Beat the heat, save the feet and other Rome, Italy Transportation Tips

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Bus
Getting TO/AROUND: I know it's the lazy way to do it, and there are lots of places in Rome that these buses can't get near so you're still going to do quite a bit of walking, but for all that, we found the time we spent riding the hop on/hop off bus around the city was both enjoyable and worthwhile.

Tickets are valid for 24 hours - though the buses only run from 0900 until about 2100. We found that by catching our first bus after an early lunch one day, riding it until about 1800 in the evening and then picking up the first bus in the morning and using our ticket right up to the last minute of the 24 hours, we really felt we got better use out of it. The overnight break suited us very well.

There are several of these hop on/hop off buses operating in Rome. The one run by City Sightseeing (the biggest players in this game with operations in cities all over the world) has 2 routes that interconnect at set points with the one ticket valid for both routes. Disposable headphones are included and commentaries offered in several languages. We found this worked well - the commentary was fairly basic but quite broadranging and there were no problems with clarity.

The open top double-decker buses offer great view, though taking photos can be a bit hit and miss. You wouldn't want to sit downstairs however- we did this for a short time when a sudden rain shower hit and the view is very restricted. I could see this being a problem later into the season as the crowds build up.

You can start your tour at any one of the stops along the way. You'll be given your headphones - keep them with you as you hop off - and a card that gives you the times the buses will be at each of the stops along the different routes.

Check the website here for current prices, times, etc.

Leave a Comment

Website: http://www.city-sightseeing.com/index.phtml

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Car/Motor Home
Getting TO/AROUND: You'll hear plenty of tales of woe about Rome taxi rip-offs - this isn't one of them.

We used taxis quite a bit during the week we were there and never had any problems at all.

Our first taxi was from the airport and we'd been warned this can be a hazard. Knowing that it's a set fare of 40 euro from Fiumicino to anywhere within the Aurelian walls in the city, no matter what the time or how much baggage you have, was a good base to start from. As long as you take a licenced taxi from the official rank (they're all white, with 'taxi' lights on top, and each has a taxi license number displayed on the door) you shouldn't have a problem either. If you do, insist on getting the the taxi's license number and make it clear you're writing it down - don't forget to take down the name and number of the co-operative as well as the driver - and ask for a receipt.

Call 060606 to report any problems.

There are other set charges too - including the flagfall that will show on the meter immediately you enter the taxi. This varies according to the time and day - currently (summer 2008) it is
€2,33 from 7 am to 10 pm on weekdays
€3,36 from 7 am to 10 pm on Sundays and holidays
€4,91 from 10 pm to 7 am all days of the week

and there are 2 tariffs. Tariffa 1 applies inside the city's ring road. If you cross the ring road, Tariffa 2 will be applied but the driver is required to inform you when this happens. The Nueva Feria for example is outside the Ring Road, and not part of the airport fixed tariff scheme, so Tariff 2 be displayed on the meter but only after you have crossed the rindg road.

Baggage is charged at a rate of €1,04 per bag - this charge does not apply from the airports where the set fare includes your luggage but is applied on all other taxi journeys.

If you call a taxi to pick you up do be aware that the meter will be set from the minute the driver sets off to collect you, which can make quite a difference to a fare. The easiest way to get a taxi is to walk to a taxi stand - there are plenty of them around the central district.

Rome's higgledy-piggedly streets are a one-way nightmare maze for drivers - if your taxi seems to be going the long way round, it's more than likely because your driver is well aware of that and is taking a faster, albeit longer-as-the-crow-flies route via the city's arterial roads.

Leave a Comment

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Subway/Metro
Getting TO/AROUND: Despite being so close to Termini, and having a three day transport pass given to me (part of the package for MrL's work that had taken us to Rome), I didn't really use public transport all that much. Rome's such an easy city to get around on foot, we took the Hop on Hop off bus option to combine transport with sightseeing and we used taxis for some more out of the way places - but still, we did go out to Ostia Antica on the train and we had to get out to the Nueva Feria and back a couple of times - all of which involved the metro and the overground Ferrovia Metropolitana. We didn't use a bus or tram at all, though tickets are interchangeable for all these forms of transport.

You can buy tickets at any time, it's only once they're validated on the bus or metro that they become operative. Once the ticket has been validated you can continue to use it on all buses and trains for the duration you've paid for ( single journey - 75 minutes, 1 euro; full day - unlimited use, valid until midnight; three days - unlimited use ). Do be sure to validate it though - fines are stiff if you are caught with an invalid ticket.

As a tourist, you'll probably find , like me, that the metro isn't all that much use. It's a very restricted network, with limited proximity to the centre of the city.

There are two metro lines through the city, known as Linea A and Linea B, with a third, Linea C, being built. Trains run from 0530-2330 on weekdays and Sunday, the last train on Saturday is at 0030 (ie Sunday morning). The only interchange between the two lines ids at Termini - the main railway station. The lines are identified by the last station in each direction, so you need to know where line you want to use terminates when looking for the right platform. Trains run at intervals of 10-15 minutes.

The Ferrovia Metropolitana 1 is a cross-city line that terminates at the Fiumicino. It doesn't pass through Termini - to access it you need to take the metro (Linea B) to Piramide and walk through to Stazione Ostiense. You need a different ticket from the one journey 1 euro one.

We also had to go to Piramide to get the train to Ostia Antica, though in this case we had to follow the signs to Stazione Porta San Paolo to catch the train for the second leg of the journey. The 1 euro single ticket will get you to Ostia Antica.

Leave a Comment