Is the Rome & Vatican Pass 2022 a good deal? We review value and prices here
The Rome & Vatican Card is one of the more confusing city passes that we’ve reviewed here, but it’s also among the most useful and best values for most visitors to Rome. Unlike many of the city passes that include “free” admission to 30 or 40 obscure museums along with the 4 or 5 that most people care about, the Rome Pass pretty much covers exactly what most people want to see, and little else.
In other words, this 3-day pass covers nearly all of the things that first-time Rome visitors will actually see and do, without charging more for things that you probably won’t do. However, what makes it a bit confusing is that several of the things it covers are “Fast-Track Entries” that allow you to skip the (usually) very long ticket queues. Two of these attractions are actually free if you don’t mind standing in the long queue, watching so many other people admitted before you.
COVID-19 update for 2022
As you’d imagine, all of these attractions have been closed off and on since the beginning of the pandemic, but as of March, 2022, they are all open again and it looks promising that things will stay this way.
Obviously you’ll want to stay up on news and probably not buy it too far in advance.
Price of the 2022 Omnia Rome and Vatican Pass
- 72-hour OMNIA Adult Card: €129
- 72-hour OMNIA Child Card (ages 6 to 17): €59
Is the Rome & Vatican Card worth it? (short version)
Rome and the Vatican have several extremely popular attractions such as the Vatican Museum (including the Sistine Chapel), St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Coliseum, all of which have some of Europe’s longest ticket queues, especially in warmer months. The hop-on, hop-off bus tours here are also extremely popular and highly recommended. If you want to do all of these things in the shortest time possible then this pass will save you time and money.
This is a really good deal for visitors to Rome who have two or three sightseeing days and who want to see the famous attractions in an efficient way. But if you have more time than that then you can save some money by standing in the queues and skipping the audio tours. If you are coming in winter, the ticket queues are usually fairly short anyway.
What's included with the Rome & Vatican Pass
The Rome Pass and OMNIA Card will be a bit confusing for most people so I’ll explain exactly what you get here so you can decide if it’s a good value for your own trip.
Officially you get the following 4 items:
- OMNIA Vatican and Rome card for Vatican City sights & tours as well as the hop-on-hop-off bus tour
- Roma Pass for over 30 historic attractions, plus a travelcard for Rome’s public transport network
- A detailed guidebook
- Map of the city
But in reality, the OMNIA Vatican and Rome card and the Roma Pass give you what is listed below:
Rome hop-on, hop-off bus tour – 3 days validity (€32)
These tours are excellent and highly recommended since you’ll discover that Rome is absolutely filled with amazing architecture and statues. This bus tour is the fastest and easiest way to see it all in a short time, especially from the open upper deck. You can do a one-day version of this for around €20 if you choose not to get the Rome Pass, but it’s nice to be able to use it for all three days.
Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel (€19.50)
The Vatican Museum is huge, amazing, and known for VERY long ticket queues. You enter and then it’s a one-way walk all the way through, with the Sistine Chapel near the end, so it’s part of the same attraction. Admission to the Vatican Museum is €16 if you don’t mind standing in the queue. The OMNIA Card includes admission PLUS Fast Track Entry, so it’s a €30 value. The audio guide is highly recommended unless you have a human tour guide because otherwise you really don’t know what you are looking at.
St. Peter’s Basilica – Fast Track Entry plus audio guide (€19.50)
When you leave the Vatican Museum you’ll be in front of St. Peter’s Basilica, which is the largest cathedral in Rome and a must-see. The basilica is technically free to enter, but the queues here are usually VERY long as well. The OMNIA Card gives you Fast-Track (instant) entry AND an audio guide. Again, the audio guide is highly recommended if you don’t have a human guide because this place is huge and filled with things that aren’t otherwise explained.
St John in the Lateran and the Cloister – Fast Track Entry (€5)
Back in Rome, close to the main train station, you’ll find this cathedral that is officially the seat of the pope. It’s ornate, popular, and very important for those interested in Roman Catholicism.
And ANY TWO of the attractions below and then a discounted entry at the rest
- The Coliseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill – Fast-Track Entry (€16)
- Castel St. Angelo (€15)
- Borghese Gallery (€10)
- Capitoline Museums (€11.50)
- Museum of Rome (€12)
Obviously you are going to visit the Coliseum and the Roman Forum (and Palatine Hill as well), so it’s really just one of the others. The Borghese Gallery (Rome’s finest art gallery) is the most popular of them and definitely worth a look.
PLUS a 3-Day unlimited public transport pass (€18)
The Rome subway is very handy, especially for quickly getting to the Vatican. Since the Roma Pass comes with a 3-day unlimited transport pass, you’ll be able to move quickly around the city, even at night.
Where to buy the OMNIA Rome and Vatican Pass
>>>Buy the Rome and Vatican Pass at the lowest available price at this link and get a 10% discount using the promo code GOPOT10 at checkout.
The Rome and Vatican Card is only available online so you can’t buy it at any of the attractions once you get to Rome.
Top attractions that are included in the OMNIA card
- Rome 3-day hop-on, hop-off bus tour (€32)
- Sistine Chapel & Vatican Museums (incl. Fast Track Entry) (€19.50)
- St. Peter’s Basilica (incl. Fast Track Entry & audio guide) (€19.50)
- St. John in the Lateran (€5)
- 3-Day unlimited public transport pass (€18)
And any 2 of the attractions below
- The Coliseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill (€16)
- Castel St. Angelo (€15)
- Borghese Gallery (€10)
- Capitoline Museums (€11.50)
- Museum of Rome (€12)
-
Baths of Caracalla – 4D Experience (€15)
-
Circo Maximo Experience (€12)
Top attractions that AREN'T included in the OMNIA card
National Gallery of Modern Art (€8)
However, the Rome & Vatican Card only includes 2 of those 5 attractions listed above, so the other 5 are NOT included. Realistically, almost everyone wants to visit the Coliseum/Roman Forum/Palatine Hill, and the Borghese, with the others being less popular.
Is the Rome and Vatican Pass a good deal?
Let’s do the math here and see how it stacks up. If you do everything included with the pass, assuming that you visit the Coliseum/Forum/Palatine Hill and the Borghese Gallery, the total comes to around €130. If you skip one of the attractions then the value is closer to €120, which is still a good deal for a package that only costs €129, but it will be less if you get a discount.
On one hand this is a decent deal for most visitors in Rome for the first time and who want to see the main sights within 2 to 3 days. Even if this package weren’t available you’d probably end up doing pretty much all of these things and paying full price.
On the other hand, several of the included attractions here are actually Fast-Track Entries (skip the ticket queue) and audio guides. So if you have plenty of time to stand in the long ticket queues, and if you are more interested in just seeing the inside of these places rather than actually understanding what you are looking at, then you can save money by not buying the card.
Who should buy the Rome and Vatican Card
- First-time Rome visitors who want to see the top sights in limited time
- Visitors who prefer to pay a bit more to avoid the very-long ticket queues
- Visitors who want to know what they are seeing without hiring a human guide
Who should NOT buy the Rome and Vatican Card
- Visitors who prefer to save money and don’t mind waiting in long ticket queues
- Rome visitors on very-low “backpacker” budgets
- Visitors who will be spending 5 or more days in Rome who don’t want to rush their sightseeing
Where to buy and collect the OMNIA Rome and Vatican Pass
>>>Buy the Rome and Vatican Pass at the lowest available price at this link and get a 10% discount using the promo code GOPOT10 at checkout.
The Rome and Vatican Card is only available online so you can’t buy it at any of the attractions once you get to Rome.
Once you buy online you will pick the pass up at one of 3 collection points. Two of the collection points are in the Vatican and the other is near the main train station, which is where the bus tour leaves from and also St John in the Lateran cathedral.
Note: This article was first written in 2016 and has been updated frequently since then, most recently March, 2022.
hello. im planing to visit Rome soon and of course I would like to visit Colosseum. im thinking about buying omnia pass but i would like to see Colosseum, Roman Forum And Palatine + Undergrounds And Panoramic View. it is possible with the omnia card ? cheers
Przemek,
I’m not sure what you mean by Panoramic View? Do you mean the bus tour? The Rome & Vatican Card is a good deal if you are planning on doing most or all of the included attractions, but if you only do a couple then I’d skip it. Let me know if you have any other questions. -Roger
Does the travel pass work for three days or 72 hours. For example if I start use on Tuesdy afternoon at 4 PM, does it expire at Midnight Thursday or Friday at 4 PM?
Joe Mc,
According to their website, “The OMNIA Vatican & Rome Card is valid for 72 consecutive hours once activated.” That actually surprises me because nearly all of these city passes operate on a midnight to midnight basis. So yes, you can start using it at, say, noon on a Monday and still use it on Thursday morning. Have a great trip. -Roger
does omnia and roma pass cover metro and tram
Michael,
Yes, you get a free travelcard for unlimited access to Rome’s public transport system for 3 days. The Metro/subway system in Rome isn’t as thorough as in many other cities, but it does go to the Vatican as well as the Colosseum, so it’s quite handy. -Roger
Hi, I’m thinking about getting the Omnia pass as it covers a lot of what I want to see.
I’ve looked around quite a lot and still can’t find an answer to this: does the pass cover entry up St. Peter’s Dome, which is €8 for use of only stairs or €10 with the use of the elevator.
If it does cover entry, does it include the use of the elevator?
Also, if it is covered, I would assume you get to fast pass this as well?
Thanks for your insight.
Gregor,
Unfortunately it doesn’t look like it’s covered at all. I found this on a site that has extremely detailed instructions on climbing the dome: “But if you want to climb the dome, you must pay (cash only).
It costs 8 Euros to climb via the stairs, and 10 Euros to take the lift/elevator.
There are NO discounts or passes for anyone.
You cannot use the Roma Pass, Omnia Pass, Student ID, or any other pass to get a discount.
And again, it’s cash only.”
Best of luck with this and I’m sure you’ll have a great trip. -Roger
I have already purchased Omnia and Rome card. I had already reserved time slot for Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel and St. Basilica. But do I need to pre-book the time slot for:
– St. John in the Lateran
– Castel St. Angelo
– The Coliseum
Or we just show the pass to enter with fast track? Thanks!
Nana,
For the Coliseum and St. John in the Lateran the card allows Fast-track entry. When you get there you should see a normal ticket queue and a separate queue for Fast-track Entry, which is almost always much shorter. You still have to go through security, but at least you’ll skip the long ticket line. I don’t think the Castel St. Angelo gets nearly as crowded so the normal queue should be fairly quick there. Have a great trip. -Roger
Hi Roger,
Do you have to schedule a time to visit the Vatican and Sistine Chapel after buying the Omnia Card or separately please? Is there a link to follow? Thanks!
James,
The Omnia Card includes Fast Track Entry and it also says this on the website: “You can now pre-book your entry tickets to the Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel to reserve your entry slot with the Omnia Vatican & Rome Pass! Simply follow the instructions on your confirmation email and reserve a time-slot within the 72 hours validity of your Omnia Vatican & Rome Pass.”
So you’ll get a confirmation email that tells you how to reserve a time to visit and it’s included in the price. That is really great because the queues for the Vatican Museum can be insanely long. Have a great trip. -Roger
Does that mean The Coliseum, Roman Forum & Palatine Hill count as 1 attraction? The website makes it look like they are separate attractions.
Michelle,
Yes, those three attractions are all part of one combination ticket, whether you use a pass like the Rome Card or if you just go in person and pay on your way in. It’s confusing for sure, but they are all bundled together as one attraction. -Roger
Hi Roger, have you heard of the Roma Pass (http://www.romapass.it/en/the-cards/)? Is it the same as the ones you are offering here?
Janice,
Yes, the Roma Pass has been around for some time. It’s essentially a museum pass with a public transport card, but you only get to choose 1 or 2 museums, depending on the card. Nearly everyone is going to visit the the Coliseum (€12), although it’s also good for a few more expensive museums. The Rome Pass does NOT cover the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel (€30) though and it does not include the double-decker sightseeing bus (€32), so the passes are quite different. The sightseeing bus is a great way to see all of the main sights in Rome in a short time, and it’s especially handy because the public transport system in Rome is quite limited and even crossing streets when walking around can be challenging. But if you aren’t interested in the sightseeing bus or the Vatican Museum, the Roma Pass might be a good fit for you. Have a great trip. -Roger
With the OMNIA pass, do you have to schedule a time to visit the Vatican and Sistine Chapel, or do you just go whenever and skip the line?
Justin,
It looks like it used to be just a skip-the-ticket-queue situation, but now the website says “You can now pre-book your entry tickets to the Vatican Museum & Sistine Chapel to reserve your entry slot with the Omnia Vatican & Rome Pass! Simply follow the instructions on your confirmation email and reserve a time-slot within the 72 hours validity of your Omnia Vatican & Rome Pass.” That is a big deal because even the normal entry queue can be quite long. Have a great trip. -Roger
St John Lateran is free so why should I pay as stated on this site
Have a nice day
Sibylla,
With the Rome and Vatican Card you can get the audio guide for free instead of €10. It may not be worth that much to some people, but it’s something. -Roger