I will be with a tour group in Rome for 3 days. One day the 'group' will visit places I have been to and I would like to breakaway on my own. The hotel I'm staying in mentions they are 4 stops away from St. Peter's Basilica (I want to attend a Mass) via bus. Bottom line: how safe will it be for a 60 year old woman traveling alone on the bus? Ideally a personal guide for a day would be lovely; however, I think it would be costly

It all depends on how you present yourself. An uncertain, clutching a big purse, looking lost, scared of everyone around them and you will be a target. Dress smart, look confident, know where you are going, ditch the purse, and you will be find. We are almost 70 and no one has looked at us twice during the three weeks we have spent in Rome over the past five years.

The only problem might come from pickpocketing. Wear a money belt for your valuables. In a bag, carry only disposable items like a water bottle or a map. You'll be fine.

Another possibility would be to take a taxi.

Mrs F still gets her bottom pinched from time to time on Rome buses, and she's older than you. No-one's purse is safe unless they're sensible.

Otherwise: puhleeze. Do you really think middle aged Roman women take a security guard whenever they get a bus to the shops? How do you think people get to work? Visit their friends? Go to Mass, if they fancy better music than at San Giuseppe next door?

You may have the misfortune to live in some failed third world state where public transport's unsafe. It's deeply offensive to imagine Italy's as badly governed as your domestic dystopia.

All good advice.

Know that the bus#64 probably has more than its share of pickpockets so take extra care if you ride that route.

Tell us your hotel's name and location, and someone here will likely have very precise directions for you.

Most of the passengers I've seen on Rome buses are 60ish women, so you'll blend right in.

Great advice and thanks to all!