome has his seat. Admission to this cathedral is free, but to visit the cloisters it will cost €2.

There is also the hop on/hop off bus. Reviews of the bus used by the pass are not very favorable, and there are other, cheaper buses to ride, like the 110 bus, with discounts for ROMA pass holders.

Rick Steves has a free app available for both apple and android phones. The app provides a range of audio guides for cities all around Europe, including Rome. These were helpful, informative and free!

So, adding all this up, the price of comparable (slightly better) visits, without the OMNIA pass is €98. However, I would eliminate the prison as it is no longer designed as a religious experience. I would probably not ride the bus either, there really isn’t time, but if you want a hop on/off bus the 110 bus is only €18.00 for 2 days or €15.00 for 1 day, and there are further discounts available if booking in advance online. This brings the costs down to €87.00 (with a 2 day hopping bus ticket) for a better, more tailored tour. During our visit we were only able to visit the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica. There just wasn’t time for a bus tour or to visit the cathedral (no visits on Sundays) in three days. Yet another reason to avoid the OMNIA pass, as it has such a high price tag and such a short validity. If you are planning on being in Rome for longer than three days, you can buy back to back Roma Passes, or you can visit the public transit site of Rome and buy travel passes allowing unlimited public transit use for a specified number of days. There are many ways to tailor your trip, and always run the numbers to make sure you are getting the best deal; no one wants to overpay.

Useful Links!

Rome Museum Cards

Roma Pass Online Ordering

OMNIA Card

Vatican Museums Online Booking

Hop On/Hop Off Open Bus Tour

Rick Steves Audio Guide Europe App