How to get around in Rome

12/10/202301/15/2024

The question ‘How to get around in Rome’ is a challenge for tourists who create a journey without help of travel agencies. It’s no less important than booking a hotel and buying airline tickets. It’s better to have a plan of what you would like to visit. It will be easier to choose the right way of travelling based on your preferences.

The best variant to learn more about Rome is on foot. This choice of moving gives you an opportunity not to be nervous in traffic jams and to feel the atmosphere of local life. It’s also the cheapest way to get around the capital of Italy. You don’t need wait for any public transport and follow the schedule. However, travelling on foot it’s impossible to visit Vatican City and some other historical sights if your hotel in in the center of Rome. One more bonus of go sightseeing on foot is exercising. You can eat as much pizza and pasta as you want and stay fit.

Travelling on foot

ADVANTAGES	DISADVANTAGES
cheap	exhausting
interesting	lingering
no stressful (no impatient drivers and no traffic jams)	limited

Tips for travelling on foot:

Be sure in your English or Italian.
Choose the most comfortable shoes.
Look the weather forecast beforehand.
Charge your camera and mobile to maximum.
Use google maps and feel free to ask locals where to go.

The second variant how to get around Rome is renting a car. This choice gives your comfortable moving without crowds of other tourists in a transport. It’s also an opportunity to see more sights for one day because you can overpass long distances. Remember that for travelling by car you must have an International Driver’s Permit. You should be ready for difficulties in parking within historic city center. Choose renting a car if you can ignore impatient and fast Italian drivers. But don’t drive if your goal is to enjoy stress-free holidays.

Travelling by car

ADVANTAGES	DISADVANTAGES
fast	stressful
private	expensive
comfortable	dangerous

Tips for travelling by car:

Have money for fines.
Be sure in your driving skills.
Read Italian traffic laws in advance.
Check if you have the international driver’s permit.

If you don’t have the driver’s license but prefer moving by car, choose a taxi. A driver will watch the road instead of you and there will be more opportunities to enjoy views outside. It can be expensive enough with frequent use. Italian drivers may be very friendly and you can learn a lot about life of locals and their habits. But it’s a human factor and a driver may be aggressive and impatient.

Travelling by taxi

ADVANTAGES	DISADVANTAGES
a good variant in a pandemic	expensive
a friendly conversation with an opportunity to practice your English or Italian	impatient drivers
	traffic jams

Tips for travelling by taxi:

Have time in reserve.
Be patient to drivers’ emotions.
Have time to pay more than the declared cost.

If you prefer public transport or you just don’t have the driver’s license, buses and trams are good enough for sightseeing. You should be ready crowded conditions aboard because this type of travelling is one of the cheapest. Traffic jams can also spoil the impression of Rome if you are late for excursions. The main benefit of public transport is price. Different types of tickets will help you to save much money.

Travelling by buses and trams

ADVANTAGES	DISADVANTAGES
cheap	crowded
no need to watch the road	schedule
no need to look for parking	not suitable in a pandemic

Tips for travelling by buses/trams:

Learn changes in the schedule.
Don’t forget to buy tickets and validate them.
Don’t be late for evening buses not to be lost far away of your hotel.

If you plan to see all historical places and visit every point from an excursion guide, use the metro and urban railways. Despite the metro in Rome has only three lines it’s the quickest way to get around the capital of Italy. This variant is the best one for lengthy journeys and busy travelers. The metro will help you to reach the Vatican Museums, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum, Roman Forum and the Caracalla Baths. And you will do it in convenient conditions and not for a high price.

Travelling by the metro and urban railways

ADVANTAGES	DISADVANTAGES
cheap	dangerous in a pandemic
fast	no sightseeing during moving be metro
no traffic jams	no personal space
convenient for reading/watching smth

Tips for travelling by the metro/urban railways:

Watch your wallets and documents.
Buy long-term tickets which will help you to save money.
Learn the metro map and don’t be shy for asking the right direction.

Tickets for public transport in rome

Tickets for travelers of Rome differs from each other in the number of days they stay in the city and how often they plan to use the public transportation.

One-way ticket (BIT) is for 75 minutes since its first validation. You can transfer between the metro, urban railways, buses and trams unlimitedly. The price is €1.50.
Day pass (BIG) is also for unlimited public transportation, but it will be available until midnight. It costs €6.
3 Day Tourist Pass (BTI) is for unlimited use of the public transportation from the first validation and for the following two days. It is €16.50.
Week pass (CIS) is for travelers who stay in Rome for a weak. The price is €24.
Annual and monthly travel tickets also save money but they are more for locals than for tourists.

All these tickets you can buy in any metro station, shops or newsagents.

Aldo there is a great offer for tourists. The Rome Pass is a card that reduce price for the major attractions in Rome and unlimited use of the public transport for two or three days. You can choose between Roma Pass 48 hours and Roma Pass 72 hours. All you need for using this card is filling out your personal information. For two days it costs €32 and for three days – €52.

All these main attractions are included in the card:

Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
Castel Sant’Angelo
Baths of Caracalla
Trajan’s Market
Borghese Gallery
Capitoline Museums
Villa Giulia – Etruscan Museum
Ara Pacis
Baths of Diocletian
Palazzo Massimo alle Terme
Palazzo Altemps
Crypta Balbi
Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna
Palazzo Barberini – Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica
Palazzo Venezia
Galleria Spada
Museo di Roma