Getting To and Around Rome, Italy

This post will share info about Getting To and Around Rome, Italy. Those who know me know that I did a TON of research for our trip to Rome! We had 2.5 days in Rome & 3 nights. I wanted to make sure we could get as much in as possible since I don’t plan on going back…we have way too many places to see to visit more than once 😉 I do take notes on our trips so that I can share my info with my awesome readers. You can find more info about saving money & traveling on a budget in my How to Plan a Family Trip to Rome, Italy on a Budget Also check back for some more posts about Rome soon!

Geting to Rome

We flew on RyanAir and got a great deal. We flew round trip from Cologne-Bonn to Ciampino for $301 for a family of 5! Also check multiple Airports, it was a little more to go out of Frankfurt-Hahn but it was closer, I almost chose that one until I realized that we’d get in at 5 pm and the day would be pretty much gone. So we decided on Cologne-Bonn even though its further away because we landed in Rome at 11 am. We saved $100 by changing our trip to leaving on a Wednesday instead of going on Tuesday like I had originally planned, again flexibility is key!

That price included 1 checked suitcase at full price €30/$35 and 1 checked suitcase at 1/2 price using the kids bags distant €15/$18. We ended up only taking 1 bag and combining the weight of the 2 bags so we had less to carry.

Getting to the the city center of Rome from Ciampino Airport

There are several options to do this:

Train – You can take the train, but you have to take a bus to get to the train station. The bus is €1 per person and the train is €1,50 per person. This will take you to the Termini where you can then continue on with the metro or other means of transportation depending on your final destination.

Bus – There are several buses you can use and they all cost the same €4 per person each way or €8 per person round trip, you can also buy these tickets on the Ryan Air flight as well for the same cost. The bus drops you off at the Termini. The bus ride around 30-40 mins long and has wifi. The bus will let you off at the Termini. Here you can ride the metro if needed.

Shuttle reserved via USO – You can book a shuttle with the Rome USO for $60 each way, so for round trip it would be $120, which I think is high when there are quite a few cheaper options. They will take you directly to your hotel but ours was a 2 min walk from the Termini so I couldn’t see paying €40 more each way just for that.

Taxi – You can take a taxi as well. They are supposed to only charge €30/$35 but I’ve heard they often try to charge more so know that ahead of time if your thinking of using one.

If you fly an airline that is not RyanAir you may arrive at the Fiumicino Airport

To get to the city center of Rome, use link above for more info

Train – You can take the train, the Leonardo Express to the termini, it is €11 per person and is a 30 minute train ride. This will take you to the Termini where you can then continue on with the metro or other means of transportation depending on your final destination.

Bus – Terravision Shuttle bus it’s €9 one way or €15 round trip. The bus ride around 55 mins long and has wifi. The bus will let you off at the Termini. Here you can ride the metro if needed.

Shuttle reserved via USO – You can book a shuttle with the Rome USO for $60 each way for up to 5 people, so for round trip it would be $120, which I think is high when there are quite a few cheaper options. They will take you directly to your hotel but ours was a 2 min walk from the Termini so I couldn’t see paying €40 more each way just for that.

Taxi – You can take a taxi as well. They are supposed to only charge €40 but I’ve heard they often try to charge more so know that ahead of time if your thinking of using one.

Getting Around Rome

Metro – many people choose to use this option, we tried it however I cannot say we had a positive experience. If you want to use it know that buying tickets at the Termini can be tricky! And there are tons of ‘beggars’ disguised a people who offer to help you…then demand money. The ticket machines on the main floor are for the far away trains not for the metro! Look for the newspaper & Tobacco stands where you can buy your tickets instead. The tickets are €1,50 per person and include 1 ride & underground transfers as well as the bus/tram for 100 mins. Also kids under 10 ride the metro for free.

We first tried it the first day at 3:30 pm and it was OK after we finally figured out how to get tickets. The lines are easy to read and find where you need to go since there are only 2 major ones. When we were coming back at 6 pm that night it was HORRIBLE! It was so crowded we had to let the first one pass and then literally shove ourselves (family of 5) into the packed crowd on the metro. A few cars down some people started yelling at those getting on. Then when we got off a guy go pick pocketed and he started yelling and grabbed a lady and was shaking her by the arm. We just hurried and got the heck outta there! Plus I’m not a fan of standing nose to nose with a crowd of people, and even less so when most of those people don’t use deodorant. Not my idea of a good time 😉

We had to use it one more time to get out to the Vatican at 8 am and it was fairly crowded as well. It thinned out some and then a shady guy got on and was checking out what purses bags everyone was carrying and standing behind women assigning what they were holding, it was really creepy and that was the LAST metro ride for us!

City buses/trams – We did not use these because they always looked crowded and we did not want to deal with it. The tickets are the same ones you use for the metro, €1,50 per person good for 100 mins.

Hop on Hop off bus – After tons of research we did not use this because everything is within walking distance and it’s really not needed. I just planned our itineraries where we would be able to walk to all the sites for each day in that area. It costs around €18 per adult & €13 for kids ages 6-12 for a 24 hour ticket.

Taxis – These are supposed to be reasonable in the city BUT trying to find one to hold a family of 5 is not an easy task as we found out the hard way. We planned on taking one back to the hotel but were unable to get one large enough so we just walked and our feet were sure tired!

Walking – This method is free and great as long as you have your itinerary mapped out ahead of time and can read a map and not get everyone lost real often. We had a few detours but it was really only annoying the last day when we were walking back to the hotel. We used the Rick Steve’s book for self-touring the sites as well. There are also free walking tours as well, see walking link for more info.

As always when booking airline tickets, transportation, etc make sure to see if you can use a site like Oribitz.com to use a discount code and also use Ebates to get a % back! You can sign up for Ebates HERE  Also if you sign up for Orbitz Rewards (free) using my link you’ll get a $25 credit for a hotel stay! I’ll get a $25 credit too, I sure wish I’d known when I made my first purchase so I could’ve signed up under someone and saved $25 AND you can still use Ebates for an additional discount! The Orbitz link is HERE

If you’ve been to Rome what was your best method for getting around?