Hello there! I wanted to get your opinion. My husband and I will be going to Rome in September. We are the type of travelers that we love to walk as much as we can on vacation so we can really soak in as much as possible. However, we are also realisitic with knowing that near day's end, we may just be too tired and need to hop on the bus. (not many metro's in Rome)

Is it easy to wing it in Rome? I just can't predict when our feet will be tired. Where can I get a bus map with all the routes correlated to the sites?

FYI - we are staying at the Westin Excelsior off of Via Veneto.

Thank you!

You can get bus maps on the Rome transport website. If you plan to buy the 3 day Roma Pass (25€), you get a 3 day transport pass with it good for buses/trams/metro and some local trains. Staying up Via Veneto your return will be all uphill. The little 116 electric bus runs from the Vatican area through the historic center (only the electric buses operate in some of these areas) up to Borghese. This is a map for the electric lines.
http://www.atac.roma.it/files/doc.asp?r=9

This has links to other maps. If you click on the centro map you will probably find what you need.
http://www.atac.roma.it/index.asp?p=18

If you click on the citta map (city), it will take a while to load. You can then zoom in and locate stops.

You can also click on the home page and select English, then enter your start and stop point and it will tell you which transportation.

I never became terribly adept at the bus system in Rome, but did use the little 116 bus a lot--the route goes from the historical center over to your hotel's neighborhood I believe. I also used an iphone app called Rome Tube that was really handy. This website has some good information also: http://www.rometoolkit.com/transport/rome_bus.htm

I'm sure the hotel staff will be able to help you which buses serve the area near your hotel.

There is oodles of information about buses and bus routes at www.roninrome.com.

and don't forget about taxis. apart from the odd problem at the station [see another thread here at present] they are reliable and not too expensive. at the end of a tiring day, they can be a real life-saver.

I second the Ron in Rome site http://www.roninrome.com/%20transportation/bus for helpful information and links.

IMHO if it's getting to the end of the day and you need to get back to the hotel just hop in a cab. they are quite reasonable in rome - and much simpler than dealing with bus routes (the tourist ones packed and subject to pickpockets).

When in Rome we either walk or cab - although we do public transit in places that have efficient systems that go everywhere (London, Paris - almost any sizable city).

Thank you everyone for the responses. We had a super easy time in Paris with the buses, but Rome seems a little more difficult.

How does the cab system work in Rome? Is it per minute? You don't hail them like you do NYC, do you?

To get a taxi, you have to find a taxi stand, and at most in central Rome there seems to usually be one waiting there. They are usually at corners, and are well marked like bus stops.

We used a combination of buses and taxis the last time we were in Rome, and I thought both were fine. I liked the regular buses rather than the little electric ones that Tahuya mentioned, because they were so small that it was much harder to get a seat, and sometimes they were full. If you get a map and just pick out two or three bus routes that will be convenient for you, that may make it more manageable.

DH & I recently visited Rome and we had similar concerns about our energy level after a day of touring. What we did in two instances was to take a cab from our hotel near the Pantheon out to the sights (Borghese Gallery & the Colosseum). We spent time there and then had a leisurely walk back to our hotel, stopping for lunch on the way.

bookmarking for next week!

We spent a week in Rome last summer and only used the bus service (not the metro). We got everywhere with no problems AT ALL including being out late at night. The bus system is not difficult. We had transportation cards (the Roma Pass and then we bought another pass if I remember correctly) and jumped on and off buses - even for two stops. We hardly had to wait at the bus stops.
We got the Rome guide from one of the official tourist offices and the centerfold was a map of Rome with all the bus numbers and routes. Warning though - the numbers are very small.
We've used bus / metro systems in many European cities and Rome is no problem to navigate.
We used a limo service (prearranged) to get to and from the airport but that was because our hotel was not in the Termini area and we didn't want to drag our suitcase on a bus. From what I understand, a cab from the airport would have cost about the same but we landed early in the morning (no sleep at night) and we knew we would be too tired to deal with finding a cab.
Don't worry - Rome is not that big and with a decent map (or GPS) you'll have no problem getting around.
By the way, you can even go to Ostia Antica (slightly outside metropolitan Rome) with the travel passes. Highly recommended!
Enjoy yourselves.