The city of Rome is full of marvellous places to see, and the cumulated cost of all the tickets can rapidly increase. It is therefore almost essential to buy a tourist pass in Rome. Not only do you save money with Rome city passes, but you also save time with skip-the-line access. Which Rome pass should you buy for your trip? How to choose the one best suited to you?
This short comparative study of tourist passes for Rome is here to help you decide which one to get. With the full list of prices, included visits and others details, you should be able to quickly decide which tourist pass is the right one for you.
Comparison of Rome Passes
As in many other major European cities, there is not just one but several passes available to visit the capital of Italy. You need therefore to take the time to compare them before choosing the best Rome pass, the one that will be the most suitable for your stay.
In this comparison, we’ll look at these tourist passes in detail: price, validity periods, visits included as well as additional benefits. Before that, we are going to give you a brief overview for a clearer understanding of the main differences.
The Omnia card is the most comprehensive city pass. It gives you skip-the-line entry to the must-see Vatican but also to the Colosseum and Roman Forum. It also gives you unlimited use of the public transport network.
Advantages
- the most comprehensive pass
- skip-the-line for the major sites
- includes access to public transport
Price
- Omnia Card 72 hrs : 149 €
The most affordable but also the least comprehensive city pass for Rome. It allows entry to one or two monuments (including skip-the-line entry to the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine) and gives you access to the city's public transport network.
Advantages
- ultra-basic tourist card
- one or two skip-the-line visits
- includes access to the city’s transport network
Price
- Roma Pass 48 hrs : 33 €
- Roma Pass 72 hrs : 53 €
A 100% online pass that means you don’t have to collect the card in Rome. Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel, Roman Forum, Palatine or Colosseum, it brings together all the must-sees in the Italian capital. Suitable for a first time visit.
Advantages
- a 100% online pass
- it covers the must-see visits
- 10% discount on your other visits
Price
- Rome Tourist Card : 74 €
Omnia Card, the most comprehensive Rome City Pass
The Omnia Card is the tourist pass that includes the most benefits. We are going to focus on this option which is ideal for a first stay when you might want to just wander round and visit the city’s must-see attractions.
Price of the Omnia Card
Since there is no option or validity period to choose from when purchasing it, the Rome Omnia Pass prices are quite straightforward.
| Age | Price |
|---|---|
| 18+ | 149 € |
| 6 - 17 | 69 € |
| 0 - 5 | free |
Visits included in this Rome Pass
This is certainly the main thing to focus on: the visits and other advantages that a city pass entitles you to. And as mentioned above, the Omnia is clearly the most comprehensive Rome pass. It’s the one that offers the most benefits.
Here’s what you’ll get if you buy the Omnia Card:
- audio guide (doubles as a skip-the-line ticket) for St. Peter’s Basilica
- skip-the-line ticket for the Vatican Museums
- entry to the Sistine Chapel (which is located inside the Vatican Museums)
- audio guide for the Basilica of Saint John Lateran and its cloister as well as entry to the Treasury Museum
- access to the Vatican&Rome Open Bus service (hop-on, hop-off bus)
- ticket for the Mamertine Prison (Carcer Tullianum)
- ticket for the underground passages of the Basilica of Santa Maria in Via Lata
The Omnia Card also includes the Roma Pass, which we’ll write about next. In addition to the advantages mentioned so far, you can enjoy two of the visits mentioned below as well as access to the public transport network:
- skip-the-line access to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine (all considered as a single visit)
- Borghese Gallery
- Castel Sant’Angelo
- Capitoline Museums
- Baths of Caracalla
- unlimited access to public transport for 72 hours
- a map of the city and the Vatican City
- discount on the price of other museums
Omnia Card validity period
The pass lasts three days. The validity period begins at the first visit with the Rome pass and not when you purchase it or collect it in Rome. You can therefore buy the Omnia card well before your trip.
It should also be noted that this period of validity is counted in days and not in hours. To be more specific, if you make your first trip on a Friday at 5 pm, your pass will be valid until Sunday evening. We therefore recommend that you do your first visit with the card in the morning in order to maximize its duration and thus its value.
Where can you collect your pass in Rome?
When you buy your tourist pass online, you’ll receive your voucher by email straightaway. You will then have to present it, in paper form or on your mobile phone, in order to obtain your Omnia Card. To do this, you’ll need to go to:
- the exchange desk at the Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi
- opening hours: Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm and Sundays (and public holidays) from 9 am to 1 pm.
This exchange office for tourist pass collection is really close to the famous St. Peter’s Square. You won’t have to make a long detour to collect it.
Roma Pass, the basic card
The Roma Pass is the second available option. This is also the most basic card and therefore… the least expensive one. There are two validity periods available: 48 hours or 72 hours. Beyond the duration of the city pass, the choice you make also affects what you can do with the card. More details below.
Roma Pass prices
When buying your card online, you must choose a validity period: 48-hour (two days) or 72-hour (three days).
| Age | Roma Pass 48 hrs | Roma Pass 72 hrs |
|---|---|---|
| 18+ | 33 € | 53 € |
The advantages of this Tourist Card
The visits included in the Roma Pass differ according to the duration chosen at the time of purchase:
- a single visit of your choice for the basic 48-hour version
- a choice of two visits for the 72-hour pass
These visits can be chosen from the following list:
- skip-the-line visit for the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine (all considered as one visit because it’s the same ticket)
- Castel Sant’Angelo
- Capitoline Museums
- Baths of Caracalla
- skip-the-line entry to the Borghese Gallery – or you can choose from among many other museums or cultural sites in the capital
The other advantages remain the same, regardless of the chosen version, namely:
- access to the public transport network during the validity period of the Roma Pass
- map of the city
- discount on some museum or tourist site tickets
Period of validity
The period of validity must be chosen when purchasing online: 48 hours or 72 hours. This duration is counted in hours and not in days. For instance, if you activate your Roma Pass on a Tuesday at 4 pm, the 72-hour pass will be valid until Friday at 3:59 pm.
This can be incredibly convenient, especially if you arrive in the city at the end of the day. This allows you to use your tourist card straightaway without losing any part of a day.
Where can I collect the Roma Pass?
The Roma Pass takes the form of a physical tourist card. You must therefore collect it when you arrive in Rome. The confirmation voucher received by email just after your purchase is necessary to get the pass. There’s no need to print the voucher off, it’s enough just to present it on your smartphone. Do remember though to bring your identity document as it may be asked for at the desk.
Here are the three collection points you can go to:
- the Centro Storico, on the corner of Via Marco Minghetti and Via del Corso: every day from 9:30 am to 7 pm.
- the Visitor Center located by the Roman Forum (Via dei Fori Imperiali): every day from 9:30 am to 7 pm.
- the Castel Sant’Angelo ticket office (Piazza Pia): every day from 9:30 am to 7 pm.
These three exchange desks are well located in tourist areas of the capital. You’ll be able to collect your Rome pass quickly and without any detour.
Rome Tourist Card, a 100% online pass!
The Rome Tourist Card offers slightly fewer visits than the Omnia card. It has however many other advantages: a lower price of course, but also a 100% online, hassle-free purchase option.
Prices for this Tourist Card
As no option are available for this pass, the price are pretty straightforward. Age is the only factor that changes the price.
| Age | Price |
|---|---|
| 18+ | 74 € |
| 4 - 17 | 62 € |
| 0 - 3 | free |
What is included in the Rome Tourist Card?
This city pass does not include access to transport, but it does include access to all the must-sees for your first stay in the city.
Below, you will find the details of all the visits and all the benefits provided by this Tourist Card:
- fast-track entry for the three major archeological sites: Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine
- fast-track ticket for the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel
- guided tour of St. Peter’s Basilica (including fast-track entry)
- audio guide for the Pantheon in Rome
- audio guides for over 100 places of interest in the capital
- 10% additional discount on other entrance tickets booked online
What is its period of validity?
This is clearly one of the main advantages of this Rome pass: there is no time limit to use it As this tourist card is 100% online, you must choose your visit dates online when you purchase it. You can spread them over two or three days but also over 10 days or even more. It’s a real advantage even if you plan to spend only a week there.
You don’t have to schedule all your visits over two or three days. You can spread them over your entire stay. This is also true for additional tickets and the 10% discount on them. After buying the Tourist Card, you’ll receive the promo code by email. You can then book other tickets at a 10% discount, even if these entries are for five, seven or 15 days after the visits included in the city pass.
How does the Rome Tourist Card work?
Nothing could be easier! This is by far the most convenient Rome pass. As the Tourist Card is 100% online, you don’t have to pick up or exchange anything in Rome. That’s the first advantage. How it works can be summarized in these few steps:
- you buy the city pass online, choosing the visit dates
- you receive immediately the receipt and skip-the-line tickets by email
- you also receive the 10% discount code
- you can then book your other visits, using this discount
- once there, simply display the skip-the-line ticket for checking at each monument or museum
The absence of a physical tourist card is a real asset because you don’t waste a minute when you’re there. On the other hand, unlike the Omnia card, you won’t have the benefit of a map of the city in paper form.
Conclusion: which Rome Pass to choose?
In the light of all this information, which city pass should you buy? The first thing to keep in mind of course is that there is no single straight answer. None of these options is necessarily the best pass for visiting Rome. The one to choose is the one best suited to what you want to see and how long you want to stay.
Below you can find of few tips to help you choose your tourist card for visiting Rome, based on the profile of your trip.
Which tourist card is the best when you stay for two or three days?
As part of a short stay to visit the must-sees, the Roma Tourist Card is probably the best choice. You will benefit from skip-the-line entry, wasting no time queuing among the other tourists. It will also give you access to the main monuments of the capital of Italy than you must absolutely see.
On a short trip, it seems pointless to opt for a more comprehensive Rome pass. It will cost you more and you won’t be able to include more visits into your Rome schedule. Moreover, with the additional 10% discount, if you want to buy one or two additional tickets, you can take advantage of the discount.
What’s the best pass for a more complete visit to Rome?
If you plan to go all over the city and want to see several museums or monuments, the Omnia Card is the right pass for you. Offering access to the public transport network, it also includes fast-track access to the entire Vatican City: St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums where the Sistine Chapel is located.
It also allows you to choose two skip-the-line tickets from the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine (this all counts as one visit), the Borghese Gallery or the Capitoline Museums. Thus, this is the best Rome pass for a first trip. If you’re not planning to take the metro, the Tourist Card can be a good alternative, but beware : it includes fewer visits.
Which city pass for a second trip to Rome?
The Roma Pass is the best choice for a second trip to the city. It is ideal for visits that you weren’t able to do during your first stay. Unless you want to visit the must-sees again, such as the Colosseum or the Vatican Museums, the Roma Pass allow you to explore new places in the city.
By opting for the 72-hour pass, you can use unlimited public transport and choose two visits with skip-the-line access. You can then visit less prominent monuments or museums that you had to forego during your first visit to Rome.