Are Rome passes worth it for families? Learn what Rome discount cars include, compare prices and check if Rome passes are worth it for families vs booking individual attractions.
If you are visiting Rome for a limited number of days and plan on extensive sightseeing, you may be wondering about city passes and discount cards.
Rome has several solutions of this type and they combine access to public transport with discounted or even free entrance to museums and sights of interest.
Whether these passes are worth it or not depends very much on individual circumstances.
To help you decide if and which, if any, of the Rome discount passes available is best for you, I have gathered info about the ones I know of in this article.
Please note: the information on what each pass includes comes from the website of the relevant vendor.
You can find information on the standard public transport tickets available here.
Please note: this post contains affiliate links and, should you make a purchase through them, we might make a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Rome discount passes for families: what you need to know
When looking for a Rome pass for families, you are looking to get a card that saves you time, money and the hassle of having to book different attractions on different, and sometimes hard to navigate, websites.
I believe therefore the following points will be useful to help you make a decision:
- Children under 10 go free on public transport in Rome
- Children under 18 enter the Colosseum for free
- Children under 6 enter the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel for free; children between 6 and 18 (included) avail of a reduced entrance
- Due to capacity limits, many attractions such as the Colosseum require advance booking even from pass holders. This mans that while the pass will give you a discount or even free entry, you still have to select a day and time slot on the official website.
This is not the case for all passes but it is common: please check the small print on each one to make sure the pass give you the saving of time /money/ work you are hoping for
- All tickets with a time slot are skip the line tickets. Since the pandemic, a system of time slot has been implemented by many attractions, especially popular ones such as the Colosseum and the Vatican
This system has meant the end of long lines: ticket holders can go to the ‘ticket holder’ line which only has people booked in for that time slot and enter swiftly.
The horribly long lines you hear horror stories about are only for getting tickets on the day (not always possible since rules against gatherings have been in place).
So if you see a ticket that costs more because it allows you to ‘skip the line’, make sure you are compering it with a time slot ticket and you are not paying over the odds for a service you get anyway
- Please note that security lines cannot be skipped.
- On the first Sunday of the month, many Rome museums are free
How to choose a Rome discount pass or card
To help you decide whether a Rome pass is a good purchase for your next trip, I have gathered info about the discount cards and passes currently available.
Roma Pass
The Roma Pass is a discount card issued by the City of Rome in collaboration with ATAC (Rome’s public transport authority) and comes in two forms: a 2-day (48h) or a 3-day (72h) pass.
Unlike standard tickets and passes, this card combines a transport pass valid on all transport modes with access to some local museums and in particular:
- 2 free entries (3-day pass) or 1 free entry (2-day pass) to participating museums or archaeological sites
- Discounted tickets for all other museums that participate in the Roma Pass
- Dedicated entry at the Colosseum, Castel Sant’Angelo, and Musei Capitolini
The Roma Pass is activated from the moment it is first used at an entry to a museum, an archaeological site, or when you first board public transportation and expires after 72 or 48 hours after initial activation.
Need to know: to avail of the discount, the first two entries to museums and/or sites with the Roma Pass 72 hours have to be used consecutively. From the third admission (Roma Pass 72 hours) and from the second admission (Roma Pass 48 hours), it is necessary to purchase a reduced ticket at museum’s ticket office.
Please note that Vatican City and its attractions (Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s Basilica etc) are not covered by this pass.
The Pass does not include guided tours and is only suitable for self-guided sightseeing
Hop on hop off buses are also excluded from this offer.
Museums include in the Rome Pass are:
- Colosseum, Palatine Hill, Roman Forum – booking required!
- Accademia Nazionale di San Luca
- Circo Massimo – reservation recommended
- Circo Massimo Experience – reservation recommended
- Forum Super Pass (includes Roman Forum and Imperial Fora) –
- Borghese Gallery – booking required
- Galleria d’Arte Moderna (National Modern Art Gallery) – reservation recommended
- Galleria Nazionale di Arte Antica Palazzo Barberini and Corsini (National Gallery of Ancient Art) – booking required at weekends
- Galleria Nazionale di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art
- Galleria Spada
- Journey through Ancient Rome (seasonal)
- Mausoleo di Augusto – booking required
- MAXXI Museum (Museum of the arts of the XXI century)
- Trajan Market – reservation recommended
- Capitoline Museums – reservation recommended
- Central Montemartini – reservation recommended
- Villa Torlonia Museums (Casina delle Civette, Casino Nobile, Serra Moresca) – reservation recommended
- Museo Carlo Bilotti
- Zoological Museum – reservation recommended
- Ara Pacis – reservation recommended
- Museum of the Rome Republic and Garibaldi period
- Museo di Casal dei Pazzi – booking required
- Museo delle Mura
- Museo di Roma at Palazzo Braschi – reservation recommended
- Museo di Roma in Trastevere – reservation recommended
- Museum Barracco (ancient sculpture)
- Napoleonic Museum
- Museum of musical instruments
- Castel Sant’Angelo – reservation recommended especially at weekends
- Museo Nazionale Palazzo Venezia
- Etruscan Museum at Valle Giulia
- Museo Nazionale Romano (Crypta Balbi, Palazzo Altemps, Palazzo Massimo,Diocletian’s Baths)
- Pietro Canonica Museum
- Museum of Civilization
- Roman Houses at Palazzo Valentini
- Appian Way Archaeological park
- Ostia Antica Archaeological park
- Caracalla’s Baths
- Villa di Massenzio
The vast number of museums available at a discount makes the Roma Pass very tempting for people interested in intense sightseeing.
Since families with kids are likely to only avail of kid-friendly attractions, I prepared a sample itinerary that allows to you see what type of savings you can achieve.
ILet’s make an examples with the 3 day pass and an itinerary packed with kids-friendly attractions:
| Attraction | With pass adult** | Without pass adult | Kids |
| Colosseum | 2 Euro booking fee (Standard entry only, applies to pass holders also) | 18 Euro | Free |
| Castel Sant’Angelo | 6 Euro (Free if visited as first or second attraction) | 13 Euro | Free |
| Baths of Caracalla | 2 Euro booking fee | 10 Euro | Free |
| Borghese Gallery | Free | 15 Euro | 2 Euro |
| Circo Massimo Experience | 11 Euro (free is first or second museum visited) | 12 Euro | Free under 6 / 10euro (family ticket available at 22 euro for up to 4 people) |
| Ostia Antica | 2 euro Euro | 16 Euro | Free |
| TOT | From 52 Euro pass + 6 euro booking fees | 84 Euro + transport TBC* |
** Prices correct at per Roma Pass Website at the time of writing, please always double check with the provider as changes are possible. Find official list of reductions here
As you can see, if your plan includes several attractions like those above and you plan your time wisely, there are significant savings to be made.
However, should you want to avail of guided tours or have an itinerary that in includes the Vatican rather than the attractions participating in the Roma Pass network, the pass may not be for you.
You can buy the Roma pass online (see below), from museums and Tourist Information Points (kiosks), in metro and train stations.
Please note:
- The Roma pass does not foresee discounts for children under 10 and it also not really suitable for them since they travel for free on public transport anyway and have free admission to most (not all) museums and sites
You can find info, prices and book you Roma Pass here
Roma Omnia Card + Rome City Pass = Rome and Vatican Pass
The Omnia Card is provided by the private organization Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi in collaboration with the City of Rome.
It is the most expensive of the passes currently available and costs €129 for adults/€59 for children (ages 6-17) for 72 hours.
The pass is sold in conjunction with the Roma Pass and offers the same advantages as the one above, with in addition entrance to the Vatican Museums, Audio Guide to St Peter Basilica, Hop on Hop Of bus with Roma Cristiana, entrance to San Giovanni in Laterano Basilica, entrance to Tulliano Prison and the app Vox Dei.
The Omnia Card 24h includes
- Entry to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel (with a free, downloadable audio guide for St. Peter’s Basilica)
- Free hop-on-hop-off bus tour (Roma Cristiana, with free wifi) for 24 hours
- Entry to the Cloister in the St. Paul’s Basilica outside the walls
While the Omnia Card 72 hours include:
- Entry to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel (with a free, downloadable audio guide for St. Peter’s Basilica)
- Roma Pass for 2 free entries to the museums or archaeological sites of your choice and free access to public transportation for 72 hours
- Entry to the Cloister in the St. Paul’s Basilica outside the walls
- Skip the Line advantage at St. Peter’s Basilica, Sistine Chapel and the Colosseum
- Free hop-on-hop-off bus tour (Roma Cristiana, with free wifi) for 72 hours – see the route the bus takes here
- Discounted tickets for all other museums that participate in the Omnia Card+Roma Pass
You can find info, cost and what is exactly included here
Please note:
- Access to St peter’s basilica is through security gates and no one skips the line here. The skip the line element of this card applies to the Museums but not the basilica itself (which is, incidentally, free)
For families with kids, the Omni Card savings over 72h could look like this
| Attraction | Cost with pass | Cost per adult without pass | Cost per kid without pass |
| Vatican Museum | Free | 17 Euro | Under 6 fee / over 6 cost is 8 Euro |
| St Petere Basiilca | Free | 19.50 for the Vox Mundi audioguide (cheaper ones available) / Free without | 14.50 Vox Mundi App / Free without |
| Colosseum and Roman Forum | 2 Euro (reservation required) | 18 Euro | Free |
| Castel Sant’Angelo | Free is visited as first or second attraction/ 6 euro | 13 Euro | 6 Euro |
| Hop on Hop off bus (Roma Cristiana itinerary) | Free | 32 Euro | 20 Euro |
| Capitoline Museums | Free if first or second visit. After the second, 12 Euro | 14 Euro | 12 Euro |
| TOT | 129 Euro | 113.5 Euro + transport | with pass 59 Euro / without pass 60.5 + transport Euro |
The museums included in this offer are the same as those covered by the Roma Pass and the same booking requirements apply.
Museums include in the Omnia Cars + Rome Pass are:
- Vatican Museums
- Colosseum, Palatine Hill, Roman Forum – booking required!
- Accademia Nazionale di San Luca
- Circo Massimo – reservation recommended
- Circo Massimo Experience – reservation recommended
- Forum Super Pass (includes Roman Forum and Imperial Fora) –
- Borghese Gallery – booking required
- Galleria d’Arte Moderna (National Modern Art Gallery) – reservation recommended
- Galleria Nazionale di Arte Antica Palazzo Barberini and Corsini (National Gallery of Ancient Art) – booking required at weekends
- Galleria Nazionale di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art
- Galleria Spada
- Journey through Ancient Rome (seasonal)
- Mausoleo di Augusto – booking required
- MAXXI Museum (Museum of the arts of the XXI century)
- Trajan Market – reservation recommended
- Capitoline Museums – reservation recommended
- Central Montemartini – reservation recommended
- Villa Torlonia Museums (Casina delle Civette, Casino Nobile, Serra Moresca) – reservation recommended
- Museo Carlo Bilotti
- Zoological Museum – reservation recommended
- Ara Pacis – reservation recommended
- Museum of the Rome Republic and Garibaldi period
- Museo di Casal dei Pazzi – booking required
- Museo delle Mura
- Museo di Roma at Palazzo Braschi – reservation recommended
- Museo di Roma in Trastevere – reservation recommended
- Museum Barracco (ancient sculpture)
- Napoleonic Museum
- Museum of musical instruments
- Castel Sant’Angelo – reservation recommended especially at weekends
- Museo Nazionale Palazzo Venezia
- Etruscan Museum at Valle Giulia
- Museo Nazionale Romano (Crypta Balbi, Palazzo Altemps, Palazzo Massimo,Diocletian’s Baths)
- Pietro Canonica Museum
- Museum of Civilization
- Roman Houses at Palazzo Valentini
- Appian Way Archaeological park
- Ostia Antica Archaeogical park
- Caracalla’s Baths
- Villa di Massenzio
Rome city pass / Turbo Pass – NOT CURRENTLY AVAIABLE
The name of this pass is so similar to the one above I had to check once, twice and even three times to make sure I wasn’t mixing up the info about the several discount passes available in Rome but here we go. The Rome city pass aka Turbo pass is one more to add to the list and one that is appealing mostly thanks to its flexibility and price
Unlike the passes mentioned above, the Rome Turbo pass offers:
- Entry to top attractions of Ancient Rome: including the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and the Palatine Hill with skip the line priorities
- Entry to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel
- Entry to Rome’s most popular museums and reduced entry into additional attractions and exhibitions
- Use of public transport including the metro, buses (including Ciampino airport), and trams
- Hop-on-hop-off bus tour in Rome
- Map of Rome and Travel Information
- Additional discounts and savings across the city at exhibitions, tours and shops
The Rome City Pass can be shipped by mail or can be picked up in the city center of Rome. You will have immediate access to the metro system and to buses and trains across the whole of Rome. You can order from the official website here.
The Rome City Pass is your all-inclusive ticket for 2, 3 or 6 days
Archeologia Card – not currently available
I include this card in the list even if currently unavailable because many traveler forum chats mention it and it had piqued my attention (and therefore, I presume, yours). The card is currently not operational, I will update this entry if / when things change.
So, is it worth getting a Rome travel and museum pass?
As you can see from the examples above, there is no one size fit all answer when it comes to Rome passes.
The best way to see if a pass is worth for you, is to make an itienerary with the number of attractions you are likely to actually see, keeping into account the slower pace you’ll keep with small kids with you and compare it with what you can save with the pass.
Useful resources to help you make this decision are:
- Things to do in Rome with kids
- 2 days in Rome with kids
- 3 days in Rome with kids
- Free things to see in Rome
What to consider when choosing a Rome discount card
- Can you get a discount anyway? Some categories of visitors are already entitled to discounts (seniors, teachers, students, all with ID and depending on specific museums)
- Are you traveling with kids? Kids under 10 do not benefit from these cards as they travel for free on public transport and often get discounts to Rome main sights and museums
- Do you intend on taking a guided tour? These cards sometimes includes downloadable apps and maps but not access to a guide. If you are planning on taking a guided tour, it is better to book directly with the one of choice since the cost usually includes that of the skip the line ticket.
- How many sites with entrance fee will you want to see? Evaluate carefully how many sites you will see in one day and be advised that some sites have a combined ticket. For instance, the Colosseum and the forum are covered by one tickets alone so the card won’t add much of an advantage. You can have a quick look here to see what sites are reasonable to visit in one day for distance / time needed
- Will you be using the hop on hop off pass and for where. Hop on hop off buses can be great to get an overview of the city but not for small journeys. Be advised that some areas such as Spanish steps, Trevi and Pantheon are pedestrianized and inaccessible to buses – please make sure the itinerary covered by the hop on hop off pass is suitable: different companies offer different itineraries
- Will you be visiting on the first Sunday of the month? On the first Sunday of each month Rome municipal museums are free. Make sure you do not spend money on a card if your stay includes this day!
I hope you found this overview useful and helped answer the question: are Rome discount passes and cards worth it?
