Rome is a breathtaking city filled with hundreds of amazing sights and experiences and one of the best ways to see some of the most popular places is with a hop on hop off Rome tour.
While a majority of the biggest and most iconic places are within walking distance of one another, a full day of walking the streets and touring the sites can be quite tiring and sometimes, finding public transportation or renting a car is not easy.
For this reason, a hop on hop off Rome tour is the best way to maximize your travel time, rest your weary feet and ensure that transportation between sites is already taken care of!
Another added benefit to booking one of these tours is the fact that commentary by knowledgeable guides or recorded explanations of the sites you’ll see when driving by is provided as part of the experience, adding deeper understanding and context while cruising past all the iconic monuments that can be found in the Eternal City!
For an effortless and unique way to check all the popular sites off your Roman bucket list, consider booking a hop on hop off tour to maximize your time and budget, as well as preserve your energy for all the other amazing things there are to see and do in this breathtaking city!
Hop On Hop Off Rome Tour
One of the biggest benefits to booking a hop on hop off Rome tour is the fact that they are specifically tailored to stop at as many of the big attractions as possible. The carefully plotted route and the conveniently located stops make it an ideal solution for seeing as much as possible in as little time as possible.
Having the freedom to get off at any stop and stay as long as you would like there allows for the ability to tailor your visit to your specific desires without having to worry about missing the next tour time or racing through a site that you particularly enjoy.
Some hop on hop off Rome tours have multiple lines and loops that run throughout the entire day and into the night, allowing you to see many different sites whenever you want, as well as giving you the ability to stop regularly at the same spot or use the bus as transportation to get closer to where you need to go.
During pleasant weather, the open-air top of the double-decker bus is a perfect way to sight see while also traveling between historic sites. While the hop on hop off Rome tour stops are at or very near the largest of the attractions, you’ll be able to enjoy the breathtaking architecture and smaller sites in between from the seat on the bus.
There are a number of different variations of the hop on hop off Rome tour available, giving you even more opportunity to tailor your experience to your needs. Some tickets are for only 24 hours, while others offer the flexibility to book as many as three days.
Whether you have only one day in Rome or three days in Rome or any other length of vacation, you’ll be able to book the hop on hop off tour for exactly as long as you need! With so many things to take advantage of and so many benefits to these tours, you will not regret booking, especially with how many sites you’ll be able to see on the trip!
Some versions of the tickets also include tickets to attend up to four different walking tours tailored to compliment the sites you’ll see along the route!
Hop on Hop off Rome Tour Highlights
With upwards of ten major attractions, complimentary walking tours available, flexible booking length and special tour perks available, you’ll be able to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time! Bus tours usually last around two to three hours and you can even find river cruise versions of the hop on hop off Rome tour! You will want to carefully consider each variation available so you can select the right one for your needs.
Colosseum
One of the biggest attractions in Rome, this iconic ancient arena draws hundreds of visitors daily. If this breathtaking sight is high on your list of things to do in Rome, you might want to consider booking a hop on hop off Rome tour that includes a walking tour of this area or even better, you could select a package that includes skip the line ticket for tours of the Colosseum.
Because of how incredibly popular the site is, you’ll be able to save hours by skipping the line and get back to seeing all the other remarkable attractions.
Roman Forum and Palatine Hill
The Roman Forum and Palatine Hill are another area that draws crowds year-round. With such a wealth of amazing ruins dating back millenia, these sites are often one of the main reasons people explore the city and because of this popularity, you’ll find it among one of the many stops on a hop on hop off Rome tour.
With such a vast wealth of history, this area is well worth investing in a ticket that includes a tour of the grounds. Plus, you’ll be able to skip the lines by booking a bus ticket that includes this tour, saving precious hours for more sightseeing throughout Rome!
The Vatican
Another one of the most popular and breathtaking attractions is of course the home of the Pope! As the smallest state in the world, the Vatican is home to a wealth of amazing sights, precious art and stunning architecture that draws crowds by the hundreds every single day.
As one of the major stops on any hop on hop off Rome tour, you’ll be able to visit this amazing site to marvel at Vatican Square, the Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican museum, home to stunning works of art from some of the most famous masters throughout history.
If the Vatican museum and its treasures are high on your list of things to do in Rome, be sure to book a hop on tour that includes special skip the line tickets for tours of this complex. The lines can take hours to get through and the museum itself is worthy of many hours of exploration, so skipping the line is a benefit that could save you almost half a day in waiting time!
The Catacombs
Underneath the surface, Rome is home to many twisting and turning catacombs filled with ancient relics, tombs, monuments and tunnels, a unique and spooky site that attracts people from all around.
Because of the wealth of history and the strange situations that lead to the creation of the Catacombs so many hundreds of years ago, you will definitely want to take advantage of a ticket that includes a guided tour to further lend context and understanding to the site.
Much like any other hop on hop off Rome tour that includes tickets to attractions, this particular tour allows you to skip the line for easier access. And because the buses often run till 10 or 11 pm, a visit to the catacombs is perfect for an evening in Rome. Spooky catacombs are always even more spooky when you visit at night!
Trevi Fountain
A hop on hop off Rome tour is the best way to see a little bit of everything on the top of any major bucket list, and the Trevi Fountain is one of the most popular due to the feature role it plays in many popular movies and television shows.
Rumor has it that anyone who tosses a coin in the fountain is guaranteed to return to Rome again in the future, so it has become a pseudo pilgrimage site for travelers and tourists from around the world who hope to twist the winds of fate in their favor. Be sure to take advantage of this stop to admire the Baroque architecture and sculpture as well as ensure your own return trip to the Eternal City!
The Spanish Steps
These famous steps have been a hotspot of tourist activity since the late 1700s, when wealthy gentlemen of status would visit on their Grand Tour of Europe while coming of age. Afterward, it became a hang out spot for artists, poets, writers and philosophers during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Today, it is a popular tourist destination and another major stop on almost every hop on hop off Rome tour. For added information and context, be sure to book a tour that includes a complementary audio guide to help you better understand all the sites that don’t have tours specific to the area, which is the case for iconic areas like the Spanish Steps or the piazzas that are also popular stops along each of the hop on hop off Rome tours.
One thing to keep in mind when visiting the Spanish Steps; it is actually prohibited to sit on the steps!
People sitting and lounging on the steps had become such a large problem and prevented foot traffic from moving through the area, resulting in legislation to prevent the issue from occuring in the future. Eating and drinking on the Steps is also prohibited in an effort to preserve the historic structure from damage or harm. Violations could cost you as much as $450 in fines!
Tiber River
The Tiber River runs through the middle of the city of Rome, with the historic city center on one side and the quintessential Trastevere neighborhood on the other.
Trastevere
The river comes with its own version of a hop on hop off Rome tour! Instead of sightseeing by bus, hop on a boat and explore each of the stops along the way at leisure before getting back on! You’ll have the option to book a dedicated river cruise with hop on hop off stops or select a booking that combines the hop on hop off Rome tour by bus with a smaller, more limited version of the river cruise equivalent!
Relax on board as the sights float by, listening to complementary on board commentary to add more knowledge to everything you are seeing. The stops along the way include Tiberina Island, Justice Palace and Popolo Square.
The stops along the river cruise allow access to many of the big sites, including short walks to Piazza di Spagna and the Spanish Steps, Piazza Venezia and the Vatican! Booking a tour by water is a unique and relaxing way to enjoy the benefits of a flexible tour with a fun twist, avoiding the need to walk or ride through the crowded streets and alleys of the Eternal City!
Pro tips for taking a hop on hop off tour:
- Plan for rain or shine. Carry a compact umbrella or have a poncho on hand. The last thing you want is to get soaked.
- Carry a water on you while venturing out. Sometimes it can be hard to find a vendor.
- Plan ahead. I cannot tell you the number of times I have showed up in a city and just got on a bus with no idea what I was doing. I wasted all my time in lines and didn’t even see the things I wanted.
- Keep some cash on you in case you find a street vendor or shop that only takes Euro
A hop on hop off Rome tour is a perfect way to see as many sights as possible in the city without having to worry about the hassle of finding transportation, walking long distances or learning how to navigate foreign public transportation. Tailored to maximize the number of sites accessible on one route, you’ll be able to explore plenty of stunning monuments, ancient ruins and vibrant plazas at leisure and hop back on board to see the next!
The benefits of booking these hop on hop off tours are numerous and well worth the price of the tickets. Be sure to research each and every version available to be sure that you select the hop on hop off Rome tour that best suits your needs and your bucket list!
If you only have a short time to spend in Rome, these tour buses are a perfect option for seeing all the largest sites without having to worry about getting lost or missing out on a popular attraction because of time or travel constraints.
You can book as many as three days of access, making it a perfect way to explore without having to stress or navigate the ancient streets of Rome. Whether you are trying to avoid long lines, looking for audio or walking guides or simply want to take advantage of the easy transportation it provides, you’ll undoubtedly find a tour that complements your adventure in the Eternal City!
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