Rome Big Bus Hop-on Hop-off Open-Top Sightseeing Tour
Rome, Italy
+10
- 1 hour 45 minutes (approx.)
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Skip the hassle of navigating Rome’s busy streets and piecing together transportation with a flexible sightseeing pass that brings top landmarks like Vatican City, the Colosseum, and the Pantheon into one easy route. With the freedom to explore at your own pace and onboard insights to add context, these flexible sightseeing tickets make it easy to see more of the Eternal City, with the 72-hour option also including a panoramic night tour.
- Discover the capital when temperatures are more comfortable
- Hop off to visit sights including the Colosseum, Vatican City, and Trevi Fountain
- Explore Rome at your own pace with unlimited hop-on hop-off bus travel
- Enjoy onboard audio commentary and included digital walking tours around the city
What's Included
- 1-day or 24-, 48- or 72-hour hop-on hop-off bus tour (depending on option selected)
- Digital commentary in multiple languages
- Free Wi-Fi on Board
- Free VOX digital self-guided tour download
- Night tour (72-hour ticket option)
- Free Gelato or a glass of prosecco/soft drink (depending on option selected)
- Big Bus Tours app (ticket storage, live tracking and ticket activation)
- Hotel Pick-up & Drop-off
Meeting and Pickup
Operating hours
Select your preferred tour option to see hours.
View tour option
Departure Point
- You may start this tour at any of the stops listed.
Ticket Redemption Point
Via delle Terme di Diocleziano, 34, 00184 Roma RM, Italy
Itinerary
Board the bus for your hop-on, hop-off tour at any of the stops along the route. Exchange your voucher for a ticket that is valid for three, 24, 48, or 72 hours, depending on your schedule and preferences.
Disembark at any point to explore areas that interest you. Spend as much time as you like at any one stop, or skip those that don't interest you. Climb down to explore Vatican City and learn about the history of the Catholic Church, or throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain, which legend has it ensures you return to Rome. Sit on the Spanish Steps and sample a local gelato or explore the Pantheon. Disembark to learn about the times of Roman gladiators in the Colosseum or stroll through the ancient Roman Forum.
While on the bus, listen to recorded audio commentary in nine languages through the provided headphones. The recorded narrative gives a comprehensive history of Rome and details its current role as a thriving Italian metropolis.
Each ticket option includes a VOX digital walking tour. Please see the Itinerary section for a full list of stops.
Disembark at any point to explore areas that interest you. Spend as much time as you like at any one stop, or skip those that don't interest you. Climb down to explore Vatican City and learn about the history of the Catholic Church, or throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain, which legend has it ensures you return to Rome. Sit on the Spanish Steps and sample a local gelato or explore the Pantheon. Disembark to learn about the times of Roman gladiators in the Colosseum or stroll through the ancient Roman Forum.
While on the bus, listen to recorded audio commentary in nine languages through the provided headphones. The recorded narrative gives a comprehensive history of Rome and details its current role as a thriving Italian metropolis.
Each ticket option includes a VOX digital walking tour. Please see the Itinerary section for a full list of stops.
Red Route
7 Stops
22 Points of Interest
Duration: 1 hour 45 minutes
Operating Schedule: The Hop-on, Hop-off tour runs daily from 9 AM to 7 PM, with buses every 15-20 minutes and a full loop lasting approx. 1 hour and 45 minutes. Download the Big Bus Tours app to track buses in real time, and board easily using your mobile ticket.
1
Rome Termini station
2
Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major
3
Circus Maximus
4
Piazza Venezia
5
Vatican Museums
6
Spanish Steps
7
Piazza Barberini
Points of interest passed by on this route
Trevi Fountain
Piazza Venezia
Vatican Museums
Piazza Barberini
Big Bus Tours
Campo De' Fiori
Piazza Navona
Vatican City
National Roman Museum - The Baths of Diocletian
Piazza del Campidoglio
Piazza Venezia / Ancient City
St. Peter's Basilica
Castel Sant'Angelo
Basilica di San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
Circo Massimo
Roman Forum
Navona / Pantheon / Campo de’ Fiori
Vatican Museums
Vatican City
St. Peter's Basilica
Spanish Steps
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- Luggage is not permitted on board for security reasons
- Download the Big Bus Tours app to access and activate your ticket, track buses in real time, and board easily using your mobile pass.
- Stop #3 – Colosseum: Boarding and drop-off at this stop are unavailable until further notice. To reach the Colosseum on foot, use Stop #4 – Circus Maximus (approx. 10-minute walk) or Stop #5 – Piazza Venezia (less than 10 minutes from the Roman Forum).
- The 72-hour ticket includes a panoramic Night Tour, which is not hop-on, hop-off.
- Information Centre: Visit the official Information Centre at Via delle Terme di Diocleziano 34, open daily from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM.
- Traffic & Operational Delays: Please allow extra time for your journey. Occasional delays or longer stops may occur due to traffic or operational requirements, particularly during peak cruise passenger periods.
- Stop #6 – Vatican / Castel Sant'Angelo: This stop is located directly in front of Castel Sant'Angelo. Vatican City is approximately a 20-minute walk from the stop. Stop #7 – Ludovisi / Spanish Steps: This is the recommended stop for visiting the Spanish Steps, located approximately a 10-minute walk away.
- 48-hour ticket: one complimentary gelato from selected The Gelatist locations (voucher required from a Big Bus team member).
- 72-hour ticket: choice of one complimentary gelato or a glass of Prosecco/soft drink at Angie's Restaurant (Piazza Mignanelli 21A). One redemption per ticket.
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
3.4
based on 3,006 reviews
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Great way to see all of Rome! Loved it! The best seats are always upstairs! Great experience! Would do in other cities as well!
Some of the attractions are not right at the stop and the bus doesn't provide any decent maps etc. They give you a map of the area but it's not easy to figure out. The employees on the street after you get off the bus seemed to be more concerned about their cell phone conversations then helping you find where you needed to go. We got lost several times and Rome is not the easiest city to navigate. If I go back to Rome I will definitely schedule separate tours and skip the hop-on-hop-off.
This a quick way to get around the city to visit some of the biggest attractions quicker. Definitely worth the money.
The audio guide was at least 5 attractions in-front of where we actually were. When I told the guy on the bus he just laughed. The app kept saying I was in “wrong city” every time I tried to find a stop. When it eventually worked it took us to a stop that was no longer in operation. In the end we had to follow where we saw the buses going until we found a stop. I contacted the company and they offered me a tour in another country in the future but after this experience I don’t think that is acceptable.
What can you say about the hop on hop off bus, it met its goals. At one point they had to stop going to the Colloseum stop as it was way too crowded. I love doing the hop on/off buses as it is a great way to see a city at your own pace.
We had a bit of.a walk to get to the stop nearest to our hotel. Thank you, Big Bus, for making online ticket activation so easy now! We rode the entire loop, took pictures, and decided where we would hop off the next time around. Easy walk to Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain. Enjoyed a delicious lunch near Trevi (so prices and service charges were noticeably higher, but pizza was delicious). We appreciate Big Bus the first time we visit a new city!
This is one of the easiest ways to get around Rome. Streets are crowded so the bus makes it the most efficient. We did have to wait a few buses due to volume to travellers.
The audio worked well and was informative
It was a good way to see the city. I like doing it first. The. You get a good idea of where things are
Only one route, buses don’t always follow the same routes. Traffic is not always great so plan on extra time. Frequency of buses was good.
We have done a BigBus tour in nearly every big city we’ve gone to and this one did not live up to expectations. Despite booking ahead we had to wait in line for 25 minutes to board a bus and they packed us in like sardines. At our seat only one of the earphone ports played in English so my husband and I had to share an ear bud set. The commentary was mediocre at best; we learned very little new info. There were 8 stops where we waited quite a long time at each one in hopes of taking on new passengers. The route also showed we would cross over the river to get closer to one of the sites but never did. Overall I rate it a C+ as far as value for the money. Also 85% of sights are best seen from the right side of the bus.
Fantastic way to see and experience many of the city’s tourist attractions. Ensure you buy tickets prior to the different attractions though, if you wish to go inside.
The audio recordings are not good. The clarity is bad and the actual recording is not in sync with when the beat s actually reaches the attraction. Live tours are so MUCH better!
Very crowded, noisy, inconsiderate passengers. It was rainy when we visited so that may have contributed to the ambience.
Great tour of the city with detailed commentary, we felt they spent too much time at some of the stops
Great for getting around to some of the main sights and we would use as stops to walk from. Worth getting the 72 hours ticket which included evening bus tour and a free gelato.
Not a good use of your money. Stops were a good distance from sites and it was very time consuming validating our tickets. The ear plug system was scraty and very jard to understand. We would not recommend this to anyone.
It provides a good general overview of Rome. You can stay on the bus for the whole time, or you can 'hop off' at the key places of interest. You're given earphones to hear commentary and a brochure showing the route.
Fun. Just what we needed to navigate a family of five through the lovely city to meet booked tours and quickly go past things we didn’t want to see in depth.
Sadly some of the sights are not visible...only stops so you have to get off and walk to them...such as Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. So be prepared to walk..
Seriously, it’s fine if you can walk long distances on rough cobble stone streets. None of the stops are actually AT the sites. It sort of circles the whole area and it’s up to you to get anywhere you actually want to see. As a person with walking disability I was very disappointed. But for active people, it’s still rather a bit more expensive than public transport that will go closer to where you want to go.
The hop on hop off is always the best way to experience the sights in a new city. We always book two or three day packages and use it as our taxi service as often as possible.
We stayed near the Coliseum. The stop for it was not running. The walk to next stop was so far! Many of the attractions cannot be seen from the bus, i.e. Trevi Fountain. This one wasn't a favorite.
Stopped the bus at stop 1 told us all to get off that the bus isn’t going any further. Even though at the last stop we were told the bus ran later. Everyone was forced to then taxi or walk home. Very bad customer service in how it was handled and we were treated.
Very good service
All hop on hop off bus team was very helpful
Bus times were very good, with no long waits
Stops were somewhat limited
I enjoyed it. Good animated narration. A really good idea to take this when you visit a happening city like Rome for the first time!!
Impossible to find bus stops before you were given a map when boarding for the first time. Us took an alternative route and there was -) no way go knowing major stops were eliminated before you bought your ticket had to create a. Viator account to access tickets, the narrative was it changed to reflect new route and the narrative was pretty useless even when it tracked with the bus location on the route, and stops weren't announced. I have taken bus tours in many cities in the US and Europe and this was the wiorst
Disappointed with the audio system. It didn’t work, therefore we did not get any history or where to get off to visit sites on the bus.
while quite crowded, we really enjoyed our bird’s-eye-views of this magnificent city!! great way to get an overview of Rome!
Out of our 3 days, it took until the end of day 2 to get our ticket activated. Customer service reckoned they didn't recognise the booking reference we had from Viator but then changed their mind and said the issue was resolved but it wasn't. The only Big Bus people at the stops were resellers who couldn't do anything. We finally got a printed ticket at 8.30pm on Day 2. On Day 3 the buses were so busy you couldn't even get on and we managed 1 stop. The free Gelato with our booking was refused as the partner (The Gelatist) would not accept the Voucher in the Big Bus app despite us being told that's all we needed. Lastly we were told that despite having a booking for the night tour we had to arrive at least 90 minutes early... For a 1 hour bus ride.
Avoid at all costs, it's easier and quicker to walk and we shall be requesting a full refund.
The 'experience' was definitely worthwhile - it allows you to get an overview of the city which might otherwise be difficult.
I'm not sure that the (presumably recorded?) commentary was always exactly synchronised with the bus location, but that didn't detract from the 'experience'.
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