After posting this, I read some Hop On Hop Off bus reviews on Trip Advisor and although it was pretty confusing (some people were talking about one company, some another in reviews labeled 110 Open), many did make reference specifically to the 110 Open or Archeobus. A rough estimate is that around 75% were very dissatisfied. Rude, unhelpful staff, infrequency of buses (3 in 5 min,. then none for an hour), long driver breaks at two stops close together, stopping running an hour or more early, dirty and with half the audio jacks not working. The few positives were guarded. Reviews of other companies were not much better.

Our family used the Archeobus in March 2007. The route was good for getting us out to the catacombs/Appian Way and then on to the aqueduct park, all of which we wanted to see. The buses did seem to run off schedule. I didn't think the audio guides were very helpful. you would certainly want a good guide book to supplement

The 110 bus is another route of major sites in the city.

In checking the website, I see there is a notice they are "suspended" this weekend. Not sure what this is about
http://www.trambusopen.com/en/news.cfm?leggi=227

hi Polly,

IMO your instinct about not doing the Borghese gallery on the first day is a good one - such a shame to miss it if your travel arrangements go array. instead get a bus [or even a taxi] down to the centro storico and renew your acquaintance with Rome -I would start with the place that is furtherest away [say the campo dei fiori] then the Pantheon, the piazza navona, etc. if you have the energy [by the looks of it your are bound to have the inclination] head for the galleria diori-pamphilij on Via del corso - a wonderful collection of pictures and sculpture, in an almost deserted palazzo, plus rooms arranged in the C18 style AND a Hall of Mirrors alla Versailles:

http://www.doriapamphilj.it/ukhome.asp

&/or climb the Vittoriano [that way you don't have to look at it] wander round the campodoglio and Santa Maria in Aracoeli etc.

Day 2 - I'm really not sure about the Vatican museums being less crowded on a Friday, but why not book in advance if that's your plan - that way you can avoid whatever queues there might be. [no credit cards at present - the Vatican bank is not well regarded by the other banks at the moment, so you'll need to pay in cash when you get there] Don't forget that by using the little door at the back of the sistine chapel on the right, you can get straight into St. Peter's without having to walk all the way back through the museums and round the walls of the Vatican and to queue up and go through security again. [2 flights of stairs, one in doors, one outside, and you're there!]

Day 3 - Borghese Gallery? Sad to say that in 3 separate weeks in Rome I've not got there yet, but I am not surprised that they suggest getting there an hour in advance to pick up tickets - you are supposed to get there at least 30 mins in advance anyway in order to drop off bags. and it is a strict 2 hours - everyone who has a booking for that particular 2 hour slot is let in and chucked out at the same time - so you don't want to miss any of it by still being in a queue!

i think that where you are staying you may well end up using buses quite a lot so it may be worth buying a 3/4/5 day transport pass - the nearest tabacchi where you can buy bus tickets should be able to sell you one.

have a wonderful time!

Polly, the two hour time limit at the Borghese is, in my opinion, a good thing. Generally that limits the crowd in the museum at the same time and it was enough to see the highlights. I did not think it was an imposition but on the contrary an enlightened procedure.

110 Bus; I was going to post earlier and tell you not to bother with that bus because it's alot easier to get around on your own.
Plus the cost for 2 for 2 days (40e?) is ~4 taxi rides within Rome.

But I also read the reviews on tripadvisor (Archeobus bus reviews start at Page 7)
http://tinyurl.com/bdx2vfv IS THIS
www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187791-d736988-r154617556-Trambus_Open-Rome_Lazio.html

Your hotel is also within 1/2mi of the Spagna (Spanish Steps) and the Barberini metro stops (Line A).

Which will get you fairly close to the Vatican and with a switch at Termini to Line B to the Colosseum.

You should look into the RomaPass with 2 of your 3 sites included and 3 days of free metro & bus rides plus dumping the 110, a couple taxi rides and you'll still be in the 'plus column'.

You might want to give the Archeobus a shot though but from those reviews and other things I've read over the years I would want to have a couple of tickets or a Pass for the buses in case you get stranded or the Archeobus is full.

Also have a 'Plan B' for the Archeobus (I assume the main site for you is the Catacombs?) on public transportation just in case.
I'd do a search here and on google for the route, I know there are buses to there and also a 'metro and bus' route.

And yes after 2 hours at the Borghese Galleries
as annhig says you are "chucked out" .

I found it!

*If* your Archeobus plans are for the Catacombs here's a "Plan B' that's best for you seeing that you would be at Termini (Line A metro) anyway.

Or if it's just the Catacombs and that section of the Via Appia with the ruins you'd like to see this is also a good 'Plan A' seeing that the Line A metro is only 1/2mi from your hotel?

www.fodors.com/community/europe/rome-catacomb-directions.cfm
These directions and info is 8yrs old but the directions are still valid.
Someone followed them on that thread 2.5 yrs ago and google shows that Rick Steves' 2013 guidebook still lists them as valid.

Thanks. Good to know how the Borghese time limit works. Although DH may be "chucked out" in 2 hrs. (but as I mentioned earlier, he's very tolerant), I likely won't be. I was an art major many years ago and can easily spend several hours in any "name brand" museum with a good collection of European art. (Unless I have a 3-yr.-old kicking my seat all night and get no sleep, as happened not all that long ago.) Annhig is probably right, just to keep Thurs. loose - in case there is no Thurs. - and that was my first impulse until I realized that the Borghese was pretty close to the hotel and in the opposite direction of most other places we'll be going.

I originally thought of the "HOHO bus" as another option in case we're not up for a lot of walking on arrival day, then found that a 48 hr. pass didn't cost much more than a 24 hr. Some recommendations here for the 110 Open and Archeobus, I checked their site and realized that the 3-day combo with the Archeo. could be a good thing for Sat.-Mon. (Had already done the math as best I could with the limited info on discounts with the Roma card and realized that by going to the Coliseum on our last day that the Roma card was of less value.) But when I read all the negative TripAdvisor reviews on 110 Open - and most of the other buses of that type - I had second thoughts.

Although DH may be "chucked out" in 2 hrs. (but as I mentioned earlier, he's very tolerant), I likely won't be>>

"chucked out" does NOT mean "fed-up" - it literally means required to leave [in the UK if not in the US]

so you will both be "chucked out" whether you want to be or not!

IMO the Borghese would be a good place to visit first thing in the morning, given it's so close to your hotel. I prefer only to book one thing per day, preferably as early as possible, so as to leave the rest of the day free.

Dumb of me, Annhig. I do know what "chucked out" means but was thinking back to another thread from a year or two ago whereI read that said 2 hrs. was more than enough for the Borghese and and another post said you'd have had enough of the museum in 2 hrs. There was nothing in that one that mentioned 2 hrs. was all you got. Mixing my thoughts on this message and that. (I'm still sort of shocked by the time limit - have never run into it before, even in the rare museums that have a timed entry. Too many people, I guess - I think that at least half the tourists in Rome should go home when I'm there. I wonder if that's going to be the case with the Uffizi?)

You're right, one booked thing a day is all I'm willing to do. From past experience, stuff happens, and you can wind up starving because you didn't have time for lunch, stuck in traffic, etc.

Dumb of me, Annhig.>>

not at all, Polly. sometimes our common language turns out to lead to unexpected confusion so i thought it best to clarify. I know that 2 hours does seem a short time for the Borghese - one trick I have read about is to go to the pinoteca on the first floor first, while [hopefully] everyone congregates around the sculpture on the ground floor, then to come downstairs when the crowds downstairs have thinned out. well, that's the theory.

As for the Uffizi, our strategy was to get as early a booking as we could, but that seemed to co-incide with a load of japanese coach tourists turning up, so you might be better off trying to go later in the afternoon when they've all gone home. We didn't spend as long as we'd expected there, but that was really because of the impossibility of seeing things properly.

will the Vasari corridor be open when you are there? that is something I'd love to see.

I'm alittle confused about the 'Roma card' with the Archeobus and 110 bus included but I was thinking of the RomaPass for Days 3,4,5 where the admission to the Colosseum/Forum/Palatine and the Capitoline Museums would be covered 100% with the 3-day RomaPass.

And if you do plan on using the metro and buses that's also covered 100% for 3 days.

For a couple at 3e for a single trip and a 3 day Metro/bus pass is 16.50e each it's a good deal with the 2 free admissions plus cutting the lines.
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<<<"chucked out" does NOT mean "fed-up" - it literally means required to leave [in the UK if not in the US]>>>

annhig that's funny in Rhode Island where alot of English decendants (1800's and earlier) live we use that term exactly the same way.

A funny thing also, a few years ago on a Usenet European travel group a UK posted mentioned a childhood game of his youth where boys collected 'horse chestnuts' where you drill a hole thru one of them and then put a rawhide lace thru it and knot it o--------.

1 boy holds his by the end of the lace so it's hanging down, the other boy either swings or whips his to hit it, the point is to break his chestnut and you each take turns.

This is the exact same game I played in the late 50's->60's so it had to come over in the 1800's if not earlier.

UK posted mentioned a childhood game of his youth where boys collected 'horse chestnuts' where you drill a hole thru one of them and then put a rawhide lace thru it and knot it o------>>

we call it "conkers". bizarrely some schools have tried to ban it on "health and safety" grounds.

its not surprising that some things that travelled with early immigrants to the US have survived. I've not been to Rhode Island but i'm sure I'd feel at home there!

If we do the Roma Pass, I'd lose the free admission to the Colisseum (since that would be Day 3), which I understand is one of the more expensive, so I decided a la carte with a transportation pass might work as well or better. I haven't been able to find much about the discounts to attractions after the first two free ones; the only one I did find was only 2EUR off.

Am wondering how easy the buses are to use. A couple of posts said "somewhat confusing" but I've read nothing else regarding buses. Are bus maps readily available? Any info on what stop you're arriving at? Have had little trouble using public transportation in the UK, northern Europe; they're usually well-market, often with electronic signs alerting you of the next stop. Not so sure this will be true in Italy.

>>>or go to the ticket office ONE HOUR BEFORE entry time to pick them up. Are they kidding me?<<<

You will have to stand in line for your tickets and then stand in line to check your things (can't even take a purse in). That is why one hour before.

>>>Since it's April, not July, what might be the chances of getting tickets for the day we arrive after we get there?<<<

Always a chance and I've done it before, but you are going during Easter/spring breaks. April is a busy time.

>>>Recommendations on this forum seem to be for the 110 Open trambus and I thought maybe a 48 hr. ticket might be useful these two days. <<<

I'm surprised. I never see these recommended. I use public transport every time I go to Rome and would never use the 110, Archeobus, etc. I think people suggesting them are one time visitors and not familiar with Rome transport. They are overpriced. You can use the little electric buses that go in some of the pedestrian only areas and are only 1.50€. The 116 runs from the Borghese, down Via Veneto to the Vatican area with stops at Piazza Navona/Pantheon. The 117 goes from Piazza Popolo with stops at the Spanish Steps, Piazza Venezia, Colosseum. If you have a Roma Pass, it includes 3 days of transport. Here's the electric bus map.
http://www.atac.roma.it/files/doc.asp?r=9

As for the Roma Pass, it's best to group expensive sites so your first two entrances you get the value. The Colosseum/Forum/Palantine is 12€ and the Borghese is 11€. Many sites will have special exhibits and admission will be an extra 3-5€ which is included in the pass, but you would have to pay if you bought individual tickets. If the Colosseum has an exhibit it would cost you 16e to enter instead of 12€ (their exhibits are usually 4€).

Here's the admission and reduced admission list for the Roma Pass.
http://www.romapass.it/doc/sitiAderentiCostoBiglietti_eng.pdf

Thanks, kybourbon. Somehow I never found the link to the Roma Pass discounts, though I did know about the extra exhibition charges. Looks like some of the discounts are a lot better than others. Since our last day is Mon. and most museums are closed, it seemed better to go to the Forum and Coliseum that day; thus the Roma card lost some of its value. And thanks for the electric bus map.

Here are a couple of threads that seem to recommend the "HoHo" buses - from 2011. I know things change, but the negative reviews on TripAdvisor date from 2013 back to 2008 (and earlier, but I quit reading). If you search this forum for "hop on bus rome" you will come up with quite a few posts but many date back to 2008 or earlier, and I tend not to trust the old stuff as much. I first thought about it as something for arrival day if we're lacking energy to do too much walking - if a kid kicks my seat all night again. Used to use Guide Friday in the UK before someone else bought them and liked those a lot; they had live commentary by the drivers and most were extremely knowledgable and often quite witty. Haven't used that sort of thing anywhere else.
http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/rome-hop-on-hop-off-bus.cfmhttp://www.fodors.com/community/europe/rome-hop-onoff-bus-tour-any-recommendations.cfm

A couple of posts said "somewhat confusing" but I've read nothing else regarding buses. Are bus maps readily available? >>

you can get a bus map for €3 from the same place that you buy the tickets or from a bookshop. I don't remember electric signs inside the buses but the driver will tell you where to get off if you ask. [as will other passengers, who i have always found very helpful].

and i wouldn't want to influence you about HOHO buses one way or the other - in your situation they could prove just the job for the beginning of your trip, if you don't mind the price.

We found it easy to use the public buses during our last stay in Rome. We rented an apartment in a very central location in the ghetto and walked a lot so took buses only a few times a day at most. It was less expensive to get individual tickets than a transit pass. Your hotel is a little farther out so you might find a pass useful

Just to be clear on the HOHO buses: We did not use the 110 bus ourselves. I was just trying to clarify that it and the Archeobus cover different sites/areas.

I agree with people posting above that it is easy to get to the Catacombs area and the tomb of Celia Metella along the Appian Way using regular public transit. The thing we found the Archeobus useful for when we visited was going out farther along the Appian Way directly to the Villa dei Quintili (about 5 km from the catacombs) and then to the aqueduct park which we also wanted to see. However, I just checked the web site about the current Archeobus and see that it no longer goes to these same locations. Given the new route, I wouldn't recommend it.

The aqueduct park is beautiful and impressive and also reachable by public transit (metro) but unless you are very interested in Roman engineering feats it may not be high on your list of things to do with only five days in Rome
http://www.revealedrome.com/2010/08/at-the-park-of-the-aqueducts-ancient-and-modern-combine.html

>>>I was just trying to clarify that it and the Archeobus cover different sites/areas.<<<

Right.

Your links ran together so wouldn't work.The Hop on/off bus cut back the number of stops in 2010 (about half as many as they had before because of traffic). Wasn't really worth it before then IMO. It's a full size bus and can't go where the electric buses go. FWIW - much of the area covered is very walkable.

Besides the Roma Pass, there is the Omnia Vatican and Rome Pass. It includes the sites on the Roma Pass plus the Vatican. It also includes the Cristiana Hop on/off bus. The Cristiana bus is 20€ for 24 hours or 22€ for 48 hours. You can also buy it separately. The Roma Pass only gets you a discount on the 110 (15€ for 48 hours),Archeobus (10€ for 48 hours) and 10% off the Cristiana bus. The Omnia Pass includes the Cristiana. There is supposed to be 3 day Cristiana card that includes the city buses/trams/metro for 33€ as well as a 1 day.

http://www.omniavaticanrome.org/en/the-card/open-bus.html

http://www.060608.it/it/accoglienza/servizi/servizi-turistici/roma-cristiana-open-bus.html

There are two lines. Scroll down for a list of what you can see at each stop on the Cristiana.
http://www.orpnet.it/informazione/orp_news/open_bus_roma_cristiana

I think it's harder to get the value of the Omnia Pass, but it includes some things at the Vatican that you wouldn't access otherwise. It's on sale 10% off until tomorrow.
http://www.omniavaticanrome.org/en/the-card/index.html

Bus map of central Rome takes a minute to load and you will have to zoom in to see all the numbers.

http://www.atac.roma.it/files/doc.asp?r=3

You might find the trams handy also.

http://www.atac.roma.it/files/doc.asp?r=5

Ron in Rome's detailed instructions on riding the buses in Rome with pics. Keep scrolling instead of clicking links.

http://www.roninrome.com/%20transportation/bus

If you want to see the catacombs, they are too far out to walk. Also the section of the Appian Way between the Porta San sebastiano (the gate in the Aurelian walls) and the catacombs is narrow and unpleasant to walk. I think it may be closed to traffic on Sundays.

<<<If we do the Roma Pass, I'd lose the free admission to the Colisseum (since that would be Day 3),>>>

<<<Since our last day is Mon. and most museums are closed, it seemed better to go to the Forum and Coliseum that day; thus the Roma card lost some of its value.>>>

Polly, The RomaPass is valid for 3 days, So.

Day 1 Arrival and Borghese Galleries...NO

Day 2 Vatican...NO

Day 3, 4, 5,..YES. So on Sat, Sun, Mon you plan on the Capitoline Museums on either Day 3 or 4 so 1 of the 2 free admissions is used.

Day 5 The Colosseum/Forum/Palatine which counts as 1 free admission to all 3 sites.
And so the 2nd free admission is used.

But if you validate the Card on Day 3 you have free metro/bus/tram transportation for those 3 days plus the 2 free admissions anytime in those 3 days.

This has really been a lot of help. Thanks to all of you. (Or maybe not - I'm awash in info and haven't even gotten out of Rome yet. )

The main problem I'm having is the same one I have everywhere - everything I read about looks interesting. It takes me time to refine it down to do-able loops, which sometimes requires me to skip something I think I'd really like to do - but doing that one thing would mean giving up one or even three other things I think I'd really like to do. (Never any help from DH. "Whatever you want, I like anything," he says.)

The last time we saw Paris - oops, Rome - Our hearts were young and gay , our bodies were way much younger and more cooperative, and I do not remember ever taking public transportation in Rome. (We did take a catacombs tour with a company selling land in NC that we were talked into by a tout on the Spanish Steps - a trip that came to no good end, but that's another story.) We were in grad school, a copy of Frommer's Europe on Five Dollars a Day in our hands, with no set itinerary; when we got "done", we hopped on a train and went to another city. Eleven weeks and a Eurail Pass. And hauling our small bags (not even backpacks), we walked and walked and walked. And we like walking, sometimes just wandering half lost. But whether we're up for 10 miles a day plus however much walking when we get where we're going, I rather doubt. At least not every day. But it sounds like if we get only a transportation pass, we can use it in a utilitarian way as well as sort of doing our own HoHo kind of thing and keep our options open.

Want to see the Vatican again since I recall little except the Chapel and the Pieta, and I'd like to see the Chapel since it's been cleaned. (Will hate to see the Pieta behind plexiglass.) In some ways I'd like to skip the Coliseum because I remember it vividly and from recent photos I've seen, I'm going to be disappointed at the "boardwalks" and such that will detract from the experience; but I want to go back to the Forum and spend more time there, don't remember the Palatine at all, so I guess we'll go to the Coliseum (and bemoan "They've ruined it.") Can skip Moses this time, also some of the off-beat places like the Capuchin bone-decorated crypt. Yet we missed the Pantheon - how did that happen? But maybe I just need to keep my current [long!] list as it is, then see what we get done on arrival day and what we feel like doing Sat. & Sun. Maybe one of those days we'll just sort of want to be there and not have any particular agenda at all. But if we wander too far afield, this time we might want a bus or a tram to get back from wherever we've wandered to instead of hoofing it 3 miles back to our hotel with a blister or two.

Polly - i suspect that once you're there, it'll all fall into place. The centre of Rome is not THAT big, you've got 5 days, and whatever you see is likely to be interesting at the vey least.

one thing's for sure - you'll never run out of things to do.