Unfortunately, I have little experience taking public transportation. While in Rome next week, we'd like to take a daytrip to the catacombs. I have perused Walter's (Paradise Lost)information about which bus to take/change to get to that area. First of all, should I assume it's up-to-date and the info is still accurate? Secondly, how do you actually navigate a bus? How do you buy/use tickets? Walk me through the process, please.

this thread might be helpful to you.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34908741

Slow Travel is a good website for info on Italy .... several of the writers have been or are still posters on Fodor's Forum.

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/rome_t...tation/bus.htm

Let me get you started by saying that tickets must be purchased BEFORE you get on a bus, and can be bought at any "Tabacchi". And should you not know what a Tabachhi is .... then >>>
http://goitaly.about.com/od/italytra...bacchi_def.htm

Dorkforce-it's very very easy to take the ARCHEOBUS out to the catacombs-a true value in Rome. Start at Termini (so as to be able to get a seat, they use smaller buses, buy your ticket right there 16 Euro for 24 hours, and WELL WORTH IT, and then you can hop/on to the fascinating sites you want to go.

Here are the 3 excellent value Rome tour buses, two of them double decker-I HIGHLY recommend them, as I do the ARCHEOBUS.

Here on the Rome tourist information site, you can see all the stops for the 3 buses, including the Archeobus:

http://www.romaturismo.com/v2/romati...rtematici.html


still like my moules et frites-mussels with French fries-and the best place to get this is at Chez Leon right there at Mabillon metro stop in the 6arr. at the Blvd. St. Germain-excellent meal of a kettle of moules, in my favorite white wine sauce, fresh frites, green salad, and to top it off, an excellent chocolate mousse. Chez Leon a Belgian chain, is actually better in Paris.

I also like Moroccan food in Paris-it's quite good.

don't know about catacombs, but for 16 euros you can buy a bus-metro ticket good for unlimited number of rides for a week. You validate it the first time you use it, that is it.
Any 'tabacchi" (small stores sell cigarettes etc) sell bus-metro tickets.

Oops! I see part of another thread made it on to this one. Disregard the part about Paris.

The ARCHEOBUS fare, I see, has gone up from 2 years ago, it is now 24 Euro-BUT WELL WORTH IT-here's the information from the link:

Archeobus

Tha Archeobus makes you discover the wonderful treasures of the old Appian Way.
Daily departures from Piazza dei Cinquecento (Termini Station), every hour from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. New 16-seat buses and on board assistance.
Tickets are valid for the whole day and may be purchased on board - € 10.00.
.

Information and bookings:
tel. 0039 06 46952252 - 0039 06 46952343

Fourteen stops:

- Piazza Venezia
- Bocca della Verità
- Circo Massimo
- Baths of Caracalla
- Porta San Sebastiano
- Appia Antica - Domine quo vadis
- Catacombs of San Callisto
- Catacombs of San Sebastiano
- Circus of Maxentius - Tomb of Cecilia Metella
- Valle della Caffarella
- S. Urbano
- Ninfeo
- Casal Rotondo
- Roman Aqueducts
- Villa of the Quintili

The tour lasts 2 hours and allows you to hop on and off at any stop along the route, visit the most important and interesting sites nearby and then hop back on one of the following buses running that day.

Archeobus ticket + 100 bus - Euro 24,00

Wrong again, the price of the ARCHEOBUS IS 10 EURO-but with add-ons for the City Tour bus, it will be Euro 24. Excellent value, to see all the important catacombs of Rome for 10 Euro, but you need to be at Termini early to get on one of the seats during the busy season-because the ARCHEOBUS fills up quickly since it is only a 16 seater, and not a double decker like the other two sightseeing buses-both of which I have taken and love-because you can see so much more of glorious Rome from the top of a bus, and get a real sense of the glories of the city, for practically nothing-it's the best tour (and the least tiring) in town.

What helpful information! With 3 people, would a taxi be more cost effective? What do you think a taxi would cost from Pantheon to the catacombs? The archeobus sounds doable.

It depends on what you want to see, I really think not! Because all of you can get on the Archeobus, and go to multiple sites, then pick up one of the buses at their bus stop at each site-they run all day until 7pm. Why pay for a taxi for 4 when all of you can go to more than one site for 10 Euro-really, you can't beat that! And of course, if you want to do the really fun 110 red double-decker city bus which will take you to all the major sites in central Rome, you can do that too-you see a lot of families taking these buses, both Italian and foreign tourists-all come to Rome to take advantage of these incredible value tours that you can do in your own way. The red bus are the major traditional sites of Rome, the yellow bus hits all the important churches in Rome, and then, to top it all off, you go outside of Rome to the catacombs and sepulchres and the Appian Way on the Archeobus-I say this all the time, the best value in Rome, are these buses, to take these buses is to get a very good overview of all of Rome's major and not so well known treasures. Along with the Scavi tour-these are the top quality-to-value tours in Rome, bar none.

For regular bus lines click on most useful lines for travelers.
http://www.romaturismo.com/v2/romati.../autobus2.html

The Atac Roma website has route maps.

The problem with the regular bus lines is that you have to be mighty careful on account of the pickpocketers-the #64 bus, running from Termini to St. Peter's is not known as the "pickpocketers special" for nothing.

Thanks for all the links - I need to study carefully for our big adventure!

I've taken the regular bus lines many times, including the #64. I've never been pickpocketed and have never seen anyone else have that problem. Of course, I'm not saying it doesn't happen...you do have to be aware of your surroundings and not have your wallet in a place where it can easily be picked, and I always keep a hand on my purse, but I wouldn't let that worry keep me from using the buses.

I haven't checked a regular bus route to the catacombs, but I personally would have a hard time spending 30E for three people instead of 6E (1E per person each way). I'm not saying the Archeobus stops aren't good, but if you're going out to the catacombs, how much time will you have to make a lot of other stops to make it worth paying that much? Just something to think about.

bkmarking