Rome: "hop on bus" tours
 

We are traveling to Rome in September and finalizing our plans. One of our travelers wants to do a "hop on hop off" bus tour around the city. I've never done one in all my travels- especially in Rome as we enjoy walking. However as we need to accommodate this request I looked up information and see there are a couple of route and tour company options including viator and get your guide. Does anyone have suggestions on booking including how far in advance we need to reserve. I'd prefer to reserve much closer to the time we are there in case plans change and we no longer want to do this. It doesn't seem like you'd need to book very far in advance but I'm not too sure about Rome. Appreciate your help.

Does your friend understand how small ancient Rome was and how many of the sights are actually not just walkable but easier to get to by foot. Using a modern coach to visit the sites and sights of an iron age society is just weird.

Is there a mobility reason for this traveler's desire? If so, you may be better off utilizing actual buses to get around.

The HOHO are known to be expensive, spend more time in traffic than actual stopping, and crowded. At peak times of the day, expect them to be so crowded you will have to wait for the next HOHO and wasting even more time - all while a city bus comes by and is available... Just food for thought.

Tell your friend that most historic are best accessed by foot.

I've done HOHO tours in many places but I wouldn't in Rome. If mobility isn't a problem then I suggest looking into walking tours.

My hub and I used to take the HOHO but stay on it for the entire circuit. We then walked or took a taxi or public transportation back to the spots of interest. I did it in Madrid also. We did it in Paris but made the mistake of getting off...we had to wait for almost an hour as a full bus passed us by.

Do it early and stay on the bus. Also, check out the Tram routes in Rome...not subject to traffic.

Note that historical Madrid and tourist Paris are both far bigger than ancient Rome.

"Note that historical Madrid and tourist Paris are both far bigger than ancient Rome."... That may be, but it might not matter to OP's friends if there's a disability.

Also, I think you could get discounts if you reserve online. We never reserved in advance but it has been a while.

I've done the HOHO bus with someone who had some mobility issues. It was a good compromise and we enjoyed the tour and ticket. There are many places they won't see (Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Trevi fountain, etc...) but it allows you to get a feel of Rome.

The OP wasn't asking us to talk them out of a HOHO bus tour.
They have someone in their party that wants to do it (not everyone's cup of tea, but it's a way to see the city sites without a lot of walking.

I'd rec booking the Big Bus Tour thru GetYourGuide. It looks slightly cheaper than booking direct & they have a great refund/change policy. I few days in advance would be plenty.
I'd also book it for the 1st full day in Rome. You'll get an overview of the city and time to return to your favorite site.
https://tourscanner.com/blog/hop-on-...ome-bus-tours/

" . . . there are a couple of route and tour company options including viator and . . ."

Do realize Viator does no tours of any kind. They are just a broker that re-sells tours operated by other companies. So if you've found a tour on Viator -- it will most likely also be listed on the actual provider's website. Possibly cheaper - or not.

FWIW, I was the one who asked if there was a mobility issue. I do not see anything in the OP that specifically states there is one present. So, I do not want to assume here and I apologize if I was the reason why following responders seem to mention this.

I am personally not a fan of these HOHO tours, but people seem to enjoy them, and perhaps the OP's travel companion may either prefer them or wishes to take part of one of them while in Rome. But, I do think that Rome is one of those cities where this option is perhaps not as effective given how many of the major "sights" are off of the main streets. Whereas, Paris, for example (and an example only!), these tours are potentially more efficient for a "first timer" to see the city and save their feet a bit.

Large sections of the centre are pedestrian only. Taking the hop on/off bus will still mean walking.

I think there is a golf cart tour. That would be a better option if walking is an issue.

On my recent visit to Rome, I saw a number of people using golf cart tours, which can take visitors much, much closer to the famous sights than the HOHO bus, which must skirt the main areas that are closed to traffic.

I agree that a golf cart tour is a better way to go in the historic center of Rome. We have used Driver Guide Service twice, once for a regular tour and the second time for a food tour. Highly recommend.

https://www.driverguideservice.com

If you do take the HO-HO, remember the mantra: "Never Get Off the Bus."

Personally, I think if you feel you need a guide, hire them for a specific site. Never forget that most of them are just "spinning a good yarn."

Has your travel companion actually used the HOHO buses in other cities? When traveling with limited mobility companion we opted for HOHO in Paris (worked well, got a good overview), London (eh, so-so, spent most time stuck in traffic but got something of an overview) and Rome (not worth it - lousy traffic, unable to get conveniently close to the included sites and many sites not included) so would also suggest looking into the golf cart tour option.
Do note that as janisj mentioned, both Viator and Get Your Guide are middleman re-sellers rather than actual operators. We had pretty good luck with Get Your Guide in a few cities in Italy.

Thank you all for your responses. My traveling companion doesn't have any mobility issues but likes these HOHF tours. I agree that these aren’t the best option for Rome This was not meant as a substitute to walking around Rome but rather a compromise. I was thinking of using it the first day only for part of the day. I appreciate your feedback esp about staying on the bus.

Maybe talk to your friend about the golf cart tours -- perhaps s/he isn't familiar with them, maybe doesn't even know if they exist.

My take on the H-o-H-o-'s are similar to seamus'. Paris - fine if one really wants to. Not terrible at all. London - really not recommended due to the traffic and the buses often being full so if one hops off, they may have to wait (and wait and wait) for the next available one. But certainly offers views of most of the major sites. Rome - not good for seeing sites nor hopping off. To be avoided if possible.

It's quite understandable that compromises are in order so enjoy your bus ride. I still encourage you to look at walking tours. We did a couple of those in Rome and they were great fun.

Have a good trip.

In Rome, the hop-on hop-off buses have limited places where they are allowed to stop, and none of them are very near places of interest, so there will be considerable walking if they actually want to hop on and off. In addition a lot of people complain that if they hop off, they have trouble hopping back on, because the buses are usually full when they arrive at the stops. If your friend just wants to ride around, these may not be problems.

Thank you all. I think we’re going to look at the golf cart as it’s also more flexible than the buses. I appreciate all of your comments — I didn’t even think of that option. I’m a walker and much prefer that but I understand I need to make compromises when traveling with others.

I've done HOHO in Rome and I think it was early evening and it was perfectly lovely. We hopped off near the forum for dinner at Taverna dei Fori Imperiale, (suggested by the Italy Expert at Andrew Harper) and it was excellent. I think you could wait until you're in town to book.

Rome is amazingly walkable...much more so that the other three capital cities: London, Paris, Madrid. And the traffic can be -- on occasion -- nearly stand-still in places. Plus, one of the great charms of Rome is that every two or three minutes walking, you come across a wonderful, unexpected little piazza with a fountain (with drinkable water!). This will not happen on a bus.

During our first time in Rome, on numerous occasions, we accidentally walked past our destination because the distances in the ancient core were much smaller than they seemed on the map.

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I have spent time in Rome on a number of occasions over the years and walked everywhere, however I used the HOHO in Rome with my late husband due to mobility issues. What some people consider reasonable walking distance is not the same for everyone and this was a good way for him to see some parts of Rome without having to grab a taxi. We stayed on the bus for one circuit without getting off and on the second circuit got off at one of the spots he wanted to explore.