Is the Roma Pass Worth It? Our Honest Review

Is the Roma Pass Worth It?

The Roma Pass is one of four city passes in Rome that we compare in our detailed Rome city pass comparison.

In this article you’ll find a thorough analysis of whether the Roma Pass is worth it for you. If you don’t want to read through all the details, here’s a quick summary.

The Roma Pass is worth it for you:

• If you want to visit at least two of the following attractions: Colosseum, Castel Sant’Angelo, Galleria Borghese, Capitoline Museums
• If you plan to use public transportation a lot in Rome
• If you like having a pass that gives you a fair amount of flexibility
• If you want to visit many museums in Rome — no other pass offers as many museum discounts.

The Roma Pass is not worth it for you:

• If you don’t want to use public transportation and would rather get around on a hop-on/hop-off bus in Rome
• If you don’t plan to visit at least two of the attractions mentioned above
• If you’re hoping for big savings from a city pass

Overall, the Roma Pass is one of our top city pass picks in Rome because it’s comparatively affordable and comes with a large number of discounts. Thanks to the reasonable price, you also get flexibility and don’t need to cram in an overwhelming number of attractions just to make the pass worthwhile.

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What Exactly Is Included in the Roma Pass?

The Roma Pass includes the following:

• Free use of public transportation in Rome (the regular price for a 72-hour ticket is €18).
• Free admission to 2 attractions
• Discounted admission at nearly 50 additional attractions
• Free use of the 11 public P.Stop restrooms in Rome (otherwise €1)

Attractions in the Roma Pass

The table below gives you an overview of which attractions are included in the Roma Pass.

The first column shows the regular price and the second column shows the discounted price you pay with the Roma Pass.

You can choose two of these attractions to visit for free. It makes sense to use your free visits on the most expensive sights.

Important to know: You must visit the free attractions first, since your Roma Pass is scanned at the entrance and the free admissions are redeemed there first. In other words, you can’t choose between the free option and the discount — you have to follow the order.

Our Rating of the Roma Pass

How Do We Rate?

In our city pass ratings, each pass can earn 100 points, broken down as follows:

• Attractions: 30 points
• Transportation: 20 points
• Usability: 20 points
• Value for money: 30 points

Our Rating: Included Attractions

• With the Colosseum, Castel Sant’Angelo, and the Galleria Borghese, several of Rome’s top highlights are included in the pass.
• The Roma Pass offers discounts at more than 25 museums and archaeological sites — more than any other city card in Rome.
• Admission to the Vatican Museums is not included in the Roma Pass, and the Pantheon is missing as well.

Our rating: 20 out of 30 points

Our Rating: Included Transportation

• The Roma Pass includes a public transportation ticket, making it super easy to get around Rome.
• The transfer from Rome’s airport into the city is not included.
• If you’d like to use the hop-on/hop-off bus in Rome, other passes are a better choice — those buses aren’t covered by the Roma Pass.

Our rating: 15 out of 20 points

Our Rating: Usability

• The Roma Pass is well known in the city and you can simply show it at many museums and attractions.
• The Roma Pass can also be used digitally via its companion app — you can show everything on your phone both at attractions and on public transit.
• You need to reserve admission to the Colosseum and the Galleria Borghese in advance. Before purchasing the Roma Pass, check whether tickets are still available for your preferred time slot.

Our rating: 15 out of 20 points

Our Rating: Value for Money

• The Roma Pass is relatively affordable compared to other Rome passes.
• The Roma Pass gives you flexibility and can save you some time on your city trip.
• You can use the public P.Stop restrooms for free with the pass — really convenient, since Rome otherwise has a shortage of public restrooms.
• That said, you won’t save a huge amount of money with the Roma Pass — though you will save a little.

Our rating: 10 out of 30 points

Our Verdict

The Roma Pass earns 55 out of 100 points in our review. That’s not a standout score, but honestly none of the city passes in Rome perform particularly well.

The Roma Pass is a solid choice if you want to do a lot of classic sightseeing and visit many museums in a short amount of time. The included public transit ticket is also really handy.

Unfortunately, significant savings with the pass aren’t really on the table.

Cost Breakdown Example

We’ve put together a small cost breakdown for you. We’re assuming you’ll be spending three days in Rome and purchasing the 72-hour pass.

As you can see, with our suggested itinerary you save almost €23 with the Roma Pass. We selected the two most popular attractions for the free visits and chose a fairly typical selection of additional sights that are easily manageable in three days.

For public transportation costs, we used the price of a 72-hour ticket. You could certainly do it cheaper — a single bus or metro ticket in Rome costs just €1.50 and is valid for 100 minutes. But if you want to keep things simple and not pinch every cent, a 72-hour ticket is the easiest option.

The savings aren’t huge, but they’re still something. With the €23 you save, you could grab a delicious pizza and a glass of wine at one of the restaurants in Trastevere. Not bad at all.

Buying the Roma Pass

You can purchase the Roma Pass on-site or online.

In Rome, you can get the pass at all participating attractions and museums, at the city’s tourist information offices, and at ticket shops in major metro stations.

Our Recommendation: Buy the Roma Pass Online

We recommend buying the Roma Pass online before your trip. You can then pick it up as a physical card or simply use it via the companion app.

Why does this matter? If you want to use the Roma Pass to visit the Colosseum or the Galleria Borghese for free, you need to book a time slot in advance. These slots often sell out weeks ahead.

If you buy your Roma Pass on-site, it’s relatively unlikely that you’ll be able to get into the Colosseum or the Galleria Borghese with it. Since those are the two most expensive attractions, the pass would barely be worth it at that point.

How to Reserve Your Tickets with the Roma Pass

The table below shows you which attractions require or recommend advance reservations:

Reserving Tickets for the Colosseum

You must book your Colosseum ticket in advance — without a prior reservation, the Roma Pass won’t get you in. Time slots can be booked exactly one month ahead. The earlier you do this, the better.

Reserve your Colosseum ticket here

Reserving a Ticket for the Galleria Borghese

The Galleria Borghese is almost always sold out at short notice, since only a limited number of visitors are allowed inside at one time. We recommend reserving your ticket at least two weeks in advance to be safe. Reservations can often be made up to three months ahead.

Reserve your Galleria Borghese ticket here

Reservations for All Other Attractions

We’ve listed the reservation links for the most sought-after sights in the table above.

You can also make advance reservations for many other attractions and museums. Most can be reserved on this page, and a few others through this page. In our experience, this is not necessary.

Alternatives to the Roma Pass

Since we don’t recommend the Roma Pass without reservations in place, here are some solid alternatives:

1. Our top recommendation for Rome is actually to skip a city pass altogether and book tickets individually. This is often even cheaper and more flexible. Be sure to read our guide to buying tickets in Rome, as there are a few things to keep in mind.
2. The Omnia Card is a great alternative to the Roma Pass — or rather, more of an upgrade. The Omnia Card includes a Roma Pass plus tickets for the Vatican and various hop-on/hop-off buses, which is exactly what the Roma Pass is missing.
3. In some cases, the Turbopass Rome can also be worth considering, especially if you want to visit the Catacombs of Rome and prefer getting around by hop-on/hop-off bus rather than public transit.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Roma Pass