Getting Around Rome
 

Are the buses in Rome easy to understand the schedules?

Bus system in Rome is very good and cheap, it would be helpful to get a public transport map from any newpapaer booth (3 euro), and day pass (4 euro) or one week pass (16 euro) if you are staying longer.

Get a Roma Pass if you're visiting a museum or two ...see link. It'll work out cheaper.

http://www.romapass.it/english/cosa.html

If you will be there 3 days, buy a Roma Pass (20€) or a Roma&Piu Pass (25€). You will get free admission to two museums (which about pays for the pass), discounts for others and use of bus/metro/trams/.
http://www.romapass.it/english/lecard.html

There are 1,3,7 day passes if you just want transportation, but the 3 day pass is 11€ so you would be better off buying the Roma Pass for 20€ and getting in the Coloseum free (9.5€) and another museum (Borghese about 8€).
www.atac.roma.it

I am also interested in getting a Roma Pass. I remember that in one of the 'Julies' posts she said that they expected to be able to buy theirs at the colosseum, but no passes were available. I think I will try to get mine at the Termini Stazione when we arrive by train.

Hi

We found it quite easy to get around by bus in Rome. We mainly took the bus from Termini to Colosseum, Piazza Venezia, Vatican etc. Note that you can also take the metro to some destinations. Here is my Rome trip report with pictures and links http://gardkarlsen.com/rome_italy.htm . I hope that you can find some useful info there. Get in touch if you have any questions or comments.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

bookmarking

We bought our Roma Pass at the Borghese but I'd heard that they do run out of these passes in most places they're sold.

Just a suggestion about buses in Rome. Be aware of the possibility of pickpockets, especially on the bus running between Termini and the Vatican which was considered notorious for this problem when I was there. Keeping your valuables in a money belt below your clothing and minimal cash in your pockets or purse in Rome is not a bad idea. I had no problems, but was glad for the advice.

Buses and trains for day trips out of Rome cost 9 euro for the entire day and represent a huge saving over organized tours. Itineraries and interesting articles on elegantetruria dot com as well as insider tips. Its helpful to have a good map, know a bit of Italian too.

We didn't think the multi ride transit passes made sense -- we took at most 1 or 2 trips/day any day we were there because we could walk to so many of the major sites.

We use buses in Rome quite a bit. Last time we purchased a Roma and a PIU Pass. Well worth the money. It even made our trip out to Tivoli "free" as well as the Borghese entrance fee.
If you are only going for a few days and don't plan to move out some (various churches away from the main tourist area, the catacombs,etc),you may not use them all that much.

I bought weekly (CIS) passes for myself and my mother and we found it quite convenient, as we never had to worry about buying a ticket and didn't hesitate to take short trips (which would cost the same as a long trip using single tickets). Note that my mother can't walk too much (she's in her 70s and has pretty bad arthritis in her feet), so had I been on my own wouldn't have bothered.

I didn't bother with a special map, instead relying on the info at the bus stops (which is quite detailed) and the map in my guide book.