Has anyone rented a scooter in Rome? I used to ride motorcycles and it would be a fun way to see Rome. However, some say even experienced motorcyclists are intimidated by the traffic. Any comments?

My husband has a motorcycle, and had 20+ years exerience riding when we went to Rome. He had the same idea as you leading up to our trip. He quickly changed his mind during our cab ride from the train station to the hotel. Crossing the street was intimidating enough. Not only is the traffic bad, the roads can be hard to follow and are not asphalt as you may be used to riding on. Enjoy a nice walk instead! And I apologize for crushing any high hopes too.

My daughter went to school in Rome during college. It wasn't until she came home that she told us about riding scooters thru the streets of the city. When we almost had heart attacks, she explained that we really shouldn't be upset - they always did it in the middle of the night - like three or four in the morning. Like that really made us feel better?? Lol! Kids - glad they're all grown and out of college - sometimes the worry just got to be too much.

You my friend would definitely be putting yourself at high risk in my humble opinion...no joke.

I didn't rent a scooter myself, but I did take a vintage vespa tour of Secret Rome through Happy Rent. There were four of us and the drivers showed up on the vespas at our hotel. It was tremendous fun, and very safe. We covered a lot more ground than we would have on foot and saw some different sides of Rome, as well as some of the major sites. The tour included a stop at an artisan's shop with a brief explanation of a technique of gold varnishing and a coffee.
The company we used was Happy Rent. They will rent you scooters too if you prefer that. I would highly recommend them.

Hi O,

The folks who drive scooters, etc in Rome grew up there.

You didn't.

You will be entering a chaotic mess where you don't know the territory.

Unless you have a death wish, don't.

Rome is definitely a different animal when it comes to traffic. The problem you will find is that you won't understand when you are allowed to go. I swear we saw several intersections with six streets coming into them and no idea how people knew when it was their turn. It made crossing them very difficult.

Also, scooters there drive between the cars. If you didn't do this, you would be honked at quite a bit.

I wouldn't do it to tour the city itself, but maybe if you want to do more of the outskirts, it would be very fun.

Well, I am reluctantly giving up my idea of renting a scooter. At least, I was thinking about reserving a scooter for the whole week (much cheaper), but now, I will go look first, and maybe rent for a couple of days, or not. I am renting an apartment near the Vatican so it may not be as hectic to drive a scooter, but I am also very near a Metro and bus stop so scooter is not really necessary. Thank you, everybody, for your insight.

The only place we have experienced traffic more hair-raising than in Rome was Buenos Aires! Nerves of steel are required in either place. Motor scooters in Rome detest a vacuum and crowd in wherever there is the tiniest bit of space. Not that you would do that OWG, but I think Ira said it all--you didn't grow up there and don't know the territory.

You'll enjoy Rome in any case. It's a wonderful city.

Palatino82,

How long did it take for Happy Rent to get back to you? I sent them two emails already this week with no response...Are their prices reasonable? Did you do a day time or night time tour? Looking forward to your response



Thanks.