Visiting Roman sights can cost a pretty penny, and long lines do not add inspiration, no matter how wonderful the award awaits. Therefore, Blogoitaliano decided to devote time to studying the question of what ways to save time and money exist for organizing interesting and eventful Roman vacations. And here are some of our finds.
The easiest waysave your time in rome - This is to buy tickets to all the most interesting places in advance via the Internet.
Rome Attractions Tickets Online
This is especially true for the high season, when the Eternal City is not crowded with tourists, and the city resembles one large station.
In the peak season, it is quite possible to stand in line for tickets and for several hours in a row. Given the high summer temperatures and humidity, which Rome is so famous for, in terms of the severity of impressions, such lines can well compete with the excursions themselves. However, we already wrote about this in the Interesting Places of Rome post where you can buy tickets online, and therefore, now we will not focus on them and will move on.
Rome mobile audio guide
This is one of the most useful solutions for those who want to significantly save on excursions without losing anything meaningful. At the beginning of 2019, BlogoItaliano released an Rome audio guide for the iPhone along the most popular walking route in the Eternal City.
The 6 km long route is designed for the whole day and covers more than 60 points in the historical center of the city from the Vatican to the Coliseum. The audio tour is voiced by a professional announcer and contains almost 2 hours of fascinating stories about Rome and the most significant places of the Eternal City.
Audio Guide to Rome Helps Save on Tours
The feature of the audio guide is that all objects are already put on a convenient online map and numbered in the sequence in which they are worth exploring. The audio guide works even without an internet connection, and the built-in GPS navigation allows you to easily track your location on the map and easily find the way to the nearest attractions of the route.
The full version of the application costs only € 5, which is much cheaper than even the most budget excursions in the Eternal City. Moreover, you can listen to the first 5 points of the route for free, which will make it possible to evaluate its usefulness even before making a purchase. You can install the application on your iPhone on this page.
Omnia card
Omnia Card is a real find that gives its holder so many advantages that you need to say a few words about them separately.
Omnia Card is not cheap, but worth the money
Here's what cardholders get:
- Free admission to the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel without waiting in line.
- Free entry to 2 of the 6 main Roman attractions of the choice of the card holder. Among the attractions that you can visit for free: Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, Capitoline Museums, Borghese Gallery, National Museum of the Castle of Saint Angel
- The right to use double-decker tourist buses for free, whose routes run through the most popular Roman sights for 3 days
- 72-hour public transport pass, including metro and a wide network of bus routes
- Separate discounts on entry to about 30 major Roman museums
- Map and printed city guide
The card is not cheap and costs 113 Euros, but in 3 days of a busy program it pays for itself completely.
You can order and pay for the Omnia Card on this site where you can read all the necessary details, and pick up for free at one of the 4 points already in Rome itself. Moreover, they are located so well that wherever you settle, picking up a card will be quite simple. All instructions on how to get your card come by e-mail after ordering.
4 Museum Ticket - Biglietto 4 Musei
The cost of a combined ticket for visiting 4 museums includes a one-time entrance to each of them for three days. The ticket applies to the Palazzo Altemps, the Palazzo Massimo, the Baths of Diocletian and the Balbi Crypt.
Such generosity is simply explained - all 4 objects are included in the complex of the National Museum of Rome, although they are located in different places. A ticket can be purchased at any of the above facilities, and its cost is 8 Euros.
Rome travel cards
According to the old European tradition, one-time tickets to public transportation in rome it makes sense to buy only if you plan to use this very transport in exceptional cases. For the rest, especially if you are aiming for an active study of Rome, there is much more point in buying a pass. The assortment of the latter in Rome includes one-day, two-day, three-day, weekly and monthly.
Here are their prices for 2019:
- One-time ticket - 1.5 Euro
- Day ticket - 7 Euro
- 48-hour ticket - 12.5 Euro
- 72 hours ticket - 18 Euro
- Weekly pass - 24 Euro
Travel tickets, like regular tickets, can be bought at metro stations, tabacchi and some bars. Bus tickets and travel in Rome cannot be purchased directly on the bus. Both tickets and travel tickets are subject to composting upon first use.
Tour bus with audio guide
Tourist double-decker buses have long been the norm in large European cities, and Rome is no exception in this regard. They not included in public transportbut can be a great alternative. Especially if you live somewhere in the center.
Tourist bus routes cover all major Roman attractions
Bus routes cover all the main Roman sights, and there is an audio guide in the cabin, including in Russian. Thus, you can travel between the main places, while listening to fascinating stories about Rome.
Within the validity period of the ticket, you can use such buses an unlimited number of times, entering and leaving at any of the stops. Find out more and book tickets using the links below.
Colosseum and Roman Forum
The Colosseum is the most popular antique site in Rome, and therefore the line for tickets there is usually the longest. In order to avoid it, there are several tricks.
It is quite possible to stand in line at the Coliseum for 3 hours
The first one is to purchase a combined ticket to the Colosseum, the Palatine and the Roman Forum at the entrance to the nearby Palatine Hill. The combined ticket is valid for 2 days at once, and therefore you will have time to enjoy each of the sites separately.
The second option is to purchase a ticket in advance via the Internet link and not waste time queuing at the ticket office.
Route: The main attractions of Rome in 1 day
Developed in 2017 by the author of one of the largest sites in Italy - BlogoItaliano - this route has absorbed all the experience, tools and chips to get the most from Rome and the Vatican in 1 day. It is especially useful for those who plan a short visit to Rome and so far have poor orientation in the city. In the fall of 2017, the Route was completely updated.
In addition to a detailed map of the walk and the mode of operation of the main attractions, the route included interesting places that most travelers unknowingly lose sight of, tips on getting around the queues, little-known viewing platforms and a recommendation for an audio guide, which in itself will save at least 50 Euros.
The route was conceived as an alternative to expensive excursions, allowing you to save 150-200 Euros for those who are curious, but are not ready to spend money on excursions. Details about the route can be found on this page.
Rome guide
No matter how trite it may sound, but taking a guide is also a way to save. If more than 3 people travel to you, then an excursion with an individual guide can come out even cheaper than a group one.
But for this it is better not to contact an individual guide, but to the organizer of excursions. Because the individual guide has no motivation to suggest budget excursions, and the organizer will do this with pleasure.
One such organizer in Rome is Lela, with whom BlogoItaliano has been friends since 2013. She has in her arsenal both budget group walks in the city and excursions with individual accompaniment. If you wish, you can use it to sign up for a gourmet tasting tour or an excursion to Florence or Naples. About the most popular excursions in Rome BlogoItaliano wrote in this article.
To contact Lela, write to her by e-mail email protected or send a message through the feedback form below. But it is better to do this in advance, because Rome is a very popular city, and many excursions can be bought out many days before they start.
