Anyone planning a city trip to Rome can look forward to an exciting journey through the centuries. Italy’s capital is rich in ancient ruins and historical treasures, and culinary temptations lurk on almost every street corner.
Several Rome passes combine entry to various sights, including ancient sites and museums. These discount cards are usually valid for a fixed time window of 1-3 days and replace the majority of standard Rome attraction tickets.
In our Rome City Pass comparison, we present all the Rome passes, share our personal experiences, and explain which are really worthwhile.
Our Top 2 Recommendations:
Rome City Pass (Turbopass)
- more than 12 attractions included
- Use Hop-on Hop-off for 48 hours
- Use public transportation free of charge
- Airport transfer is optionally bookable
- Skip-the-line entry to many attractions
- Optionally for 1 day, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 7 days
- Digital pass directly for your smartphone
Rome Tourist Card
- Most important sights:
- Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill
- Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel
- Many guided tours optionally bookable
- 10% discount on many other attractions
- It can be used indefinitely
- Digital pass directly for your smartphone
- Worthwhile to just 2 attractions visited
The 5 Best Tourist Passes for Rome
There are a total of 5 City Passes for Rome, which differ significantly from one another in direct comparison. Therefore, it is almost impossible to make blanket recommendations. Visitors who explore Rome in two days need a different offer than someone who spends a whole week.
Consequently, there are various passes for different target groups. First, however, we would like to introduce you to the two Rome Passes that particularly impressed us in our comparison:
Rome Passes in Comparison: Which City Pass is the best?
Which City Pass you should buy for your visit to Rome depends entirely on your individual trip. The following table gives you a good comparison of the various City Passes and their benefits.
In our experience, you can save the most money with the Turbo Pass. However, if you only want to see the most important attractions in the city, the Tourist Card is a good choice.
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Rome City Pass
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Rome Tourist Card
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Roma Pass
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Omnia Card
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Explorer Pass - Go City
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Pass-Image:
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Pass Validity:
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1,2,3,4,5 or 7 days
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unlimited in time
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48 / 72 hrs.
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24 / 72 hrs
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60 days
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Pass Delivery:
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Digital by mail (pick up a metro ticket in Rome)
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Digital by mail
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Pick up in Rome
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Pick up 24 h passes digitally by mail / 72 h pass in Rome
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Digital by mail
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Attractions included:
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12
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3
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Choice of 1 or 2 from over 30
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35+
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Choice of 2-7 from over 40
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Public Transportation:
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Hop-on-Hop-off:
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(1 day)
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Price:
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from 82,90 €
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from 97,00 €
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from 33,00 €
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from 129,00 €
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from 79,00 €
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Booking:
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1) Best Rome Tourist Pass to see as much of Rome as possible:
Rome City Pass (Turbopass):
One of the most popular passes for Italy’s capital is the Rome City Pass. This discount card offers a wide range of ways to explore the city and keep costs as low as possible.
You will save the most if you use the City Pass for 3-7 days in Rome and see a lot. Those who visit Rome in 2 days often save more with one of the competing Rome Passes.
Choice of many Top Attractions:
Included are more than 12 exciting sights in Rome, hop-on hop-off for 48 hours, a city tour, as well as an optional return airport transfer and free use of public transport. The following top attractions are included:
- Colosseum
- Roman Forum
- Palatine Hill
- Pantheon
- Vatican Museums
- Sistine Chapel
- Castel Sant'Angelo
- Baths of Caracalla
- Museo Nazionale Romano
- Leonardo da Vinci Museum
- Palazzo Barberini
- .....
Here, you will find an even more detailed list of all the sights included.
Admission without queuing:
As you can see, the pass already covers the most important attractions in Rome. Particularly practical is to skip the queue at the Vatican and use the designated special entrances to the Vatican Museums, which will save you a lot of time and stress. In high season, waiting times can be up to 2.5 hours.
Individually bookable options:
- Colosseum admission
- Without Colosseum (cheaper)
- Admission to the Vatican Museums without queuing
- Admission to the Vatican Museums without queuing + 2-hour guided tour (plus €15 per person)
- Without Vatican Museums (cheaper)
- Public transportation (metro, bus, streetcar)
- Airport transfer (there and back)
Admission to St. Peter’s Basilica is free anyway. With the Turbopass, however, you get priority entry, so you don’t have to queue. Once activated, you can book the pass for 1 day, 2, 3, 4, 5, or even 7 days.
The longer you use the pass, the cheaper it becomes. No matter how many days your ticket is valid, you can enjoy the panoramic buses on the hop-on hop-off city tours free of charge for 48 hours.
Booking an airport transfer from Rome and using public transportation for free is also possible.
Choose a Time Slot for your Visit:
You can reserve your desired visitor time slot when booking your ticket for the Colosseum and the Vatican Museums. In our experience, selecting different visitor days for the Vatican and the Colosseum makes sense.
There is a lot to discover here! There is a high volume of visitors, especially during the high season between June and October. Strict security checks also increase the waiting time. Therefore, planning your visiting time a little more generously is better.
This is what happens after the Purchase:
Your Rome City Pass will be sent to you digitally via email at least one day before your departure date. You can show these tickets on-site using your smartphone or print them out in advance.
If you book a transfer from the airport, you will also receive this by email. The local transport ticket can also be booked by ticking the box. You will receive a voucher to collect the local transport ticket together with your City Pass by email.
However, you must collect the ticket for local transport. You can pick it up at the “Trips To Rome” pick-up point at Piazza dei Cinquecento 51 at Termini Central Station. The pick-up point is a kiosk opposite a pharmacy.
Be sure to check your spam folder, as experience has shown that emails from ticket providers are often classified as spam. The pass is valid from the first time you use it. It includes the Rome City Pass app with several audio guides, a series of routes, and, most importantly, information on how to use the pass effectively.
Our Conclusion on the Rome City Pass from Turbopass
From our point of view, the Rome City Pass is the discount card that is most worthwhile for the majority of visitors to Rome. It is at least the most convenient way to get to know the Italian capital to the full.
From admission to various sights in the city, you have free access to public transport and hop-on hop-off. You can also see the most important things in the Vatican. With this pass, the longer you stay in Rome, the more the pass pays off.
2) Best Tourist Pass to see only the most important Highlights of Rome:
Rome Tourist Card:
The Rome Tourist Card is much more compact than the Turbo Pass, which also impressed us. Those who opt for this package receive admission tickets to the most important sights in Rome and are not even limited in time.
You can redeem your tickets on a single day or split them over several days. This makes it one of the most flexible combined tickets in our Rome Pass comparison.
Public transportation is not included, but this pass still offers a lot of convenience. As with the Rome City Pass, no tickets need to be collected on-site. Therefore, you can travel to Rome in a relaxed manner and start your sightseeing adventure.
The following Sights are included:
- Colosseum (incl. fast admission)
- Colosseum guided tour: 3 hours (optionally bookable)
- Roman Forum (incl. fast track admission)
- Palatine Hill (incl. fast admission)
- Vatican Museums (incl. fast track entry)
- Sistine Chapel
Individually bookable Options:
- Vatican Museums (incl. fast track entry) + bus tour of the Vatican Gardens
- Vatican Museums Guided tour: 2.5 hrs.
- Guided tour of St. Peter’s Basilica: 1 hour (English, Spanish, French, Italian)
- St. Peter’s Dome admission + audio guide
- St. Peter’s Dome admission + guided tour, approx. 105 minutes
Admission without queuing:
The Tourist Card offers priority entry to crowded attractions. Fast-track entry without queuing allows you to quickly see as much of Rome as possible. It couldn’t be more relaxed!
There are long waiting times at the Colosseum and the Vatican Museums in particular. In high season, you may have to wait up to two hours or more.
Digital Rome Pass - Everything conveniently on your Cell Phone:
The Tourist Card is a digital pass for Rome that is sent to you by email. You will receive your tickets conveniently by email, so you don’t have to go anywhere to collect them.
You will also receive a comprehensive audio guide app for your smartphone. This app contains over 100 sights in Rome, digital offline maps with good navigation, high-quality descriptions, audio commentaries, and pictures of the highlights.
Discounts on other Tickets:
You will also receive a 10% discount on your other ticket purchases at Tiqets.com, the provider of the Rome Tourist Card. Our recommendation: book tickets well in advance. Because of the enormous demand, tickets are often sold out for weeks.
Our conclusion on the Rome Tourist Card
The Rome Tourist Card is the ideal pass for visiting only the city’s most important sights. If you want to visit two or three main attractions in Rome, this combined ticket will already save you a few euros.
You can also enjoy the discount for additional attractions. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to buy only the basic attractions as a package and book additional museums at a later date.
For these reasons, we highly recommend this discount card. You will see the city’s most important highlights and can combine the rest of your explorations individually and at a discount.
3) The official Museum Pass of the City of Rome:
Roma Pass:
The official museum pass of the city of Rome is called the Roma Pass, a temporary discount card that can be purchased for 48 or 72 hours. Depending on which of the two options you choose, you will receive free entry to 1-2 sights or museums of your choice.
Important: the order of the visits is decisive! With the 72-hour ticket, for example, you get entry to the first two sights you visit in Rome. From the third museum or archaeological site onwards, you pay the reduced admission that the pass allows.
There are more than 45 attractions for you to choose from. These include the Colosseum and Roman Forum, Castel Sant’Angelo, and the famous Galleria Borghese.
Only the entrance to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel is not included, so these tickets must be purchased separately anyway. Just like the Omnia Pass for 72 hours, the Roma Pass must also be collected on-site.
The following is included in the Roma Pass:
- 1-2 free attractions from over 45 offers (depending on 48 / 72-hour pass)
- Discount on other highlights
- Free use of public transportation
- Partly preferential admission without queuing
- Free access to supervised toilets in the P.Stop network
Where to pick up your Roma Pass:
If you decide to take advantage of the Roma Pass, you must collect it in person after your arrival in Rome. To do this, select a date on which you would like to collect the pass. After purchasing the ticket, the pass can be collected at the earliest 24 hours later – and up to six months later.
You can pick up your Roma Pass at the following tourist locations in Rome:
- Castel Sant’Angelo, Piazza Pia (Castel Sant’Angelo Gardens): October 26 to March 28 from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., from March 29 to October 25 from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Ciampino Airport (outside of the arrivals area) from 8.30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Fiumicino Airport (Leonardo Da Vinci Terminal T3 for international arrivals) from 8.30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Fori Imperiali, Via dei Fori Imperiali: from 9.30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Termini station, Via Giovanni Giolitti 34 in building F – platform 24: from 9.30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Another disadvantage of the Roma Pass is that you have to register to visit the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. If you want to redeem the pass for both sights (one ticket), you must reserve admission in advance at the Roman Forum’s ticket offices.
Our Conclusion on the Roma Pass
The Roma Pass is the cheapest City Pass in the comparison and is correspondingly popular. If you only want to explore the most important sights within 2 or 3 days, this pass is absolutely worthwhile.
However, only the first two sights are free of charge. Therefore, it is important to think about which highlights you want to see before your city trip.
The shared use of public transport in Rome is efficient, and you would probably have bought tickets without it. If you want to visit the Vatican extensively, you should probably opt for the Rome City Pass or the Omnia Card for 72 hours.
The only major disadvantage of the Roma Pass is that it still has to be collected, which can be really annoying on a short city break. Fortunately, the tourist points where you can get your pass are well located. Ideally, you should collect your ticket as soon as you arrive at Termini station or at one of the two airports.
4) Best Rome Pass to see as much of Vatican City as possible:
Omnia Card for 24 / 72 hours:
The Rome Omnia Card is particularly suitable for those who are spending a short stay, such as a weekend, in the Italian capital.
Like the Rome City Pass, which we introduced to you at the beginning, the Omnia Card is a time-based pass. It is available in two versions.
There is a 24-hour pass, which you receive directly by email after purchase, and a 72-hour pass, which unfortunately has to be collected on-site in Rome. With the pass, you get free entry without queuing for all the sights included.
Omnia Pass for 24 hours:
- Hop-on hop-off bus trips (for 24 hours)
- Vatican Museums (incl. fast track entry)
- Sistine Chapel
- Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano (admission + audio guide cloister included)
- Mamertine Dungeon (admission + audio guide)
- Guided tour through the catacombs of San Calixtus
Omnia Pass for 72 hours:
- Hop-on hop-off bus trips (for 72 hours)
- Free access to public transportation (for 72 hours)
- Vatican Museums (incl. fast track entry)
- Sistine Chapel
- St. Peter’s Basilica audio guide
- Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano (admission + audio guide cloister included)
- Mamertine Dungeon (admission + audio guide)
- Guided tour through the catacombs of San Calixtus
- 2 free admissions to museums and/or archaeological sites (e.g., Colosseum & Roman Forum) from the Roma Pass list
- Reduced admission to all other museums / archaeological sites on the Roma Pass list
Please note: the 72-hour Omnia Card pass must be collected in person from one of three ORP offices in Rome! The 24-hour pass, on the other hand, is sent by email, and you can print out the tickets at home.
Our conclusion on the Omnia Card
The Omnia Card clearly focuses on the highlights of the Vatican. You will receive the official St. Peter’s Basilica audio guide and fast-track entry to the Vatican Museums (+ Sistine Chapel).
If you choose one of the 2 freely selectable entrance tickets, including the Colosseum, you have covered the most important sights in Rome. In addition, you can enjoy as many city tours on the hop-on, hop-off bus as you like.
You save money on public transport and don’t have any stress. Many visitors should also be very interested in visiting the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, one of the five papal basilicas in Rome.
The Omnia Card also offers all the advantages of the Roma Pass, which we present to you next. All in all, however, we believe that other Rome Passes are much more worthwhile.
The Omnia Card is a little too expensive to make it really worthwhile. However, it is more convenient, as you don’t have to book individual tickets separately.
5) Rome's Best Tourist Pass for Guided Tours & other Extras:
Rome Explorer Pass (Go City):
If you prefer to experience Rome with lots of informative audio guides or tours, you should familiarize yourself with the Go City Rome Explorer Pass. Unlike the passes presented so far in our comparison, the Explorer Pass is valid for 60 days from the time of activation.
The price of this pass depends entirely on the number of activities you choose. You can decide in advance on the number of attractions (including the associated tour/multimedia tour, etc.) that you would like to visit.
You can choose from 2 to 7 entrance tickets/activities, from the Colosseum and the Roman Forum to guided tours of St. Peter’s Basilica, some museums, cooking classes, and much more.
The many skip-the-line offers are also very pleasing. They allow you to skip the queues at the entrance to the Colosseum and the like and not have to wait in line.
This pass also focuses on cultural highlights such as operas, concerts, cooking classes, and so on. So it includes tickets that you won’t find in any other pass. You can also use hop-on, hop-off buses free of charge for 24 hours and explore the city in comfort.
The following is included in the Go City Explorer Pass:
- The pass is valid for 60 days
- Pass for 2 – 7 attractions (choice of over 25 activities)
- Many audio guides and guided tours included
- Operas, cooking courses & much more are possible
- Hop on, hop off for 1 day
Our Conclusion on the Rome Explorer Pass
The Rome Explorer Pass is a good choice for visitors to Rome who want to experience the highlights of the city as intensively as possible. With this pass, you can choose from a list of over 35 popular sights and activities and visit them at your own pace.
In comparison, this is one of the more expensive city passes for Rome, mainly due to the many extras already included in the price. These include skipping the queues in many places, participating in guided tours, listening to audio guides, and more!
So if you are staying in Rome for several days and don’t like the stress of visiting various sights, you will have a very relaxed time with this pass.
However, if you want to do without extras such as audio guides and guided tours or are only staying for 1-2 days anyway, then you are much better off buying one of the other passes. Another positive aspect is that you don’t have to collect anything on-site, as this is a purely digital pass for your smartphone.
It’s a shame public transport is not included. After all, the pass is aimed at visitors who want to spend a few days in Rome and be mobile.
Attractions of the Best Rome City Passes in Comparison:
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Rome City Pass
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Rome Tourist Card
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Roma Pass
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Omnia Card
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Explorer Pass - Go City
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Pass-Image:
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Pass Validity:
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1,2,3,4,5 or 7 days
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unlimited in time
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48 / 72 hrs.
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24 / 72 hrs
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60 days
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Pass Delivery:
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Digital by mail (pick up a metro ticket in Rome)
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Digital by mail
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Pick up in Rome
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Pick up 24 h passes digitally by mail / 72 h pass in Rome
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Digital by mail
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Attractions included:
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12
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3
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Choice of 1 or 2 from over 30
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35+
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Choice of 2-7 from over 40
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Public Transportation:
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Hop-on-Hop-off:
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(1 day)
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Price:
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from 82,90 €
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from 97,00 €
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from 33,00 €
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from 129,00 €
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from 79,00 €
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Booking:
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Rome City Passes in Comparison - What exactly is a Tourist Pass?
A City Pass is a tourist offer available in many major cities around the world. It is a combination card or pass that gives visitors to Rome admission to several popular sights, museums, and other activities around the city.
Rome Passes are generally valid for 24, 48, or 72 hours, depending on the offer. However, combined tickets are also available that are valid for 4, 5, or even 7 days. The advantages and disadvantages of individual passes are very different.
Some of Rome’s city passes entitle you to visit as many museums and other sights as possible free of charge. Other passes only include the most important activities and offer free travel on a hop-on, hop-off bus, an airport transfer, or the metro.
- Free admission / reduced admission:
City Passes allow visitors to the city to save money, as there are often considerable discounts compared to buying individual admission tickets.
- Entry without waiting (skip the line)
Especially during the high season, tourists in Rome spend a lot of time queuing on site. Many City Passes in Rome offer visitors to the city access to attractions without having to queue every time. This saves time and allows for a stress-free exploration of the city.
- Reduced costs & cost control
The ticket prices for City Passes in Rome are fixed in advance, so you can plan your travel budget perfectly. Buying a discount card simplifies your vacation planning enormously, as you only have 1 ticket for all the sights. There are no confusing additional costs that break your travel budget!
- Maximum flexibility
Rome Passes offers flexibility when choosing the sights and activities you want to visit. You can set your own priorities and make the most of your pass.
- Further advantages
Some passes also offer extras such as access to public transport, guided tours, hop-on, hop-off, and more! If you combine cleverly, you can really save money.
When is it worth buying one of the Rome Passes?
In our experience, it is impossible to generalize about whether buying one of the Rome passes is worth it. The City Passes offered by Rome are so different that the choice should be made individually.
You must think about which sights and activities you want to see before your trip to Rome. However, a few pointers will help you decide whether a Rome Pass is worthwhile or not:
- If you are traveling to Rome for the first time
Those visiting Italy’s metropolis for the first time will usually focus on visiting the most important sights, such as the Colosseum & Roman Forum. These can be visited free of charge with all Rome passes, which is a great advantage for first-time visitors in particular.
- If you want to see a lot in the shortest possible time
Some passes also offer skip-the-line entry, for example, to St. Peter’s Basilica or the Vatican Museums. The time you would have wasted queuing at the entrance can now be used to take a closer look at other highlights in Rome.
- If you would like to use public transportation in Rome
In our comparison, some of the City Passes entitle you to use public transport in Rome. If you opt for a Roma Pass, the Omnia Card, or the Turbo Pass, you no longer need to worry about metro tickets in Rome.
- If you are passionate about museums and culture
Anyone interested in art and culture will be delighted with the extensive range of Rome Passes. Many great museums are included, so the investment is often well worth it.
Editor: Sebastian Erkens
Hey and welcome to Rome-Tourist! My name is Sebastian and I travel regularly to Rome, Italy.
On our Rome blog you will get valuable travel tips. If you have any questions about specific tours or sights, feel free to leave us a comment.
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