Best Hop-on-Hop-off Rome City Tours 2025: Prices, Tickets & Routes
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In this article, we will compare the various hop-on, hop-off tours in Rome and share our experiences.
There are 5 companies in Rome that offer hop-on, hop-off city tours. At first glance, the offers from the various providers are very similar.
There is one main route with 8 stops, which all bus companies share. This includes sights such as the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, and the Vatican.
In this article, you’ll find out why Big Bus is our favorite hop-on hop-off provider in Rome and which city tour is the best for those on a budget!
Look forward to a relaxed city tour of Rome in one of the city’s hip double-decker buses! The prices of Rome tickets are similar to those of other Rome tickets. The bus routes, on the other hand, do not vary greatly.
Author
Who’s writing here?
Hi there, fellow adventurers!
I’m Allie and I travel to Rome a lot! ♥️
Allie
Rome Guided City Tours
Best Hop-on-Hop-off Tours in Rome
In Rome, the following hop-on hop-off company particularly impressed us: Big Bus. This provider works with two other bus companies and guarantees a high level of reliability.
#1 Our Choice: Big Bus
If you book a hop-on, hop-off ticket from Big Bus Roma, City Sightseeing, or Vatican & Rome, you can use the buses of all three providers.
The frequency of the buses is correspondingly high. As a rule, the buses run every 10 minutes.
Other providers, such as Greenline, only run every 20-30 minutes.
The five hop-on-hop-off companies hardly differ from each other in terms of route and distance.
#2 Our Budget Tip: Gray Line
The cheapest provider of hop-on, hop-off buses in Rome is Gray Line.
Although this bus line does not run quite as frequently as others, you can buy slightly cheaper tickets with a 5-hour validity here.
Hop on, Hop off Route Rome: Stops on the City Tour
Four of the five bus companies share the same stops in Rome. More information on popular attractions in Rome.
Termini station
Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
Colosseum
Roman Forum, Palatine Hill
Circus Maximus
Piazza Venezia
Pantheon, Capitoline Museums, Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II
Vatican City
St. Peter's Basilica, St. Peter's Square, Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Gardens, Castel Sant'Angelo
Trevi Fountain
Piazza Barberini
Spanish Steps, Villa Borghese, Via del Corso (shopping street)
Bis Bus - Best Hop-on Hop-off in Rome
In addition to the “Red Route,” which includes all 8 stops, our favorite Big Bus also offers the “Purple Route.”
This tour includes highlights such as the Via Appia Antica, the Baths of Caracalla, and the San Sebastian Catacombs.
- Duration: 1 h 45 min
- Choice of 2 different routes (8-11 stops)
- Buses run every 10 minutes
- Free WIFI
- Multilingual audio guide
- Buses run daily between 8:30 and 17:00 (from April – October until 19:00)
You can easily switch between the red and purple hop-on hop-off routes as the two bus routes intersect. Depending on the season, the last city tours take place at 5 pm or at 7 pm in summer.
When it comes to the validity of the tickets, you can choose between 24-hour, 48-hour, or 72-hour tickets. Sometimes, it can be much easier and more practical to use the buses for 2-3 days than having to buy Rome Metro tickets every time.
The tours last around 1 hour and 45 minutes. There is free Wi-Fi on board, so you can share your photos immediately. You can also use an app to track exactly where the bus is currently located.
Our tip: Between June 1 and October 31, night tours are offered, and they are a sensational experience, especially when the sky is clear.
- Termini Station
- Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
- Colosseum
- Circus Maximus
- Piazza Venezia
- Vatican City
- Spanish Steps
- Piazza Barberini
Discover ticket (valid for 24 hours):
Price adults: € 29.70 (+ 16 years)
Reduced price: € 14.40 (5 – 15 years)
Essential ticket (valid for 48 hours):
Price adults: € 35,10 (+ 16 years )
Reduced price: € 17.10 (5 – 15 years)
Explore-Ticket (valid for 72 hours):
Price adults: € 41,40 (+ 16 years )
Reduced price: € 20.70 (5 – 15 years)
Free of charge: 0-4 years
Hop-on hop-off prices for families – 2x adults & 2x concessions
Family Discover (valid for 24 hours): € 73.80
Family Essential (valid for 48 hours): € 87.30
Family Explore (72 h validity): € 103.50
Vatican & Rome
The bus company Vatican & Rome (Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi) – formerly “Roma Christiana,” also offers bus tours of Rome’s city center and the Vatican.
The tickets you purchase for the previously presented provider, Big Bus, are also valid for this bus company, so you can use both bus fleets without any problems.
- Duration: 1 h 30 min
- Stops in Rome’s center & Vatican
- Buses run every 18 minutes
- Multilingual audio guide included
- 24, 48, or 72-hour bus ticket
- Buses run daily between 9:00 and 18:00
The bus route starts at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, leads through the city center via the Vatican, and ends at Piazza Barberini. The accompanying audio guide is included in the price and is available in seven languages.
Like all other hop-on, hop-off buses, this model also has an upper deck that you won’t want to miss in summer. You can buy day tickets or tickets for 2-3 days.
If you are planning to visit the Vatican City with its special highlights, this ticket is a good alternative.
- Termini Station
- Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
- Colosseum
- Circus Maximus
- Piazza Venezia
- Vatican City
- Spanish Steps
- Piazza Barberini
Classic (valid for 24 hours):
Price adults: € 28.05 (+ 18 years)
Reduced price: € 13.60 (6 – 17 years)
Premium (valid for 48 hours):
Price adults: € 33.15 (+ 18 years)
Reduced price: € 16.15 (6 – 17 years)
Deluxe (valid for 72 hours):
Price adults: € 39,10 (+ 18 years )
Reduced price: € 19.55 (6 – 17 years)
Free of charge: 0-5 years
Hop-on hop-off prices for families – 2x adults & 2x concessions
Family Classic (valid for 24 hours): € 69.70
Family Premium (48 h validity): € 82.45
Family Deluxe (72 h validity): € 97,75
Our Tip: Hop-on hop-off with a Rome City Pass!
There are three different City Passes for the city of Rome, which include hop-on hop-off bus tours free of charge:
City Sightseeing Roma
City Sightseeing Roma is one of the best-known providers in the hop-on hop-off sector. You will recognize the bright red buses from afar.
This company also cooperates with Big Bus and Rome & Vatican Tours, so you can choose from 11 stops instead of the regular 8 and use all three bus lines.
- Duration: 1 hour 40 min
- Duration night tour: 1 h (only from June 1 – October 31)
- 8 stops in the center of Rome
- Buses run every 10 minutes
- Multilingual audio guide included
- 1 day, 24, 48 or 72 h bus ticket
- Buses run daily between 9:00 and 17:00 (from April – October until 19:00)
If you would like to take the entire bus tour, City Sightseeing offers two options. The buses start their tour from Terminal A, the “Lago di Villa Peretti,” and from Terminal B, the Piazza dei Cinquecento.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the city from a completely different perspective. The price for the hop-on, hop-off tour also includes the “Sightseeing Experience” smartphone app, which you can use to check the buses’ real-time position.
You always know how long you have to wait. The free audio guide on the bus is available in eight languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Chinese.
- Terminal A: Via Marsala 7 / Terminal B: Lago di Villa Peretti 1
- Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
- Colosseum
- Circus Maximus
- Piazza Venezia
- Vatican City
- Spanish Steps
- Piazza Barberini
1 day (valid for 1 calendar day):
Price adults: € 26.00 (+ 16 years)
Reduced price: € 11,00 (5 – 15 years)
Classic (valid for 24 hours):
Price adults: € 33,00 (+ 16 years )
Reduced price: € 16.00 (5 – 15 years)
Premium (valid for 48 hours):
Price adults: € 39.00 (+ 16 years)
Reduced price: € 19.00 (5 – 15 years)
Deluxe (valid for 72 hours):
Price adults: € 46,00 (+ 16 years )
Reduced price: € 23.00 (5 – 15 years)
Free of charge: 0-4 years
A city tour by night is offered from June 1 to October 31 and lasts around 1 hour. However, this tour has no stops and is a single trip through Rome. The meeting point for the start of the night tour is Terminal B at Largo di Villa Peretti.
Gray Line Hop-on Hop-off Rome
The cheapest hop-on hop-off provider in Rome is Gray Line. The bright pink buses also depart from all 8 stations in the city center and thus share the standard route of all providers.
- Duration: 2 h
- 8 stops in the center of Rome
- Buses run every 15-20 minutes
- 5 h tickets, 24, 48 or 72 h tickets or from 3 pm
- Buses run daily between 8:30 and 18:40
- Multilingual audio guide in 12 languages included
- Audio guide for children (in English + Italian) available
However, the choice of tickets is where it gets interesting. As with all hop-on hop-off offers, you can choose from 24h, 48h, and 72h tickets, book a day ticket, reserve a single round trip, or the cheapest option, a ticket valid for 5 hours.
If you prefer to use public transport in Rome and would like to book a simple city tour, the Gray Line is the best provider.
The comfort of the buses does not differ from other buses of this type due to the slightly lower price. Features such as air conditioning, free audio guides, and free Wi-Fi are also offered here.
This bus line starts at Termini station. There are also a number of recommended hotels near Termini station Rome.
- Termini Station
- Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
- Colosseum
- Circus Maximus
- Piazza Venezia
- Vatican City
- Spanish Steps
- Piazza Barberini
1 day (valid for 1 calendar day):
Price adults: € 22.00 (+ 13 years)
Reduced price: € 15,00 (6 – 12 years)
Classic (valid for 24 hours):
Price adults: € 30.00 (+ 13 years)
Reduced price: € 16.00 (6 – 12 years)
Premium (valid for 48 hours):
Price adults: € 34.00 (+ 13 years)
Reduced price: € 20.00 (6 – 12 years)
Deluxe (valid for 72 hours):
Price adults: € 38,00 (+ 13 years )
Reduced price: € 27.00 (6 – 12 years)
Free of charge: 0-5 years
Green Line
Like the four companies already mentioned, the bus company Green Line offers 24-hour, 48-hour, and 72-hour tickets.
However, if you already know that you want to get off at only a few places, you can also choose the option for 3 stops of your choice for a lower price.
- 9 stops in the center of Rome
- Buses run every 10-20 minutes
- 24, 48, or 72-hour tickets, day tickets, ticket for 3 stops of your choice
- Buses run daily between 9:00 and 18:30
- Multilingual audio guide in 16 languages included
The Green Line buses run every year from 9:00 to 18:30. An audio guide in 16 languages is available free of charge. Your ticket includes headphones and Wi-Fi.
This city tour includes 9 stops that coincide with the main route of the competing providers. You can start at Termini station and stop first at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.
The tour then continues to the mighty Colosseum and Circus Maximus via Piazza Venezia, a stopover in Vatican City, and finally to Piazza Barberini.
- Termini Station
- Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
- Colosseum
- Circus Maximus
- Piazza Venezia
- Vatican City
- Spanish Steps
- Piazza Barberini
Classic (valid for 24 hours):
Adult price: € 33.00 (+ 13 years)
Reduced price: € 16.00 (6 – 12 years)
Premium (valid for 48 hours):
Price adults: € 39.00 (+ 13 years)
Reduced price: € 20.00 (6 – 12 years)
Deluxe (valid for 72 hours):
Price adults: € 45,00 (+ 13 years )
Reduced price: € 22.00 (6 – 12 years)
Free of charge: 0-5 years
What visitors say...
Editor: Allie Hartmann
Hey and welcome to Rome-Tourist!
My name is Allie and I travel regularly to Rome, Italy.
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