Roma Pass 2027: Is It Worth It? My 48 vs 72-hour Verdict

If you are considering Roma Pass 2027 for your trip, my warning is simple: do not buy it before checking whether you can really use its benefits in such a short time. You will see 48 and 72-hour versions mentioned everywhere, but the 48-hour option can save money only with a well-planned itinerary. The price difference is no longer small enough to ignore, so calculate your own route first.

I have compared both versions below and added the details that cause the most confusion: Colosseum and Borghese Gallery reservations, airport transport, children and the moment when the card starts running.

💡 Tip: Before deciding, put your attractions into my 3-day Rome and Vatican itinerary. It includes the route we followed and the queue mistakes I would avoid next time.

More practical Rome guides: read my Vatican ticket and entrance guide and my Colosseum ticket and queue guide before booking.

Also useful: compare Rome airports and choose where to stay in Rome before you decide whether the pass fits your trip.

Roma Pass 48 vs 72 hours

	Roma Pass 48h	Roma Pass 72h
Current official tariff	EUR 38	EUR 62.90
Included attractions	The first 1 participating museum or archaeological site	The first 2 participating museums or archaeological sites
Later attractions	Reduced admission during validity	Reduced admission during validity
Public transport	48 hours in Rome’s urban network	72 hours in Rome’s urban network
Colosseum	Can be your included attraction, but a timed reservation is compulsory	Can be one of your 2 included attractions, but a timed reservation is compulsory
Vatican Museums	Not included	Not included
My verdict	Only for a packed two-day plan with one relatively expensive attraction and frequent transport	More flexible if you want at least two paid attractions and will use public transport often

These are the current official card tariffs at the time of my update. The price and available version shown by GetYourGuide may vary by date, promotion and currency, so check the final amount before paying.

My quick verdict: when is Roma Pass worth it?

It depends on how much of a museum and monument maniac you are. Roma Pass is not automatically good value just because it combines attractions and transport.

• The 48-hour pass can work if you visit one of the more expensive included attractions, add another discounted place and take public transport several times.
• The 72-hour pass makes more sense if you genuinely plan two paid attractions, for example the Colosseum and Borghese Gallery, plus more reduced admissions and regular transport.
• Skip it if you mainly want free sights, enjoy walking or qualify for free or reduced state-museum admission.

For comparison, Rome’s separate 48-hour transport ticket currently costs EUR 15 and the 72-hour ticket EUR 22. A standard Colosseum ticket is currently EUR 18. That is why transport plus one attraction alone does not make the 48-hour Roma Pass an obvious bargain. Write down the actual places you want to visit and do the calculation before buying.

How Roma Pass works

Each traveller needs their own pass. You cannot use the two included admissions on one 72-hour card for two different people. Your first two eligible entries belong to the card holder and must be used consecutively as the included attractions. With the 48-hour card, only the first eligible entry is included. Later participating attractions receive the Roma Pass reduction.

The card also gives unlimited travel on the participating urban ATAC network for its transport-validity period. This includes city buses, trams, metro lines A, B, B1 and C, and selected urban railway routes. Airport trains and most private airport coaches are not included.

Important current detail: Rome now also offers a digital Roma Pass in its own app. Its activation and museum-use instructions are not identical to those of the traditional physical card. The Roma Pass offered through GetYourGuide currently uses a voucher and collection instructions. Follow the exact version and pickup details printed on your voucher instead of mixing instructions from different articles.

If you prefer to keep the booking in the English GetYourGuide app, download it through this link. My code CESTUJZABABKU5 gives 5% off an eligible booking made only in that downloaded app.

What Roma Pass includes

• One included participating attraction with the 48-hour version, or two with the 72-hour version.
• Reduced admission to many later participating museums and archaeological sites.
• Unlimited participating public transport in Rome for 48 or 72 hours.
• Discounts on selected exhibitions, tours and services.
• Access to participating P.Stop public toilets.
• Occasional partner discounts, including selected luggage-storage services. Check the current list because partners can change.

Roma Pass does not include the Vatican Museums or Sistine Chapel. Vatican City is a separate state. It also does not include the Leonardo Express, the FL1 airport train or normal transport from Fiumicino Airport.

How to book the Colosseum with Roma Pass

This is the part I would organise first, not after buying the pass. A Colosseum time slot is compulsory even with Roma Pass. Check and reserve the dedicated zero-price Roma Pass option on the official Colosseum reservation page. Only then buy the pass if the rest of your calculation still works.

1. Choose a date and time on the dedicated Roma Pass reservation page.
2. Select the Roma Pass holder option and complete the reservation for every pass holder.
3. Save the confirmation and bring it with the activated pass and photo ID.
4. Arrive before the booked time and allow for the compulsory security check.

Roma Pass covers the normal Colosseum route with the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. It does not include the arena floor, underground levels or attic. Reservation availability is not guaranteed, so never assume that owning the pass will get you into a sold-out time slot.

My separate guide explains the ticket types, current release windows and the queue mistake we made: Colosseum tickets and reservations.

Do you need to reserve Borghese Gallery?

Yes. Borghese Gallery has limited capacity and a compulsory time slot, including for Roma Pass holders. The official Roma Pass guidance recommends booking at least 10 days ahead and around 20 days ahead in high season. I would not buy the pass around this attraction until I knew that a suitable slot existed.

Use the official Borghese Gallery visitor information to check the current reservation procedure. This is an information link, not another place where I am recommending that you buy Roma Pass.

Roma Pass for children and young adults

Roma Pass is often poor value for children. Visitors under 18 enter many Italian state museums and archaeological sites free, although they may still need a reserved ticket. EU citizens aged 18 until their 25th birthday often qualify for reduced state-museum admission.

Children under 10 also travel free on Rome’s public transport when accompanied by a fare-paying adult. Check the age rules for every attraction in your plan before buying a full adult city pass for a child. A third-party tour may still charge because the guide and other services are not free.

When does Roma Pass start?

For the traditional physical card, validity starts with the first use at a participating attraction or on public transport. If you arrive in Rome in the evening, I would wait until the next morning instead of wasting several hours of validity on one short metro ride.

Even if you activate the physical card first at a museum, you must validate it when you use public transport for the first time. Hold it against the yellow reader and check for the green light. For a digital card, use the activation procedure shown in the official app.

Airport transport with Roma Pass

Fiumicino Airport: Roma Pass does not cover the Leonardo Express, the FL1 regional train or the usual private airport buses.

Ciampino Airport: you can use ordinary urban ATAC routes 520 and 720 within the covered network. Private airport coaches are not included. Route 520 connects with metro line A at Cinecittà and Subaugusta, while route 720 connects with metro line B at Laurentina. Check current service information on the official ATAC website.

Where do you collect a GetYourGuide Roma Pass?

The current GetYourGuide listing uses voucher redemption at participating tourist information points. Listed pickup locations include Via dei Fori Imperiali, Via Marco Minghetti, Castel Sant’Angelo and the international-arrivals areas at Ciampino and Fiumicino Terminal 3.

Do not assume that Termini station is a pickup point. Locations and opening hours can change, and recent travellers sometimes mention difficulty finding a desk or arriving after it closed. Read the current voucher before travelling to a collection point. If you buy an official digital card in the separate Roma Pass app, there is no physical pickup, but that is a different product and process.

Which attractions participate?

The participating list is long and can change. Popular options normally include:

• Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, with compulsory timed reservation.
• Borghese Gallery, with compulsory timed reservation.
• Capitoline Museums.
• Castel Sant’Angelo.
• National Roman Museum sites.
• Baths of Caracalla.
• Capitoline Museums at Centrale Montemartini.
• Museum of Rome and Museum of Rome in Trastevere.
• MAXXI contemporary art museum.
• Many smaller municipal museums and archaeological sites.

Do not rely on an old blog list for a specific 2027 trip. Check the attraction in the current Roma Pass app or official participating-museums list, then check its own opening days and reservation rules. Many museums close on Monday, although this is not universal and the Colosseum is normally open.

My final Roma Pass advice

I would buy Roma Pass only after making a simple list: the attractions I genuinely want, their normal or reduced price for my age, compulsory reservation availability, and the number of public-transport journeys I will probably take. Rome is very walkable in the centre, so an unlimited transport card is not as valuable for everyone as it first sounds.

The pass is useful when your itinerary fits it. It is not a shortcut around sold-out reservations, security queues or bad planning. We learnt in Rome how quickly queues can eat whole days, so I would reserve the Colosseum and Borghese Gallery first and treat the pass as the final step.

More of my Rome guides

• 3 days in Rome and Vatican City: my itinerary and queue mistakes
• Colosseum tickets: do not repeat our queue mistake
• Vatican tickets and entrance: do not lose hours in the wrong queue

FAQ about Roma Pass