I haven't been back to the Italy board for quite a while. This spring we went to Holland & London, so I was busy with those boards.

I'm amazed at so many kind words & responses to my bus thread. And I am so glad that my info helped some folks. Sorry I did not followup & respond.

vjp - I never saw cash used or a place to use cash; always tickets - possibly to avoid long lines holding up the bus while the driver deals with cash, maybe?

KY - thanks very much for the links; i copies & pasted them into my Italy info doc - for next time!

Henry - didn't know about getting off of the bus at the end of the line. Good to know; thanks. Definitely need to be prepared with an extra ticket or have a multi trip ticket!

Saraho - you are a bus master! It was confusing to us. Good for you.

WillTravel - you are ahead of us. We've not done the metro yet, but plan to do so next time. Maybe you will post a "how to" for the rest of us?

Sue - thxs for your kind comments. We love Rome! Been fall '05 & '06. Plan to return fall '07 or '08! Hope it is '07! & maybe then '08 too!

eve - you are welcome. It's so good to know that someone got some use from my info.

travelgirl - give it a try! It is fun to so closely mix with the locals!

LoveItaly & SeaUrchin - I think you can figure out the buses. One try & it will make sense & leave more time for Rome!

Bellini, Travelnut, KTLou, AnneMarie, Samsmom, Barb, & Julie (hope I didn't forget anyone) - I envy your trips to Rome; I can't get enough! If you haven't gone yet, have a great time. If you've already gone, I'm sure you are like me & anxiously hoping you get to return!

Happy travels to all, Julie

I think I would just write the destination (like the name of the museum or restaurant) on a piece of paper and show to everybody: driver, passengers... so some kind soul will push me out of the bus at the appropriate stop :))

The bus stops, it looks, like in San Francisco: by request only.

We used both metro and buses in Rome. We are used to it, I suppose, living in San Francisco and all that :) However, next time I would avoid Termini like a plague. In theory, it is indeed a "metro & bus hub"; practically we ended up waiting for hours for Termini buses! On our first night, the metro Barberini station was closed without explanation, so we had to take a bus and waited it for more than an hour. The bus was crowded and guess who lost a wallet to the infamous Termini pickpocketers! On the other day we spent another hour at the Trastevere bus stop, watching all the other buses and trams going one after another, and not a sight of our bus. So, next time - no Termini for us.

Julie, this is fabulous information--thank you so much for such a detailed report. I must admit I have not read it all yet, but have printed it out to take with us in late September! (and I have loved reading your "Italy trip reports"!) This will be our first trip and I know your information will make it easier to get around in Rome.

FainaAgain, you are too funny! But.... you know, it might work! :-)

Marusja1, so sorry to hear about your bad experience. My husband always wonders when someone gets the pickpocketed, if the wallet was in the front pocket? He swears that no one could get his out of his front pocket, because he has to struggle at it!! We just haven't experienced the crowds, lines, bus problems, etc. that others post about. I guess because we go in November.

Loveroses, you're welcome. Bet you can hardly wait for September! Although we had planned to go to Germany this fall, we changed our minds & are working on going to Rome again - just can't stay away & there is still so much to see. We are looking at October instead of our usual November. Too bad we will miss you by one month, we could have stood in the Colloseum together! :-) Have a great time.

Julie

To get bus instructions for the Rome bus system, go to the atac web site and hit the button "calcola il percoso". This takes you to a page that gives language options. Choose English. Then, give the address of your hotel or apartment, the address or name of your destination, and submit your rquest. You'll get instructions along with a map.

Julie_Hurst,
Yes, the wallet was in my husband's front pocket, and he swears he was in control of it all the time. However, pockpockets do that for a living, and they are obviously better in stealing than we are in guarding our possessions :)
They work in groups, so one of them pretended to fall on us, when the bus stopped. A person who is trying not to fall down cannot control the wallet, no matter where it is. So the other pickpocket guy just took the wallet and disappeared.

bookmarking

Thank you for posting such a fabulously informative compilation of bus info!

bookmarking

bookmarking. Thanks for the great information! My husband and I are heading to Rome in a couple of weeks for our honeymoon and can't wait to see the sites, eat some pasta and live the good life!

Wonderful, Teri01! A honeymoon in Rome - how great! Weather should be just right - not too hot, not too cold. We arrive in Venice on 11/2 & in Rome on 11/5/07 - can't hardly wait!

Enjoy your trip & soak it all in. Best wishes on your wedding, honeymoon, & most of all, your marriage.

Glad you found this info & hope it helps.

Have fun, Julie

bookmarking

ttt

this is so useful people should read it. I'm printing it out and taking it along.

Thanks for bringing this post back up. I remember reading it when it was first posted, but now since I will be back in Rome in December and using the buses this time around it will be very useful.

Thanks for taking the time to write this Julie!

I looked for this post to share with someone else & found more responses. I'm so glad my info has been useful to folks. I think the extra info added by others is just as informative. So hope whoever needs the info will read all the posts.

Well, we had a wonderful trip back to Venice & Rome in 11/2007. Stayed in the Via Veneto area & took the metro a lot. Loved the speediness of the metro & so easy to use. However, our son lost his billfold on the metro. I told him to use his money belt & not carry anything in his pocket! But you know - that Mother / Son thing!! Luckily he didn't lose much & we immediately cancelled his debit card. It was on the day before our trip ended, so DH & I floated him a loan via our ATM card - no interest though!

Our 11/2008 trip does not incude Rome - sadly. Instead we will have London, Venice, Dubrovnik, Greece, & Turkey. We will miss Rome though. Maybe next year!!!

Happy Travels everyone, Julie

We have been to Rome twice, and find it the most difficult to get around using public transportation (also the hardest to get around on foot, because it's just so darned convoluted!)
We used the buses the last trip, and it nearly ruined our trip. Got off at the wrong stop in horrible weather, couldn't find where to catch the next bus going in the same direction (shouldn't this be a no-brainer?). We thought we could just wait where we got off, but no, that wasn't the case. Stood for nearly 40 minutes in cold, gusty winds, had to cross the street to eventually catch a bus going in the direction we were initially on. None of it made sense to us. We ended up taking a taxi home in a driving rain and hailstorm later in the day, and never tried the bus again.
What's so hard is knowing where to get off!